Japan - The African Mirror

Mar

2024

Kipruto, Kebede win Tokyo Marathon in course record times

KENYAN Benson Kipruto won the men's Tokyo Marathon in two hours, two minutes and 16 seconds on Sunday, breaking former world record holder Eliud Kipchoge's course mark in perfect racing conditions on the streets of the Japanese capital. Ethiopia's Sutume Asefa Kebede won the women's race ahead of Kenya's defending champion Rosemary Wanjiru in 2:15:55, also bettering the best previous women's time over the course from Shinjuku to the Imperial Palace. Kipruto pulled clear of Timothy Kiplagat over the last few kilometres and finished 39 seconds ahead of his compatriot to add the Tokyo title to those he won in…

Jan

2024

By CHRIS GALLAGHER

Foreign-born residents file suit in Japan over alleged racial profiling

WORLD

THREE foreign-born residents of Japan filed a lawsuit against the national and local governments over alleged illegal questioning by police based on racial profiling. It is the first such lawsuit in Japan, according to the plaintiffs' lawyers, and comes amid a sharp rise in the number of foreign workers coming to the country to help stem labour shortages as its population ages and declines. It also comes amid a renewed debate over what it means to be and look Japanese after a Ukrainian-born, naturalised Japanese citizen was crowned Miss Japan last week. The three men filed the lawsuit with the Tokyo District…

Jan

2024

By KEVIN BUCKLAND

Japan prosecutors make first arrest in political funding scandal

WORLD

A lawmaker from Japan's ruling party was arrested for suspected fundraising violations, the first arrest in a scandal that has battered support for Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. Yoshitaka Ikeda, 57, a lower house lawmaker and former vice minister for education, was arrested by Tokyo prosecutors, Kishida told reporters, adding that Ikeda would be expelled from the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). "This is very regrettable. I take it very seriously," Kishida said in broadcast remarks. "As a party, we must work to restore trust in politics with a strong sense of urgency." Ikeda allegedly received a kickback of some 48 million…

Jan

2024

By KIYOSHI TAKENAKA and SAKURA MURAKAMI

Japan quake survivors face freezing rain, threat of landslides

WORLD

RESCUERS raced against the clock searching for survivors of an earthquake in western Japan that killed at least 65, while evacuees continued to wait for further aid amid freezing temperatures and heavy rain. The quake with a preliminary magnitude of 7.6 struck the Noto peninsula on New Year's Day, levelling houses and cutting off remote areas from aid. Heavy rain was forecast in the quake-hit areas on Wednesday, raising fears of landslides that could further hinder efforts to free many more people still trapped under rubble. Severed roads, damaged infrastructure, and the remote location of the hardest-hit areas have complicated rescue efforts.…

Dec

2023

By The African Mirror

Earthquake of 7.5 strikes Philippines, tsunami expected in Philippines and Japan

WORLD

AN earthquake of at least magnitude 7.5 struck Mindanao in the southern Philippines late on Saturday, triggering evacuation orders for some areas and southwestern Japanese coasts because of warnings of tsunami waves of a metre (3 feet) or more. The Philippine Seismology Agency Phivolcs said the waves could hit the Philippines by midnight (1600 GMT) and continue for hours. The U.S. Tsunami Warning System said there could be waves of up to 3 metres above the tide level along some Philippine coasts. "Boats already at sea during this period should stay offshore in deep waters until further advised," Phivolcs said,…

Jun

2023

By ELAINE LIES

Japan ruling on same-sex marriage disappoints but ‘a step forward’

WORLD

A Japanese court said a ban on same-sex marriage was constitutional but it raised concerns about the dignity and human rights of same-sex couples, a ruling short of activists' expectations but still seen as a step forward. The judgement by the Fukuoka district court came a week after another district court said it was unconstitutional to ban same-sex marriage, bolstering hopes for change among the LGBTQ community in Japan, the only Group of Seven nation without legal protection for same-sex unions. Five rulings on same-sex marriage have been handed down in Japan over the past two years - two concluding the ban…

Apr

2023

By The African Mirror

Japan prepares to shoot down North Korean satellite if it falls on Japan

WORLD

JAPAN'S Defence Minister Yasukazu Hamada ordered the country's military to prepare to shoot down a North Korean spy satellite should it fall within Japan's territory. Hamada ordered the Self-Defense Forces to make necessary preparations as he could potentially "order the destruction of ballistic missiles", the Defense Ministry said in a statement. Preparations included making arrangements to deploy troops to the southern prefecture of Okinawa to "minimise damage should a ballistic missile fall." North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said preparations for the planned launch of the country's first spy satellite should proceed to counter perceived threats from the United States and South…

Apr

2023

By The African Mirror

S.Korea, US, Japan hold drills as N.Korea slams US ‘nuclear blackmail’

WORLD

HYONHEE SHIN SOUTH Korea, the United States and Japan staged joint naval missile defence exercises to improve responses to North Korean threats, as Pyongyang accused Washington of ramping up "nuclear blackmail" with military drills. The three nations agreed at talks in Washington on Friday to hold regular missile defence and anti-submarine exercises in their efforts to boost diplomatic and military cooperation. North Korea tested a new solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) on Friday that experts say would ease the way for missile launches with little warning, part of an increase in its military activities in recent weeks. Hours after the trilateral exercises, Ri Pyong Chol, vice…

Jul

2022

By The African Mirror

Shinzo Abe’s assassin used a handmade firearm

WORLD

SATOSHI SUGIYAMA and CHANG-RAN KIM FORMER Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, the longest-serving leader of modern Japan, was gunned down while campaigning for a parliamentary election, shocking a country where guns are tightly controlled and political violence almost unthinkable. Abe, 67, was pronounced dead around five and a half hours after the shooting in the city of Nara. Police arrested a 41-year-old man and said the weapon was a homemade gun. "I am simply speechless over the news of Abe's death," Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, Abe's protege, told reporters. Earlier, as Abe still lay in hospital where doctors tried to revive…

Jul

2021

By The African Mirror

Ugandan weightlifter missing in Japan

NEWS

AN Ugandan weightlifter who went missing from an Olympic training camp on Friday left a note saying he wanted to stay in Japan, media reports said, adding to confusion ahead of the Games which begin next week. Julius Ssekitoleko was discovered missing from the Ugandan team's training site in Izumisano, a city in Osaka, western Japan. Media reports said he left behind a note saying he wanted to stay and work in Japan, as life in Uganda was difficult. Ssekitoleko had not qualified to take part in the Tokyo Games, and was due to return to Uganda next Tuesday. A…