FILE: An excavator loads a truck with rare earth at the Port of Lianyungang in Lianyungang city, east China's Jiangsu province, 31 October 2010. (AFP)

Asia

Japan embarks Sunday on what it says is the world's first bid to tap deep-sea rare earths at a depth of 6,000 meters, greater than the height of Mount Fuji, to curb dependence on China.

Japan to test deep sea rare earth mining to cut China reliance

TOKYO: Beijing&#39;s actions are &quot;not conducive to regional peace,&quot; Japan&#39;s defense minister and US counterpart Pete Hegseth agreed during a call after Chinese aircraft locked radar on Japanese jets near Taiwan, Tokyo said on Friday. The radar incident was followed this week by Chinese-Russian air patrols around Japan, and came after comments by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Taiwan that infuriated China. Hegseth and Japan&#39;s Shinjiro Koizumi &quot;exchanged candid views on the increasingly severe security situation in the Indo-Pacific region, including the radar incident,&quot; the Japanese defense ministry said after the call. They &quot;expressed serious concern over any actions to increase regional tensions, as China&#39;s actions are not conducive to regional peace and stability,&quot; the statement added. Koizumi said on X that the two men &quot;expressed grave concern over the behaviors that heighten tensions in the region.&quot; He said he had also told Hegseth that China was &quot;disseminating information that is completely contrary to the facts&quot; about the radar incident. &quot;However, Japan has made clear that it does not seek escalation and that we are responding calmly while making necessary rebuttals, and we are keeping the door open for dialogue,&quot; Koizumi added. There was no immediate statement from the United States about the call. Takaichi had suggested on Nov. 7 that Japan would intervene with military force in any Chinese attack on Taiwan, which Beijing claims as its own and has not ruled out seizing by force. Last week, J-15 jets from China&#39;s Liaoning aircraft carrier twice locked radar on Japanese aircraft that had scrambled in international waters near Okinawa, according to Japan. Fighter jets use their radar for fire control to identify targets and for search and rescue operations. China&#39;s foreign ministry on Wednesday accused Japan of sending the jets &quot;to intrude into the Chinese training area without authorization, conduct close-range reconnaissance and harassment, create tense situations, and... &nbsp;maliciously hype up the situation.&quot; On Tuesday, two Russian Tu-95 nuclear-capable bombers flew from the Sea of Japan to rendezvous with two Chinese H-6 bombers in the East China Sea, then conducted a joint flight around the country, Japan said. Japan said that it scrambled fighter jets in response. Japan and the United States air forces on Wednesday conducted their own joint air drills in a show of force, Tokyo said. The &quot;tactical exercises&quot; over the Sea of Japan involved two US B-52 bombers, three Japanese F-35 fighter jets, and three Japanese F-15s, Tokyo said. South Korea said on Tuesday that Russian and Chinese warplanes also entered its air defense zone, with Seoul also deploying fighter jets that same day. Beijing confirmed on Tuesday that it had organized drills with Russia&#39;s military in accordance with &quot;annual cooperation plans.&quot; Moscow also described it as a routine exercise, saying it lasted eight hours and that some foreign fighter jets followed the Russian and Chinese aircraft.

US Secretary of War Hegseth, Japan's Koizumi exchange “candid views on the increasingly severe security situation in the Indo-Pacific region, including the radar incident." 

