G7` shadow of war and gloom hang over Japan's G7 meeting

The shadows of two previous, brutal wars — and the potential consequences of one raging in eastern Europe — hung over Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as he arrived Thursday in Japan for the opening of the G7 leaders summit.

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JAPAN: Shinzo Abe: Assassinated former PM leaves divided legacy for Japan

Shinzo Abe was a political blueblood groomed for power. Japan's longest serving prime minister, he was also perhaps the most polarizing, complex politician in recent Japanese history.

Abe, who was assassinated Friday, angered both liberals at home and World War II victims in Asia with his hawkish push to revamp the military and his revisionist view that Japan was given an unfair verdict by history for its brutal past.

At the same time, he revitalized Japan’s economy, led efforts for the nation to take a stronger role in Asia and served as a rare beacon of political stability before stepping down two years ago for health reasons.

Read more at: Shinzo Abe: Assassinated former PM leaves divided legacy for Japan | Euronews

Russia: Putin Is No Strongman: He’s Leading Russia into Ruin

It’s no surprise that Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe plans to make nice with Vladimir Putin later this week. The Russian president sure does look like a winner these days. Of course, there’s the obvious: In just two months, the United States—Moscow’s main competitor on the world stage—will be led by an incompetent demagogue whose most consistent foreign policy view is admiration for the Russian strongman. Even more impressively, this week Washington is convulsing with hysteria at the prospect that it was that very same strongman who put Donald Trump into the White House in the first place.

But that’s not all. In Europe, electoral victories by right-wing populists from Poland to Hungary to the United Kingdom have moved into positions of power leaders friendly towards Putin and tolerant of his misbehavior. Bulgaria and Moldova have just joined the club, and the next French elections, which will almost certainly result in another Putin-friendly European presidency, are just around the corner. That’s not to mention recent success of the Syrian regime, a key Russian ally which, after years of slaughter, seems to be making serious headway against the Islamic State.

Abe’s overtures toward Putin are then easy to understand given this narrative of a confident and ascendant Russia. His outreach may have raised eyebrows in Washington, but after all, the U.S. capital will be a very different place come January 20. And of course there’s no harm in trying to make a long-delayed land deal, especially if it will result in tangible benefits for both countries. There’s also the longer view: If the United States is indeed in relative decline, as the conventional wisdom holds, then stronger relationships with the world’s other powers must be in Japan’s interest.

Reasd more at: Putin Is No Strongman: He’s Leading Russia into Ruin | JAPAN Forward

Life Expectancy: Can we live forever? New anti-ageing vaccine could bring immortality one step closer

What if you could live forever? It's a question long pondered by fictional supervillains and Silicon Valley billionaires alike.

Now researchers in Japan say they may have taken a step toward boosting human longevity with successful trials of a vaccine against the cells that contribute to the ageing process.

In laboratory trials, a drug targeting a protein contained in senescent cells - those which have naturally stopped reproducing themselves - slowed the progression of frailty in older mice, the researchers from Tokyo's Juntendo University said.

Read more at: Can we live forever? New anti-ageing vaccine could bring immortality one step closer | Euronews

Japan: COVID-19 Made Life Even Worse for Japan’s Foreign Trainees – by Moeka Iida

Phuong is hunkered down with around 20 fellow Vietnamese – now fellow seekers of refuge – at Daionji, a Buddhist temple in Honjo, in Japan’s Saitama Prefecture.

The 22-year-old had been working at a food manufacturing factory in Kagoshima Prefecture for nearly three years under Japan’s Technical Intern Training Program. However, as she developed a hernia and started to suffer from severe pain, she became unable to perform her daily tasks.

Read moreat: COVID-19 Made Life Even Worse for Japan’s Foreign Trainees – The Diplomat

Japan -Pfizer Vaccines: Contaminated Pfizer Vaccines Reported In Several Japanese Cities

Several cities in Japan have reported ‘white-colored floating substances’ in Vials of Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine, according to Bloomberg.

The vials came from lot FF5357, where white contaminants were first reported by Kamakura City in Kanagawa prefecture. On Tuesday, two more cities – neighboring Sagamihara and Sakai City in Osaka prefecture reported contaminated vials, however there were no reports of adverse reactions. In Sagamihara, white substances were reported at three different vaccination sites on Sept. 11, 12 and 14.

Read more at: Contaminated Pfizer Vaccines Reported In Several Japanese Cities

Japan: Olympics closing ceremonyIOC president declares Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games closed

The pandemic-delayed Tokyo Olympic Games came to an end Sunday with a smaller, more subdued closing ceremony than in years' past, much like the opening ceremony 17 days ago.

After a more than two-hour ceremony that saluted the athletes, organizers and volunteers who made these Games a success, IOC president Thomas Bach declared the Games closed and the Olympic flame was extinguished.

