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North Korea test-launched an intercontinental ballistic missile in a display of military might Thursday just hours before the leaders of South Korea and Japan were to meet at a Tokyo summit expected to be overshadowed by North Korean nuclear threats. The launch, the North's first ICBM test in a month and third weapons testing this week, also comes as South Korean and U.S. troops continue joint military exercises that Pyongyang considers a rehearsal to invade. South Korea's military said the North Korean ICBM flew toward the Korean Peninsula's eastern waters after being launched from North Korea's capital, Pyongyang, around 7.10 a.m. The statement said South Korea's military is maintaining readiness in close coordination with the United States. The Sunan neighbourhood is the site of Pyongyang's international airport and has emerged as a major testing site where the North launched most of its ICBMs in recent years, all flown on a high angle to avoid the territory of neighbours. Japan
A trial looking into widespread bribery at the Tokyo Olympic organizing committee began Friday with a former head of a major ad company admitting to the charges. Shinichi Uneo, who formerly headed ADK Holdings, quietly told the Tokyo District Court the allegations were accurate. In Japan, a trial continues even if a suspect admits guilt. Three prosecutors took turns reading their opening statement during a two-hour session. Ueno is accused of paying nearly 15 million yen ($110,000) to Haruyuki Takahashi, a former executive at ad giant Dentsu, who wielded powerful influence in selecting sponsors for the 2020 Games. Ueno is among 15 people arrested in the bribery scandal. Takahashi has long been a prominent person in sports marketing with Dentsu, the official marketing partner of the Tokyo Olympics. Dentsu has also been implicated in a scandal to bribe International Olympic Committee members who picked Tokyo back in 2013. The sprawling scandals around the Tokyo Olympics have badly ..
Japan has revised the timing of a planned release to the sea of treated but still radioactive wastewater at the Fukushima nuclear power plant to around spring or summer", indicating a delay from the initial target of this spring, after factoring in the progress of a release tunnel and the need to gain public support. The government and the plant operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, announced in April 2021 a plan to begin releasing the treated wastewater into the sea starting in spring 2023. They say more than 1 million tons of water stored in about 1,000 tanks at the plant are hampering its decommissioning and risk leaking in the event of a major earthquake or tsunami. Under the current plan, TEPCO will transport the treated water through a pipeline from the tanks to a coastal facility, where it will be diluted with seawater and sent through an undersea tunnel, currently under construction, to an offshore outlet. The company has acknowledged the possibility of rough win
North Korea threatened Tuesday to take bold and decisive military steps against Japan as it slammed Tokyo's adoption of a national security strategy as an attempt to turn the country into an aggressive military power. The North's statement came four days after Japan announced a security strategy that reflects its determination to possess counterstrike capability and double its military spending to gain a more offensive footing against threats from China and North Korea. The North's Foreign Ministry said in a statement that Japan's push to acquire counterstrike capability has nothing to do with self-defense but is a clear attempt to acquire pre-emptive attack capability meant to launch strikes on other countries' territories. Japan's foolish attempt to satiate its black-hearted greed -- the building up of its military invasion capability with the pretext of a legitimate exercise of self-defense rights -- cannot be justified and tolerated, an unidentified ministry spokesperson said in
India has urged the global community to develop a common framework for data governance, safety and trust around artificial intelligence to prevent user harm, an official statement said on Tuesday. India assumed the Chair of the Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence (GPAI) at a summit held in Tokyo. "We all should be concerned about user harm. I would encourage member states to think about evolving a common framework of rules and guidelines about data governance, about safety and trust as much to do with the internet as to do with AI," Minister of State for Electronics and IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar said at the closing session of the three-day GPAI Summit. He represented India virtually at the event. The minister said the India-Stack that has transformed governance and democracy in India and benefitted millions of Indian citizens is designed to be open sourced. He emphasised on developing a common framework on creating skills and talent around AI -- an area in which India coul
India will take over the chair of the Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence for 2022-23 at a meeting of the body in Tokyo on November 21, the Ministry of Electronics and IT said on Sunday. In the election to the Council Chair, India had received more than a two-thirds majority of first-preference votes while Canada and the United States of America ranked in the next two best places in the tally - so they were elected to the two additional government seats on the Steering Committee, the ministry said in a statement. Minister of State for Electronics and IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar will represent India at the handover ceremony in Tokyo. "Close on the heels of assuming the presidency of G20, a league of world's largest economies, India will take over the chair of the Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence (GPAI), an international initiative to support responsible and human-centric development and use of Artificial Intelligence (AI)," the statement said. GPAI is a congregati
US Vice President Kamala Harris would travel to Tokyo to attend the state funeral of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on September 27. Abe, Japan's longest-serving prime minister, was fatally shot on July 8 while the 67-year-old leader was delivering a campaign speech in western Japan ahead of the House of Councillors election on July 10. Harris would be travelling to Tokyo on behalf of US President Joe Biden to lead the Presidential delegation to the state funeral of Abe, according to her spokesperson Kirsten Allen. Apart from Harris, the funeral is likely to be attended by a galaxy of world leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi. From Tokyo, she would be travelling to Seoul for meetings with the South Korean leaders. The travel schedule is from September 25 to September 29. Her visit will honour the legacy of Prime Minister Abe and underscore the importance of his leadership in championing the alliance between the United States and Japan and advancing a free a