Kyodo News Digest: Sept. 11, 2024
Nissan Motor Co. shows a prototype of a robotic puppet that it jointly developed with baby goods retailer Akachan Honpo Co. to the media in Tokyo on Sept. 4, 2024. A function to prevent children being left in vehicles by sending an alert to the user’s smartphone has been added to the baby soothing Iruyo robot. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo
The following is the latest list of selected news summaries by Kyodo News.
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Japanese Foreign Minister Kamikawa joins ruling LDP’s leadership race
TOKYO – Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa announced a last-minute bid Wednesday for the presidency of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party to succeed Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, aiming to become the country’s first female leader.
The presidential race will take place following Kishida’s announcement that he will not seek reelection as LDP leader, taking responsibility for a slush funds scandal late last year that has significantly eroded public trust.
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Harris, Trump clash in fiery first presidential debate
WASHINGTON – U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump on Tuesday held a fiery first presidential debate, clashing over a wide range of issues including the economy, immigration, abortion and foreign policy.
During the nationally televised 90-minute matchup, Harris sought to warn that a second Trump presidency would be a danger to the country, repeatedly saying it is time “to turn the page” and to “stand for country, to stand for our democracy, to stand for rule of law and to end the chaos.”
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Japan, China, S. Korea set 2030 goal of 40 mil. cross-border tourists
KOBE – The tourism ministers of Japan, China and South Korea vowed Wednesday to increase the number of travelers between their countries to 40 million by 2030.
At the end of their two-day meeting in the Japanese port city of Kobe, Tetsuo Saito, Japan’s tourism minister, Zhang Zheng, China’s vice minister of culture and tourism, and Yu In Chon, South Korea’s minister of culture, sports and tourism, also agreed to expand flights to regional airports in the three nations.
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Honda halts 3 plants in China to cut output amid declining sales
BEIJING – Honda Motor Co. has temporarily halted production at all three factories operated in a joint venture with Dongfeng Motor Corp. in the central Chinese city of Wuhan to reduce output amid declining new car sales, sources familiar with the matter said Wednesday.
Dongfeng Honda Automobile Co. has decided to stop the operation of the three production bases in the Hubei Province city from Aug. 26 through Wednesday due to high inventories. The joint venture has an annual capacity to manufacture 720,000 units.
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Russia holds biggest naval drill in 30 years, joined by China
MOSCOW – Russia on Tuesday commenced its biggest strategic naval drill in 30 years, involving more than 400 vessels and 120 aircraft as well as Chinese forces, with President Vladimir Putin stressing the threat posed by the United States, according to Tass news agency.
The Ocean 2024 naval drill, mobilizing over 90,000 troops, will be conducted in the Pacific and Arctic oceans, the Sea of Japan as well as the Mediterranean, Caspian, and Baltic seas through Monday. Four warships and 15 aircraft from China will participate.
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Nikkei extends losses in afternoon, down more than 2% on firmer yen
TOKYO – The Nikkei stock index extended its losses Wednesday afternoon, falling more than 2 percent, as exporters were hit by the yen’s appreciation against the U.S. dollar.
The Nikkei fell below 35,500 in the late afternoon.
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TEPCO restarts debris extraction attempt at Fukushima plant
TOKYO – The operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear complex restarted Tuesday a bid to retrieve a small amount of melted fuel from one of its stricken reactors after its first attempt last month was suspended due to setup complications.
The attempt to extract the fuel by Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc. is the first since the complex was damaged following a massive earthquake and tsunami in March 2011 and comes after three suspensions since the initial plan was scheduled to launch around three years ago.
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University of Tokyo eyes 1st tuition hike in 20 years as state grants wane
TOKYO – The University of Tokyo said Tuesday it will raise its tuition for new students who will enroll from April next year amid declining state grants, making it the first such hike in 20 years.
The prestigious national university pushed ahead with the hike despite opposition from some students and faculty members, setting its annual tuition cost at 642,960 yen ($4,500), up about 107,000 yen.
Video: Japanese Crown Princess Kiko turns 58