US, Japan defense ministers say China harming regional peace

TOKYO:&nbsp;At least 10 people were reported injured on Tuesday, but there appeared to be no major damage after a big quake rocked northern Japan and triggered tsunami waves up to 70 centimeters (28 inches) high. But the Japan Meteorological Agency also said the magnitude 7.6 quake, which struck at 11:15 pm on Monday (1415 GMT) off the coast of the Aamori region, raised the chances of similar or larger tremors in the coming days. The injured included one person seriously hurt in the main northern island of Hokkaido, according to the Fire and Disaster Management Agency. In Hokkaido, an AFP reporter said the ground shook violently for around 30 seconds as smartphone alarms rang to alert residents. Live footage showed shattered glass fragments scattered across roads. Some 2,700 homes in Aomori were without power, Kyodo News reported in the hours after the quake, and there were numerous reports of fires. Initially, the JMA warned that tsunamis up to three meters (10 feet) could hit, which could have caused major damage, and thousands of residents were urged to go to safe places. In the end, the biggest waves recorded measured up to 70 centimetres, and after several hours, the warnings were lifted. Public broadcaster NHK cited a hotel employee in the city of Hachinohe in Aomori as saying there had been some injuries as a result of the quake. Shinkansen bullet-train service was suspended in some areas while engineers checked for any damage to the tracks. Shortly after Monday&#39;s earthquake, Tohoku Electric Power said no abnormalities were detected at its Higashidori nuclear power plant in Aomori and its Onagawa facility plant in the Miyagi region. Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, early on Tuesday, urged residents to be careful. &quot;Please listen to information from the JMA or local governments for about a week and check if furniture is fixed .... and be prepared to evacuate when you feel shaking,&quot; she said. &#39;Megaquake&#39;&nbsp;In 2011, a magnitude-9.0 quake triggered a tsunami that left 18,500 people dead or missing and caused a devastating meltdown at the Fukushima nuclear plant. Japan sits on top of four major tectonic plates along the western edge of the Pacific &quot;Ring of Fire&quot; and is one of the world&#39;s most tectonically active countries. The archipelago, home to around 125 million people, experiences around 1,500 jolts every year. The vast majority are mild, although the damage they cause varies according to their location and depth below the Earth&#39;s surface. Quakes are extremely hard to predict, but in January, a government panel marginally increased the probability of a major jolt in the Nankai Trough off Japan in the next 30 years to 75-82%. The government then released a new estimate in March saying that such a &quot;megaquake&quot; and subsequent tsunami could cause as many as 298,000 deaths and damage of up to $2 trillion.

Japanese Prime Minister says a powerful 7.6 quake strikes northern Japan, prompting tsunami alerts, injuries, power outages, evacuations, and safety checks before warnings are lifted.

10 reported hurt after big Japan quake, warning of more tremors

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ISLAMABAD: Relations between China and Japan have deteriorated dramatically in the past week after Japan issued one of its strongest warnings yet regarding a potential conflict in the Taiwan Strait. China slammed on Monday Japan&#39;s decision to push ahead with a planned deployment of missiles on an island near Taiwan, according to the AFP. Its foreign ministry said Japan&#39;s missile deployment was a &quot;deliberate attempt to create regional tension and provoke military confrontation.