Latest news with #non-NATO
Kyodo News
2 days ago
- Business
- Kyodo News
Kyodo News Digest: June 27, 2025
KYODO NEWS - 18 minutes ago - 09:00 | All, Japan, World The following is the latest list of selected news summaries by Kyodo News. ---------- Japan's May jobless rate remains unchanged at 2.5% TOKYO - Japan's unemployment rate in May remained unchanged from the previous month at 2.5 percent, government data showed Friday. The job availability ratio decreased 0.02 point from April to 1.24, indicating there were 124 jobs available for every 100 job seekers, according to separate data. ---------- Trump could extend 90-day tariff pause in July, White House says WASHINGTON - U.S. President Donald Trump could extend his administration's 90-day pause on so-called reciprocal tariffs, set to expire on July 9, the White House said Thursday. As Japan's top tariff negotiator arrived in Washington seeking to hold another round of talks with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said at a press briefing, "The deadline is not critical." ---------- Rubio to meet Japan, Australia, India foreign ministers on Tuesday WASHINGTON - U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio will host a four-way meeting with his counterparts from Japan, Australia and India on Tuesday to advance a free and open Indo-Pacific, the State Department said. The department's deputy spokesman Tommy Pigott said at a press briefing Thursday that the meeting among ministers of the so-called Quad grouping in Washington is aimed at reinforcing "peace and prosperity" in the region. ---------- Japan PM's last-minute no-show at NATO summit questioned at home TOKYO - Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba is facing criticism from within his own party over his last-minute decision to skip a NATO summit in the Netherlands, at a time when fostering ties with the military alliance is seen as vital to counter China's rise in the Indo-Pacific. Ishiba's absence also gave rise to the view that he sought to avoid a situation in which Japan, a non-NATO member but close U.S. ally, would be pressed by U.S. President Donald Trump to spend more on its defense, as NATO leaders at the two-day meeting that ended Wednesday discussed substantially increasing defense spending. ---------- Bear appears at local Japanese airport, flights suspended YAMAGATA, Japan - A bear wandered onto the grounds of Yamagata Airport in northeastern Japan on Thursday, prompting the closure of its runway and flight cancellations, local authorities said. Although the bear has not yet been captured, the airport plans to resume normal operations from Friday, with increased patrols. ---------- Russian envoy to Japan to attend A-bomb ceremony in Nagasaki in Aug. MOSCOW - Russia's ambassador to Japan will attend an annual peace ceremony commemorating the 1945 U.S. atomic bombing in the southwestern city of Nagasaki in August, local media reported Thursday, making it the first such attendance since Russia launched its full-scale invasion against Ukraine in 2022. The attendance of Nikolay Nozdrev is expected after the Nagasaki city government adopted a more inclusive approach to invitations to the Aug. 9 ceremony following last year's controversy over its decision not to invite Israel amid its conflict with Palestinian militants. ---------- Japan seeks to end living expenses aid to foreign doctoral students TOKYO - Japan's education ministry plans to restrict living expenses support for doctoral students to Japanese nationals only, a panel proposal showed Thursday after parliamentary debate over foreign students accounting for over a third of recipients of the public grants. The plan to abolish foreigners' access to living subsidies of 1.8 million yen ($12,400) to 2.4 million yen per annum is expected to take effect in fiscal 2027, pending approval from a committee. ---------- Japan chipmaker Renesas postpones achieving 2030 sales goal by 5 yrs TOKYO - 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. Video: Traditional Yosakoi dance World Exposition in Osaka.
The Mainichi
2 days ago
- Politics
- The Mainichi
Japan PM's last-minute no-show at NATO summit questioned at home
TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba is facing criticism from within his own party over his last-minute decision to skip a NATO summit in the Netherlands, at a time when fostering ties with the military alliance is seen as vital to counter China's rise in the Indo-Pacific. Ishiba's absence also gave rise to the view that he sought to avoid a situation in which Japan, a non-NATO member but close U.S. ally, would be pressed by U.S. President Donald Trump to spend more on its defense, as NATO leaders at the two-day meeting that ended Wednesday discussed substantially increasing defense spending. Ishiba had planned to make a three-day trip from Tuesday to attend the summit. But the Japanese government canceled the trip only a day before he was due to leave for The Hague, citing "various circumstances." It came after the United States notified other governments that Trump would not be attending a meeting between NATO and its Indo-Pacific partners known as the IP4 -- Japan, along with Australia, South Korea and New Zealand. Ishiba's attendance would have made it the fourth straight year since 2022 that a sitting Japanese prime minister attended a NATO summit, underscoring the importance the country attaches to its deepening ties with the group, especially in the wake of Russia's war on Ukraine. "I don't understand why he had to cancel the trip despite all the preparations that went into it," said a lawmaker of the Liberal Democratic Party, which Ishiba heads. In his place, Japan sent Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya to the gathering, which South Korea's new President Lee Jae Myung and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese likewise opted to skip. Ishiba has repeatedly said the security of the Euro-Atlantic and that of the Indo-Pacific are inseparable as he stressed the need for more cooperation between Japan and NATO. The military alliance, which has traditionally sought to respond to threats from Russia, has been expanding its outreach, acknowledging the challenges posed by China's growing military power in the Indo-Pacific. In response to "profound" security challenges, NATO leaders agreed Wednesday to commit to investing 5 percent of gross domestic product annually for defense and security-related spending by 2035. The agreement came when Japan is wary of further pressure from the Trump administration to increase defense outlays, despite already on course to boost related spending to 2 percent of GDP by fiscal 2027 in the face of an assertive China and North Korea's nuclear and missile development. Japan's current military buildup plan marks a drastic change given its war-renouncing Constitution and its commitment to using force only for self-defense that has limited any substantial increases in spending for decades. A Japan-U.S. diplomatic source had said earlier that the Trump administration presented a plan to the Japanese government to raise its defense spending to 3.5 percent of GDP. The request is believed to have prompted Tokyo to call off a planned high-level meeting of diplomats and defense officials in Washington, ahead of a national election.
