Kyodo News Digest: June 29, 2025
KYODO NEWS - 11 minutes ago - 09:03 | All, Japan, World
The following is the latest list of selected news summaries by Kyodo News.
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Japan's final H2A rocket successfully lifts off, ends 24-yr career
TANEGASHIMA, Japan - Japan successfully launched its 50th and final H2A liquid-fuel rocket from a southwestern Japan island on Sunday, drawing the curtain on the series' 24-year career in support of the country's space development program.
The H2A rocket, developed by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, has been replaced as the country's mainstay space vehicle by the H3 rocket, which offers a lower launch service price.
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Israel envoy to attend Nagasaki A-bomb ceremony after 2024 snub
TOKYO - Israel will attend the peace ceremony marking the anniversary of the 1945 U.S. atomic bombing of Nagasaki in August, the country's ambassador has said, after the Middle Eastern nation was not invited last year.
Ambassador of Israel to Japan Gilad Cohen revealed he had received an invitation from the mayor of Nagasaki during a press conference Friday. He said he will show Israel's "respect to the Japanese people" and "mutual understanding of the importance of peace."
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PM Ishiba urges party to unite as crucial upper house vote looms
TOKYO - Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on Saturday urged senior members of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party to come together to "continue the coalition government" with a crucial House of Councillors election just weeks away.
His calls come after the LDP saw its worst-ever result in a Tokyo assembly election amid persistent money scandals and voter drift to smaller parties. With the LDP and coalition partner the Komeito party a minority in the House of Representatives, losing the upper house could cost Ishiba his job and reshape the ruling bloc.
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Shinkansen train hits bear, services delayed in northeast Japan
SENDAI - A bullet train hit a bear on Saturday afternoon, causing delays to some services on the Tohoku Shinkansen Line in northeastern Japan, according to JR East.
The train, traveling north from Tokyo, came to a halt past Sendai Station at around 4 p.m. after the driver saw an animal and then heard an abnormal sound forcing him to apply the brakes, JR East said.
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Thai protesters urge PM to resign over call with ex-PM of Cambodia
BANGKOK - Thousands of Thai protesters gathered Saturday, urging Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra to resign following a leaked phone conversation in which she appeared to appease former Cambodian leader Hun Sen following a border clash between the two nations last month.
The rally in Bangkok has put Paetongtarn under increasing pressure to step down after one of the parties in her coalition government criticized her remarks and left the alliance last week.
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Japan wrestling with U.S. tariff talks as July deadline looms
WASHINGTON - Japanese and U.S. tariff negotiators agreed Friday to continue talks in pursuit of a deal that will be beneficial to both countries, but significant differences apparently remain in areas such as Washington's treatment of its key Asian ally's automotive industry.
Japan's government said its top tariff negotiator, Ryosei Akazawa, and U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick held talks in Washington, with each side reaffirming its position during "fruitful" discussions on trade expansion, nontariff measures and economic security cooperation.
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The Mainichi
2 hours ago
- The Mainichi
Israel envoy to attend Nagasaki A-bomb ceremony after 2024 snub
TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Israel will attend the peace ceremony marking the anniversary of the 1945 U.S. atomic bombing of Nagasaki in August, the country's ambassador has said, after the Middle Eastern nation was not invited last year. Ambassador of Israel to Japan Gilad Cohen revealed he had received an invitation from the mayor of Nagasaki during a press conference Friday. He said he will show Israel's "respect to the Japanese people" and "mutual understanding of the importance of peace." It comes after the Nagasaki city government did not invite Israel in 2024 amid its conflict with Palestinian militants in Gaza. In response, ambassadors from the Group of Seven nations other than Japan pulled out of the annual ceremony. For this year's event, marking 80 years since the bombing, the city government said in May it intends to adopt a more inclusive approach inviting representatives from all the diplomatic missions in Japan. On Thursday, Russian media said Russian Ambassador to Japan Nikolay Nozdrev will attend the ceremony, the first presence from the country since it began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Kyodo News
2 hours ago
- Kyodo News
Japan tariff negotiator in Washington holds talks twice with Lutnick
KYODO NEWS - 1 hour ago - 12:39 | All, Japan, World Japan's top tariff negotiator, Ryosei Akazawa, spoke with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick by phone twice on Saturday, an official said, as they try to iron out some of the most difficult issues in pursuit of a deal that will be beneficial to both countries. Akazawa, who has extended his stay in Washington, spoke to Lutnick for about 15 minutes in the morning and about 20 minutes in the evening, the Japanese government said, adding Tokyo will continue to work "strenuously" with Washington toward an agreement. Akazawa's calls with Lutnick came a day after they held a meeting that lasted about an hour, with sharp differences apparently remaining over U.S. President Donald Trump's hefty tariffs on foreign-made cars and auto parts. In the ongoing negotiations, Japan has placed top priority on mitigating the impact of the Trump administration's increase in April of the tariff on imported automobiles to 27.5 percent from 2.5 percent. Trump and his trade team have shown no signs of scrapping or lowering such sector-based tariffs, including on steel and aluminum, that the president has imposed on national security grounds. Akazawa arrived in Washington on Thursday for his seventh round of ministerial meetings on tariffs with U.S. Cabinet members. Akazawa, Japan's minister for economic revitalization, was initially due to leave for Tokyo on Saturday, but he extended his visit to explore a separate meeting with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. The official said it remains unclear how long Akazawa will stay in the U.S. capital. Related coverage: Japan wrestling with U.S. tariff talks as July deadline looms Trump could extend 90-day tariff pause in July, White House says Japan reiterates that higher U.S. auto tariffs are unacceptable