&quot; Earlier this month, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi had said that any attack on Taiwan could constitute a &ldquo;survival-threatening situation&rdquo; for Japan, a designation under its security laws that could allow limited collective self-defence in support of allies. The statement reflects growing concern in Tokyo over regional stability and the security of sea routes near Okinawa. China condemned the remarks, accusing Japan of interfering in its internal affairs. The Chinese foreign ministry said Tokyo was violating the One-China principle and &ldquo;sending the wrong signal&rdquo; to what it calls &ldquo;separatist forces&rdquo; in Taiwan. Beijing also lodged a diplomatic protest with officials from Japan&rsquo;s Embassy in Beijing. In parallel, China expanded its coast guard and maritime militia presence near the Senkaku Islands, a territory claimed by China but administered by Japan. These patrols have become increasingly regular and assertive, raising tensions in already contested waters. Background: China and Taiwan China and Taiwan have operated under separate governments since 1949, after the Chinese Civil War, when the Nationalist government relocated to Taiwan and the Communist Party founded the People&rsquo;s Republic of China (PRC) on the mainland. The PRC insists that Taiwan is part of &ldquo;one China&rdquo; and maintains that the Beijing government is the sole legitimate representative. Official PRC sources cite UN General Assembly Resolution 2758 to argue that Taiwan has no independent status in the UN system. At the same time, Taiwan maintains its own democratic government, military, and domestic policies. The feud reaches the United Nations&nbsp;China&#39;s permanent representative to the UN, Fu Cong, wrote in a letter to UN Secretary-General Ant&oacute;nio Guterres on Friday that &ldquo;if Japan dares to attempt an armed intervention in the cross-Strait situation, it would be an act of aggression.&rdquo; China maintains that the strait dividing mainland China from self-governing Taiwan is part of its territory. Economic pressure adds to the strainOn November 14, China issued a no-travel advisory for Japan, followed by recommendations that students reconsider enrolling in Japanese universities. Shares in Japanese tourism and retail firms fell sharply after Beijing discouraged its citizens from visiting Japan. Three Chinese airlines offered free cancellations or refunds for flights to Japan scheduled for November 15. China also suspended imports of Japanese seafood. This follows a partial easing earlier in 2025, when China resumed seafood imports from some Japanese regions, subject to strict documentation requirements. Beyond trade and tourism, two Japanese animated films scheduled for release in Chinese theaters were postponed indefinitely. State media reported that the delays were part of Beijing&rsquo;s countermeasures.&nbsp;At a routine press conference this week, He Yongqian, a spokesperson for China&rsquo;s commerce ministry, stated that PM Takaichi&#39;s remarks had &ldquo;severely damaged&rdquo; economic relations between the two nations. Where does Taiwan stand?Taiwan has maintained a measured stance amid escalating tensions while continuing to strengthen its defense posture. Authorities have expanded air and maritime surveillance, conducted regular readiness exercises, and developed missile defence and early warning capabilities. Taiwanese officials say they are closely monitoring regional developments, particularly as Chinese aircraft and ships operate near the island. Taiwan lifts restrictions on JapanAccording to AFP, Taiwan lifted all restrictions on Japanese food imports on Nov. 21&nbsp;in a show of support for Tokyo. Previously, the Taipei government had banned food imports from five Japanese regions around the site of the 2011 Fukushima nuclear accident. Taiwan&#39;s Food and Drug Administration said&nbsp;that &ldquo;Japanese food safety management measures return to normal,&rdquo; effective immediately. What is happening now?Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said on Nov. 21 that she wants &ldquo;constructive&rdquo; ties with China and that Japan&rsquo;s stance on Taiwan remains &ldquo;unchanged&rdquo; amid the dispute with Beijing. &ldquo;At the end of last month, President Xi [Jinping] and I confirmed the broad direction of comprehensively advancing our strategic, mutually beneficial relationship and building a constructive and stable relationship,&rdquo; Takaichi told reporters. &ldquo;The government&rsquo;s position remains unchanged&rdquo; on Taiwan, she added. China, however, has signaled a cooling of diplomatic engagement. Premier Li Qiang will not meet one-on-one with Japanese Prime Minister Takaichi on the sidelines of the next G20 Summit, according to China&rsquo;s foreign ministry. &ldquo;A meeting with the Japanese leader is not on Premier Li Qiang&#39;s agenda,&rdquo; Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said last week in Beijing at a regular news briefing.

