News On Japan

North Korea fires two more missiles into its 'firing range' of the Pacific

TOKYO - North Korea launched two more ballistic missiles off its east coast on Monday, with the powerful sister of leader Kim Jong Un saying Pyongyang's use of the Pacific as its "firing range" would depend on the behaviour of U.S. forces.

The launches come just two days after North Korea fired an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) into the sea off Japan's west coast, prompting the United States to hold joint air exercises with South Korea and separately with Japan on Sunday.

North Korea's state media confirmed it fired two projectiles from a multiple rocket launcher, aiming at targets 395 km (245 miles) and 337 km (209 miles) away, respectively.

"The 600mm multiple rocket launcher mobilised in the firing... is a means of tactical nuclear weapon," capable of "paralysing" an enemy airfield, state news agency KCNA said.

Japan's Defense Ministry said the two missiles, launched around 2200 GMT, reached a maximum altitude of about 100 km and 50 km, and fell outside Japan's exclusive economic zone. ...continue reading

Source: ANNnewsCH

News On Japan
POPULAR NEWS

More than 1,200 vehicles are believed to have been left stranded on roads across Chiba Prefecture after torrential rain caused widespread flooding, with authorities confirming eight deaths and investigating a drainage pump failure at an underpass where a man died.

The death toll from the record-breaking heavy rain in Chiba Prefecture has risen to eight, with one person still missing and damage reported to at least 170 homes as flooding, landslides, water outages and transport disruptions continued on August 14.

Japan's weather agency raised the volcanic alert level for Mount Aso in Kumamoto Prefecture from Level 2 to Level 3 on August 14 after volcanic tremors strengthened and gas emissions increased sharply, warning people to stay away from areas within about 2 kilometers of the Nakadake No. 1 crater.

Typhoon No. 17 was moving east near Minamitorishima on August 14 and is expected to continue weakening before becoming a tropical depression by August 16.

Google opened its first flagship store in Japan in Tokyo's Omotesando district at 2 p.m. on August 13, marking the company's first flagship retail location outside the United States.

MEDIA CHANNELS
         

MORE Politics NEWS

Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi and three other Cabinet ministers visited Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo on August 15, the anniversary of the end of World War II, while Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi refrained from going in person and instead offered prayers from the Nippon Budokan.

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on August 13 condemned Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit to the Northern Territories, saying it was "absolutely unacceptable," while Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi summoned Russia's ambassador to Japan and lodged a strong protest.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has visited Etorofu Island, marking his first trip to the Russian-held islands claimed by Japan as the Northern Territories, according to the Kremlin.

Reports that a man posing as an employee of Russian airline Aeroflot conducted intelligence operations in Tokyo have renewed attention on Russian espionage in Japan, a country former Soviet intelligence officers have described as unusually easy for spies to operate in because of weaknesses in its legal and counterintelligence framework.

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi held a telephone call with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on August 12, urging an early easing of military tensions in the Middle East while stressing the importance of free and safe navigation through the Strait of Hormuz without additional costs.

Prime Minister Takaichi said on August 10 that the government expects to apply the Disaster Victims' Livelihood Recovery Support Act across all of Kumamoto Prefecture, allowing households whose homes were completely destroyed in the Kumamoto earthquake to receive up to 3 million yen in assistance.

Nagasaki marked the 81st anniversary of the U.S. atomic bombing on August 9 with a memorial ceremony near the hypocenter, where Mayor Shiro Suzuki declared nuclear weapons an "absolute evil" and called on the Japanese government to uphold its Three Non-Nuclear Principles.

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s economic strategy faced renewed pressure on August 7 as attention shifted toward the Bank of Japan’s September policy meeting, with central bank officials preparing a series of public appearances that could signal whether another interest-rate hike is becoming likely after recent yen turmoil and fiscal concerns.