Latest news with #Kyodo
Nikkei Asia
2 hours ago
- Nikkei Asia
All four pandas at west Japan zoo depart for China
Giant panda Rauhin chews bamboo at Adventure World in Shirahama, Wakayama prefecture, on June 27. (Photo by Kosaku Mimura) WAKAYAMA, Japan (Kyodo) -- All four giant pandas on loan at a western Japan zoo departed the country for China on Saturday, leaving just two of the animals in Japan. Rauhin, a 24-year-old female, and her offspring -- Yuihin, 8, Saihin, 6, and Fuhin, 4 -- were loaded onto a charter flight that took off from Kansai International Airport at around 3 p.m. They are headed to the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding in China's Sichuan Province. The lease agreement for the four was set to expire in August. Japan's two remaining giant pandas, Lei Lei and Xiao Xiao, are at Tokyo's Ueno Zoological Gardens and are due to return to China by next February.
Barnama
5 hours ago
- Barnama
All 4 Pandas At West Japan Zoo Depart For China, Leaves 2 In Country
Giant panda Rauhin is pictured on June 27, 2025, on the final day of her public display at Adventure World in Shirahama, Wakayama Prefecture. (Photo Credit Kyodo) WAKAYAMA (Japan), June 28 (Bernama-Kyodo) -- All four giant pandas on loan to a western Japan zoo left for China on Saturday, ahead of the expiration of their lease agreement, Kyodo News Agency reported. The 24-year-old Rauhin and her offspring -- Yuihin, 8, Saihin, 6, and Fuhin, 4 -- left Adventure World amusement park in Shirahama, Wakayama Prefecture, for the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding in China's Sichuan Province, according to the zoo operator. Their departure means that only two giant pandas remain in Japan. Both are at Tokyo's Ueno Zoological Gardens and are also due to return to China next February. bootstrap slideshow About 1,400 visitors queued at the park before it opened for their final public display on Friday, and some 3,000 people attended a farewell ceremony. "It is sad that they leave Japan all at once. I wish for them to stay healthy in China," said Chisato Noda from Nagoya. "I want to visit China to see them. Maybe I'll plan a trip," said Yumi Yokoyama from Ageo, Saitama Prefecture, near Tokyo. The pandas were last on display in outdoor enclosures in May. Over the past month, the public had been able to see them in isolated rooms where they were quarantined ahead of their travel. Chinese government spokesman Guo Jiakun said Friday that China and Japan have established "sound cooperation ties" through panda conservation and research. "We stand ready to continue enhancing exchanges and cooperation with Japan and other partners in the world to jointly contribute to the protection of the endangered species," he told a press conference in Beijing.
The Mainichi
5 hours ago
- Sport
- The Mainichi
Baseball: Shohei Ohtani homers in 2nd straight game as Dodgers down Royals
KANSAS CITY, Missouri (Kyodo) -- Shohei Ohtani hit a home run for the second straight game and also had an RBI triple as the Los Angeles Dodgers edged the Kansas City Royals 5-4 on Friday for their fifth consecutive win. The two-way star slugged a leadoff homer to right off a 1-2 changeup from Noah Cameron (2-4) at Kauffman Stadium, going deep for the National League lead-extending 29th time this year. Trailing 4-3 with a runner on and no out in the fifth, Ohtani then tied the game by lining a drive to right-center for a triple off the left-hander's 1-1 four-seamer, and scored the decisive run on a Mookie Betts single. Ohtani went 2-for-3 with two RBIs and a walk on the eve of his next pitching start against the Royals on Saturday, his first away game on the mound this season. Tomoyuki Sugano had a wild start and surrendered seven runs over five innings on nine hits -- including three home runs -- and a walk, but picked up the unlikely win as the Baltimore Orioles roared back to batter the Tampa Bay Rays 22-8. Jonathan Aranda and Josh Lowe hit a solo shot each before Brandon Lowe cranked a three-run shot to right off Sugano (6-4) in a six-run second at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. The Orioles scored four runs in the home half and added another in the third to cut the arrears before Sugano allowed his last run in the fourth on three straight singles. However, a Colton Cowser RBI double and Gary Sanchez's two-run shot in the fifth gave the Orioles a lead they would not surrender. "In my long baseball career, it's probably the first time I earned the win giving up this many runs," said Sugano after his team amassed 14 runs over three innings after he got the hook. "I was tense and couldn't get the subtleties of my control right. I know the reason why."
