Latest news with #JapaneseMaritimeSelf-DefenseForce
Kyodo News
13 hours ago
- Business
- Kyodo News
Kyodo News Digest: June 20, 2025
KYODO NEWS - 1 hour ago - 08:26 | All, Japan, World The following is the latest list of selected news summaries by Kyodo News. ---------- Japan destroyer sails Taiwan Strait after China jet encounter TOKYO - A Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyer sailed through the Taiwan Strait last week, days after a Chinese fighter jet flew dangerously close to a Japanese patrol plane over the Pacific, diplomatic sources said Thursday. It was the third known passage through the waterway by an MSDF ship, with all occurring within the past year, apparently aimed at warning China, which continues to pressure Taiwan, the self-ruled democratic island it claims as its own. ---------- Japan's core consumer prices in May rise 3.7% on year TOKYO - Japan's core consumer prices in May rose 3.7 percent from a year earlier, government data showed Friday. The increase in the nationwide consumer price index, excluding volatile fresh food, followed a 3.5 percent rise in April. The inflation rate has remained at or above the Bank of Japan's 2 percent target since April 2022. ---------- Japan PM Ishiba rules out lower house dissolution for now: lawmaker TOKYO - Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on Thursday ruled out dissolving the powerful House of Representatives for now, ensuring that elections for both chambers of parliament will not be held on the same day in July, party executives said. The decision comes as Yoshihiko Noda, head of Japan's main opposition party, said he will not submit a no-confidence motion against Ishiba's Cabinet, arguing that such a move would stall progress on key political issues. ---------- Xi seeks Middle East cease-fire in phone call with Putin BEIJING - Chinese President Xi Jinping called for a cease-fire amid Iran-Israel tensions during phone talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday, describing it as an "urgent priority," the Foreign Ministry said. Xi said the international community should make efforts to de-escalate the situation and that disputes should be resolved through negotiations rather than force, stressing the need to protect civilians, according to the Chinese ministry. ---------- Emperor renews peace hope in Hiroshima for 80th anniv. of war's end HIROSHIMA - Japan's Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako on Thursday renewed their hope for peace as they visited Hiroshima to pay their respects to atomic bomb victims on the 80th anniversary year of the end of World War II. In their first trip to the city since the emperor's accession in 2019, the imperial couple laid white flowers and bowed deeply at a cenotaph in Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, which holds the names of around 340,000 victims of the Aug. 6, 1945, atomic bombing. ---------- Japan PM vows to develop ties with S. Korea on 60th diplomatic anniv. TOKYO - Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on Thursday pledged to continue working closely with South Korea at a ceremony in Tokyo to commemorate the 60th anniversary of diplomatic ties, despite wartime and territorial disputes. "We need to continue close communication so that the bilateral relationship will steadily develop," Ishiba said in a speech at the reception held by the South Korean Embassy in Tokyo, welcoming the vast exchanges that have taken place between what he called "the closest neighbors to each other." ---------- Nippon Steel confident management freedom ensured in U.S. Steel deal TOKYO - Nippon Steel Corp.'s top executive Eiji Hashimoto said Thursday that the U.S. government's role set under its $14.1 billion buyout of United States Steel Corp. "will not hamper" the U.S. unit's business going forward. At a press conference in Tokyo, Hashimoto said $11 billion of investment in U.S. Steel operations -- 10 times more than the initial plan -- and a golden share issued to the U.S. government that allows it to veto key management decisions among other conditions are rational, even as analysts view them as downside risks to U.S. Steel's management. ---------- Honda president eager to collaborate with Nissan, Mitsubishi Motors TOKYO - Honda Motor Co. President Toshihiro Mibe expressed his eagerness to collaborate with Nissan Motor Co. and its alliance partner Mitsubishi Motors Corp. during a general shareholders meeting on Thursday, after merger talks with Nissan collapsed earlier this year. Asked about the likelihood of revisiting a merger with Nissan, which fell through due to disagreements over management structure, Mibe said it was not possible "for the time being." Video: "Phantom bridge" begins to sink beneath the waters of Lake Nukabira in Hokkaido
The Mainichi
a day ago
- Politics
- The Mainichi
Japan destroyer sails Taiwan Strait after China jet encounter