Central Asia

China

China-Japan tensions have escalated after Tokyo warned that an attack on Taiwan could trigger collective self-defence. Beijing responded with diplomatic protests, military activity, and economic pressure; Taiwan has strengthened its defence and backs Japan, as high-level China-Japan diplomacy stalls.

Tensions in East Asia: What exactly is going on?

TOKYO: Japan is set to give the green light this week to restart the world&#39;s biggest nuclear plant, local media reported Wednesday. The resource-poor country pulled the plug on nuclear power after the 2011 Fukushima disaster, but it wants to revive atomic energy and reduce its dependence on imported fossil fuels. The Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear plant is expected to get approval this week from the local governor to resume operations, according to Kyodo News and the Nikkei business daily, citing unnamed sources. Hideyo Hanazumi, governor of central Niigata province, where the plant is located, is expected to hold a news conference on Friday, the reports said. Only one reactor&nbsp;Of the seven reactors at Kashiwazaki-Kariwa, only one will resume functioning. After the 2011 tsunami and meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, Japan shut down all of its nuclear reactors, with the public voicing unease about the energy source. A total of 14 reactors -- mostly in western and southern regions -- have since resumed operation after strict safety standards were imposed. This will be the first restart of a nuclear plant for the Fukushima operator, Tepco, after the disaster, if approved. Carbon neutrality by 2050&nbsp;The government has continued to back nuclear power as a reliable, clean energy source. Japan needs to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. In July, power company Kansai Electric said it was taking an initial step toward building the nation&#39;s first new nuclear reactor since the Fukushima disaster. Japan still faces the daunting task of decommissioning the Fukushima plant, which is expected to take decades. Radioactive debris&nbsp;In August, Japanese technicians sent in remote-controlled robots to one of the damaged reactor buildings as part of preparations to remove radioactive debris. Dangerously high radiation levels mean that removing melted fuel and other debris from the plant is seen as the toughest challenge in the decades-long decommissioning project.

