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China’s military capabilities, particularly its growing missile arsenal, have increased the need for the United States to reinforce its air bases across the Indo-Pacific, as a lack of hardened aircraft shelters could leave U.S. air power vulnerable to attack, a new study by the Hudson Institute think tank has warned. “Airfields at home and abroad where U.S. forces operate are generally unhardened and highly vulnerable to small strikes,” Hudson’s Timothy Walton and Thomas Shugart from the Center for a New American Security wrote in their report released earlier this month. For instance, China could “neutralize” U.S. military aircraft and fuel stores at U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni in Yamaguchi Prefecture — arguably the most important Marine Corps aviation facility in Japan — with “as few as 10 submunition-armed missiles,” they said. Source link

The government on Friday announced additional sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine. A total of 33 organizations and 12 individuals, including a North Korean national, were added to the Japanese list of asset freeze targets under the foreign exchange and foreign trade law, and 53 organizations from countries including Russia and China newly became subject to export bans and other measures. Japan will also ban the export of 335 more goods, including small motorcycles and components for special-purpose vehicles such as cranes, to Russia starting on Jan. 23. The aim is to strengthen Japan’s response to North Korea’s support for Russia and Moscow’s use of third countries to evade sanctions. The additional steps “are to contribute to international efforts for peace,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi told a news conference. “Japan will continue to work in cooperation with the international community, including its Group of Seven partners.” Source link

Apollo Global Management is considering taking a substantial stake in a bid by Seven & I’s founding Ito family to take the convenience store operator private, people familiar with the matter said. The U.S. private equity giant is discussing a commitment of as much as ¥1.5 trillion ($9.5 billion) for an equity stake in the plan, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the information isn’t public. Under the current proposal, which is subject to change, Apollo would join the Ito family and Itochu, the operator of FamilyMart in Japan, as key investors. The Ito family is weighing a commitment of around ¥500 billion and Itochu of over ¥1 trillion. Other partners are still negotiating stakes. Source link

A U.S. appeals court on Thursday declined to block the U.S. Justice Department from releasing a special counsel’s investigative report on President-elect Donald Trump’s attempts to overturn his defeat in the 2020 election. The ruling from the Atlanta-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit appeared to clear the way for the release of the report as early as next week. The appeals court’s decision did not immediately lift an order from U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon earlier this week pausing the release of the report. But Cannon set her order to expire three days after the appeals court ruled on the issue. Source link

The government plans to exhibit one of the world’s biggest meteorites from Mars at its pavilion at this year’s World Exposition in the city of Osaka, people familiar with the matter said on Friday. The meteorite, collected by a Japanese Antarctic research expedition in 2000, will be shown to the public for the first time at the expo. It is a scientifically important material containing clay minerals that indicate that there was water on Mars in the past. The Japan Pavilion is also expected to feature sand samples of the asteroids Itokawa and Ryugu collected by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s Hayabusa probes. Those displays will help visitors “trace the origin and circulation of life,” a government official said. The Japan Pavilion will be divided into Farm, Factory and Plant areas. The Farm Area will feature algae, which are effective against global warming. In the Factory Area, robot-arm 3D printers will make stools from bioplastics containing algae. The Plant Area will showcase a biogas power generation system in which microorganisms convert food waste collected in the expo venue into energy. Popular characters Hello Kitty and Doraemon will serve as navigators at the Japan Pavilion. Source link

London – Premier League champion Manchester City’s well-chronicled troubles on the field this season could pale into insignificance in the coming weeks if an independent commission rules that the club has breached multiple financial regulations. City’s unexpected meltdown on the pitch has all but knocked Pep Guardiola’s side out of contention for a fifth successive title, and they are even in danger of exiting the Champions League at the first stage. But while form is temporary and fixable, a much larger and darker cloud has stationed itself over the Abu Dhabi-owned club that in the last decade has amassed a vast haul of silverware and become the dominant force in English soccer. Source link

Starting in January and broadcast weekly for an entire year, taiga period dramas (“taiga” literally meaning “big river”) are the crown jewels of public broadcaster NHK’s programming lineup and a Sunday night staple. The stories typically feature real-life figures played by top-line talents and unfold during the more turbulent periods of Japanese history, such as the Sengoku Period (1482-1573), which was recently the setting for the award-winning American series “Shogun.” Swords come out and pitched battles are fought on NHK, too — if not in every episode. “Unbound,” the 64th and latest taiga drama (which aired its first episode on Jan. 5) marks a departure from this series’ template. It is the first to be set in the late 18th century, when Japan was at peace and swords mostly stayed in their scabbards. Instead of a warlord or other notable samurai name, it focuses on Tsutaya Juzaburo (Ryusei Yokohama), also known as Tsutashige, a commoner born and raised in Yoshiwara — the notorious red-light district of Edo (feudal-era Tokyo). Adding star power to the cast are Haruka Ayase as a narrator and Ken Watanabe as Tanuma Okitsugu, a reformer who wants to usher in a new era for the ruling Tokugawa Shogunate. Source link

Looking back as his nearly three-year stint as U.S. ambassador to Japan wraps up this month, Rahm Emanuel doesn’t have a single thing to point to as his top accomplishment. That’s because whittling that list down would be a difficult task. As envoy to the United States’ key partner in Asia, the former congressman, White House chief of staff and Chicago mayor oversaw arguably the most consequential shift in the bilateral alliance in decades. From Japan’s plan to double defense spending — a move long urged by Washington — to an agreement to allow U.S. Navy ships to be repaired in Japan, Emanuel helped nudge and sometimes spearhead a number of moves to upgrade ties. Source link

LOS ANGELES – Two massive wildfires menacing Los Angeles from the east and west were still burning uncontained on Thursday, but a brief respite from the fierce winds that have fanned the flames for two days allowed crews to slow their explosive spread. The Palisades Fire between Santa Monica and Malibu on the city’s western flank and the Eaton Fire in the east near Pasadena already rank as the most destructive in Los Angeles history, consuming nearly 28,000 acres so far — an area exceeding the size of Disney World — and turning entire neighborhoods to ash. At least five people have been killed, thousands of structures have been incinerated and nearly 180,000 people have been ordered to evacuate their homes, with another 200,000 under evacuation warnings, officials said. Source link

Japan saw a record 64.39 influenza patients per clinic on average in the final week of December, the health ministry said Thursday, confirming the highest number of reported cases since ministry records began in 1999. In the week through Dec. 29, there were a total of 317,812 reported cases of the flu, which is nearly three times the number from the same period in 2023. The average number of cases per clinic jumped from 42.66 the week before. The number of patients has been on the rise across the nation, with all 47 prefectures reporting an increase from a week earlier. Oita Prefecture saw the highest number of cases, averaging 104.84 cases per clinic, with Kagoshima and Saga coming in next with 96.4 and 94.36 cases respectively. In 43 prefectures, infections have reached the “warning level,” which is declared when there is an average of 30 cases per clinic or more. This has led to cancelations at schools and other institutions around the nation, with classes being canceled or full shutdowns at a total of 1,838 schools, day care centers and kindergartens — including 1,200 elementary schools, 391 middle schools and 135 high schools. From September to December, 11,800 patients had been hospitalized with the flu around the country, with the majority being patients over the age of 60. As numbers continue to rise, the health ministry is urging people to wear masks and thoroughly wash their hands to prevent infections. Source link