Weather authorities in Japan and the Korean peninsula have issued warnings over freezing temperatures and gales that have killed at least one person and left thousands of people stranded. Severe cold weather has caused havoc across the region in the past fortnight. At least 124 people have died in Afghanistan, and temperatures in north-eastern China fell to -53C The Guardian
Tag: Japan
Old world – Inside the 27 January Guardian Weekly
It’s an age-old question: how should nations around the world adjust to their elderly societies? Japan has faced such realities for a while now, but the challenges are becoming increasingly common across the developed world where families are getting smaller, and people are living longer. Even India – which will soon overtake China as the world’s most populous country – is now seeing an older demographic become more prevalent in some states. The countries of sub-Saharan Africa, meanwhile, look most likely to enjoy the benefits of a younger population as…
Japan and North Korea sound warning as deadly cold snap sweeps across Asia
Weather authorities in Japan and the Korean peninsula have issued warnings over freezing temperatures and gales that have killed at least one person, and stranded thousands. Severe cold weather has already caused fatalities, havoc and record low temperatures across the region in the last fortnight, with at least 124 people dead in Afghanistan and record lows of -53C in northeastern China. Large parts of Japan are now in the grip of the severe cold spell, with some areas expected to experience their lowest temperatures for a decade. On Wednesday chief…
Nanjing massacre: Guardian cables censored by Japanese officials – archive, January 1938
Outrages in Nanjing: Guardian cable again stopped From our correspondent22 January 1938 Shanghai, 21 JanuaryA second telegram that I tried to send to the Manchester Guardian to-day dealing with outrages by the Japanese military in Nanjing was suppressed by the Japanese authorities. The message was based largely on an outspoken leading article that appeared in to-day’s North China Daily News. As a result of this action I have written to the British Consul-General, Mr Herbert Phillips, in the following terms: This is the second occasion upon which a telegram to…
Ageing planet: the new demographic timebomb
In Japan even criminals are getting old. In the country’s notorious yakuza crime syndicates, more than half of members are now over 50, according to the national police agency. Veterans who have passed 70 outnumber those under 20 by two to one, even though teenagers are the groups’ traditional source of “muscle”. Japan is a pioneer in adjusting to the skewed demographics of an ageing society, with the impact of its low birthrates exacerbated by a fierce resistance to immigration. But its dilemmas are increasingly shared around the world. India…
Biden and Kishida Vow to Bolster US-Japan Alliance as China’s Power Grows
Japan is an important member of the Quad coalition in Asia, which includes the United States, India and Australia and was formed in part to counter Chinese power in the Indo-Pacific region. Chinese officials say it is obvious the United States is trying to use alliances and partnerships in the region to constrain China, including the Quad as well as AUKUS, the new security coalition formed by the United States, Britain and Australia. The United States and Japan also announced on Friday a new agreement to cooperate on the exploration…
Japan’s PM vows to modernise military for new era of threats
Japan’s prime minister, Fumio Kishida, has pledged to modernise his country’s military alongside US president Joe Biden, warning that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine had opened a dangerous new era and could embolden China. Welcoming Kishida at the White House, Biden hailed the Japanese government’s announcement last month that it will double defence spending over the next five years and develop new capabilities. “Let me be crystal clear: the United States is fully, thoroughly, completely committed to the alliance and more importantly to Japan’s defence,” Biden said. Japan has been officially…
Attack from space would trigger collective defence, say US and Japan, amid China fears
The US and Japan have said that an attack in space would trigger their security treaty, as senior officials from both countries warned that China represents the “greatest strategic challenge” to regional security. “We agree that [China] is the greatest shared strategic challenge that we, our allies and partners face,” the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, said on Thursday after meeting his Japanese counterpart, Yoshimasa Hayashi, in Washington. US and Japanese defence chiefs agreed that attacks “to, from and within” space could invoke article five of their security treaty,…
Tokyo lodges protest after China punishes Japanese travellers over Covid test requirements
Japan has lodged a protest with Beijing over its decision to suspend the issuance of visas to Japanese citizens in retaliation for Covid testing requirements for travellers from China. Chief cabinet secretary Hirokazu Matsuno characterised the move as an act of revenge rather than a public health measure and requested China reverse the decision. “It is regrettable that China unilaterally has taken visa suspension action for reasons other than steps for the coronavirus,” he said on Wednesday. China’s government suspended processing of the visas on Tuesday after the suspension of…
China halts short-term visas for South Korea and Japan over Covid travel curbs
China has suspended issuing short-term visas in South Korea and Japan after announcing it would retaliate against countries that required negative Covid-19 tests from Chinese travellers. China has ditched mandatory quarantines for arrivals and allowed travel to resume across its border with Hong Kong since Sunday, removing the last major restrictions under the “zero-Covid” regime that it abruptly began dismantling in early December after protests against the curbs. But the virus is spreading unchecked among its 1.4 billion people and worries over the scale and impact of its outbreak have…