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Former Japanese lawmaker Yukiko Miyake found dead in suspected suicide

Jan 07, 2020 (Japan Today) - Former lower house lawmaker Yukiko Miyake was found dead at a waterfront in Tokyo several days ago, with police suspecting she might have committed suicide, investigative sources said Monday.

Miyake, 54, was a TV reporter before she won her House of Representatives seat in the August 2009 general election. She was a member of the then-ruling Democratic Party of Japan.

In winning the election, Miyake was supported by Ichiro Ozawa, a one-time power broker in Japanese politics, who is now a member of the Democratic Party for the People.

Miyake was one of the female candidates handpicked by Ozawa for the election and dubbed "Ozawa girls." After leaving the DPJ, she joined the People's Life First party established by Ozawa.

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Typhoon No. 13 (Dolphin) is forecast to intensify into a violent storm before approaching the Ogasawara Islands early next week, while a possible westward shift in its track is raising concern over potential effects in western Japan and Kyushu.

Residents across earthquake-stricken Kumamoto Prefecture are enduring extreme heat without water, electricity or air conditioning as rescue teams continue searching collapsed buildings following the powerful earthquake that registered the maximum seismic intensity of 7.

Three women have been confirmed dead and four employees remain unaccounted for after a powerful explosion tore through Aeon Mall Kumamoto in Kashima, Kumamoto Prefecture, following the magnitude 7.1 earthquake that struck the region on July 28.

Typhoon No. 13 (Dolphin) continued to intensify over the Marshall Islands on July 29 and is forecast to become a violent typhoon by July 31 before approaching the Ogasawara Islands early next week, potentially bringing severe winds, high waves and other effects to Japanese territory.

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said on July 29 that 13 people had died following the powerful earthquake that registered the maximum seismic intensity of 7 in Kumamoto Prefecture, including cases still being investigated for a possible connection to the disaster.

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