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China's rocket launches more than quadruple over decade: survey

Kyodo News
Posted at Mar 25 08:09 AM

The annual number of Chinese space rocket launches more than quadrupled over a decade to a record-high 62 last year, as President Xi Jinping aims to make the country a space power, according to a survey by Japan's Cabinet Office. Read more »

Ex-PM Thaksin vows to return to Thailand post-election

Chananthorn Kamjan, Kyodo News
Posted at Mar 25 08:04 AM

Former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said Friday he is ready to return and serve his prison term in Thailand provided he is allowed to spend the remainder of his life with his family, regardless of the results of an upcoming general election. Read more »

Chinese company secures contract to develop Solomon Islands ports

Kyodo News
Posted at Mar 23 11:30 AM

A Chinese state company has been awarded a contract to upgrade international and domestic ports in the Solomon Islands as part of a multimillion-dollar infrastructure project funded by the Asian Development Bank, a bank spokesperson confirmed Wednesday. Read more »

N. Korea fires ballistic missile toward Sea of Japan: S. Korea

Kyodo News
Posted at Mar 14 09:10 AM

North Korea launched a ballistic missile toward the Sea of Japan on Tuesday, the South Korean military said, a day after South Korea and the United States began a large-scale military exercise. Read more »

Japan to downgrade COVID-19 to common infectious disease

Kyodo News
Posted at Mar 12 01:25 PM

Coronavirus patients will generally be required to pay for their own medical expenses after the legal status of COVID-19 is downgraded to the same category as common infectious diseases. Read more »

Iran, Saudi Arabia agree to resume ties in deal brokered by China

Kyodo News
Posted at Mar 12 10:19 AM

Iran and Saudi Arabia have agreed to re-establish diplomatic relations and reopen their respective embassies after years of hostility, in a diplomatic breakthrough brokered by China. Read more »

Coming soon: Flying taxis at 2025 World Expo

Kyodo News
Posted at Feb 22 09:46 AM

ANA Holdings Inc., Japan Airlines Co. and three other companies have been selected to operate air taxi services during the 2025 World Expo in Osaka. Read more »

PH, US, Japan mulling tripartite agreement, says Marcos Jr: report

ABS-CBN News
Updated as of Feb 12 09:42 PM

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Friday said a tripartite agreement with the United States and Japan was discussed during his visit to Tokyo, Kyodo News reported. Read more »

Return to maskless world still only in realm of fantasy in Japan

Kyodo News
Posted at Dec 20 10:53 AM

While the coronavirus has made masks part of everyday life in Japan, in the reality depicted by recent movies and dramas, office workers, young lovers, schoolchildren and others continue to lead lives untroubled by the pandemic. Read more »

Tokyo starts accepting same-sex partnership applications

Kyodo News
Posted at Oct 12 07:12 AM

The Tokyo metropolitan government on Tuesday began accepting applications from sexual minorities to have their partnerships publicly recognized, ahead of the program's launch on Nov. 1. Read more »

Filipino trainee in Japan to seek damages for 'maternity harassment'

Kyodo News
Posted at Oct 12 06:25 AM

A Filipino technical intern in southwestern Japan will sue her employer and an intermediary body for around 5.7 million yen ($39,000) in damages after she allegedly suffered harassment in the workplace, including being forced to sign a form agreeing to return to her country, after becoming pregnant. Read more »

Japanese cafe giving joy to elderly dementia-sufferers and families

Kyodo News
Posted at Sep 28 02:53 PM

A coffee shop in the central Japan prefecture of Aichi has begun catering to elderly people with dementia, creating a welcoming community between customers, their caretakers and the children given a chance to wait on them. Read more »

S. Korea's baby hatch provides second chance at life

Kyodo News
Posted at Jul 13 10:52 AM

It takes fewer than five seconds for an infant to be retrieved from a "baby hatch" located at a church southeast of Seoul, with nearly 2,000 babies pushed through the door since it was first installed in 2009. Read more »

Large number of shotgun-style shells found at Abe shooter's home

Kyodo News
Posted at Jul 12 09:47 AM

A large number of plastic shells that can be used in a shotgun-style weapon have been found at the home of the man accused of assassinating former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, investigative sources said Tuesday. Read more »

Chinese warships sailing around Japan amid tensions: report

Amber Wang, South China Morning Post
Posted at Jun 22 11:02 AM

Three Chinese warships have been seen near Japan and appear to be sailing an unusual route around the archipelago, according to Kyodo News – days after Russian vessels traversed nearby waters. Read more »

China to Japan: Don't meddle in gas development in E. China Sea

Kyodo News
Posted at Jun 22 07:05 AM

China urged Japan on Tuesday not to meddle in Beijing's development of gas fields in the East China Sea, saying such a move has been done within the nation's jurisdiction. Read more »

Cambodia naval base modernization via Chinese aid raises concerns

Kyodo News
Updated as of Jun 22 07:05 AM

The United States has been alarmed in recent years over Cambodia's demolition of US-funded buildings at Ream Naval Base located on the Gulf of Thailand. Read more »

Lockdown fears grow in Beijing's biggest district

Kyodo News
Posted at Apr 26 08:14 AM

People in Beijing's biggest district of Chaoyang, where a large number of foreign expats live, tried to stock up on enough food on Monday amid mounting fears about a possible lockdown. Read more »

Reduced brain function, immune disorder a possibility of 'long COVID'

Sayako Akita, Kyodo News
Updated as of Feb 15 09:56 AM

TOKYO - What happens to the body of a person who suffers from the long-term effects of the novel coronavirus? Read more »

Moderna says booster shot effective vs omicron

Kyodo News
Posted at Dec 21 12:51 PM

Moderna said it will continue to develop an omicron-specific vaccine, given the 'long-term threat' demonstrated by the new variant's immune escape, expecting to advance into clinical trials in early 2022. Read more »