News On Japan

Japan holds event to mark Takeshima Day

Feb 23 (NHK) - The governor of Shimane Prefecture in western Japan has urged the central government to resolve a territorial dispute with South Korea over the Takeshima Islands.

Maruyama Tatsuya spoke at a ceremony in Matsue City on Monday to mark the incorporation of the islands into the prefecture more than a century ago.

South Korea controls the islands. Japan claims them. The Japanese government maintains the islands are an inherent part of Japan's territory. It says South Korea is illegally occupying them.

In 2005, Shimane Prefecture designated the date as Takeshima Day, and has held a commemorative event every year since.

About 200 people attended this year's ceremony. The number of participants was limited to about half that of previous years due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Governor Maruyama said the islands are an inherent part of Japan's territory, and called strongly on the central government to solve the issue through diplomatic negotiations with South Korea.

During the ceremony, Parliamentary Vice-Minister of the Cabinet Office in charge of territorial issues, Wada Yoshiaki, called the occupation of the islands by South Korea illegal and totally unacceptable. He added that the government will work tenaciously to convey Japan's stance on the islands.

The South Korean foreign ministry on Monday released a statement that strongly criticizes Japan for holding the ceremony and demands the immediate abolition of the annual event.

The Japanese Embassy in Seoul says its senior diplomat Soma Hirohisa heard a protest lodged by Kim Jung-han, the foreign ministry's director general for Asian Pacific affairs.

Soma reportedly responded by saying that Japan cannot accept the protest.

News On Japan
POPULAR NEWS

A bombshell report has surfaced in Kanagawa Prefecture, the political base of Shinjiro Koizumi, where as many as 826 members of the Liberal Democratic Party aligned with the Takaichi faction were treated as having resigned from the party without their consent, according to an investigation by the weekly magazine Bunshun.

Osaka City decided on September 30th to suspend new applications for so-called special zone minpaku, a category of private lodging that has seen a sharp rise in disputes with local residents.

North Safari Sapporo, a private zoo in the southern district of Sapporo, closed its doors on September 30th after 20 years of operation, leaving around 300 animals including lions and wolves without a confirmed relocation plan.

Tokyo is expected to record a high of 22°C on October 1st, marking the first time in 112 days since June 11th that the temperature has fallen below 25°C, with rainfall cooling the air and bringing an end to the long stretch of summer-like days.

Photos of cult founder Shoko Asahara, whose real name was Chizuo Matsumoto and who was executed for his role in the 1995 Tokyo subway sarin attack, are being displayed alongside childhood pictures of his son in facilities linked to Aleph, the successor group to Aum Shinrikyo, according to findings by the Public Security Intelligence Agency (PSIA).

MEDIA CHANNELS
         

MORE Society NEWS

Japan's National Police Agency and Tokyo's Metropolitan Police Department launched a new structure on October 1st to pursue the leaders of the so-called Tokuryu, an 'anonymous and fluid' crime group responsible for large-scale fraud and violent robberies linked to black-market recruitment.

A Spanish tourist in Japan has become the subject of widespread criticism after a series of videos showed him pushing a passenger on a train, firing fireworks at a karaoke shop, and intruding into a shrine, with condemnation spreading even to his home country.

A hairdresser operating a salon in Tokyo’s Omotesando district has been arrested on suspicion of luring a female client into the restroom and committing indecent acts, raising questions about how a well-known stylist with a large clientele carried out such conduct.

Removal work has begun at an underground parking facility in Yokkaichi, Mie Prefecture, where 274 vehicles were submerged during record rainfall on September 12th.

A man on trial for fatally shooting relatives with a crossbow in Takarazuka, Hyogo Prefecture, claimed in court on September 30th that the victims were "people who deserved to be killed" and added that he wants to be executed as soon as possible.

Photos of cult founder Shoko Asahara, whose real name was Chizuo Matsumoto and who was executed for his role in the 1995 Tokyo subway sarin attack, are being displayed alongside childhood pictures of his son in facilities linked to Aleph, the successor group to Aum Shinrikyo, according to findings by the Public Security Intelligence Agency (PSIA).

A man kidnapped and believed to have been murdered in Amagasaki, Hyogo Prefecture, has led investigators to a broader case, with police announcing the arrest and indictment of two additional suspects on charges of abandoning a body.

A fire broke out near Haneda Airport in Tokyo’s Ota Ward around 9:10 a.m. on Monday at a demolition site, with black smoke seen rising from the area, according to the Tokyo Fire Department.