Read more: IOC president declares Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games closed | CBC Sports

Japan supercomputer shows humidity affects aerosol spread of coronavirus - by Rocky Swift

A Japanese supercomputer showed that humidity can have a large effect on the dispersion of virus particles, pointing to heightened coronavirus contagion risks in dry, indoor conditions during the winter months.

The finding suggests that the use of humidifiers may help limit infections during times when window ventilation is not possible, according to a study released on Tuesday by research giant Riken and Kobe University.

The researchers used the Fugaku supercomputer to model the emission and flow of virus-like particles from infected people in a variety of indoor environments.

Air humidity of lower than 30% resulted in more than double the amount of aerosolised particles compared to levels of 60% or higher, the simulations showed.

The study also indicated that clear face shields are not as effective as masks in preventing the spread of aerosols. Other findings showed that diners are more at risk from people to their side compared to across the table, and the number of singers in choruses should be limited and spaced out.

Read more at: 
Japan supercomputer shows humidity affects aerosol spread of coronavirus

Coronavirus strikes again: 2 new coronavirus reinfection cases: Belgium, Netherlands, Hong Kong - by Aylin Woodward and Hilary Brueck

Just hours after the world's first confirmed coronavirus reinfection case was documented in Hong Kong on Monday, researchers reported a woman in Belgium had caught the virus a second time. So, too, did Dutch virus experts, who announced an older person in the Netherlands as a third confirmed reinfection of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus. 

Read more at: 
2 new coronavirus reinfection cases: Belgium, Netherlands, Hong Kong - Business Insider

The Philippines: World War 2: They Fought and Died for America. Then America Turned Its Back - by Allison Griner

Patrick Ganio had lived to see his country invaded, its defenses smashed, and his comrades fall on the battlefield. But he had lived, and that was no small feat – not after the Allied surrender and the torturous march that followed, 60 miles inland from their defeat on the Bataan peninsula, all the way to the Japanese prisoner-of-war camps. Battered, wounded and starving, the soldiers who stumbled along the way were swiftly dispatched, run through with the blade of a Japanese bayonet. There would be no slowing down. To falter meant certain death. 

Still, Ganio had survived. In a war that claimed nearly 57,000 Filipino soldiers and untold numbers of civilians, Ganio lived to see the dawn of the Philippine liberation. He was freed, allowed to go home to his family and rejoin the fight on behalf of the Philippine resistance. By 1945, three years of Japanese occupation were at a close, and the end of World War II was mere months away. All it would take would be one final push to effectively expel the Japanese Army from the Philippine Islands.

That’s how Ganio found himself once again in the battlefield, this time pinched between two mountain ranges on the rugged slopes of Balete Pass. Sniper fire whistled down from the peaks, where enemy fighters had barricaded themselves inside caves and pillbox bunkers. Control over Luzon, the Philippines’ main island, was at stake.

Read more at: They Fought and Died for America. Then America Turned Its Back.

Global Warming ?: Japan hit by biggest Typhoon in decades

Typhoon Hagibis: Biggest Japan storm in decades makes landfall

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https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-50020108

EU-Japan Relations: EU and Japan join forces to counter US and Chinese initiatives – by Jorge Valero

The EU and Japan signed on Friday (27 September) a holistic partnership to promote investment projects based on rules-based and sustainable principles, and to counter the risks posed by the US and China.

The EU-Japan partnership on sustainable connectivity – a term covering an array of trade, economic, transport and environmental fields – and quality infrastructure was presented to other Asian partners during the EU-Asia connectivity forum held on Friday.

Both partners agreed to “promote free, open, rules-based, fair, non- discriminatory and predictable regional and international trade and investment, transparent procurement practices, the ensuring of debt sustainability and the high standards of economic, fiscal, financial, social and environmental sustainability,” the text reads.

The deal will cover all dimensions of connectivity including digital, transport, energy and people-to-people exchanges.

Read more: EU and Japan join forces to counter US and Chinese initiatives – EURACTIV.com

Iran Nuclear deal: EU and Japan back Iran nuclear deal despite US

Despite the US decision to withdraw, the European Union and Japan reiterated on Thursday their support for the Iranian nuclear non-proliferation deal reached at UN-level in 2015. At a summit in Brussels, Japan's prime minister Abe and EU presidents Juncker and Tusk also committed to further develop the EU-Japan economic partnership agreement. It entered into force on 1 February bringing a third of the world's Gross Domestic Product together.

Read more: EU and Japan back Iran nuclear deal despite US

Data Protection: EU, Japan edge towards data protection dealbusiness and politics

Following the July conclusion of EU-Japan talks on personal data flows, the Commission launched Thursday a procedure for adoption of its decision on data protection adequacy between the two blocs.

"We are creating the world's largest area of safe data flows," said the EU's Justice Commissioner Vera Jourova, as she briefed the College of Commissioners on next steps and the Commission published the draft adequacy decision and the related documents.