TOKYO (Kyodo) -- A Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyer sailed through the Taiwan Strait last week, days after a Chinese fighter jet flew dangerously close to a Japanese patrol plane over the Pacific, diplomatic sources said Thursday. It was the third known passage through the waterway by an MSDF ship, with all occurring within the past year, apparently aimed at warning China, which continues to pressure Taiwan, the self-ruled democratic island it claims as its own. The Takanami entered the strait from the East China Sea on June 12 and spent more than 10 hours as it sailed toward the south, the sources said. After the transit, the destroyer headed to waters off the Philippines' main island of Luzon. The entire transit was tracked and monitored by the Chinese military, according to the sources. The Takanami conducted a joint maritime exercise with the Philippine Navy on Saturday in a South China Sea area the Southeast Asian country claims jurisdiction over, amid China's intensifying assertions in the waters. The Japanese government has typically refrained from sending MSDF vessels through the Taiwan Strait to avoid provoking China. But it has shifted its stance amid Beijing's growing assertiveness, joining ally the United States and others in asserting freedom of navigation in what they consider international waters. The latest transit came after Japan's Defense Ministry said that a Chinese J-15 fighter jet from the aircraft carrier Shandong approached as close as 45 meters to an MSDF P-3C surveillance plane over the high seas in the Pacific on June 7 and 8. The previous two transits took place in September last year and February this year. The Japanese government has not officially admitted to the activities.
13-06-2025
- Politics
Japan Rejects China's Claim over Fighter Jet Close Approaches
News from Japan Politics Jun 13, 2025 16:50 (JST) Tokyo, June 13 (Jiji Press)--Japanese Defense Minister Gen Nakatani on Friday rejected the Chinese Foreign Ministry's claim that Japan's "reconnaissance" activities have led to recent incidents involving a Chinese fighter jet flying dangerously close to a Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force aircraft. "The Chinese side's remarks are unacceptable," Nakatani said at a press conference. "We have made our position clear to the Chinese side." The incidents occurred on Saturday and Sunday, and Japan's Defense Ministry announced them on Wednesday night. Nakatani said the announcement was made appropriately after necessary work, including hearing from SDF personnel and analyzing data. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.] Jiji Press
12-06-2025
- Politics
Japan Urges China to Stop Fighter Jet Close Approaches
News from Japan Politics Jun 12, 2025 15:56 (JST) Tokyo, June 12 (Jiji Press)--Japan has urged China to prevent a recurrence of the recent incident in which a Chinese fighter jet flew dangerously close to a Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force aircraft, Defense Minister Gen Nakatani said Thursday. "Since there was a possibility of (the incident) triggering an accidental clash, we expressed serious concern and strictly demanded that (China) prevent a recurrence," Nakatani said at a meeting of the National Security Committee of the House of Representatives. He also emphasized that the Defense Ministry and the Self-Defense Forces will do everything possible to maintain vigilance and conduct surveillance operations. At a press conference the same day, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said that Japan will maintain communication with China at various levels. According to Hayashi, Japan's demand for prevention was made through diplomatic and defense channels, including a phone call from Vice Foreign Minister Takehiro Funakoshi to Chinese Ambassador to Japan Wu Jianghao. [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.] Jiji Press
09-06-2025
- Politics
Chinese Aircraft Carrier Crosses Second Island Chain for 1st Time
Tokyo, June 9 (Jiji Press)--The Chinese aircraft carrier Liaoning has crossed the so-called second island chain in the Pacific, which connects Japan's Ogasawara Islands and the U.S. territory of Guam, the Japanese Defense Ministry said. This is the first time for a Chinese aircraft carrier to cross the second island chain, a move that is believed to be intended as a warning to the United States. China positions the second island chain as one of its defense lines to block the approach of the U.S. military in the event of an emergency. According to the ministry, four vessels, including the Liaoning and a missile destroyer, sailed in Japan's exclusive economic zone about 300 kilometers off Minamitorishima, a remote Tokyo island in the Ogasawara chain, on Saturday. Also, takeoffs and landings of fighter jets and helicopters at the Liaoning were observed at a point midway between Minamitorishima and Ioto, another island in the Ogasawara chain widely known as Iwo Jima, on Sunday. China is believed to be trying to enhance the operational capability of its aircraft carriers and operate them in distant waters. The Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyer Haguro has been exercising vigilance and collecting information. [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