After the 2011 tsunami and meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, Japan shut down all of its nuclear reactors; a total of 14 reactors have since resumed operation after strict safety standards were imposed.

Japan set to restart world’s biggest nuclear plant: reports

TOKYO: Japan&#39;s governing party leader, Sanae Takaichi, is on track to become the country&rsquo;s first female prime minister, after finding a badly needed replacement for a crucial partner that left her Liberal Democratic Party&rsquo;s coalition. Takaichi, 64, would replace Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba in Tuesday&rsquo;s parliamentary vote. If she&#39;s successful, it would end Japan&#39;s three-month political vacuum and wrangling since the coalition&#39;s loss in the July parliamentary election. The moderate centrist Komeito party split from the LDP after a 26-year-long coalition. The move by Komeito came days after Takaichi&rsquo;s election as president of her party, and it forced her into a desperate search for a replacement to secure votes so that she can become prime minister. The Buddhist-backed Komeito left after raising concerns about her ultraconservative politics and the LDP&rsquo;s lax response to slush fund scandals that led to their consecutive election defeats and loss of majority in both houses. While the leaders of the country&#39;s top three opposition parties failed to unite for a change of government, Takaichi went for a quick fix by teaming up with the most conservative of them: The Osaka-based Ishin no Kai, or Japan Innovation Party. But the long-term stability of their cooperation is an unknown. The two parties are set to sign a coalition agreement on Monday. An eventual Takaichi premiership would be on a cliff edge. The fragile new coalition, still a minority, would need cooperation from other opposition groups to pass any legislation. It would be a risk that could lead to an unstable, short-lived leadership. Big diplomatic tests come within days &mdash; talks with US President Donald Trump and regional summits. At home, she needs to quickly tackle rising prices and compile economic boosting measures to address the frustrated public. Unpopular among womenAn admirer of former UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, Takaichi&#39;s breaking of the glass ceiling makes history in a country whose gender equality ranks poorly internationally. But many women aren&#39;t celebrating, and some see her impending premiership as a setback. &ldquo;The prospect of a first female prime minister doesn&rsquo;t make me happy,&rdquo; sociologist Chizuko Ueno posted on X. Ueno explained that Takaichi&rsquo;s leadership would elevate Japan&rsquo;s gender equality ranking, but &ldquo;that doesn&rsquo;t mean Japanese politics becomes kinder to women.&rdquo; Takaichi, an ultraconservative star of her male-dominated party, is among those who have stonewalled measures for women&rsquo;s advancement. Takaichi supports the imperial family&rsquo;s male-only succession, opposes same-sex marriage and a revision to the civil law allowing separate last names for married couples, so women don&rsquo;t get pressured into abandoning theirs. The prospect for a dual system for last names is fading under Takaichi, Ueno says. &ldquo;Ms. Takaichi&rsquo;s policies are extremely hawkish and I doubt she would consider policies to recognize diversity,&rdquo; said Chiyako Sato, a political commentator and senior writer for the Mainichi newspaper. Rising prices and population declineIf she&#39;s successful in the parliamentary vote, Takaichi would immediately launch her Cabinet on Tuesday and make a policy speech later in the week. A protege of assassinated former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Takaichi is expected to emulate his economic and security policies. With a potentially weak grip on power, it&#39;s unknown how much Takaichi would be able to achieve. She would have only a few days to prepare for diplomatic tests &mdash; major regional summits and talks with Trump in between. She has to reassure that there will be stable ties with China and South Korea, which are concerned about her revisionist views on wartime history and past visits to the Yasukuni Shrine. The shrine honors Japan&rsquo;s 2.5 million war dead, including convicted war criminals. Victims of Japanese aggression, especially China and the Koreas, see visits to the shrine as a lack of remorse about Japan&rsquo;s wartime past. Takaichi supports a stronger military, currently undergoing a five-year buildup with the annual defense budget being doubled to 2% of gross domestic product by 2027. Trump is expected to demand that Japan increase its military spending to NATO targets of 5% of GDP, and purchase more US weapons. Takaichi has to follow up on Japan&rsquo;s pledge of $550 billion to Trump&rsquo;s administration as part of a US tariff deal. Her policies focus on short-term measures such as rising prices, salary increase and subsidies, as well as restrictions against a growing foreign population amid a rise of xenophobia. Takaichi hasn&#39;t shown a vision for Japan to address bigger issues like demographic challenges. Takaichi&rsquo;s dilemmaTakaichi&rsquo;s mission is to regain conservative votes by pushing the party further to the right. The LDP&rsquo;s new coalition with the right-wing JIP may fit Takaichi&#39;s views, but experts say that she would have to avoid pushing them and prioritize stability. She needs to balance relations between China and the United States under Trump, while at home she also needs balance to gain support from the opposition camp to achieve anything. &ldquo;She needs to be realistic,&rdquo; says Sato, the commentator. On Friday, Takaichi sent a religious ornament instead of going to the Yasukuni Shrine, apparently to avoid a diplomatic dispute with Beijing and Seoul. To consolidate opposition cooperation and lift her coalition closer to a majority, she has reached out to smaller opposition groups, including the far-right Sanseito. &ldquo;There is no room for Takaichi to show her true colors. All she can do is cooperate per policy,&rdquo; said Masato Kamikubo, a Ritsumeikan University political science professor. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a pathetic situation.&rdquo; A kingmaker&#39;s influenceTakaichi&rsquo;s election as LDP leader as she seeks the premiership is about power politics by the 85-year-old conservative former Prime Minister Taro Aso, the party&rsquo;s most powerful kingmaker. In her first move as LDP president, Takaichi appointed Aso as the party&#39;s vice president and gave more top jobs to his allies and others who supported her, including Abe allies linked to the funds scandal. Takaichi is expected to appoint them to her Cabinet. Political instabilityPolitical observers expect that a Takaichi government wouldn&#39;t last long. An early election may have to be called later this year, in hopes of regaining a majority in the lower house, though that would be tough. Experts also raise concerns about how Takaichi, a fiscal expansionist, can coordinate economic policies with Ishin&#39;s fiscal conservative views. &ldquo;The era of LDP domination is over and we are entering the era of multiparty politics. The question is how to form a coalition,&rdquo; Sato said, noting a similar trend in Europe. &ldquo;We need to find a Japanese way of forming a coalition and a stable government.&rdquo; About a dozen opposition parties span the spectrum from the Japanese Communist Party on the left to Sanseito and several others on the extreme right. &ldquo;What&rsquo;s going on here right now is what&rsquo;s going on in all our democracies for a lot of complicated reasons,&rdquo; said Gerald Curtis, a Columbia University professor and expert on Japanese politics, citing the mainstream political parties losing popularity, and voters acting on the basis of anger and resentment.

