Follow NHK TV live the approach of the tsunami following magnitude-7.5 earthquake.

Live English translation.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f0lYkdA-Gtw

🇯🇵🇷🇺🇺🇦 Tokyo announces death of Japanese man in Russian military

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi announced Tuesday that a Japanese national in his 20s who joined Russia's military in Ukraine died on June 3.

According to Japanese government sources, the man was a member of Japan's Self-Defense Forces. The Japanese side confirmed his death July 15 after being informed of the matter by the Russian side June 5.

He added that the Japanese government is not informed of any other casualties among Japanese nationals in the ongoing war at the moment.

#Japan #Russia #Ukraine

@asianomics

🇯🇵🇮🇱 Nagasaki gets protest emails in English over Israel snub in ceremony

The Nagasaki city office has received some 1500 instances of critical feedback in English regarding its decision not to invite the Israeli ambassador to Japan to a recent ceremony marking the 79th anniversary of the US atomic bombing, its mayor said.

Of the total, some 1400 were emails with the same subject line and including the same text protesting the city's decision.

The city also got more than 2000 phone calls, emails and online messages in Japanese, mostly in support of the city's decision, the mayor added.

#Japan #Israel

@asianomics

🇯🇵 Japan's incoming PM Ishiba set to call general election on Oct. 27

Japan's incoming prime minister, Shigeru Ishiba, said Monday that a general election will be held on Oct. 27 to seek a public mandate, with a ruling party official saying that the official campaigning is expected to begin on Oct. 15.

The poll, which will come a year early and ahead of the US presidential election in November, will decide which party controls parliament's lower house. Lawmakers there will meet tomorrow to confirm him as the country's next prime minister.

It is rare for an LDP leader who has yet to be elected prime minister to unveil plans to dissolve the House of Representatives. Ishiba said he made the announcement now to secure enough time for local election authorities to make preparations.

#Japan

@asianomics

🇯🇵 Campaigning kicks off in Japan for Oct. 27 general election

Official campaigning began across Japan on Tuesday for the Oct. 27 general election as Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba seeks a fresh mandate and to restore public trust in politics undermined by a slush funds scandal engulfing his ruling party.

Over 1,300 candidates are expected to vie for a total of 465 seats in the House of Representatives in the first contest since 2021 following its dissolution last week, only eight days after Ishiba took office.

The Liberal Democratic Party and its junior coalition partner Komeito are aiming to retain a combined majority in the lower house, or at least 233 seats, a relatively low hurdle given that the coalition had 288 seats before the race.

The main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan is hoping to realize a rare change of government in a country that has seen uninterrupted LDP rule for most of the postwar era. Its leader Yoshihiko Noda has criticized Ishiba for using the election to deflect public attention from the money scandal.

#Japan

@asianomics

🇯🇵 Japan's ruling LDP at risk of losing majority in election, media polls show

Japan's ruling party may lose its majority in the lower house, according to media polling ahead of the Oct. 27 election, meaning it would likely have to rely on coalition partner Komeito to stay in power.

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's government already depends on Komeito for a majority in the upper house. Extending that reliance to the more powerful lower house could give the group, backed by Japan's largest Buddhist lay organization, a greater say in policymaking.

Komeito has been less willing than the Liberal Democratic Party to embrace policies including giving Japan's military longer-range missiles and removing restrictions on weapons exports that have stopped Tokyo from sending arms to Ukraine or Southeast Asian nations that oppose Beijing's territorial ambitions in the South China Sea.

#Japan

@asianomics

🇯🇵 Japan general election to test ruling party, may bring uncertainty

Japan's voters could end more than a decade of Liberal Democratic Party dominance on Sunday, forcing the ruling party into power-sharing deals that could undermine the country's leadership.

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's conservative LDP, in government for almost all of the postwar era, has had a majority in the lower house of parliament since 2012, ruling in coalition with Komeito, on which it depends to control the less-powerful upper house.

But discontent over an LDP political funding scandal threatens the ruling party. An opinion survey in the Asahi newspaper suggested the party could lose as many as 50 of its 247 seats in the lower chamber and Komeito could slip to fewer than 30, putting the coalition below the 233 needed for a majority.

#Japan

@asianomics