Kyodo News Digest: Sept. 28, 2024
Source: – Kyodo News+
Bereaved family members lit candles in Kiso in Nagano Prefecture, central Japan, to pray for the victims of the 2014 Mt. Ontake eruption on Sept. 27, 2024, the 10th anniversary of Japan’s deadliest postwar volcanic disaster that left 58 people dead and five others unaccounted for. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo
The following is the latest list of selected news summaries by Kyodo News.
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Ex-defense chief Ishiba set to become new Japan PM
TOKYO – Former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba is set to become Japan’s next prime minister after winning the ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s presidential election on Friday in a runoff vote, defeating economic security minister Sanae Takaichi.
In his fifth presidential bid, Ishiba, who also served as the party’s secretary general, won 215 of the 409 valid votes cast by LDP lawmakers and rank-and-file members, while Takaichi secured 194, in a closely competitive race with a record nine contenders.
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U.S. expresses hope to foster even closer ties with Japan’s next PM
WASHINGTON – The U.S. government on Friday congratulated former Japanese defense chief Shigeru Ishiba on winning Japan’s governing party’s presidential election, which sets him up to be the country’s next prime minister, and expressed hope to “cultivate even closer ties” with Tokyo.
The White House has not made official comments on Ishiba’s victory, but U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel promptly put out the statement in a brief post on X.
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Blinken says Biden, Xi to communicate in coming weeks or months
NEW YORK – U.S. President Joe Biden is expected to communicate with Chinese President Xi Jinping in the coming weeks or months, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Friday.
After a meeting with China’s top diplomat Wang Yi in New York, Blinken told reporters that they agreed “on the importance of the leaders communicating” despite having real differences in a number of areas.
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Japan to dispatch SDF planes to evacuate nationals in Lebanon
TOKYO – The Japanese government said Friday it will dispatch Self-Defense Forces airplanes to prepare for a possible evacuation of its citizens in Lebanon amid fears of the conflict between Israel and the Lebanese Shiite militant group Hezbollah escalating.
Upon the request of the Foreign Ministry, Defense Minister Minoru Kihara instructed the SDF to send transport aircraft to Jordan and Greece, where they will be placed on standby.
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Yen jumps to 142 vs. dollar on Ishiba’s LDP election win
TOKYO – The yen jumped to the upper 142 range against the U.S. dollar Friday in Tokyo, after former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba won Japan’s ruling party election, defeating economic security minister Sanae Takaichi, who advocates monetary easing.
The Japanese currency briefly surged over 3 yen versus the dollar to 142.78 after Ishiba, who supports the normalization of Japan’s monetary policy, won the Liberal Democratic Party presidential election, paving the way to become the nation’s next prime minister.
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Baseball: Giants reduce CL title magic number to one
TOKYO – Kazuma Okamoto broke a sixth-inning scoreless tie with his 1,000th career hit as the Central League-leading Yomiuri Giants beat the Chunichi Dragons 3-1 on Friday.
The win, coupled with the second-place Hanshin Tigers’ 3-2, 12-inning loss to the Hiroshima Carp, cut the Giants’ magic number to one for clinching their first CL title in four years.
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New Japan ruling LDP head Ishiba to support wage growth, consumption
TOKYO – Shigeru Ishiba, who is set to become the next Japanese prime minister, pledged Friday to implement measures to accelerate real wage growth and boost consumer spending, as price hikes and a declining birthrate are expected to hamper the broader economy.
Hours after being elected Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s successor as president of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, Ishiba said at a press conference that he will consider effective ways to ease the burden on households amid the rising cost of living.
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Toyota global output drops 11.2% in August as quality scandal bites
TOKYO – Toyota Motor Corp. said Friday its global production in August dropped 11.2 percent from a year earlier to 709,571 vehicles, falling for the seventh straight month, as output was partially suspended due to a vehicle certification scandal and a typhoon.
Domestic output slid 22.2 percent to 185,680 vehicles as production of its popular Corolla Fielder, Corolla Axio and Yaris Cross models remained suspended after being halted in June.
Video: Shigeru Ishiba’s hometown celebrates his election as new LDP leader
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