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The Star
a day ago
- Politics
- The Star
87 Japanese nationals, family members evacuated from Iran, Israel
Japan's Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya holds a press conference on evacuation of Japanese nationals from Israel and Iran at the Foreign Ministry in Tokyo on June 20, 2025. (Photo by Kazuhiro NOGI / AFP) TOKYO: A total of 87 Japanese nationals and their family members have evacuated from Iran and Israel amid intensifying tensions in the Middle East, the Japanese government said Friday (June 20). According to Kyodo news agency, the evacuees arrived by bus in Azerbaijan and Jordan as local airports remained closed and none had health issues, Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya (pic) said. Of the 87 including six foreigners, 66 left Teheran and arrived in Baku early Friday, while 21 departed from Tel Aviv and reached Amman on Thursday afternoon, the Foreign Ministry said. The government is arranging a bus to evacuate more people from Iran as early as Saturday, Iwaya said. "As the situation remains very tense, the government will protect Japanese citizens with a high sense of urgency," he said. Around 220 Japanese nationals were in Iran and around 1,000 remained in Israel after the evacuations, according to the ministry. Israel and Iran have continued to exchange strikes since the former attacked Iranian nuclear facilities and military targets last week alleging Teheran was close to obtaining a nuclear weapon, a claim denied by the Islamic Republic. - Bernama-Kyodo
Sinar Daily
09-06-2025
- Sport
- Sinar Daily
Retired great Hakuho says leaving sumo after bullying scandal
Hakuho won a record 45 tournaments before retiring from competition in 2021 to coach wrestlers, but his stable was indefinitely shut in April last year. 09 Jun 2025 04:45pm Former Yokozuna Hakuho attends a press conference to announce his retirement from the Japan Sumo Association and future plans in Tokyo on June 9, 2025. Retired sumo great Hakuho said he was quitting the ancient Japanese sport after his wrestling stable was closed because of a bullying scandal involving his protege. (Photo by Kazuhiro NOGI / AFP) TOKYO - Retired sumo great Hakuho said Monday he was quitting the ancient sport in Japan after his wrestling stable was closed because of a bullying scandal involving his protege. "It has been 25 years of being loved by sumo and loving sumo," the Mongolian-born Hakuho told reporters, confirming he was "leaving the Japan Sumo Association". Mongolian-born former yokozuna Hakuho speaks during a press conference to announce his retirement from the Japan Sumo Association and future plans in Tokyo on June 9, 2025. Retired sumo great Hakuho said he was quitting the ancient Japanese sport after his wrestling stable was closed because of a bullying scandal involving his protege. (Photo by Kazuhiro NOGI / AFP) "I have no regrets," he said, adding that his family supported his decision. Hakuho won a record 45 tournaments before retiring from competition in 2021 to coach wrestlers, but his stable was indefinitely shut in April last year. The 40-year-old was handed an embarrassing demotion for failing to control the behaviour of his protege Hokuseiho, who allegedly punched his lower-ranked stablemates and stole money from them. Sumo has been dogged by multiple scandals in the past including allegations of bullying, illegal betting and links to organised crime. Hakuho, who returned to Tokyo from Mongolia for the press conference, said he had "cried a lot". Having no clear indication of when the stable could resume operations was the main reason for his decision to walk away, he said. Japanese media said last week that the sumo association, which declined to comment at the time, had accepted Hakuho's resignation. Hakuho said Monday he was "moving on to a new dream" and that in the future "I intend to focus on projects to expand sumo to the world". "I believe that... sumo can bring hope to resolve the discrimination, prejudice and roughness in the world today," he said. An adviser to the company Hakuho is setting up to promote sumo said that the new project called "World Sumo Grand Slam" targets amateur wrestlers. Hakuho was born Munkhbat Davaajargal and was the son of a champion Mongolian wrestler who won his country's first Olympic medal at the 1968 Games. Hakuho moved to Japan aged 15. He was turned away by most stables because no one wanted someone "as pale and skinny as me", according to his 2016 autobiography. But he managed to persuade a trainer to take him on and made his sumo debut in 2001. Hakuho won his first top-division title in 2006 and went on to fight at the sport's highest rank of yokozuna more times than anyone in history. He took Japanese citizenship in 2019, a requirement to run his own stable. Six of the last seven sumo grand champions, including Hakuho, were born in Mongolia. - AFP More Like This
The Citizen
14-05-2025
- Automotive
- The Citizen
Nissan's woes deepen as more job cuts loom
