Latest from Japan Today
Japan Today
3 hours ago
- Business
- Japan Today
Rice imports to Japan surge in May
Private sector imports of tariffed rice to Japan in May were 3.5 times the total volume brought in during all of fiscal 2024, revised government trade data showed Friday, as soaring prices of domestic rice have spurred demand for cheaper alternatives. According to the Finance Ministry's trade statistics, revised from a preliminary report issued earlier this month, 10,605 tons of tariffed rice were imported in May, a sharp increase from 115 tons in the same period last year. The United States, which accounted for 7,894 tons, was the largest source, followed by Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam. Prices of domestic rice have continued to surge due in part to a supply shortage, with an auction system initially employed by the government to release its stockpiles blamed for further inflating prices. Yasufumi Miwa, an expert on agriculture at the Japan Research Institute, noted that private imports may soon decline as the government has been selling stockpiled rice via direct contracts with retailers since late May, helping to ease prices. But Miwa warned that they may rise again if the price of newly harvested rice stays in the range of 4,000 yen per 5 kilograms. Japan currently imports 770,000 tons of rice annually tariff-free under its minimum access commitment based on World Trade Organization rules. Of that, up to 100,000 tons is used for human consumption. As the recent surge in rice imports falls outside this quota, they are subject to a tariff of 341 yen per kg. © KYODO
Japan Today
3 hours ago
- Japan Today
Three bodies found in Nara Pref in apparent murder-suicide
The bodies of an elderly couple and their son were found in an apartment in Yamatotakada City, Nara Prefecture, on June 24, in what police believe was a murder-suicide. Police said Friday the deceased were Sadayoshi Imai, 85, his wife Miyoko, 85, and their son Joji, 62, a local government employee. Police said that on the morning of June 24, a female relative received a suicidal message from Joji on a social networking site and contacted police. Police said Joji's parents were found lying face-up in the living room on the first floor and that they had been strangled to death. Joji was found crouched in the bathroom, and remnants of charcoal briquettes were found in the bathtub. There was no sign of anyone breaking into the house or stealing anything. © Japan Today
Japan Today
3 hours ago
- Politics
- Japan Today
Iran envoy urges Japan to take stand against U.S. attacks, Trump's remarks
U.S. President Donald Trump points to a reporter to take a question in the briefing room of the White House in Washington on Friday. Iranian ambassador to Japan Peiman Seadat has urged Tokyo to stand against U.S. and Israeli strikes on nuclear facilities in his nation after President Donald Trump's remark likening the U.S. attacks to the 1945 atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The ambassador said in a recent interview with Kyodo News that the comment is an "insult" not only to Iran, but also to Japan, the world's only country to have suffered atomic bombings. Japan should raise a "very loud voice," Seadat said, adding that Japan's voice is "important" to the international community. The interview was held after the United States, Japan's close ally, bombarded key Iranian nuclear sites on Sunday. Israel and Iran had been engaged in a tit-for-tat conflict following Israeli airstrikes on military and nuclear targets on June 13 before announcing a cease-fire on Tuesday. Trump said Wednesday during his visit to the Netherlands for a NATO summit, "I don't want to use an example of Hiroshima, I don't want to use an example of Nagasaki, but that was essentially the same thing. That ended that war." Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya said in a statement Monday that Japan "understands" the U.S. military action as a demonstration of its resolve to de-escalate the situation while preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. Stability in the Middle East is vital for resource-poor Japan, given its heavy dependence on the region for crude oil, and it has traditionally maintained friendly ties with Iran. Seadat criticized Trump's reference to the atomic bombings on the two Japanese cities in the closing days of World War II as an "outrageous" and "irresponsible" statement showing "total disregard for human suffering." The envoy said the U.S. attacks on the nuclear sites deserve "global condemnation," calling them "acts of aggression" committed in violation of international law. He also said that "forcing peace is not peace," in reference to Trump's comment on his Truth Social media site that "Perhaps Iran can now proceed to Peace and Harmony in the Region." The U.S. military action right in the middle of nuclear negotiations was an act of "betrayal by the Trump administration," Seadat said. © KYODO
Japan Today
5 hours ago
- Politics
- Japan Today
Protesters gather in Bangkok to demand Thai prime minister's resignation over leaked Cambodia call
