News On Japan

Abe ‘fully supports’ Trump’s decision at N. Korea summit

Mar 02, 2019 (the-japan-news.com) - Prime Minister Shinzo Abe “fully” supports the decision by U.S. President Donald Trump to walk away from talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Vietnam, a move that resulted in the summit meeting ending abruptly Thursday without a deal.

Abe and Trump spoke for about 10 minutes by telephone Thursday evening while the U.S. president was returning to the United States. Trump briefed Abe on the developments of the second U.S.-North Korea summit.

Later that evening, Abe said to reporters at his official residence, “I fully support President Trump’s decision not to make concessions easily and, at the same time, to continue constructive talks to urge North Korea to take concrete steps [toward denuclearization].”

Abe and Trump reaffirmed they would continue cooperating closely. During Trump’s one-on-one talks with Kim on Wednesday, Trump raised the issue of Japanese citizens abducted by North Korea, and conveyed Abe’s views on the issue to Kim. Trump and Kim reportedly “seriously discussed” the abduction issue during a formal dinner that evening.

Abe also expressed determination to resolve the abduction issue through direct dialogue with Kim. “I am determined that I must be the next to deal with Chairman Kim,” Abe said.

During their talks over the telephone on February 20, Abe had asked Trump to raise the abduction issue during his meeting with Kim.

The Japanese government has applauded Trump for not coughing up easy concessions in the drive to denuclearize North Korea. The government plans to continue working closely with the United States as it works toward resolving the abduction issue.

News On Japan
POPULAR NEWS

Japan's World Cup campaign begins on June 14 when the Samurai Blue face the Netherlands at Dallas Stadium in Texas, a clash that will showcase some of the game's most talented players and pit two ambitious teams against one another in a crucial Group F opener. While Japan arrives without injured winger Kaoru Mitoma, one of its most recognizable stars, the squad still boasts a wealth of talent drawn from Europe's top leagues.

The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) announced that an El Niño phenomenon is believed to have developed this spring, warning that Japan is likely to experience above-average temperatures nationwide this summer despite the climate pattern's traditional association with cooler summers.

Narita International Airport Corporation is expected to announce next month that it will apply to the national government for project certification as part of the process to enable compulsory land acquisition for the construction of a new runway at Narita Airport, according to sources familiar with the matter.

A fire broke out at Arima Inari Shrine near the Arima Onsen hot spring resort area in Kobe on the night of June 9th, destroying multiple buildings and leaving an elderly Shinto priest and his wife with minor injuries.

Japan's national soccer team arrived in Nashville, Tennessee, on June 8th from Monterrey, Mexico, where it had been conducting a pre-World Cup training camp, and held its first practice session at its base camp for the FIFA World Cup in North America.

MEDIA CHANNELS
         

MORE Society NEWS

A fire broke out at Arima Inari Shrine near the Arima Onsen hot spring resort area in Kobe on the night of June 9th, destroying multiple buildings and leaving an elderly Shinto priest and his wife with minor injuries.

Two men, including the head of the Japan Cycling Association, have been arrested by the Metropolitan Police Department on suspicion of defrauding two men in Kagoshima Prefecture out of 30 million yen by falsely promising a massive return on a purported patent-related investment.

A bear that had been repeatedly spotted in commercial and residential areas of Utsunomiya, Tochigi Prefecture, was captured in a residential neighborhood at around 3:30 p.m. on June 9th after authorities used a tranquilizer gun, but the city remains on alert because police say they cannot rule out the possibility that another bear may still be roaming the area.

Nara Prefectural Police have arrested seven people, including a 46-year-old Yokohama man who described himself as a "messenger of God," on suspicion of unlawfully confining a teenage boy entrusted to their care by his parents, allegedly threatening him, confiscating his belongings, and forcing him to sleep naked.

A man believed to be in his 50s or 60s was found dead with knives lodged in his left eye and abdomen inside a container at a company property in Kobe's Suma Ward on June 8th, prompting police to investigate the possibility of a criminal case.

The family of James "Weston" Higginbotham, a 20-year-old Auburn University student who disappeared during a family vacation in Japan, announced on June 7th that he has been found dead after a volunteer search-and-rescue team located his body in a mountainous area outside Kyoto, bringing a week-long multinational search to a tragic end.

A clinic director and a former Peruvian staff member have been referred to prosecutors after the man allegedly performed medical procedures without a license, including an external cephalic version—a procedure used to manually turn a baby into the correct position before birth—at an obstetrics and gynecology clinic in Fukuoka City, raising concerns about patient safety and oversight in maternity care.

A 14-year-old junior high school girl was arrested on suspicion of robbery resulting in injury after allegedly spraying a woman in her 60s in the face and stealing her wallet during a robbery attempt in Kasukabe, Saitama Prefecture.