TMCnet News
Kyodo news summary -3-(Japan Economic Newswire Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) ---------- Obama, Park to hold talks on N. Korea, free trade pact SEOUL - U.S. President Barack Obama and South Korean President Park Geun Hye will hold a summit in Seoul on Friday mainly to discuss how to deal with North Korea's nuclear ambitions and its other military activities. Obama and Park are also expected to discuss the full implementation of a bilateral free trade pact, signed in 2012, and trilateral cooperation with Japan to deal with various problems in the region, U.S. officials said. ---------- Japan to extend 800,000 euros in aid to Ukraine TOKYO - Japan will extend a total of 800,000 euros in aid to Ukraine to help ensure stability in the country, the Foreign Ministry said Friday. The aid includes a 300,000 euro contribution to the France-based Council of Europe to ensure that the May 25 Ukraine presidential election will be held in a fair and transparent manner, the ministry said. ---------- Tokyo stocks end morning higher on weaker yen TOKYO - Tokyo stocks erased early losses and ended Friday morning higher as investors took heart from the yen's depreciation against other major currencies. The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average rose 90.58 points, or 0.63 percent, from Thursday to 14,495.57. The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange was up 8.6 points, or 0.74 percent, to 1,173.5. ---------- Transport minister to visit Mongolia, S. Korea from Sat. TOKYO - Transport minister Akihiro Ota said Friday he will visit Mongolia and South Korea from Saturday to next Wednesday. The land, infrastructure, transport and tourism minister told a press conference he will inspect a construction site for a new airport in Mongolia and hold talks with senior government officials in South Korea on tourism promotion. ---------- Aso skeptical about early resolution of Japan-U.S. TPP talks TOKYO - Finance Minister Taro Aso voiced doubts Friday about an early resolution of Japan-U.S. talks for a large-scale Pacific free trade pact, saying U.S. President Barack Obama is in a political pickle ahead of the midterm elections in November. "I don't think Obama has the power to bring the country together now" over the bilateral trade issues in the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations, Aso said at a press conference. ---------- Japan, U.S. fail to reach broad TPP accord before Obama's departure TOKYO - Japan and the United States were unable to secure a broad deal in marathon two-way talks on a Pacific trade accord despite last-minute efforts to solve remaining issues before U.S. President Barack Obama left Tokyo. In a joint statement released shortly before the president's departure, Tokyo and Washington said they have "identified a path forward" on bilateral issues for the Trans-Pacific Partnership initiative, but "there is still much work to be done" to seal a pact. ---------- N. Korean patrol boats briefly cross into S. Korean waters SEOUL - Two North Korean patrol boats briefly crossed into South Korean-controlled waters in the Yellow Sea on Friday morning, according to South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff. The boats controlling fishing boats intruded 1 nautical mile south of the Northern Limit Line, the de facto maritime border, but retreated after the South Korean navy broadcast several warnings and fired warning shots between 4:35 a.m. and 5:03 a.m. ---------- N. Korea nuke test now 'only matter of political decision': S. Korea SEOUL - South Korea's Defense Ministry spokesman said Friday that North Korea has completed all preparations for a fourth nuclear test and it is now up to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on whether to proceed with the test. "North Korea has completed all preparations to conduct a nuclear test suddenly," Kim Min Seok said at a press briefing. ---------- Japan's key bond yield rises to 0.625% in morning TOKYO - The yield on the bellwether 10-year Japanese government bond rose Friday morning as investors sold bonds for profit-taking. The yield on the No. 333, 0.6 percent issue, the main yardstick of long-term interest rates, ended morning interdealer trading at 0.625 percent, up 0.015 percentage point from Thursday's close. ---------- Israeli prime minister to visit Japan in May TOKYO - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will visit Japan from May 11 to 15, the Foreign Ministry said Friday. Netanyahu plans to hold talks May 12 with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to discuss Middle East affairs, a ministry official said. ---------- Obama warns N. Korea against 4th nuclear test SEOUL - U.S. President Barack Obama warned North Korea to think twice about proceeding with a fourth nuclear test, telling a South Korean newspaper in an interview published ahead of his arrival here Friday that it would have serious repercussions. "If North Korea were to make the mistake of engaging in another nuclear test, it should expect a firm response from the international community," Obama said in the interview with the JoongAng Ilbo, appearing on the daily's website. ---------- CPI in Tokyo rises 2.7% in April after consumption tax hike TOKYO - Tokyo's consumer prices climbed 2.7 percent in April from a year earlier, the biggest increase in 22 years, on rises in a broad range of items following a consumption tax hike on April 1, the government said Friday. The core consumer price index in Tokyo's 23 wards, excluding fresh foods, stood at 101.7 against the 2010 base of 100, according to preliminary data from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications. The figure compares to a 1.0 percent increase in March. ---------- Dance club operator acquitted of corrupting sexual morals OSAKA - A local court on Friday acquitted a former Osaka nightclub operator of debasing sexual morals by allowing patrons to dance, in what his lawyers have described as Japan's first trial challenging the constitutionality of dance regulations. The Osaka District Court found Masatoshi Kanemitsu, 51, not guilty, saying the type of dancing in which his customers engaged did not cause a decline in morals, but tolerated the regulations on ground that they benefit the public interests. ---------- NTT Docomo to withdraw from mobile carrier business in India TOKYO - NTT Docomo Inc. plans to withdraw from its money-losing mobile carrier business in India by March 2015, sources familiar with the matter said Friday. The Japanese mobile carrier is set to announce the sale of its entire stake in local operator Tata Teleservices Ltd., which operates under the Tata Docomo brand in the world's second largest mobile phone market, the sources said. ---------- Death toll rises to 181 in S. Korea ferry disaster SEOUL - Divers continued to search Friday for 131 missing passengers of a multistory ferry that sank last week off South Korea's coast as the death toll rose to 181, according to the country's coast guard. "Six bodies were removed since 11 p.m., bringing the official death toll to 181," said Koh Myung Seok, a senior Korea Coast Guard official, said at a press briefing. ---------- Japan, U.S. air concerns on China, pledge TPP deal TOKYO - Japan and the United States on Friday expressed their concerns about the increasing assertiveness of China, with Washington stressing its commitment to defend Japanese-administered islets in East China Sea, while agreeing to bring faltering Pacific Rim free trade talks back to life. In a joint statement, belatedly released a day after the summit on Thursday between Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and President Barack Obama in Tokyo, the two countries said they oppose any attempts by China to press its territorial claims by force. (c) 2014 Kyodo News |