The Mainichi
6 hours ago
- Politics
- The Mainichi
Dalai Lama to turn 90 amid succession argument between Tibet, China
DHARAMSALA, India (Kyodo) -- With the Dalai Lama, Tibetan Buddhism's spiritual leader, soon to turn 90, the issue of how to identify his successor, traditionally viewed as his reincarnation, is a key issue facing Tibet's government-in-exile and China, which took control of the Himalayan region more than 70 years ago. While China has claimed the sole authority to determine the successor, the current 14th Dalai Lama, who fled to India in 1959, has warned that Tibetans will not respect anyone chosen as his reincarnation by the country they see as having invaded their homeland. Amid speculation that the Dalai Lama could identify his successor while still alive, potentially through a process of recognition based on "karmic" connection, the president of the Tibetan government-in-exile has told Kyodo News that selection after the spiritual leader's demise on the basis of reincarnation remains the more likely scenario. "I cannot say for sure, but what we have listened to (from) His Holiness and what has been going around so far indicate (the successor's selection would) more likely (be) by reincarnation" than by identification by the spiritual leader, Penpa Tsering said in a recent interview in Dharamsala, northern India. Dalai Lama has also said in the past that his successor could be a woman. Tsering said the Dalai Lama will make an announcement in a video message at a meeting of representatives of Tibetan Buddhist monasteries on July 2, four days before he turns 90, although he said he did not know whether the succession issue would be touched on. Turning to China, Tsering said the key issue for Chinese government officials is selecting a new Dalai Lama "to fulfill their political needs." The current Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, assumed the role in 1950 after being identified as the reincarnation of his predecessor when he was 2 years old. He exiled himself to India soon after the failed Tibetan uprising against China's imposition of control in 1959. He later established a government-in-exile in Dharamsala. China considers the current Dalai Lama as a separatist who aims to break Tibet away from China. He, however, has insisted he is seeking autonomy for Tibet, with steps to preserve its religion, culture and language. In 1989, the Dalai Lama won the Nobel Peace Prize for advocating peaceful solutions to preserve the historical and cultural heritage of the Tibetan people. Formal talks between Tibet and China were last held in 2010. Tsering, the second president of the government-in-exile who took office in 2021, said the two sides have since only used unofficial channels to communicate. He said he believes that China's policy on Tibet and other ethnic minorities revolves around "eliminating the identity of the nationalities" of the ethnic groups. "That's why they are striking the very root of every nationality's identity, including Tibetan, by having this colonial style -- holding schools where a lot of restrictions are imposed on teaching the native language," he added. Tsering was recently on a month-long tour to officially visit the United States, Canada and Japan to discuss the Tibetan cause. While Dalai Lama had a knee surgery in the United States in June last year, Tsering said the spiritual leader is in good health. "His Holiness keeps saying 'I will live for two decades (from now) and more and live up to 113 years of age,'" Tsering said. "There are also prophecies that he will live very long." (By Rini Dutta)
The Mainichi
8 hours ago
- Automotive
- The Mainichi
Japan chipmaker Renesas postpones achieving 2030 sales goal by 5 yrs
TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Japanese chipmaker Renesas Electronics Corp. said Thursday it will push back its target of achieving sales of over $20 billion in 2030 by five years in the face of stiff competition from Chinese rivals. The goal is to more than double its sales of 1.35 trillion yen ($9.3 billion) in 2024. Also, Renesas, a major maker of automobile chips, now aims to boost its market capitalization sixfold by 2035, instead of the previously targeted 2030, Renesas CEO Hidetoshi Shibata said at a meeting with investors. "The environment surrounding us has significantly changed. It is not easy now to face off squarely against Chinese firms and beat them," Shibata said. Renesas sees Chinese companies improving their manufacturing skills and technology as they have been facing U.S. export restrictions amid the U.S.-China chip war. On Monday, the company said it expects a loss of about 250 billion yen in the first six months of this year, related to its restructuring support for a U.S. business partner, Wolfspeed Inc. Wolfspeed has suspended the development of silicon carbide wafers for next-generation power semiconductors, which will be used in electric vehicles, among others, even as the U.S. company agreed to supply the wafers to Renesas.
