Japan Watch Thread

User avatar
wjfox
Site Admin
Posts: 8733
Joined: Sat May 15, 2021 6:09 pm
Location: London, UK
Contact:

Re: Japan Watch Thread

Post by wjfox »

Japanese government offers families 1m yen a child to leave Tokyo

Tue 3 Jan 2023 04.49 GMT

Japan’s government is offering ¥1m ($7,500) per child to families who move out of greater Tokyo, in an attempt to reverse population decline in the regions.

The incentive – a dramatic rise from the previous relocation fee of ¥300,000 – will be introduced in April, according to Japanese media reports, as part of an official push to breathe life into declining towns and villages.

Although Tokyo’s population fell for the first time last year– a trend partly attributed to the coronavirus pandemic – policymakers believe more should be done to lower the city’s population density and encourage people to start new lives in “unfashionable” parts of the country that have been hit by ageing, shrinking populations and the migration of younger people to Tokyo, Osaka and other big cities.

[...]

The population of the world’s third-biggest economy suffered a record fall of 644,000 in 2020-21, according to government data. It is expected to plummet from its current 125 million to an estimated 88 million in 2065 – a 30% decline in 45 years.

While the number of over-65s continues to grow, the birthrate remains stubbornly low at 1.3 children– well below the 2.1 needed to sustain the current population size.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/ ... are_btn_tw
weatheriscool
Posts: 12972
Joined: Sun May 16, 2021 6:16 pm

Re: Japan Watch Thread

Post by weatheriscool »

Suspect charged with murder in assassination of Japan's Abe
Source: AP

By MARI YAMAGUCHI today

TOKYO (AP) — Japanese prosecutors formally charged the suspect in the assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe with murder, sending him to stand trial, a court said Friday.

Tetsuya Yamagami was arrested immediately after allegedly shooting Abe with a homemade gun as the former leader was making a campaign speech in July outside a train station in Nara in western Japan. He then underwent a nearly six-month mental evaluation, which prosecutors said showed he is fit to stand trial.

Yamagami was also charged with violating a gun control law, according to the Nara District Court.

Police have said Yamagami told them that he killed Abe, one of Japan’s most influential and divisive politicians, because of Abe’s apparent links to a religious group that he hated. In his statements and in social media postings attributed to him, Yamagami said he developed a grudge because his mother had made massive donations to the Unification Church that bankrupted his family and ruined his life.

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/shinzo-abe-j ... 4f880dddc3
User avatar
caltrek
Posts: 6509
Joined: Mon May 17, 2021 1:17 pm

Re: Japan Watch Thread

Post by caltrek »

Japan: Improving Working Conditions In Agriculture Sector – Analysis
by Yusaku Yoshikawa
February 15 , 2023

Introduction:
(Eurasia Review) In 2019, the Japanese government introduced the Work Style Reform Law which sought to increase diversity in the workplace and improve working conditions. But reform has not been sufficiently discussed in one of the industries that needs it the most — agriculture.
The agriculture industry in Japan has suffered a dramatic decrease in labour, with the number of farmers decreasing by 50,000 per year. The majority of them are small-scale farmers with side jobs, who are also ageing at an advanced stage.

It has been a challenge for the sector to attract young farmers. In 2021, 52,300 farmers joined but nearly two-thirds of them were over 50 years old. The turnover rate of agricultural workers is also higher than in other sectors. The most common reasons for changing jobs are discontentment with working conditions, long labour hours and low incomes.

Despite some efforts being made to improve the working conditions of agricultural workers, such as discussionsby the Exploratory Committee on Work Style Reform in Agriculture organised by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF), there is still a long way to go in extending the reforms.

Agriculture in Japan has long been considered a ‘family business’, with a blurred boundary between work and life. The 2020 Census of Agriculture and Forestry compiled by MAFF reported that 96 per cent of agricultural management bodies in Japan were still family-owned. On the contrary, employed workers have conventionally not been very common. Because farming activities are mostly seasonal, workers are usually employed only during the busy harvest season. Yet, Japan’s Labour Standards Act only applies to employed workers and excludes family workers engaged in agriculture.
Read more here: https://www.eurasiareview.com/15022023 ... analysis/
Don't mourn, organize.