Japan Today
2 days ago
- Politics
- Japan Today
Japan PM's no-show at NATO summit questioned at home
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba is facing criticism from within his own party over his last-minute decision to skip a NATO summit in the Netherlands, at a time when fostering ties with the military alliance is seen as vital to counter China's rise in the Indo-Pacific. Ishiba's absence also gave rise to the view that he sought to avoid a situation in which Japan, a non-NATO member but close U.S. ally, would be pressed by U.S. President Donald Trump to spend more on its defense, as NATO leaders at the two-day meeting that ended Wednesday discussed substantially increasing defense spending. Ishiba had planned to make a three-day trip from Tuesday to attend the summit. But the Japanese government canceled the trip only a day before he was due to leave for The Hague, citing "various circumstances." It came after the United States notified other governments that Trump would not be attending a meeting between NATO and its Indo-Pacific partners known as the IP4 -- Japan, along with Australia, South Korea and New Zealand. Ishiba's attendance would have made it the fourth straight year since 2022 that a sitting Japanese prime minister attended a NATO summit, underscoring the importance the country attaches to its deepening ties with the group, especially in the wake of Russia's war on Ukraine. "I don't understand why he had to cancel the trip despite all the preparations that went into it," said a lawmaker of the Liberal Democratic Party, which Ishiba heads. In his place, Japan sent Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya to the gathering, which South Korea's new President Lee Jae Myung and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese likewise opted to skip. Ishiba has repeatedly said the security of the Euro-Atlantic and that of the Indo-Pacific are inseparable as he stressed the need for more cooperation between Japan and NATO. The military alliance, which has traditionally sought to respond to threats from Russia, has been expanding its outreach, acknowledging the challenges posed by China's growing military power in the Indo-Pacific. In response to "profound" security challenges, NATO leaders agreed Wednesday to commit to investing 5 percent of gross domestic product annually for defense and security-related spending by 2035. The agreement came when Japan is wary of further pressure from the Trump administration to increase defense outlays, despite already on course to boost related spending to 2 percent of GDP by fiscal 2027 in the face of an assertive China and North Korea's nuclear and missile development. Japan's current military buildup plan marks a drastic change given its war-renouncing Constitution and its commitment to using force only for self-defense that has limited any substantial increases in spending for decades. A Japan-U.S. diplomatic source had said earlier that the Trump administration presented a plan to the Japanese government to raise its defense spending to 3.5 percent of GDP. The request is believed to have prompted Tokyo to call off a planned high-level meeting of diplomats and defense officials in Washington, ahead of a national election. © KYODO
Perth Now
4 days ago
- Politics
- Perth Now
‘Not on the agenda': Big Trump admission
When Australia's top leadership will meet Donald Trump in the flesh remains unknown, after Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles admitted a face-to-face with the US President is not scheduled at this week's NATO Summit. Mr Marles is in the Netherlands for the summit representing Australia as one of the Indo Pacific Four (IP4) – non-NATO countries that work closely with the military alliance in the region. Nikkei has reported Mr Trump was seeking to meet with IP4 representatives amid growing concerns of a Chinese threat, described by his administration as potentially 'imminent'. Mr Marles, who is also defence minister, said overnight a meeting was 'not specifically on the agenda', hastily adding that he 'wouldn't want to overstate any of that'. Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles has admitted a meeting with US President Donald Trump is not yet scheduled at this week's NATO Summit. NewsWire / Martin Ollman Credit: News Corp Australia 'I think we are in large rooms with lots of people, and these meetings, gatherings like this, end up being pretty fluid in terms of the bilaterals that you end up organising,' he told reporters from The Hague. 'But look, it is a really significant gathering for us to attend, and the importance of the NATO Summit has grown in terms of the way in which we engage with the world.' He added that how events in the Indo Pacific and in the North Atlantic 'are influencing each other is growing'. 'What's happening here in Europe, what's happening, specifically in the war in Ukraine is engaging Australia's national interests, and it's a really important gathering for us to attend,' Mr Marles said. More to come.
Nikkei Asia
4 days ago
- Nikkei Asia
Japan teams with NATO to counter China, Russia cyber threats
Japan's participation in the Malware Information Sharing Platform will signal it is focused on cyberdefense. (Photo by Suzu Takahashi) SHINNOSUKE NAGATOMI TOKYO -- Japan has begun sharing intelligence related to cyberattacks with NATO member countries, Nikkei has learned, exchanging information about malware used by China, North Korea, Russia and other countries with the aim of improving cyberdefense. Japan's Defense Ministry and Self-Defense Forces have joined NATO's Malware Information Sharing Platform (MISP), a framework created in 2013. South Korea also participates as a non-NATO member.