Along with a year-on-year loss, the automaker will reduce its workforce by an additional 15%. Nissan has posted its biggest operational loss in almost 25 years. Photo by Kazuhiro NOGI / AFP Nissan plans to cut 10 000 more jobs worldwide, Japanese media reported on Monday, a day before the struggling carmaker was expected to report a record annual loss of around R5-million or R91-billion. Public broadcaster NHK said the decision, in addition to a November announcement that it would slash 9 000 positions, means Nissan is now aiming to reduce its total workforce by approximately 15%. Nissan, whose mooted merger with Honda collapsed earlier this year, declined to comment on the reports which also appeared in the Nikkei business daily. Timeline of tough Like many peers, Nissan is finding it difficult to compete against home grown electric vehicle brands in China, while its profits are now under further threat from US trade tariffs. The possible merger with Japanese rival Honda had been seen as a potential lifeline. But talks crashed in February after Honda proposed making Nissan a subsidiary instead of integrating under a holding firm. Then last month, Nissan issued a stark profit warning, saying it expects an annual net loss $5.1-billion or R93-billion for the 2024-25 financial year. ALSO READ: Nissan CEO Makoto Uchida officially steps down Its previous worst full-year net loss was 684 billion yen (R85-billion) in 1999-2000, during a financial crisis that birthed its rocky partnership with Renault. Nissan has since faced more speed bumps, including the 2018 arrest of former boss Carlos Ghosn. The automaker, whose shares have tanked nearly 40% over the past year, appointed a new CEO in March. Ratings agencies have downgraded the firm to junk, with Moody's citing its 'weak profitability' and 'ageing model portfolio'. Tariffs threat An additional headwind is the 25% tariff imposed by President Donald Trump on all imported vehicles into the United States. Of all Japan's major automakers, Nissan is likely to be the most severely impacted, Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Tatsuo Yoshida told AFP. Its clientele has historically been more price-sensitive than that of its rivals, he said. Recently appointed Nissan CEO, Ivan Espinosa. Photo by Richard A. Brooks / AFP So the company 'can't pass the costs on consumers to the same extent as Toyota or Honda without suffering a significant loss in sales units', he added. One potential solution for Nissan could be Taiwanese electronics behemoth Hon Hai, better known as Foxconn, which assembles iPhones and is expanding into cars. Foxconn said in February it was open to buying Renault's stake in Nissan, and this month it agreed in principle to develop and supply an EV model to Mitsubishi Motors, an alliance partner of Renault and Nissan. External help, Yoshida said, is 'very much needed' for Nissan, which can no longer differentiate itself from its rivals by making internal efforts to save costs alone. NOW READ: Nissan announces drastic job cuts and reduction in sales figures
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
J-pop mega-group Arashi to disband after final tour
J-pop mega-group Arashi say they will disband after a farewell tour next year (Kazuhiro NOGI) (Kazuhiro NOGI/POOL/AFP) J-pop mega-group Arashi, wildly popular in Japan and elsewhere in Asia, said they would end their activities as a band following a final tour next year. Since debuting in 1999, the five-member boyband have rocketed to stardom with their catchy, chart-topping music to become the face of Japan's now-defunct boyband empire Johnny and Associates, before going on a hiatus in 2020. Fans have since been anxiously awaiting news of their return to the spotlight, and on Tuesday, the group said in a bittersweet announcement that they will perform once again next spring -- except that will be their final act. ADVERTISEMENT Advertisement "In the last year before our hiatus, we couldn't perform in front of you due to the pandemic", Arashi's official X account said Tuesday. "The five of us will now reunite", it said, adding the idols, now in their 40s, will start preparing for a concert tour scheduled for around spring next year. "And that tour will end our activity as Arashi". An outpouring of gratitude and lamentations soon inundated social media, with the prospect of the group's disbandment dominating Japanese news programmes for much of Wednesday. "Their dissolution is immensely sad and my brain can't quite process the information yet, but thank you so much for creating one last opportunity for us to see you all", one fan wrote on X. ADVERTISEMENT Advertisement Even Japan's top government spokesman offered a tribute, describing Arashi as the "national idol group that has commanded a big presence with their numerous hit songs". "They have also taken on the role of promoting Japanese cultures overseas, and collaborated multiple times with the Japanese government to this end", Yoshimasa Hayashi told reporters. Arashi's former talent agency Johnny and Associates admitted in 2023 that its founder and music mogul Johnny Kitagawa -- who died aged 87 in 2019 -- had for decades sexually molested teenage boys and young men under his tutelage. tmo/mtp