Ultraconservative Sanae Takaichi is poised to become Japan's first female prime minister, forming a fragile coalition amid political instability, rising prices, and diplomatic challenges, though her leadership faces deep public and ideological divides.


Sanae Takaichi likely to win Japan elections

TOKYO: Japan&rsquo;s former Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama, who was known for his 1995 &ldquo;Murayama statement&rdquo; apologizing to Asian victims of his country&rsquo;s aggression, died on Friday. He was 101. Murayama died at a hospital in his hometown Oita, southwestern Japan, according to a statement by Mizuho Fukushima, the head of Japan&#39;s Social Democratic Party. As head of what was then known as the Japan Socialist Party, Murayama led a coalition government from June 1994 to January 1996. A historic apology for Japan&#39;s actions in World War IIHe is best remembered for the &ldquo;Murayama statement,&rdquo; an apology he issued on the 50th anniversary of Japan&rsquo;s unconditional surrender ending World War II on Aug. 15, 1995. It&#39;s seen as Japan&rsquo;s main expression of remorse for its wartime and colonial past. &ldquo;During a certain period in the not-too-distant past, Japan, following a mistaken national policy, advanced along the road to war ... and, through its colonial rule and aggression, caused tremendous damage and suffering to the people of many countries, particularly to those of Asian nations,&rdquo; he said in the statement. &ldquo;In the hope that no such mistake, be made in the future, I regard, in a spirit of humility, these irrefutable facts of history, and express here once again my feelings of deep remorse and state my heartfelt apology.&rdquo; A government marked by controversyMurayama was first elected to parliament in 1972 as a socialist lawmaker after working for a labor union and serving in a local assembly. When he became prime minister in 1994, he broke with his party&#39;s longtime opposition to the Japan-US security alliance and Japan&#39;s Self-Defense Forces, recognizing them as constitutional in a speech given in the face of yelling by angry members of his party. In 1995, Murayama dealt with two major disasters: a massive earthquake in the western port city of Kobe that killed more than 6,400 people, and a Tokyo subway gas attack that killed 13 and injured more than 6,000 people. He came under fire for slow responses to both. He resigned early the following year in an unexpected announcement that came as he returned to work after the 1996 New Year holidays. Murayama said he had done what he could in a year marking the 50th anniversary of the end of World War II. He said he made the decision while looking at the blue sky in the new year. Murayama criticized his successors for questioning Japan&#39;s wartime guiltMurayama was active in politics even after his retirement in 2000, frequently criticizing attempts by his more nationalist successors to back away from responsibility for Japan&#39;s wartime action. The Murayama statement set a standard followed by all prime ministers for nearly two decades, until nationalist Prime Minister Shinzo Abe stopped apologizing in 2013 as members of his Liberal Democratic Party said it interfered with Japan&rsquo;s national pride. That included Abe protege Sanae Takaichi, who was recently elected party leader and is now poised to become prime minister next week. Murayama also criticized the government&rsquo;s reluctance to acknowledge that the Japanese government during World War II systematically forced Asian women into sexual slavery at military brothels &ldquo;A historical view saying Japan&#39;s war was not aggression, or calling it justice or liberation from colonialism, is absolutely unacceptable not only in China, South Korea or other Asian countries but also in America and Europe,&rdquo; Murayama said in a statement in 2020. He also stressed the importance of Japan establishing a lasting friendship with China, noting the &ldquo;tremendous damage&rdquo; his country caused to its neighbor because of its past war of aggression. &quot;In order to build peace and stability in Asia, we must build stable politics, economics, cultural interactions and development.&quot;

Japanese Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama 

Tomiichi Murayama led Japan’s coalition government in the mid-1990s and was known for confronting controversial issues, including disaster responses and criticizing revisionist views on Japan’s wartime history.

Former Japanese Prime Minister Murayama, famous for WW2 apology, dies at 101

WASHINGTON: The United States wants Japan to halt Russian energy imports, US. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Wednesday, hours after President Donald Trump announced that India would stop buying oil from Moscow. Bessent said on X that he discussed with visiting Japanese Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato Washington&rsquo;s &ldquo;expectation that Japan stop importing Russian energy.&rdquo;Japan relies heavily on importing oil and gas from abroad. In 2023, Japan spent 582 billion yen ($3.9 billion) importing Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG), according to the latest customs data available. This accounted for 8.9 percent of its total LNG imports. Japanese media in Washington quoted Kato declining to be drawn out on Bessent&rsquo;s comments. &ldquo;I&rsquo;d like to refrain from discussing what other ministers said,&rdquo; Kato was quoted as saying. &ldquo;We are committed to doing what we can to realize a just peace in Ukraine by coordinating with fellow G7 countries,&rdquo; he said. On Wednesday, Trump said that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had promised him New Delhi would stop buying Russian oil. &ldquo;You know, you can&rsquo;t do it immediately. It&rsquo;s a little bit of a process, but the process is going to be over with soon,&rdquo; Trump told reporters. Modi has previously defended buying oil from Russia, a historic partner of India, despite Moscow&rsquo;s invasion of Ukraine. Trump in August raised tariffs on Indian exports to the United States to 50 percent, with Trump&rsquo;s aides accusing India of fueling Russia&rsquo;s war in Ukraine. Bessent said that he and Kato also discussed &ldquo;plans for mobilizing Japan&rsquo;s strategic investment in the United States through the US-Japan trade and investment agreement.&rdquo;

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent looks on during a press conference with U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer on the sidelines of the IMF/World Bank annual meetings in Washington, D.C., US., October 15, 2025. (REUTERS/Ken Cedeno)

Business

The United States wants Japan to halt Russian energy imports, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Wednesday, hours after President Donald Trump announced that India would stop buying oil from Moscow.

