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Japan and U.S. foreign policy chiefs meet over China and North Korea

May 04, 2021 (Japan Times) - LONDON – Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi and his U.S. counterpart Antony Blinken held talks on Monday in London to discuss issues related to China and North Korea, following up on their leaders’ summit last month.

The second in-person meeting between Motegi and the U.S. secretary of state comes ahead of a three-day meeting of foreign ministers of the Group of Seven industrialized nations, where China and North Korea are also seen high on the agenda, and the two nations are expected to show their unity in tackling the issues.

Japan and the United States are seeking to use their longtime alliance to face challenges posed by China’s rise, such as Beijing’s maritime assertiveness in the East and South China seas. Tokyo and Washington have shared the goal of realizing a “free and open” Indo-Pacific.

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Airports and railway stations across Japan were crowded on September 23 as travelers returned from their hometowns and holiday destinations on the final day of the five-day Silver Week holiday, with international flight arrivals reaching their peak and many afternoon Shinkansen services fully booked.

Extensive railway disruption continued across Chiba Prefecture on September 23 as JR East warned that several lines damaged by Typhoon No. 25 would remain closed beyond the Silver Week holiday, even as flights returned toward normal, all typhoon-related expressway closures were lifted and some highway bus services resumed. The storm has left widespread damage to railway tracks and embankments, with flooding, landslides and fallen trees complicating restoration work.

The death toll from Typhoon No. 25 rose to nine on September 23, with four people still missing in Chiba and Kanagawa prefectures, as renewed rainfall raised fears of further landslides in communities devastated by the storm.

The road leading to Otemon Gate at Tokyo's Imperial Palace was flooded on September 22 after heavy rain from a typhoon caused water in the surrounding moat to overflow.

Japan came within two runs of producing one of international cricket's biggest upsets on September 22, pushing reigning T20 world champion India to the final ball before losing a rain-shortened match at Sano International Cricket Ground in Tochigi Prefecture.

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An emu that escaped from the home of a traveling zoo operator was captured after wandering through a residential neighborhood in Moriyama, Shiga Prefecture, on September 23, following a police report from a resident who mistook the bird for an ostrich.

People aged 65 and older accounted for a record 29.6% of Japan's population in 2026, the highest proportion among major countries worldwide, while the number of elderly people in employment also reached an all-time high as Japan marked Respect for the Aged Day on September 21.

Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako visited Ghibli Park in Aichi Prefecture on September 20, touring exhibits that recreate famous scenes from Studio Ghibli films and posing for a photograph with the character No-Face.

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Anonymous and fluid criminal groups known in Japan as "tokuryu" are adopting increasingly elaborate tactics, including a scheme in which elderly victims are persuaded to hide cash inside refrigerators before thieves enter their homes, as authorities struggle to combat networks whose members often have no direct contact with one another.

A luxury mansion in Bangkok described as resembling a palace was being used as a base for a specialized fraud operation targeting Japanese people, with Thai authorities detaining 14 people, including four Japanese men.

Copper roofing has been stripped from Shinano-no-miya Shrine in Oshika Village, Nagano Prefecture, leaving the wooden structure exposed in the latest of a series of similar thefts reported at shrines across the prefecture.