Kyodo News Digest: March 12, 2025
The monument to the “Miracle Pine,” the only tree that survived in a coastal forest flattened by the deadly tsunami in March 2011 in northeastern Japan, is pictured in Rikuzentakata, Iwate Prefecture, on March 11, 2025, the 14th anniversary of the Great East Japan Earthquake. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo
The following is the latest list of selected news summaries by Kyodo News.
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U.S. enforces 25% tariffs on all steel, aluminum imports
WASHINGTON – The United States on Wednesday placed 25 percent tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports, not just targeting countries already singled out, such as Canada, China and Mexico.
It is the first time the U.S. administration has put sector-based tariffs into effect since President Donald Trump took office for a second time on Jan. 20, meaning that steel and aluminum products imported to the United States from Japan and other major U.S. trading partners will entirely fall under their scope.
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Japan aims to increase rice exports 8-fold to 350,000 tons in 2030
TOKYO – The Japanese government plans to increase the country’s rice exports by nearly eight-fold to 350,000 tons, worth 92.2 billion yen ($623 million), in 2030 from 2024, according to a policy presented to a ruling party meeting Wednesday.
The plan to boost exports through improved production is also seen as a way to secure sufficient domestic supply of the Japanese staple to avoid shortages.
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Many major Japan firms match unions’ wage hike demands amid inflation
TOKYO – Many major Japanese companies, including Toyota Motor Corp., on Wednesday fully met the wage hike demands of their labor unions, which have been calling for substantial raises to address surging prices amid chronic labor shortages.
The government has been paying attention to the annual wage negotiations between management and labor unions to see if the strong push for salary gains will be sustained and extend to small and medium-sized companies, which employ around 70 percent of the country’s workforce.
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Japan ruling party member ups pressure on PM Ishiba to step down
TOKYO – A lawmaker of Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party called Wednesday for the replacement of Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, expressing concern that it will not win a crucial parliamentary election this summer under his leadership.
Shoji Nishida, a House of Councillors lawmaker who belonged to a faction led by the late Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, made the call during a closed-door meeting of LDP members, a participant said.
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Father convicted of aiding daughter in beheading of man in Sapporo
SAPPORO – A Japanese court on Wednesday sentenced a man to one year and four months in prison, suspended for four years, for helping his daughter commit murder and behead the victim at a hotel in Sapporo in 2023.
During his trial at the Sapporo District Court in Hokkaido, 61-year-old psychiatrist Osamu Tamura pleaded not guilty to assisting in the murder of a male company worker who had allegedly met his daughter Runa, 31, at a nightclub about a month before the killing and had a falling out with her.
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Ukraine ready to accept U.S. proposal for 30-day cease-fire
WASHINGTON – Ukraine on Tuesday expressed readiness to accept a U.S. proposal for a 30-day cease-fire with Russia, according to a joint statement from Washington and Kyiv after a meeting involving senior officials from the two countries in Saudi Arabia.
“Ukraine has agreed to it and hopefully Russia will agree to it,” U.S. President Donald Trump told reporters at the White House, adding he will talk to Russian President Vladimir Putin possibly later this week.
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Sumo: Onosato, Abi beaten as high-rankers endure slow starts in Osaka
OSAKA – Ozeki Onosato and komusubi Abi lost their first bouts at the Spring Grand Sumo Tournament on Wednesday, leaving two rank-and-filers as the only unbeaten wrestlers after four days.
Onosato (3-1), ranked highest among the six overnight leaders with three straight wins, lost his perfect record after Wakamotoharu (3-1) got the better of the opening clash and left the ozeki leaning backward at Edion Arena Osaka.
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Baseball: Dodgers’ Sasaki to start Game 2 of Tokyo series
GLENDALE, Arizona – The Los Angeles Dodgers’ new right-hander Roki Sasaki will start Game 2 of the two-game, MLB season-opening series against the Chicago Cubs at Tokyo Dome, skipper Dave Roberts said Tuesday.
The news arrived on the day the Japanese flamethrower tossed four shutout innings in his first spring training start, striking out two while allowing a single hit in a strong 41-pitch outing as the Dodgers took a 10-4 win over the Cleveland Guardians in Glendale, Arizona.
Video: Japan marks 14th anniv. of quake-tsunami, nuclear disasters
