Latest news with #InternalAffairsMinistry
NHK
04-07-2025
- Politics
- NHK
Early voting starts for Japan's Upper House election
Early voting began across Japan on Friday for the Upper House election on July 20. Official campaigning for the election kicked off on Thursday. A total of 522 people are running in the election -- either those competing in electoral districts or running under the proportional representation system. Key election issues include how to tackle rising prices and the future of social security. People who may not be able to cast their ballots on election day due to travel, work or other reasons are eligible to vote early. Polling stations set up by municipalities are basically open from 8:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. The number of early voters has been increasing since the system was introduced in 2003. In the previous Upper House election in 2022, 35.9 percent of voters, or about 19.6 million people, cast early ballots. The Internal Affairs Ministry says the venues for polling stations include university campuses, shopping centers and railway stations to encourage more people to cast their ballots. The ministry says some polling stations are opening earlier than 8:30 a.m. or closing later than 8 p.m. for the convenience of voters who work on weekdays. Early voting will continue through July 19, the day before the election.
Straits Times
04-07-2025
- Automotive
- Straits Times
Japan's households boost spending by most since summer 2022
Consumption makes up more than half of Japan's economic output and could determine if the economy will enter or avoid a technical recession. TOKYO – Japan's household spending rose the most since the summer of 2022 in a sign that consumer may be getting used to persistent inflation and could support for an economy that is taking a hit from US tariffs. Outlays by households adjusted for inflation gained 4.7 per cent from a year ago in May, largely due to more spending on cars, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications reported on July 4. The result beat the median economist estimate of a 1.2 per cent gain. The jump in cars this year helped inflate the overall number but was largely due to comparison with low volumes last year resulting from a safety certification scandal, according to an Internal Affairs Ministry official. Still, spending also grew for tourism both within and outside Japan while people also increased outlays on eating out. Consumption makes up more than half of Japan's economic output and could determine whether the economy will enter or avoid a technical recession. US tariffs including a 25 per cent levy on cars and car parts are weighing on Japan's exports, raising the risk that the economy may shrink again in the second quarter after contracting in the first three months of the year. 'The results are relatively good. But we need to take into account that the data tend to be volatile,' said Ms Harumi Taguchi, principal economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence. 'Temporary factors such as cars and travel pushed up the numbers, but it's unclear whether this indicates sustained strong consumption.' Around 64 per cent of economists polled in early June see the tariffs potentially causing a recession in the world's fourth-largest economy. So far Japanese carmakers have refrained from hiking prices in the US too much despite facing harsh tariffs, largely absorbing the costs and taking a hit to profits. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore Seller's stamp duty rates for private homes raised; holding period increased from 3 years to 4 Singapore Multiple charges for man accused of damaging PAP campaign materials on GE2025 Polling Day Asia Japan urges evacuation of small island as 1,000 quakes hit region World Trump's sweeping tax-cut and spending Bill wins congressional approval World Trump eyes simple tariff rates over complex talks, says letters will start going out on July 4 Sport A true fans' player – Liverpool supporters in Singapore pay tribute to late Diogo Jota Singapore Jail for man who recruited 2 Japanese women for prostitution at MBS Business More Singapore residents met CPF Required Retirement Sum when they turned 55 in 2024 Inflation in Japan remains persistently above the central bank's 2 per cent target. Nominal wages have been on the rise, but real wages adjusted for inflation have fallen for four months nonstop through April, meaning that a rise in paychecks has yet to offset the pain of inflation. May wage data are due on Monday. Ahead of an upper house election on July 20, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba is proposing fresh cash handouts to help households deal with inflation. Some opposition parties are pitching a sales tax cut as an alternative to ease the pain. Unlike in the US, where President Donald Trump openly pressures the Federal Reserve on the course of monetary policy, the Bank of Japan appears to be facing little political pressure over bringing down inflation. 'Inflation continues to hold down consumption,' said Ms Taguchi. 'Wages are rising, but real wages keep falling, so I do not expect consumption to strengthen. In addition, the outcome of trade negotiations with Trump will affect economic sentiment.' BLOOMBERG
CNA
06-06-2025
- Business
- CNA
Japan April household spending unexpectedly falls
TOKYO :Japanese household spending unexpectedly fell in April, as consumers tightened their purse strings in the face of higher prices. Consumer spending fell 0.1 per cent in April from a year earlier, data from the internal affairs ministry showed on Friday. That was worse than the median market forecast for 1.4 per cent growth and March's 2.1 per cent increase. On a seasonally adjusted, month-on-month basis, spending declined 1.8 per cent, versus an estimated 0.8 per cent fall. Consumption and wage trends are among key factors the Bank of Japan is watching to gauge economic strength and decide how soon to raise interest rates. Hefty pay hikes are seen as essential to counter sharp increases in the cost of living. Major Japanese firms on average agreed to more than 5 per cent pay hikes during annual spring wage talks in March. The monthly wage data released on Thursday showed real wages fell for a fourth consecutive month, eroded by stubborn inflation that has continued to outpace pay hikes.
