Kyodo News Digest: March 1, 2025
Photo taken from a Kyodo News helicopter on Feb. 28, 2025, shows the Grand Ring, a gigantic wooden structure symbolizing the site of the 2025 World Exposition, completed the same day on an artificial island in the western Japan city of Osaka. The event begins in April. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo
The following is the latest list of selected news summaries by Kyodo News.
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Japan PM Ishiba pledges to avoid division amid Trump-Zelenskyy row
TOKYO – Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said Saturday that he will strive to avoid division between the United States, Ukraine and the Group of Seven nations, following a televised dispute between U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The blowup between Trump and Zelenskyy during their meeting in Washington on Friday was “a rather unexpected development,” Ishiba told reporters in Tokyo.
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Japan MSDF destroyer sailed Taiwan Strait in Feb., 1st since Sept.
TOKYO – A Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyer sailed through the Taiwan Strait in early February in a challenge to China’s military assertiveness in the area, a Japanese government source said Saturday.
The destroyer Akizuki navigated the waterway between China and Taiwan, a self-ruled island claimed by Beijing, after taking part in a joint drill on Feb. 5 with U.S., Australian and Philippine vessels in the South China Sea.
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More people ordered to evacuate as northeast Japan wildfire spreads
MORIOKA, Japan – Over a hundred more households in northeastern Japan were told to evacuate on Saturday as a wildfire that has been burning for four days continued to spread.
The Iwate Prefecture government issued a new order for 333 people from 141 homes to evacuate, adding to the more than 4,000 residents already told to abandon their homes. The fire, which has burned some 1,200 hectares of land in Ofunato since Wednesday, has now engulfed 1,400 hectares, it said.
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Trump-Zelenskyy talks collapse after Oval Office shouting match
WASHINGTON – U.S. President Donald Trump’s meeting on Friday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy collapsed after their discussion on how to deal with Russia devolved into a heated argument in front of the media, an unusually tense spectacle in the world of diplomacy.
The blow-up between Trump and Zelenskyy, which may prove to be a positive development for Russia, could complicate efforts to end the three-year war in Ukraine and have repercussions beyond the fate of the country.
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Acting South Korea president hopeful for “new chapter” with Japan
SEOUL – South Korea’s acting president, Deputy Prime Minister Choi Sang Mok, expressed hope Saturday that his nation and Japan can open a new chapter in their bilateral relationship by healing wounds of the past and celebrating the 60th anniversary of diplomatic normalization.
Choi made the remarks during a government ceremony commemorating the 1919 independence movement against Japan’s colonial rule on behalf of President Yoon Suk Yeol, who is mired in impeachment and criminal trials over his short-lived martial law declaration in early December.
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Jungle theme park with dinosaur ride to open in Okinawa on July 25
TOKYO – A jungle theme park will open in Okinawa Prefecture on July 25, with its operator hoping to attract both domestic and overseas travelers with an immersion in nature alongside thrills including a dinosaur-themed ride.
Junglia Okinawa, built in the village of Nakijin in the northern part of Okinawa’s main island, will offer 22 attractions, including a balloon ride for a panoramic view of the surrounding jungle area. Visitors can also hop on a vehicle to explore the jungle and simulate the experience of fleeing from pursuing dinosaurs, its operator Japan Entertainment said.
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Japanese man taken into custody by Myanmar ethnic armed group
MAE SOT, Thailand – An armed ethnic minority group that effectively controls an area of eastern Myanmar where criminal organizations operate online fraud operations said Friday that it has taken a 36-year-old Japanese man into custody near the border with Thailand.
The group, named the Border Guard Force, said the man was detained on Wednesday in Shwe Kokko, an area in Myawaddy that is home to the scam syndicates, in part of recent large-scale searches of such locations.
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Japan reports 1,440 abortions by pill 1 year after introduction
OSAKA – An oral abortion pill was used in 1,440 cases in Japan in fiscal 2023 after its sales were approved that April, making up a small share of the more than 120,000 abortions performed that year, a government report showed.
With sexual and reproductive health rights in focus ahead of International Women’s Day on March 8, some health experts say the “Mefeego Pack” still has a long way to go before becoming a widely used option in Japan, where approval came nearly 40 years after France became the first country to authorize such a drug.
Video: Gigantic wooden structure symbolizing the site of the 2025 World Exposition completed