By JINTAMAS SAKSORNCHAI Hundreds of protesters gathered in Thailand's capital on Saturday to demand the resignation of Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, part of the brewing political turmoil set off by a leaked phone call with former Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen. Paetongtarn faces growing dissatisfaction over her handling of a recent border dispute with Cambodia involving an armed confrontation May 28. One Cambodian soldier was killed in a relatively small, contested area. The clash set off a string of investigations that could lead to her removal. Protesters held national flags and signs as they occupied parts of the streets around the Victory Monument in central Bangkok. A huge stage was set up at the foot of the monument as participants sat and listened to speakers who said they gathered to express their love of the country following the intensified border row. Many of the leading figures in the protest were familiar faces who were part of a group popularly known as Yellow Shirts, whose clothing color indicates loyalty to the Thai monarchy. They are longtime foes of Paetongtarn's father, former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. Their rallies at times turned violent and led to military coups in 2006 and 2014, which respectively ousted the elected governments of Thaksin and Paetongtarn's aunt, former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra. Outrage over the recorded phone call mostly revolved around Paetongtarn telling Hun Sen, the current Cambodian Senate president and a longtime friend of her father, not to listen to 'an opponent' in Thailand. It's believed to be a reference to the regional Thai army commander in charge of the area where the clash happened, who publicly criticized Cambodia over the border dispute. Hun Sen on Saturday vowed to protect his country's territory from foreign invaders and condemned what he called an attack by Thai forces last month. At a 74th anniversary celebration of the foundation of his long-ruling Cambodian People's Party, Hun Sen claimed the action by the Thai army was illegal when it engaged Cambodian forces. He said the skirmish inside Cambodian territory was a serious violation of country's sovereignty and territorial integrity, despite Cambodia's good will in attempting to resolve the border issue. 'This poor Cambodia has suffered from foreign invasion, war, and genocide, been surrounded and isolated and insulted in the past but now Cambodia has risen on an equal face with other countries. We need peace, friendship, cooperation, and development the most, and we have no politics and no unfriendly stance with any nation,' Hun Sen said in front of cheerful thousands of party members at the event in the Cambodian capital, Phnom Penh. There is a long history of territorial disputes between the countries. Thailand is still rattled by a 1962 International Court of Justice ruling that awarded Cambodia the disputed territory where the historic Preah Vihear temple stands. There were sporadic though serious clashes there in 2011. The ruling from the U.N. court was reaffirmed in 2013, when Yingluck was prime minister. The scandal has broken Paetongtarn's fragile coalition government, costing her Pheu Thai Party the loss of its biggest partner, Bhumjaithai Party. There already was a rift between Bhumjaithai and Pheu Thai Party over reports Bhumjaithai would be shuffled out of the powerful Interior Ministry. Several Bhumjaithai leaders also are under investigation over an alleged rigging of last year's Senate election in which many figures who are reportedly close to the party claimed a majority of seats. The departure of Bhumjaithai left the 10-party coalition with 255 seats, just above the majority of the 500-seat house. Paetongtarn also faces investigations by the Constitutional Court and the national anti-corruption agency. Their decisions could lead to her removal from office. Sarote Phuengrampan, secretary-general of the Office of the National Anti-Corruption Commission, said Wednesday that his agency is investigating Paetongtarn for a serious breach of ethics over the phone call with Hun Sen. He did not give a possible timeline for a decision. Reports said the Constitutional Court can suspend Paetongtarn from duty pending the investigation and could decide as early as next week whether it will take the case. The prime minister said Tuesday she is not worried and is ready to give evidence to support her case. 'It was clear from the phone call that I had nothing to gain from it, and I also didn't cause any damage to the country,' she said. The court last year removed her predecessor from Pheu Thai over a breach of ethics. Thailand's courts, especially the Constitutional Court, are considered a bulwark of the country's royalist establishment, which has used them and nominally independent state agencies such as the Election Commission to cripple or sink political opponents. © Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Japan Today
10 hours ago
- Politics
- Japan Today
What's next for birthright citizenship after the Supreme Court's ruling
