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Kyodo Top12 News (13:30)(Japan Economic Newswire Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) ---------- 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. Though the two sides recognized some progress over thorny problems, some difficult issues including how to deal with Japanese tariffs on beef and pork -- one of Tokyo's off-limits five farm product categories -- have yet to be resolved, negotiation sources said. ---------- 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. Obama arrived in South Korea after attending a farewell ceremony at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo to wrap up his three-day state visit to Japan starting Wednesday. ---------- 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. He said the search team, including civilian divers, is focusing mainly on the third and fourth floors of the 6,825-ton Sewol. Diving experts from the United States, Britain, the Netherlands and Japan have arrived and are offering technical advices for the ongoing search operations, while a U.S. Navy salvage ship is scheduled to arrive in the area to help the operation, he said. ---------- 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. South Korea's military is looking into whether the border intrusion was intentional and maintaining a heightened alert, an unidentified South Korean military official said, according to Yonhap News Agency. ---------- N. Korea nuke test now "only matter of political decision" 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. "With all preparations done, it's only a matter of political decision and strategic judgment for the North Korean leadership to conduct a nuclear test," Kim said. He also said North Korea may delay the timing of the nuclear test or might try to "deceive" the world "with what appears to be a nuclear test." ---------- 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. Ukraine has been suffering from unrest in its eastern region since Russia's annexation of Crimea last month, an act Japan and other major democracies have condemned as an illegal attempt by Moscow to alter the status quo by force. ---------- 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. Netanyahu plans to have an audience with Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko on May 13. The Israeli leader, to be accompanied by his wife Sara, is scheduled to visit Kyoto on May 14. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told a press conference that it would be "very significant to exchange views on ways to stabilize the Middle East with Mr. Netanyahu, who is one of the most important persons in efforts to bring about peace" in the region. ---------- Japan's transport minister to visit Mongolia, S. Korea from Sat. TOKYO - Japan's 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. Although Japan and South Korea have not held summit talks due to tensions over a territorial dispute and differing views on history, Ota said there have been signs recently indicating improvement in relations. "I'd like to push the trend further" through the visit, Ota said. ---------- 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. The margin of increase, the largest since the 2.9 percent rise in April 1992, is seen as indicating nationwide price moves down the road, which are likely to influence the outlook for the Bank of Japan's monetary easing policy in the future. ---------- 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. NTT Docomo's business in India has been struggling amid intense competition and unstable market regulation, according to the sources. NTT Docomo acquired a 26 percent stake in Tata Teleservices in March 2009 for 127.4 billion rupees, or about 260 billion yen, aiming to expand its local business through ties with the Tata group, India's largest conglomerate. ---------- Tokyo stocks end morning higher, dollar trades in lower 102 yen range 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. At 1 p.m., the Nikkei index was up 32.89 points, or 0.23 percent, at 14,437.88. The broader Topix index was up 4.91 points, or 0.42 percent, at 1,169.81. On the currency market, the U.S. dollar traded in the lower 102 yen range. At 1 p.m., the dollar fetched 102.36-43 yen compared with 102.28-38 yen in New York late Thursday afternoon. The euro was quoted at 141.56-58 yen against 141.45-55 yen in New York. ---------- Weather forecast for key cities in Japan TOKYO - Weather forecast for Saturday: Tokyo=fair, occasionally cloudy; Osaka=fair; Nagoya=fair; Sapporo=fair; Sendai=fair; Niigata=fair; Hiroshima=fair; Takamatsu=fair; Fukuoka=fair; Naha=fair. (c) 2014 Kyodo News |