Page 8 - Japan

Japan registers 415 new Covid deaths, highest ever tally in a single day

Japan said it had 216,219 newly confirmed coronavirus cases on Wednesday, which marks a rise of 4 per cent from a week earlier

Apple's Japan unit gets $105 mn tax bill for sale of iPhones to tourists

Tokyo unit of US technology giant Apple has been slapped with $105 mn (14 bn yen) in additional taxes over bulk duty-free sales of iPhone smartphones and other Apple devices to foreign visitors

Countries restrict entry of Chinese travellers as Beijing lifts Covid curbs

Uncertainty over the true scale of infections without reliable official figures is fueling concern that the rapid spread of the virus could lead to the emergence of new variants

Heavy snow in northern Japan, other regions kills 17, over 90 injured

Strong winter fronts have pounded parts of Japan hard with heavy snow, stranding cars on the roads and delaying delivery services since mid-December

Japan charges Apple with $98 mn additional tax for abuses of rules

Apple's Japan unit has been charged $98 million in additional taxes by the authorities in Tokyo for overlooking abuses of rules covering duty-free purchases, the media reported

Japan PM sacks 4th minister in two months to patch up scandal-hit Cabinet

Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Tuesday dismissed his fourth minister in two months to patch a scandal-tainted Cabinet that has raised questions over his judgment of staff credentials. Kenya Akiba, minister in charge of reconstruction of Fukushima and other disaster-hit areas, has faced allegations of mishandling political and election funds and of having murky ties to the Unification Church, whose cozy political ties and practices surrounding followers' huge donations have raised controversy. I have made a heavy decision and submitted my resignation," Akiba told reporters after meeting with Kishida. He repeated that he has never violated any law in relation to the issues for which he has been criticised. Kishida tapped former reconstruction minister Hiromichi Watanabe as a replacement. Watanabe's appointment was to be official after a palace ceremony. Akiba's dismissal was seen as Kishida's attempt to remove an administration's soft spot that could stall upcoming ...

Heavy snow in Japan kills 17; dozens injured, homes left without power

Heavy snow in large swaths of Japan has killed 17 and injured more than 90 people and left hundreds of homes without power, disaster management officials said Monday. Powerful winter fronts have dumped heavy snow in northern regions since last week, stranding hundreds of vehicles on highways, delaying delivery services and causing 11 deaths by Saturday. More snowfall over the Christmas weekend brought the number of dead to 17 and injured to 93 by Monday morning, according to the Fire and Disaster Management Agency. Many of them had fallen while removing snow from the roofs or were buried underneath thick piles of snow sliding off rooftops. Municipal offices in the snow-hit regions urged residents to use caution during snow removal activity and not to work alone. The disaster management agency said a woman in her 70s was found dead buried underneath a thick pile of rooftop snow that suddenly fell on her in Yamagata prefecture's Nagai City, about 300 kilometers (180 miles) north of ..

RT-PCR to be mandatory for passengers from 5 countries, says Mandaviya

Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Saturday said RT-PCR test for the detection of COVID-19 would be made mandatory for passengers from China, Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Thailand for their travel to India. Any passenger from these countries found symptomatic or testing positive for coronavirus would be quarantined, he said. "Passengers from China, Japan, Singapore and Bangkok (Thailand) are being monitored through the 'Air Suvidha' portal," Mandaviya told reporters. In view of the pandemic situation, passengers of flights from China, Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Bangkok are required to upload their RT-PCR report in advance. Even after landing in India, they will undergo thermal screening, he said. "We have issued an order for them to be quarantined in the country if found positive or with fever," the minister said. With China and other countries witnessing a surge in Covid cases, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday cautioned against complacency, called for

Japan reports highest single-day Covid-19 deaths amid 8th wave of pandemic

Among prefectures, Kanagawa on Friday reported the highest number of deaths with 28, followed by Hokkaido with 25, Tokyo with 24, and Osaka with 19

Japan's MUFG Bank extends Rs 450 cr credit facility to Tata Power

Tata Power on Friday said it has received a Rs 450 crore "sustainable trade finance facility" from MUFG Bank of Japan to fund its solar projects in India. This credit facility was extended for two solar projects under TP Kirnali Limited (TPKL), the company said in a statement. TPKL is a 100 per cent subsidiary of Tata Power Renewable Energy Limited (TPREL). According to the statement, it is the first sustainable trade finance facility offered by MUFG in India and TPKL will utilise the funds towards generating renewable energy capacity. MUFG has extended the financing to fund TPKL's two solar power projects - a 100 MW renewable project in Parthur, Maharashtra and a 120 MW green energy project in Mesanka, Gujarat. Sanjeev Churiwala, CFO, Tata Power, said his company's association with MUFG will open up opportunities to explore raising more green finance as Tata Power expands clean energy portfolio to contribute towards India's net zero targets. Shashank Joshi, Deputy CEO of MUFG In