ABC News
21-05-2025
- ABC News
Fiji counter narcotics bureau faces review after arrest of officer
Fiji's police commissioner says the country's new Counter Narcotics Bureau needs to be reviewed after a police officer working with it, was arrested over a recent methamphetamine bust. The police officer is one of four people arrested over the seizure of four kilograms of meth disguised as coffee at the Nadi international airport. The Counter Narcotics Bureau was set up last year to combat the country's growing drug problem and sits in the Internal Affairs Ministry, staffed by officers from several agencies including the police. Police Commissioner Rusiate Tudravu says the officer arrested has been suspended without pay while investigations continue.
The Independent
07-03-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Millions of Ukrainians face conscription into Russian army after Moscow issues passports in occupied territory
Russia has issued millions of passports to Ukrainians living in illegally Russian-occupied territory leaving them at risk of conscription into its army, the UK Ministry of Defence has said. Around 3.5 million Russian passports have been issued to Ukrainians, Moscow's interior minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev said. This means around 700,000 have been issued since March 2024, when 2.8 million had been handed out. Holding a Russian passport in the occupied territories has been made necessary for Ukrainians who want to access healthcare, retirement income, social services, or prove property ownership. A Russian law stipulated that anyone in the occupied territories who did not have a Russian passport by 1 July 2024 was subject to imprisonment as a 'foreign citizen.' The eastern Ukrainian regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson are all partially under Russian control, with Putin's forces having controlled much of south and east Ukraine since its invasion in February 2022. Millions of Ukrainians live under Russian control. Incentives are also offered as part of the passport, including a stipend to leave the occupied territory and move to Russia, pensions for retirees, humanitarian aid, and money for new parents who have children with Russian birth certificates. For each Russian passport and birth certificate issued, it becomes more difficult for Ukraine to reclaim its lost land and children - and it allows Russia to claim a right to defend its new citizens against a hostile neighbour. 'Russian efforts to enforce governance in illegally occupied territory, and to coerce and compel Ukrainians to accept Russian passports, demonstrate the Russian senior leadership's continuing commitment to, and pursuit of, a Russification policy,' the UK Ministry of Defence said. 'Possession of a Russian passport also constitutes eligibility for conscription into the Russian military. Ukrainians without a Russian passport also face the seizure of their property by authorities.' Russia has a history of enforcing citizenship on Ukrainians, after adopting a similar approach after it annexed Crimea in 2014. Russian citizenship was automatically given to permanent residents of the peninsula and those who refused lost rights to jobs, healthcare and property. In eastern Ukraine, Russia first passed laws to make it easier to obtain passports in May 2022, before introducing punishments for those who did not accept citizenship in April 2023. Russians could be considered stateless and required to register with Moscow's Internal Affairs Ministry Hundreds of properties deemed 'abandoned' were seized by the Russian government after officials said a Russian passport was needed to prove property ownership. 'If someone got their passport in August 2022 or earlier, they are most certainly pro-Russian, Oleksandr Rozum, a lawyer who left the occupied city of Berdyansk and now assists Ukrainians under occupation, said in 2024. 'If a passport was issued after that time – it was most certainly forced,' he added. The area controlled by Russia has grown in the past year, with Putin's forces steadily edging forward in eastern areas, taking village by village as the Ukrainian military struggles with manpower issues. But Russian forces have also faced difficulty in sustaining the vast numbers of troops needed to fight their war of attrition in Ukraine, and their enforcement of passports on Ukrainians may come as part of an effort to increase its pool for frontline manpower. Moscow has made use of Russian prisoners to help compensate for the huge losses it suffers on the battlefield as a result of what has been described as a 'meat grinder' strategy - in which thousands of troops are sent charging at Ukrainian defense lines in an attempt to overcome them through sheer manpower. Thousands of North Korean troops sent by Pyongyang have also supplemented Russian forces on the ground.
