Kyodo News Digest: April 17, 2025

Photo shows projection mapping on the wall of Expo Hall Shinning Hat on the opening day of the six-month World Exposition in Osaka, western Japan, on April 13, 2025. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

The following is the latest list of selected news summaries by Kyodo News.

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Japan PM aims to meet Trump in U.S. over tariffs when appropriate

TOKYO – Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said Thursday that bilateral tariff negotiations with Washington will not be easy, but he intends to visit the United States for direct talks with President Donald Trump “at the most appropriate time.”

Ishiba made the remarks after his aide Ryosei Akazawa, the economic revitalization minister, met Trump and senior officials of his administration to discuss the tariff issue in Washington.

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Japan, U.S. agree to further tariff talks with eye on quick deal

WASHINGTON – Japan and the United States agreed on Wednesday to progress discussions over U.S. tariffs during ministerial talks in Washington and to hold another round of talks later in April to bring about a quick resolution of the issue, Japan’s chief negotiator said.

U.S. President Donald Trump, who joined the negotiators in a session at the White House, described the meeting as “big progress” while Japanese economic revitalization minister Ryosei Akazawa told reporters the president indicated that talks with Japan on the levies should take top priority.

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Tokyo hotels to be warned for alleged cartel-like price info sharing

TOKYO – Japan’s antitrust watchdog plans to warn 15 operators of high-end Tokyo hotels for regularly communicating their respective room prices and occupancy rates, deeming the practice as approaching cartel behavior, a source close to the matter said Thursday.

The properties subject to the warning include the Hotel New Otani, Hyatt Regency, Imperial Hotel Tokyo, Keio Plaza Hotel Tokyo, The Okura Tokyo, and the Palace Hotel Tokyo.

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Japan court orders gov’t to pay damages over asbestos disease

OSAKA – A Japanese court on Thursday ordered the state to pay damages to the surviving family of a former laborer who developed pneumoconiosis after working in a factory that handled asbestos, overturning a lower court ruling that dismissed the claim.

The point of contention in the trial at the Osaka High Court was when the 20-year statute of limitations on a damages claim begins.

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Japan gov’t mistakenly stops 20,000 My Number-linked accounts

TOKYO – Japan’s Digital Agency said Thursday it had mistakenly suspended the use of around 20,000 bank accounts that people had registered under the “My Number” national identification system to receive state benefits.

The registrations were disabled last Friday based on erroneous data from an association of credit unions saying the accounts were not usable, it said, adding that restoration work is under way.

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U.S. Navy to ship home radioactive waste from carrier at Japan base

YOKOSUKA, Japan – The U.S. Navy is preparing to ship low-level radioactive waste generated during maintenance work on the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier George Washington at Yokosuka Naval Base to the United States, the local government said Thursday.

The radioactive waste in three containers, including cleaning rags, gloves and plastic sheets, was loaded on a transport ship with Yokosuka city officials present.

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Japan logs 5.2 tril. yen FY 2024 trade deficit despite record exports

TOKYO – Japan posted a 5.22 trillion yen ($36.6 billion) trade deficit in fiscal 2024, remaining in the red for the fourth consecutive year, as an increase in imports lifted by electronics more than offset record-high exports, government data showed Thursday.

In the fiscal year ended March, imports increased 4.7 percent from a year earlier to 114.16 trillion yen, up for the first time in two years, lifted by personal computers from the United States and smartphones from China, the Finance Ministry said in a preliminary report.

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China school bus stop murderer executed: Japanese gov’t

TOKYO – A Chinese man convicted of killing a Chinese woman and injuring two Japanese nationals in a knife attack at a school bus stop near Shanghai last year was executed, Japanese government officials said Thursday.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry told the Japanese Embassy in Beijing on Wednesday that the man had been executed, according to the officials.

Video: Brazil, Chile pavilions open at Osaka Expo after delay