The Mainichi
3 hours ago
- The Mainichi
New Japanese citizen in int'l marriage confronts single-surname rule for married couples
FUKUOKA -- A man who acquired Japanese nationality two years ago has reflected on the Japanese system requiring married Japanese couples to share a single surname -- following years in an international marriage in which he and his wife retained separate surnames. Japan has been contemplating a bill that would give Japanese couples the option of retaining separate surnames after marriage. The bill recently entered deliberation in the Diet for the first time in 28 years, but without a conclusion being reached before the end of the latest Diet session on June 22, the talks are set to continue. Discussions have been met with persistent opposition from conservatives who argue that it would "undermine family unity." However, the man interviewed by the Mainichi Shimbun says that the rule actually caused confusion for his family. This raises the question: What is the ideal form for surnames and family? The man, originally from Sri Lanka, is Pathmasiri-Jayasena Hara, 54, a professor in peace studies at Fukuoka Women's University in Fukuoka's Higashi Ward. He came to Japan as a student in 2000 and, except for temporary stays in Britain and elsewhere, has mostly lived in Japan. He married a Japanese woman in 2006, and they have four children. Japan alone forces married couples to have single surname Hara began the process of acquiring Japanese citizenship around 2022. Although he held "permanent resident" status, he had developed a deep attachment to Japan after living in the country for many years, and wanted to engage with society as a Japanese national. In 2023, he acquired Japanese citizenship, whereupon the issue of the couple's surname came up. In international marriages involving a Japanese citizen, if the spouse retains foreign nationality, there is no problem with the couple retaining separate surnames. But if the foreign national acquires Japanese citizenship and it becomes a marriage between two Japanese nationals, a new family register is created, so they are asked to decide which surname to keep. According to the Ministry of Justice, Japan is the only country in the world that mandates a single surname choice for married couples. Hara's sister, who lives in Sri Lanka, did not change her surname after marriage. The option of being able to choose separate surnames is taken for granted there, and Hara reflected, "I had never even considered it before it became a personal issue." Sensing an implicit social rule Hara's primary concern about changing his own name was the potential disadvantage in his research -- a change in surname could lead to difficulties in being recognized in academic searches, and his achievements might not be properly evaluated. He considered the option of continuing to use his original surname. His wife and children, too, expressed a desire to take his surname. When he asked them why, his daughters, high school and junior high school students, replied, "Because everyone does." According to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, 94.5% of couples who married in 2023 chose the husband's surname. However, Hara felt a lingering discomfort, suspecting they were unconsciously conforming to unspoken social rules they didn't need to follow. In his job, Hara has raised issues with the Japanese system, prepared to face any criticism. One of those issues is Japan's male-dominated society. "It doesn't make sense for us to adopt my surname after I have acquired Japanese nationality," he said. After much deliberation, he decided to take his wife's surname. At the same time Hara registered his original surname "Jayasena" and his given name "Pathmasiri" as a single name, "Pathmasiri-Jayasena," to avoid confusion in academic searches and so he wouldn't be mistaken for someone else. The university allows him to use the name by which he is regularly known, and he hasn't encountered significant inconveniences so far from changing his name. However, official documents related to employment and salary require the surname on the family register, leading to more instances where he needs to be mindful, telling people who are wondering what to call him, "Please call me 'Jayasena.'" The partial change in a name he had held for half a century shook his identity. "It feels like there are two of me," he said. Diversity a key to family happiness The introduction of a system allowing couples to retain separate surnames after marriage was proposed by the Legislative Council, an advisory body to the minister of justice, in 1996, but has been blocked by opponents including conservative Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) lawmakers. Opponents argue that "the sense of family unity and bonds would break down" as a result, but Hara counters that this claim has "absolutely no basis." For 17 years before he acquired Japanese nationality, Hara and his wife lived with different surnames, with the children using their mother's surname, but this was never a topic of discussion. They were a close-knit family. Rather, it was being bound by the single-surname rule that caused them trouble. Hara sometimes wonders what his wife truly feels about him adopting her surname. If they hadn't been forced to choose a surname, such a thought might never have crossed his mind. "That's why the freedom to choose is important. What matters is that family members respect each other, and surname uniformity should be irrelevant," he said. Deliberation on the issue, which had long been shelved in Japan, began in the House of Representatives Judicial Affairs Committee for the first time in 28 years after the LDP became a minority party in the lower house. However, due to differing views between the ruling and opposition parties on the direction of the amendment, a vote was postponed, and the discussion continues. In a survey conducted by the Cabinet Office in 2021, 52.1% of people who had changed their surname due to the same-surname system agreed that there were inconveniences or disadvantages in doing so. Hara stressed, "There are still people worrying about this now. The system of selective surnames for married couples doesn't take away anyone's rights; it increases options. Surely increasing options fosters diversity and contributes to everyone's happiness."