US wants Japan to stop buying Russian energy

TOKYO: Japan&#39;s top opposition parties were set to hold high-stakes discussions Tuesday, aiming to find a unified candidate for prime minister and oust the ruling party from power. The talks come after the ruling coalition collapsed last week, putting in peril Sanae Takaichi&#39;s bid to become the country&#39;s first woman premier. Japan was in political limbo over whether the opposition bloc would unite after junior partner Komeito quit its 26-year alliance with the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). A union would give the opposition group enough votes to name a prime minister and block Takaichi, who was elected as LDP president just over a week ago but needs lawmakers&#39; approval to become premier. Yuichiro Tamaki, president of the Democratic Party for the People (DPP) -- the third largest opposition group in the lower house -- said the secretaries general of three main opposition parties will meet Tuesday evening to explore a possible union. However, he cautioned that their policies diverge significantly in crucial areas, including national defence and the use of nuclear energy. &quot;If we were to join together in a coalition government, alignment on fundamental policies would be essential,&quot; he told a press conference. &quot;If there&#39;s no alignment, the administration will be volatile,&quot; said Tamaki, who said last week he would be willing to stand as prime minister. DPP&#39;s secretary general was also expected to meet with his counterpart from the LDP and its former partner Komeito. The LDP named Takaichi as its new leader earlier this month, seemingly putting her on track to rise to the premiership. Although she could still win if opposition parties disagree on an alternative candidate, Komeito&#39;s exit from the coalition due to a slush fund scandal within the LDP has plunged Japan into a new political crisis. The LDP still occupies over 40 percent of the powerful 465-seat lower house but lacks the majority it needs to name a prime minister on its own. The largest opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (CDP) has said it was willing to name Tamaki or the leader of another opposition party as the premier in order to kick the LDP out of power. Yoshihiko Noda, head of the CDP, has said that &quot;this is a once-in-a-decade chance for a change of government&quot;.

Japan faces political turmoil as opposition parties meet to unite and block Sanae Takaichi’s premiership after the ruling coalition collapsed, threatening the Liberal Democratic Party’s hold on power amid deep policy divisions.

Japan in political uncertainty as opposition seeks to oust ruling party

LONDON: Stock markets diverged Monday as a deepening political crisis in France sent Paris into a tailspin while a new Japanese ruling party leader buoyed shares in Tokyo.&nbsp;Gold pushed ever closer to $4,000 an ounce as the US government shutdown and expected interest cuts from the Federal Reserve boosted the precious metal&#39;s attractiveness.&nbsp;The euro fell against main rivals and French borrowing costs spiked as Sebastien Lecornu, who had been prime minister for less than a month, resigned just 14 hours after naming a largely unchanged cabinet.&nbsp;France&#39;s &quot;fractured parliament is making it nearly impossible to pass a budget that reduces the fiscal deficit&quot;, said Jack Allen-Reynolds, deputy chief eurozone economist at Capital Economics.&nbsp;&quot;With government borrowing running at more than five percent of GDP and the debt ratio rising, the risk premium on French government bonds will continue to widen,&quot; he added.&nbsp;Shares in French banks BNP Paribas, Societe Generale and Credit Agricole all shed around three percent in afternoon trading.&nbsp;The London and Frankfurt stock exchanges, however, were up in afternoon deals.&nbsp;On Wall Street, both the S&amp;P 500 and tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite sat next to record highs as AI deals overshadowed concerns over a government shutdown that dragged into a second week.&nbsp;Shares in Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) jumped more than 33 percent after the chipmaker announced a multi-year partnership with OpenAI to develop AI data centres which should bring it tens of billions of dollars in new revenue over the next five years.&nbsp;In Asia, Tokyo surged almost five percent to a record high and the yen sank on bets the new leader of Japan&#39;s ruling party will loosen monetary policy to kickstart the economy.&nbsp;Sanae Takaichi, likely to become Japan&#39;s prime minister this month, has previously backed aggressive monetary easing and expanded government spending.&nbsp;The yen weakened more than one percent against the dollar and hit a record low against the euro.&nbsp;Yields on 30-year Japanese bonds rose sharply reflecting fears the country&#39;s already colossal debt will balloon further.&nbsp;After her victory Saturday, Takaichi pledged first to implement measures to address inflation and boost Japan&#39;s economy, rural areas and primary industries.

Paris stocks slumped after French PM Sebastien Lecornu resigned, while Tokyo surged on optimism over Japan’s incoming leader Sanae Takaichi. 

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