Japan approves 2023 draft budget at $ 862 bn with record defence allocation

Japanese govt approved a draft budget for the next fiscal year for a record 114,38 trillion yen with a record-high defence budget in the amount of 6.8 trillion yen, Japanese media reported on Friday

Japanese, Indian air forces to hold joint fighter jet training from Jan 16

Japan's Air Self-Defence Force has said that it will carry out joint fighter training along with Indian Air Force from January 16-26

Japan adopts new policy to promote use of nuclear power to tackle energy

Japan on Thursday adopted a new policy promoting greater use of nuclear energy to ensure a stable power supply amid global fuel shortages and to reduce carbon emissions a major reversal of its phase-out plan since the Fukushima crisis. The new policy says Japan must maximise the use of existing nuclear reactors by restarting as many of them as possible and prolonging the operating life of old reactors beyond their 60-year limit, and by developing next-generation reactors to replace them. Anti-nuclear sentiment and safety concerns rose sharply in Japan after the 2011 Fukushima disaster, and restart approvals have since come slowly under stricter safety standards. Utility companies have applied for restarts at 27 reactors in the past decade. Seventeen have passed safety checks and only 10 have resumed operations. That was in line with Japan's earlier plan to phase out nuclear energy by 2030. In a reversal, the new policy says nuclear power provides stable output and serves an import

Japan's Board of Audit finds Tokyo Olympic costs 20% higher than announced

The cost of the delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympics is 20 per cent higher than organisers said when they announced officials figures more than a year ago, according to a report by the Board of Audit of Japan. The report, which was released this week, said there was a lack of full disclosure and transparency on the part of the government and the organising committee. The audit put the cost at 1.7 trillion yen (USD 12.9 billion). Organisers last year put that figure at 1.42 trillion yen (USD 10.7 billion at today's exchange rate but USD 13 billion at the time). The government, if its significant involvement is expected, should make a timely disclosure of total spending or an estimation," the audit report said. "It should set up a system that allows full disclosure to contribute to the people's understanding about the hosting and execution of the event. Last year, organizers used a rate of 109 yen to the dollar to list the official cost, putting 1.42 trillion yen at USD 13 billion. At that r

Japan upgrades GDP growth forecast to 1.5% for fiscal year 2022-23

The Japanese government on Thursday revised upward its economic growth forecast for fiscal 2023 to a real 1.5 per cent on expectations for increased capital spending and private consumption.

Japan sees 8th wave of Covid pandemic, records 206,943 new cases

Amidst an ongoing eighth wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, Japan registered 206,943 new cases, marking the first time that the single-day tally has surpassed the 200,000-mark since August 25

Mandaviya to review Covid-19 situation amid spurt in cases in US, China

Amid a fresh spurt in COVID-19 cases in Japan, South Korea, Brazil, China and the US, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya will review the pandemic situation on Wednesday, official sources said. The minister will review the COVID-19 situation at 11 am on Wednesday considering the international scenario, they said. Earlier on Tuesday, the Health Ministry urged all states and Union territories to ramp up the whole genome sequencing of positive samples to keep track of newer variants. In a letter to states and UTs, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said such an exercise will enable timely detection of newer variants, if any, circulating in the country and will facilitate undertaking of requisite public health measures. He highlighted that India with its focus on the five-fold strategy of test-track-treat-vaccination and adherence to Covid-appropriate behaviour has been able to restrict the transmission of the coronavirus and is having around 1,200 cases on a weekly basis. Publ

High regulatory burden, taxes keep cars out of reach of Indians: Automaker

The levies by the Indian govt have made purchasing vehicles expensive for the population, said RC Bhargava, Maruti Suzuki's chairman

North Korea threatens to take strong military action against Japan

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

Daiki Axis Japan to infuse investments to expand presence in south India

Daiki Axis Japan will infuse fresh investments to expand its presence in south India, a company official said. In November, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar inaugurated the company's second unit in India in Palwal, which was set up with an investment of Rs 200 crore to produce sewage water treatment units. A unit is already operational at Vapi in Gujarat. When asked about future investment plans, Kamal Tiwari, CEO of Daiki Axis India, said: "Our next plan is to set up a factory either in Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka or Tamil Nadu. "Meetings have already been done with all these states. As we start getting approvals, we will begin construction work immediately by 2023 to cater our demand." The company's long-term plan is to set up a manufacturing unit in each state of India, he said. The Vapi and Palwal plants on an average have the annual capacity to produce around 1,000 sewage water treatment units each with Japanese "Johkasou" technology used to treat domestic