-Joe Hill
weatheriscool
Posts: 12972
Joined: Sun May 16, 2021 6:16 pm

Re: Japan Watch Thread

Post by weatheriscool »

Japan approves abortion pill for the first time

Issued on: 29/04/2023 - 14:12
Modified: 29/04/2023 - 14:10

Tokyo (AFP) – The abortion pill will become available in Japan for the first time after the health ministry approved the drug used to terminate early-stage pregnancy.

Abortion is legal in Japan up to 22 weeks but consent is usually required from a spouse or partner, and until now a surgical procedure had been the only option.

The ministry said in a notification to healthcare officials on Friday it had approved the drug made by British pharmaceutical company Linepharma.

The drugmaker filed its product, a two-step treatment of mifepristone and misoprostol, for approval in Japan in December 2021.
-snip-

Read more: https://www.rfi.fr/en/health-and-lifest ... first-time
User avatar
wjfox
Site Admin
Posts: 8733
Joined: Sat May 15, 2021 6:09 pm
Location: London, UK
Contact:

Re: Japan Watch Thread

Post by wjfox »

Tech war: Japan’s new semiconductor tool export restrictions throw a major spanner in works of China’s chip plans

- Chinese authorities have expressed anger about the Japanese government’s decision to implement the curbs and have urged a rethink
- The restricted items on the list are expansive and will target a range of hi-tech equipment and materials needed for advanced chip production


Published: 11:00am, 4 Jun, 2023

Japan’s new export restrictions on 23 types of chip-related equipment and materials, which will come into effect in July, are set to disrupt China’s semiconductor self-sufficiency plan as the specific items are highly selective and targeted, according to industry insiders.

The measures require specific permission for the export of 23 types of items to any country not on a list of 42 “friendly” markets, according to the insiders and a list seen by the Post. For China, it would be a de facto ban, similar to US export curbs announced in October 2022, dealing a heavy blow to Beijing’s push for greater self-sufficiency in chips.

Chinese authorities have expressed anger about the Japanese government’s decision to implement the curbs and urged a rethink, but there is little sign that the decision will be suspended or revoked.

https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-war/arti ... hinas-chip
User avatar
caltrek
Posts: 6509
Joined: Mon May 17, 2021 1:17 pm

Re: Japan Watch Thread

Post by caltrek »

International Atomic Energy Agency Approves Plan for Water Discharge at Fukushima Plant
by Keitaro Fukuchi and Mizuki Sato
June, 2023

Introduction:
(The Asahi Shimbun) The government received the international approval it wanted to begin dumping treated radioactive water from the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant into the ocean.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida met on July 4 with Rafael Grossi, the visiting director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, who presented his agency’s final report on the water discharge plan.

The report said the plan would have a negligible impact on people and the environment.

“I want to explain the situation in a highly transparent manner based on the scientific rationale (of the report),” Kishida said in the meeting. “We will deal sincerely with the issue after listening to the contents.”

Grossi wrote in the foreword to the report: “The IAEA has concluded that the approach and activities to the discharge of ALPS treated water taken by Japan are consistent with relevant international safety standards.”
Read more here: https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/14948337


China Urges Japan to Stop Ocean Discharge of Fukushima Treated Water
July 4, 2023
(Kyodo News) China renewed its call on Tuesday for Japan to halt a planned discharge of treated radioactive water from the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean, questioning Tokyo's claim that it is the safest and most reliable option.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry said a safety review of the plan presented the same day by the International Atomic Energy Agency "should not be the 'shield' or 'green light' for Japan's discharge of nuclear-contaminated water into the ocean," adding that the report "failed to fully reflect views from experts that participated in the review."

The IAEA concluded in its report that Japan's plan on the water release aligns with international safety standards and the move would have "a negligible radiological impact on people and the environment." The Japanese government aims to start the discharge around this summer.
Read more here: https://english.kyodonews.net/news/202 ... ater.html
Don't mourn, organize.

-Joe Hill
weatheriscool
Posts: 12972
Joined: Sun May 16, 2021 6:16 pm

Re: Japan Watch Thread

Post by weatheriscool »

Japan Records Steepest Population Decline While Number of Foreign Residents Hits New High
Source: Associated Press
Japan's population declined in all of its 47 prefectures for the first time in a record drop, while its number of foreign residents hit a new high, reaching almost 3 million people, according to government data released Wednesday, highlighting the increasing role that non-Japanese people play in the shrinking and aging country.

