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Japanese authorities, including officials from the Defense Ministry, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and several municipalities in western Tokyo, jointly inspected the Yokota Air Base on Friday following a leak of water containing toxic “forever chemicals” outside the base in August. The inspection comes amid growing public pressure to investigate suspected links between the use of PFAS-containing firefighting foam by the U.S. base and contamination of soil and groundwater in western Tokyo. PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are a class of over 10,000 fluorinated chemicals that have been used worldwide since the 1940s. Recent studies suggest that some of the chemicals, including perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), are carcinogenic and carry other health risks. Source link

The central government said on Friday that the economy is recovering moderately, but warned of risks ahead, such as higher interest rates overseas and policies in the United States. Among key economic areas, the government cut its assessment on corporate profits for the first time since March 2023 as the pace of its recovery was moderating. “The economy is recovering moderately, although it appears to be pausing in parts,” the Cabinet Office said in its monthly report. For the outlook, the government expects moderate recovery to continue thanks to the improving employment and income situation. But it maintained a cautious view about U.S. policies, as President-elect Donald Trump’s new tariff pledge on goods from Canada, Mexico and China threatens global trade. Higher interest rates in the U.S. and Europe as well as a stagnant Chinese real estate market could also dent Japan’s economy, the government said. The report was released after the Bank of Japan kept interest rates unchanged on Thursday. Among other key economic areas, private consumption, which accounts for more than half of the Japanese economy, was “picking up,” supported by wage recovery, the government reiterated in its latest report. Capital spending was also “picking up” and exports were “almost flat,” the government said, echoing its assessment from the previous month. Source link

Hon Hai Precision Industry, the Taiwan-based manufacturer of iPhones better known as Foxconn, is putting its interest in pursuing Nissan on hold while the Yokohama-based automaker is in negotiations for a potential merger with Honda, according to a person familiar with the matter. The decision to pause comes after Foxconn sent a delegation to meet with Renault — which owns 36% of Nissan and will have a say in any tie-up — in France, people with knowledge of the matter said. But the smartphone-maker, which has long-standing ambitions to break into the electric vehicle industry, is not giving up completely, preferring to see if the two Japanese marques make legitimate progress toward a deal before deciding on its next move, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing private decisions. Source link

A government survey showed Friday that 78.2% of respondents feel anxious or worried, the highest level since the government began asking about such sentiment in the annual survey in 1981. The public opinion survey on people’s lives by the Cabinet Office also found that 28.1% of respondents think that their standard of living is in the lower-middle part of the general public, the highest level in 35 years, while 46.7% answered middle, 14.2% upper-middle, 8.7% low and 1.7% high. People worry most about their own health, cited by 63.8% of all respondents, followed by plans for life after retirement, picked by 62.8%, and the outlook for future income and assets, chosen by 58.0%. Meanwhile, the share of respondents satisfied or somewhat satisfied with their income or revenue was 34.9%, up 3.5 percentage points from the record low posted the previous year. The share of those who answered dissatisfied or somewhat dissatisfied declined 3.5 points to 64.5%. Some in the government believe that these results suggest positive effects of pay hikes. But asked what policy measures the government should put emphasis on, the biggest proportion, at 66.1%, chose steps against inflation — the same as the year before. The survey has been conducted since fiscal 1957, with the latest being the 67th edition. The survey was conducted by mail from Aug. 8 to Sept. 15 with 3,000 Japanese nationals age 18 or over nationwide. Valid responses were received from 61%. Since the survey was previously conducted in person, the Cabinet Office said that simple comparisons cannot be made between the latest results and past data. Source link

Malaysia is negotiating terms and conditions with Ocean Infinity after accepting its proposal to search for the wreckage of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 (MH370), a decade after the aircraft disappeared, according to Transport Minister Anthony Loke. The marine exploration company’s search will be conducted in a new area estimated at 15,000 square kilometers in the southern Indian Ocean, according to Loke. The endeavor will be based on the “no find, no fee” principle, he added. “The data has been presented and our team has gone through it and they feel that it is credible and it is based on many other experts,” Loke said at a briefing in Putrajaya on Friday. “As far as the government is concerned, this is another attempt to find MH370.” Source link

Kupiansk, Ukraine – Lyubov Voronova still remembers a time before the war when the Oskil River flowing by her east Ukraine home was an idyll where families would swim, picnic and make memories. Now, nearly three years into Russia’s invasion, Kremlin forces have brought panic and destruction to its banks in a war of attrition that has pit invader and defender on opposing sides. “It’s the front line now. They’re on one side, and we’re on the other,” the 72-year-old said in the emptied out village of Sadovod, her cottage’s plastic-covered windows blown out by a recent strike. Source link

The Cabinet Office on Friday released improved public relations measures regarding the government’s emergency alert system for a megaquake that may occur in the Nankai Trough off the country’s Pacific coast. The first such alert, issued in August, caused confusion and unrest among organizations and local people as the system was not widely recognized. Learning lessons from this experience, the government will beef up its efforts in normal times to make the alert system better known and enable local governments and citizens to decide in advance the measures they should take when an emergency alert is issued. In its past public relations activities, the government as the first step aimed to have the alert system and related quake response measures known. From now, it will put importance on clearly showing megaquake risks and the difference in response measures between normal and disaster times, and urging people to decide actions they should take. Source link

Taipei – Taiwanese lawmakers tackled and doused each other with water on Friday as President Lai Ching-te’s party tried to block the passage of bills they say could harm the self-ruled island’s “democratic system.” Scores of lawmakers from Lai’s Democratic Progressive Party had occupied the podium of the parliament’s main chamber since Thursday night and barricaded themselves inside — piling up chairs to block entrances. The DPP parliamentarians were attempting to stop three legal amendments proposed by the opposition bloc, which would make it more difficult for voters to oust elected officials who they see as unfit. Source link

Finland and Japan have launched negotiations on a military tech and equipment transfer deal designed to enable closer collaboration on defense-industrial issues amid shared security concerns, Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo said in an exclusive interview. “Finland is keen to deepen bilateral relations, and Japan is an important strategic partner for Finland,” the 55-year-old Finnish leader told The Japan Times following a visit to Tokyo last week where he held talks with Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba that focused largely on economic and international security issues, including Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. “The deepening military cooperation between Russia and North Korea is a threat to both Euro-Atlantic and Indo-Pacific security, and shows how the two are interlinked,” he said. Source link

A dramatic raid in which police shattered the windows of a home in Kitakyushu, Fukuoka Prefecture, ended the search for the suspect in the fatal stabbing of a 15-year-old girl, with another teen injured, at a local McDonalds as a 43-year-old man was arrested. The arrest marked the culmination of an intensive investigation by Fukuoka Prefectural Police, who pieced together surveillance footage and dashcam recordings in a meticulous “relay investigation” to identify the suspect. The suspect, Masanori Hirabaru, who is unemployed and living alone in a house near the crime scene, did not resist arrest as he sat in a chair. Source link