FILE - Mairelise Robinson, a U.S. citizen who is 6 months pregnant, attends a protest in support of birthright citizenship, outside of the Supreme Court in Washington, May 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File) By TIM SULLIVAN and ALANNA DURKIN RICHER The legal battle over President Donald Trump's move to end birthright citizenship is far from over despite the Republican administration's major victory Friday limiting nationwide injunctions. Immigrant advocates are vowing to fight to ensure birthright citizenship remains the law as the Republican president tries to do away with more than a century of precedent. The high court's ruling sends cases challenging the president's birthright citizenship executive order back to the lower courts. But the ultimate fate of the president's policy remains uncertain. Here's what to know about birthright citizenship, the Supreme Court's ruling and what happens next. Birthright citizenship makes anyone born in the United States an American citizen, including children born to mothers in the country illegally. The practice goes back to soon after the Civil War, when Congress ratified the Constitution's 14th Amendment, in part to ensure that Black people, including former slaves, had citizenship. 'All persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States,' the amendment states. Thirty years later, Wong Kim Ark, a man born in the U.S. to Chinese parents, was refused re-entry into the U.S. after traveling overseas. His suit led to the Supreme Court explicitly ruling that the amendment gives citizenship to anyone born in the U.S., no matter their parents' legal status. It has been seen since then as an intrinsic part of U.S. law, with only a handful of exceptions, such as for children born in the U.S. to foreign diplomats. Trump's executive order, signed in Januar,y seeks to deny citizenship to children who are born to people who are living in the U.S. illegally or temporarily. It's part of the hardline immigration agenda of the president, who has called birthright citizenship a 'magnet for illegal immigration.' Trump and his supporters focus on one phrase in the amendment — 'subject to the jurisdiction thereof' – saying it means the U.S. can deny citizenship to babies born to women in the country illegally. A series of federal judges have said that's not true, and issued nationwide injunctions stopping his order from taking effect. 'I've been on the bench for over four decades. I can't remember another case where the question presented was as clear as this one is. This is a blatantly unconstitutional order,' U.S. District Judge John Coughenour said at a hearing earlier this year in his Seattle courtroom. In Greenbelt, Maryland, a Washington suburb, U.S. District Judge Deborah Boardman wrote that 'the Supreme Court has resoundingly rejected and no court in the country has ever endorsed' Trump's interpretation of birthright citizenship. The high court's ruling was a major victory for the Trump administration in that it limited an individual judge's authority in granting nationwide injunctions. The administration hailed the ruling as a monumental check on the powers of individual district court judges, whom Trump supporters have argued want to usurp the president's authority with rulings blocking his priorities around immigration and other matters. But the Supreme Court did not address the merits of Trump's bid to enforce his birthright citizenship executive order. 'The Trump administration made a strategic decision, which I think quite clearly paid off, that they were going to challenge not the judges' decisions on the merits, but on the scope of relief,' said Jessica Levinson, a Loyola Law School professor. Attorney General Pam Bondi told reporters at the White House that the administration is 'very confident' that the high court will ultimately side with the administration on the merits of the case. The justices kicked the cases challenging the birthright citizenship policy back down to the lower courts, where judges will have to decide how to tailor their orders to comply with the new ruling. The executive order remains blocked for at least 30 days, giving lower courts and the parties time to sort out the next steps. The Supreme Court's ruling leaves open the possibility that groups challenging the policy could still get nationwide relief through class-action lawsuits and seek certification as a nationwide class. Within hours after the ruling, two class-action suits had been filed in Maryland and New Hampshire seeking to block Trump's order. But obtaining nationwide relief through a class action is difficult as courts have put up hurdles to doing so over the years, said Suzette Malveaux, a Washington and Lee University law school professor. 'It's not the case that a class action is a sort of easy, breezy way of getting around this problem of not having nationwide relief,' said Malveaux, who had urged the high court not to eliminate the nationwide injunctions. Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who penned the court's dissenting opinion, urged the lower courts to 'act swiftly on such requests for relief and to adjudicate the cases as quickly as they can so as to enable this Court's prompt review" in cases 'challenging policies as blatantly unlawful and harmful as the Citizenship Order.' Opponents of Trump's order warned there would be a patchwork of polices across the states, leading to chaos and confusion without nationwide relief. 'Birthright citizenship has been settled constitutional law for more than a century," said Krish O'Mara Vignarajah, president and CEO of Global Refuge, a nonprofit that supports refugees and migrants. 'By denying lower courts the ability to enforce that right uniformly, the Court has invited chaos, inequality, and fear.' Associated Press reporters Mark Sherman and Lindsay Whitehurst in Washington and Mike Catalini in Trenton, New Jersey, contributed. © Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
