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Ottawa – The race to be Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s successor kicked off on Tuesday, a day after he resigned amid a looming trade war with the United States and a divisive political climate at home. The country’s new leader is likely to face elections within weeks of taking over from Trudeau in March. With the incumbent Liberal Party slumping badly in the polls, whoever wins the leadership contest could find themselves in opposition after the votes are counted, tasked with rebuilding the party. Source link

Social media company Meta Platforms on Tuesday scrapped its U.S. fact-checking program and reduced curbs on discussions around contentious topics such as immigration and gender identity, bowing to criticism from conservatives as President-elect Donald Trump prepares to take office for a second time. The move is Meta’s biggest overhaul of its approach to managing political content on its services in recent memory and comes as CEO Mark Zuckerberg has signaled a desire to mend fences with the incoming administration. The changes will affect Facebook, Instagram and Threads, three of the world’s biggest social media platforms with more than 3 billion users globally. Source link

Giorgia Meloni was in Mar-a-Lago for barely five hours and every moment had to count. With so many leaders vying for U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s attention, hers was a win. But after dinner with the president-elect, the Italian prime minister was sat down to a screening of a controversial documentary on John Eastman, a Trump ally who formed a plan to overturn the results of the 2020 election. The episode illustrates the perils of conducting business in the Trump era, in which access comes at a price and is loaded with risk. Source link

Six Japan Railways Group companies reported Monday that the number of passengers on their Shinkansen and other express trains in key areas during the year-end and New Year holiday period rose 11% from a year earlier, to 13.09 million. The figure for the 10-day period through Sunday was even up 2% from fiscal 2018, surpassing the level seen before the COVID-19 pandemic for the first time, thanks to a calendar configuration that allowed many people to take nine straight days off. According to Central Japan Railway (JR Central), the daily number of passengers on the Tokaido Shinkansen Line reached 412,000, the highest on record for the year-end and New Year period. West Japan Railway (JR West), saw the number of passengers on the Hokuriku Shinkansen Line soar 40%, after an extended section of the line was opened last March connecting the cities of Kanazawa, in Ishikawa Prefecture, and Tsuruga, in Fukui Prefecture. Flight demand was also strong during the same holiday period. All Nippon Airways (ANA) and Japan Airlines (JAL), saw the number of passengers on domestic flights rise 19.5% and 11.5%, respectively. The number of international passengers was up 17.3% at ANA, which had record traffic to and from Hawaii, and up 24.4% at JAL. Source link

The Children and Families Agency has clarified that those under the age of 18 who run away from home due to abuse or family issues can use shelters for young people without parental consent. The clarification was compiled in draft guidelines for municipalities on operating such shelters. The agency also said in the guidelines that local governments should set rules for living in shelters. The agency plans to adopt the guidelines by the end of March to encourage local governments that run shelters to operate them appropriately. According to the draft guidelines, those under the age of 18 will be able to use shelters even if obtaining prior consent from those with parental authority is expected to be difficult. If children are involved in cases of suspected abuse, such facilities may decide to deny parents’ requests for the child to be returned to them and continue sheltering the child, based on discussions with child consultation centers. The draft guidelines recommended setting rules on the use of communication devices such as mobile phones, on outings and overnight stays away from shelters, on keeping belongings and on dealing with problems inside and outside the facilities. Shelters will provide places for young people to stay and offer consultations, as well as support for finding employment or education. On assistance after children leave shelters, the draft guidelines included examples such as sending them supplies on a regular basis, visiting them for meetings and creating communities of former users by contacting them on social media and hosting dinner parties. Runaway youths have recently been gathering in areas such as the Toyoko area of the Kabukicho entertainment district in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward, where they often get into trouble. The government is seeking to deal with the issue by providing subsidies to local governments that set up shelters. Source link

The Fair Trade Commission issued administrative guidance to Japan Post in June last year for violating the subcontract law in relation to its Yu-Pack parcel delivery service, people familiar with the matter have said. An investigation conducted by the antitrust watchdog in 2023 and 2024 found that a post office in the Kanto region collected penalty fees from subcontractors without giving them a sufficient explanation, the people said Monday. The post office collected ¥5,000 to ¥30,000 in penalty fees for failed deliveries and ¥100,000 for complaints about cigarette odors, the people said. Source link

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said that a new hypersonic intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) his country tested Monday would help deter its enemies in the region — a veiled reference to the U.S., Japan and South Korea — state-run media reported Tuesday. “The hypersonic missile system will reliably contain any rivals in the Pacific region that can affect the security of our state,” the North’s official Korean Central News Agency quoted Kim as saying. Pyongyang claimed the new hypersonic weapon had flown at 12 times the speed of sound for 1,500 kilometers (932 miles) before hitting a simulated target in the open sea. That figure clashed with the 1,100-km distance reported by Japan and South Korea. Source link

An actor hired to be the wholesome face of a low-alcohol beer has been fired after getting drunk and breaking into his neighbor’s home, officials said. Drinks giant Asahi Breweries booked Ryo Yoshizawa, who one fashion magazine said has “national treasure-class handsomeness,” for a commercial for its 3.5% Super Dry Dry Crystal beer. But the 30-year-old, one of Japan’s most popular actors, returned home on Dec. 30 perhaps having consumed something stronger. Yoshizawa was “drunk” and “accidentally made his way into an apartment room next to his,” his talent agency Amuse said in a statement Monday. “I’ve lost my memories. I think I just went in without asking, because I wanted to use the bathroom,” Yoshizawa was quoted by local media as telling police. “We have decided to terminate our contract” with Yoshizawa, Asahi Group Holdings spokesperson Shiori Shimizu said Tuesday. “As an alcohol beverage company, we consider his actions unacceptable,” Shimizu said. “We will no longer use him in our future advertisements,” she added. Yoshizawa apologized to his surprised neighbor for the “major trouble he caused,” Amuse said, adding that the actor already vacated the apartment. Like other countries, drinking has been declining in Japan, with low-percentage and alcohol-free beers — and even abstaining — growing in popularity, especially among younger people. Source link

Japan’s biggest automakers pledged cooperation in tech-focused areas to survive in the rapidly evolving global industry, just as two of its largest car brands begin negotiating a deal that would effectively split the country’s industry in two. Over the next decade, manufacturers will need to pool resources and collaborate in areas like artificial intelligence and electric vehicles to catch up with the technologically sophisticated cars available in other markets, the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association said in its road map for 2035. The call to action comes at a pivotal time for Japan’s industry. Honda has just announced a deal that would see it fold a flailing Nissan into its business in tie up that would pit the duo against Toyota and its partnerships with Mazda, Subaru and Suzuki. Source link

ATHENS/PARIS – For Athens restaurant owner Christos Kapetanakis, rent has always been high, but now he faces what he calls “a second rent” as soaring electricity bills slash profits and force him to raise prices. Kapetanakis pays between 3,000 and €3,800 ($3,083-$3,905) a month on power, up 40% since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022 and triggered a European energy crisis. Electricity used to amount to 3% of monthly turnover and now it’s more like 15%, he said. “The continuous increase in prices, especially in the tourism sector … will lead Greece to become less competitive compared to other Mediterranean countries,” he said from his restaurant in the historic Plaka neighborhood. Source link