The population of Japanese nationals fell by about 800,000 people, or 0.65%, to 122.4 million in 2022 from the previous year, falling for a 14th straight year, according to data from the Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry based on residency registrations as of Jan. 1 this year.

Japan's total population was 125.41 million, down just over half a million people from a year earlier, and there was a 10.7% jump in foreign residents with addresses registered in Japan, the ministry said
Read more: https://www.usnews.com/news/news/articl ... s-new-high
weatheriscool
Posts: 12972
Joined: Sun May 16, 2021 6:16 pm

Re: Japan Watch Thread

Post by weatheriscool »

JAPAN: LDP Loses One of 2 Closely Watched By-Elections
okyo, Oct. 22 (Jiji Press)--Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party lost one of the two parliamentary by-elections held Sunday, with the results possibly making it difficult for Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to dissolve the House of Representatives, the all-important lower chamber of the Diet, the country's parliament, by year-end.

The LDP won the other by-election. But the outcomes are expected to deal a blow to Kishida, also president of the LDP. The party had both contested seats before the elections.

The by-elections, both head-to-head battles between the ruling and opposition sides, were the first parliamentary polls since Kishida reshuffled his cabinet and the LDP's leadership team in mid-September.

On Monday, Kishida is set to deliver a policy speech at the extraordinary Diet session that opened Friday. Following the speech, full-scale parliamentary debates between the ruling and opposition blocs will kick off.


https://www.nippon.com/en/news/yjj2023102200402/
User avatar
caltrek
Posts: 6509
Joined: Mon May 17, 2021 1:17 pm

Re: Japan Watch Thread

Post by caltrek »

weatheriscool wrote: Sun Oct 22, 2023 6:30 pm JAPAN: LDP Loses One of 2 Closely Watched By-Elections
...
https://www.nippon.com/en/news/yjj2023102200402/
More on that:

LDP, Kishida Downbeat After Winning 1 of 2 By-elections
October 23, 2023

Introduction:
(Asahi Shimbun) The ruling Liberal Democratic Party lost one of two by-elections for Diet seats previously held by party lawmakers, despite Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s pledge to win both polls.

In the Lower House’s Nagasaki No. 4 district, the LDP’s Yozo Kaneko defeated Seiichi Suetsugu of the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan in a tight race on Oct. 22.

But Hajime Hirota, an independent backed by the CDP, trounced the LDP’s Ken Nishiuchi in the Upper House’s Tokushima and Kochi electoral district on the same day.

“The elections were undoubtedly tough,” LDP Secretary-General Toshimitsu Motegi told reporters at the party’s headquarters in Tokyo on Oct. 22.

“We humbly accept the results.”
Read more here: https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/15036209
Don't mourn, organize.

-Joe Hill
User avatar
caltrek
Posts: 6509
Joined: Mon May 17, 2021 1:17 pm

Re: Japan Watch Thread

Post by caltrek »

Japan Approved to Buy 400 Tomahawk Cruise Missiles
Howard Altman and Tyler Rogoway
November 18, 2023

Introduction:
(The Drive) The State Department on Friday approved a potential $2.35 billion sale of 400 Tomahawk cruise missiles to Japan. The deal would allow for Japan to receive up to 200 Tomahawk Block IV and 200 Tomahawk Block V All Up Rounds (AUR) and related equipment.

The approval comes after years of talk that Japan would procure long-range land attack cruise missile capability via Tomahawk and is another glaring example of the country's changing military policy when it comes to 'offensive' weaponry. This is primarily spurred by tensions mounting in the Pacific that have pushed Japan to expand its counterstrike capacity against potential threats, especially emanating from China and North Korea.
(See link for Twitter feed).

Japan is planning to use the Tomahawks on its Aegis destroyers, although ground and submarine launch platforms are also a possibility in the future.
The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force has eight Aegis destroyers: four Kongō class, two Atago class and two Maya class — Japan’s latest in-service Aegis capable destroyers.

The Tomahawks would add a new offensive kinetic dimension to these vessels. Equipped with powerful radar systems and an assortment of surface-to-air missiles, as well as anti-ship and anti-submarine weapons, they currently serve, in part, as floating air and missile defense platforms.
Read more here: https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/ ... missiles

Image
DOD

Don't mourn, organize.

-Joe Hill
Post Reply