This includes additional safeguards that Japan will apply to EU personal data transferred to Japan, as well as commitments regarding access to personal data by Japanese public authorities for law enforcement and national security purposes, guaranteeing that their level of data protection is adequate to that of the EU's. Japan is going through a similar process to recognise the EU's data protection framework.

Read more : EU, Japan edge towards data protection deal — EUbusiness.com | EU news, business and politics

EU - Japan relations: Multi Billion Free Trade Agreement which defies protectionism

For the complete report go to:

https://www.dw.com/en/eu-japan-free-trade-agreement-defies-protectionism/a-44695274

EU and Japan finalize trade deal

The EU and Japan finalised negotiations on a free trade agreement on Friday (8 December), the bloc's executive announced. The accord builds on the political agreement reached by the two sides over the summer. However, the deal does not cover investment protection yet, as negotiations on dispute resolution continue. The deal creates an economic zone of 30 percent of the world's GDP, according to the EU commission.

Read more: EU and Japan finalise trade deal

The Trump Tour To Asia: Trump to tour Asia under cloud of a nuclear North Korea

 President Donald Trump paid a solemn visit to the memorial at Pearl Harbor, a sacred journey for a commander-in-chief about to depart on an Asia trip that will be shadowed by fears of another international conflict.

Trump saluted Friday after entering the USS Arizona memorial following a short boat ride with first lady Melania Trump. They approached a wreath of white flowers - a gift from the couple - and watched as two sailors who stood beside it at attention placed the wreath near a wall of names of the fallen.

Trump said not a word about North Korea or its nuclear ambitions on Friday, the eve of his first official visit to Asia. He will arrive in Japan on Sunday morning, the first of five countries he will visit over 11 days as he exhorts Asian allies to increase pressure on Pyongyang to abandon its deadly ambitions.

Hawaii acted as a sort of midway point on Trump's trip halfway around the world. He arrived at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam Friday after a daylong flight from Washington.

 Read more: Trump to tour Asia under cloud of a nuclear North Korea - France 24

Russia-Japan Relations: Putin Proposes Building Bridge Connecting Russia to Japan as Sign of Peace

President Vladimir Putin spoke of plans to build a bridge connecting Russia to Japan in a bid to resolve tensions over a chain of disputed Pacific islands, the state-run news agency TASS reported Thursday August 7th.

“We are planning to build a bridge on Sakhalin that would connect Sakhalin to Hokkaido,” Putin said at the Third Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok.

“These are things of an absolutely global nature that could lead to significant changes in infrastructure, energy, and high technology,” Putin was quoted as saying by TASS, while also announcing plans to extend the Trans-Siberian Railroad to South Korea.

Relations between the countries have been strained over a chain of islands in the western Pacific, known as the Northern Territories in Japan and the Southern Kurils in Russia.

The islands were seized by Soviet forces in World War II, and since then the two countries have not signed a peace treaty.

Speaking at the forum on Thursday, Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said the two countries had “a duty to draw a line under this abnormal situation, when there is still no peace agreement.”

Large-scale construction projects undertaken by Russia and Japan “will form a completely different context for the Kuril Islands,” Russian Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov said Thursday at the forum, Interfax reported.

The Sakhalin-Hokkaido bridge, which would span the roughly 42-kilometer La Pérouse Strait, could be built in the “foreseeable future,” Shuvalov said, and should be seen as “a reflection of the trust that is being formed between the two countries.”

Read more: Putin Proposes Building Bridge Connecting Russia to Japan as Sign of Peace

North Korea: What stopped Japan from intercepting North Korean missile?

In the aftermath of North Korea's launch of a ballistic missile across Japan early on Tuesday morning, the Japanese government went to great lengths to reassure the public that it is taking all the necessary steps to protect them. In truth, however, there was effectively very little that the Japanese military could have done to neutralize this latest provocation by Pyongyang.

The weapon is believed to have been a nuclear-capable Hwasong-12 intermediate range ballistic missile that was fired from a site close to Pyongyang at 5:57am local time. After ascending over the Sea of Japan, the missile passed over northern Japan at an estimated altitude of 550 kilometers before apparently breaking into three parts and falling into the Pacific Ocean around 1,180 kilometers east of Hokkaido.

The missile was detected within seconds of launch - almost certainly by one of four US-operated space-based infra-red early warning satellites in geosynchronous orbit above the equator - and Japan's automatic J-Alert system issued warnings to the public through mobile phones, radios and television across northern Japan.

Read more: What stopped Japan from intercepting North Korean missile? | Asia | DW | 30.08.2017

EU and Japan closing in on trade deal - by Eszter Zalan

An EU-Japan summit will be held on Thursday (6 July) to announce a political agreement underpinning the free trade deal, the bloc announced in the early hours of Tuesday (4 July).

"Ambitious free and fair trade deal in the making," European Council chief Donald Tusk tweeted on Tuesday morning.

Read more: EU and Japan closing in on trade dea