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Two former Japan Airlines pilots were suspended from flying by the transport ministry on Tuesday for excessive drinking before a flight and lying to their former employer. The ministry said the two former captains “drank alcohol in excess of the limit, although they were aware of the rules” that limit the amount of alcohol consumed 12 hours before a scheduled flight. The men both “gave false explanations to the company after arrival and attempted to cover up the excessive drinking”, the ministry said, giving them suspensions of up to seven months. The pair were fired by Japan Airlines (JAL) after a flight from Melbourne to Tokyo in December was delayed for three hours because alcohol exceeding the allowed limit was detected in their systems. JAL said last month its two most senior executives would take a 30% pay cut for two months over the incident. The transport ministry instructed JAL last year to take preventive measures after a flight from Dallas to Tokyo was cancelled because a pilot had created a disturbance after getting drunk at a hotel. Japan introduced new regulations in 2019 to clamp down on alcohol consumption by pilots after several incidents hit the headlines. All Nippon Airways delayed a domestic flight that year after a co-pilot failed an alcohol breath test. In 2018, a JAL co-pilot was arrested in Britain shortly before a flight for being almost 10 times over the legal blood alcohol limit. Source link

Beijing – China has made good on its threats to retaliate in the escalating trade war with the United States, imposing tariffs on American imports of energy, cars and machinery parts. That came just minutes after a 10% tariff hike on Chinese goods, announced by U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday, came into effect. Here’s the state of play in the rocky U.S.-China trade relationship: Source link

Forty-four percent of Japanese people have thought of discussions regarding the surnames of married couples as something that may affect them, a survey by the Cabinet Office showed Tuesday. The proportion of respondents who said that the surnames debate was something they felt they had a personal stake in increased by 2.7 percentage points from the previous survey in 2022. Meanwhile, those who said they have never considered the issue to be close to them stood at 53.2%, down 0.9 points. The increase in those who viewed the topic as a familiar one came after the possible introduction of a selective dual-surname system was one of the key issues in last year’s election for the leadership of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, a Cabinet Office official said. Source link

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group’s profit jumped in the third quarter, beating estimates and wrapping up a strong earnings season by Japan’s biggest banks. Net income at the country’s largest lender rose 32% from a year earlier to ¥490.7 billion ($3.2 billion) in the three months ended Dec. 31, according to nine-month results released on Tuesday. That exceeded the ¥322.2 billion average of four analysts’ estimates. Japanese banks are benefiting from rising interest rates following more than a decade of ultra-easy monetary policy. Profits are also being boosted by gains from offloading shareholdings in client companies as part of efforts to boost corporate governance. Source link

Tokyo police on Tuesday arrested the operator of a brothel targeting foreign visitors, marking the first nationwide crackdown on an establishment aimed at tourists visiting from overseas. Kazuki Sudo, 54, ran a brothel under the guise of a men’s aesthetic salon called Sparaku in Tokyo’s Kabukicho entertainment district. He was taken into custody along with six other men on suspicion of violating the anti-prostitution law, according to police. Six of the suspects, including Sudo, have admitted to the allegations, while one is remaining silent. Sudo is accused of providing three women in their 20s with a venue for prostitution between October and November last year. The brothel advertised its services in English and accepted foreign currency, according to police. About 60% of its customers were non-Japanese, drawn in by promotions on its English website, introduction videos and street touts. The establishment saw an average of 30 customers per day, generating roughly ¥450,000 ($3,000) in daily revenue. Authorities confiscated banknotes from 16 countries, including China, India, and Argentina. Police said that all 25 women working at the establishment were Japanese. Many were recruited near Okubo Park in Shinjuku — an area known for street prostitution — while waiting for clients, or through word of mouth from other employees. Some women began working there to fund their own expensive interests, such as supporting underground male idols or frequenting host clubs. Source link

Two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova will return to action this month after a 15-month maternity break, with the Czech national set to play in three tournaments in the United States. The 34-year-old had announced in January last year that she was expecting her first child with husband and coach Jiri Vanek and gave birth to their son Petr in July, during the Wimbledon fortnight. Kvitova will play in the Feb. 24-March 2 WTA 250 tournament in Austin, Texas before ramping up her return at WTA 1000 events in Indian Wells and Miami. “I really miss tennis and miss competing, so I’m really looking forward to being back,” Kvitova, who won the All England Club title in 2011 and 2014, said in a video on Instagram. “I can’t wait to see my fans all around the world. Thank you very much for supporting me. It will be a nice journey, and I can’t wait.” The former world number two last played in October 2023 and won titles in Miami and Berlin that year. Source link

WASHINGTON – U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Monday ordering the creation of a sovereign wealth fund within the next year, saying it could potentially buy the short video app TikTok. If created, the sovereign wealth fund would place the U.S. alongside numerous other countries, particularly in the Middle East and Asia, that have launched similar funds as a way to make direct investments with government dollars. The text of the executive order was sparse on details, and simply directed the Treasury and Commerce Departments to submit a plan for such a fund within 90 days, including recommendations on “funding mechanisms, investment strategies, fund structure, and a governance model.” Source link

London – A surge in the flow of aid into the Gaza Strip since the truce between Israel and Hamas took effect on Jan. 19 is likely to ease the acute food emergency afflicting people in the war-ravaged territory, especially its children. But even after relief reaches them, the hunger they have endured could cast a shadow over their health for years to come. More than 60,000 children in Gaza will need treatment for acute malnutrition in 2025, according to United Nations estimates from Jan. 22. Some have already died — estimates of how many vary widely. Survivors who are able to return to adequate levels of nutrition nonetheless face an insidious threat: the multiple long-term health problems linked to childhood malnutrition. Source link

Osaka / Himeji, Hyogo Pref. – The signature Grand Ring, a giant wooden structure measuring up to 20 meters high and with a circumference of 2 kilometers, is complete. The Chuo Line extension to the newly built Yumeshima Station is up and running. Contractors are putting the finishing touches on dozens of self-built national pavilions, from Italy’s Colosseum-inspired design to Malaysia’s bamboo-laden facade. Source link

UFO fans are increasingly active in Japan where lawmakers have called for official investigations on the phenomena and UFO events have attracted many visitors. The trend, which followed U.S. developments including the establishment of a special organization to analyze eyewitness information and other data, “may reflect a sense of social anxiety,” an expert says. Some Japanese municipalities are hoping to leverage on a return of the UFO boom for regional revitalization. Source link