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COLUMBIA, South Carolina – South Carolina executed a convicted murderer by firing squad on Friday, the first use of the method in the United States in 15 years. Brad Sigmon, 67, chose to be killed by a firing squad, saying he feared the alternatives of the electric chair or lethal injection would risk a slower and more torturous death. Sigmon was pronounced dead at 6:08 p.m., according to Chrysti Shain, a spokesperson for the South Carolina Department of Corrections. Source link

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has said that his government has canceled plans to raise the ceiling on out-of-pocket expenses for high-cost medical care in August. Ishiba also said Friday that his government would decide a new policy on the matter by autumn. It is the third time for the Ishiba administration to change its policy about the high-cost medical care system. Source link

A Jiji Press survey has revealed that 311, or 44%, of all 705 members of parliament think the country should introduce a selective dual surname system for married couples. The figure far outstrips the 18% of lawmakers who believe Japan should either expand the use of maiden names or revise a law to give legal validity to maiden names, and the 1% who said that the country should maintain its current same surname system. The survey was conducted in January-February ahead of the 50th anniversary of International Women’s Day on Saturday, with valid responses coming from 472, or 67% of the total. Source link

A majority of Japanese expect U.S.-Japan economic relations to strengthen under the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump, according to a Japanese Foreign Ministry survey. Asked in which area relations are expected to strengthen, with multiple answers allowed, 52.1% of respondents pointed to “economy, trade and finance,” followed by 49.7% who cited “security, counterterrorism, disarmament and nonproliferation.” The results are believed to have been influenced by Trump’s comments including on tariffs. Also in the survey, 81.5% said they strongly or somewhat agree that the security environment in East Asia is becoming more severe. With Japan and South Korea marking the 60th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations, 53% said that the two countries should promote efforts to address security challenges including North Korea, and 35.7% and 34.4% called for resolving the issue of Takeshima, the Sea of Japan islets controlled by South Korea, and history-related issues, respectively. The telephone survey received valid responses from 1,000 people age 18 or over across Japan between Feb. 3 and 9. Source link

SEOUL – Impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol was released from detention Saturday after a court voided his arrest on procedural grounds — but he remains under investigation over his declaration of martial law. The suspended president, who was detained in a dawn raid in January on insurrection charges over his Dec. 3 attempt to subvert civilian rule, walked out of the detention center smiling, before bowing deeply to a small crowd of cheering supporters. “I bow my head in gratitude to the people of this nation,” Yoon said in a statement released through his lawyers. Source link

With a sweep of her arm, the receptionist pointed out the hotel’s amenities: breakfast room, gym, lobby bar — and a basement shelter for use during air raids, with hot and cold running water, ventilation, and chairs. Kyiv has adapted during three years of full-scale war with Russia, absorbing existential threats and turning them into everyday routine. But even for a city inured to hostile forces, it’s been a head-spinning 10 days. Ukraine is reeling from the abrupt U.S. switch under President Donald Trump, from the staunchest of allies to what some now see as an appeaser of Moscow. Foreign diplomats in the capital were struggling to keep up: a deal to hand the U.S. control over natural resources became a public quarrel in the White House and then the withdrawal of American support. Source link

Five years after the World Health Organization first described the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak as a pandemic, its effects are still being felt on the global economy. COVID-19 and efforts to contain it triggered record government debt, hit labor markets and shifted consumer behavior. Inequality has increased, while remote work, digital payments and changes in travel patterns have endured. Though the immediate shock has passed, COVID-19’s legacy continues to reshape global economies and markets. Source link

Japan must fix “any misunderstanding” held by U.S. President Donald Trump that its central bank was intentionally weakening the yen with monetary policy, former Bank of Japan Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda said. Trump said on Monday he had told Japan and China they could not continue to reduce the value of their currencies, as doing so would be unfair to the United States. Asked about Trump’s comment on Friday night, Kuroda told a Japanese television interviewer there were limits to what Japan could do to prop up the yen if the dollar were to rise on prospects of higher U.S. inflation from Trump’s planned tariffs. Source link

Tokyo Metro on Saturday marked the 25th anniversary of a subway derailment accident that killed five passengers and injured 64 others. Tokyo Metro President Akiyoshi Yamamura and others laid flowers at a cenotaph near the site of the accident in the capital’s Meguro Ward. They observed a moment of silence at 9:01 a.m., the exact time the accident occurred on the Hibiya Line of the Teito Rapid Transit Authority, now Tokyo Metro, on March 8, 2000. “It is important to pass on a lesson that safety is paramount,” Yamamura said. “We will continue to operate while prioritizing efforts to improve safety.” More than 70% of Tokyo Metro’s employees are now those who joined the company after the accideint, according to the company. In the accident, the No. 8 and rearmost car of a train heading toward Nakameguro Station derailed in a curve between Nakameguro and Ebisu stations, hitting the No. 5 and No. 6 cars of a train traveling on the opposite direction. Source link

Colombo – Sri Lanka signed a deal with Japan on Friday to restructure $2.5 billion in loans, marking the first agreement with official creditors who had pledged debt relief to the cash-strapped nation last year. Japan said it was granting concessions on a ¥369.45 billion ($2.5 billion) loan under a comprehensive debt treatment plan, which the International Monetary Fund considers essential for Sri Lanka’s economic recovery. “The development of Sri Lanka, which is located at a strategic point in the Indian Ocean, is essential for the stability and prosperity of the entire Indo-Pacific region,” the Japanese Foreign Ministry said in a statement. Source link