Tag Archives: Japan

“How on earth do you get to the point where somebody like Carlos (Ghosn) has to hang out with shadowy figures to smuggle him out across an international border, halfway across the world, safely?” Nick Green, the director of an upcoming documentary about the former Nissan chairman called “The Last …

Part of the file being considered by French investigating judges who questioned fugitive former car executive Carlos Ghosn in Beirut this week should be considered invalid, his defense team said on Friday. French judges have been holding hearings in Beirut’s Palace of Justice since Monday, in a process that Ghosn’s …

The Japanese owner of a massive container ship that blocked the Suez Canal for nearly a week, halting billions of dollars in maritime commerce, is asking owners of the freight it is carrying to share the cost of the damages demanded by Egyptian authorities. Shoei Kisen Kaisha Ltd. said on …

Emad El-Din Aysha: Dear Dr. Csicsery-Ronay Istvan. First please let me apologise for saying doctor. In Arabic countries we take such honorifics very seriously, even when speaking English. Secondly, please tell us something about yourself. Where you teach, your background? What drew you to science fiction and specifically non-Anglophone SF? …

Saudi Arabia’s locally made satellites “Shaheen Sat” was launched on Monday along with several others from 18 different countries aboard the Russian Soyuz rocket. Shaheen Sat – one of the two satellites designed and made in Saudi Arabia – will be used for photography and maritime tracking purposes. Among the 38 …

The White House on Friday denied that U.S. President Joe Biden was intentionally snubbing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by failing to include him so far in an early round of phone calls to foreign leaders since taking office on Jan. 20. The lack of direct contact between the Democratic …

The United Arab Emirates launched its first mission to Mars on Monday as it strives to develop its scientific and technological capabilities and reduce its reliance on oil. The Hope Probe blasted off from Japan’s Tanegashima Space Center at 1:58 a.m. UAE time/6:58 a.m. Japanese time Monday (2158 GMT Sunday) …

A new launch date for the UAE’s mission to Mars has been set for July 20, officials have announced. Lift-off from Japan’s Tanegashima Island, 1,000 kilometres to the south west of Tokyo, will take place at 1.58am UAE time. The launch of the Hope probe has already been delayed twice …

A Turkish jet executive on trial over Carlos Ghosn’s dramatic escape from Japan told a court on Friday that the former Nissan (7201.T) boss spoke about Hollywood making a movie of his getaway as he flew in a private jet to Beirut. Ghosn, once a leading light of the global …

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has died, according to a leading Hong Kong television channel Hong Kong Satellite Television (HKSTV). A vice director of HKSTV reported the news on Saturday, citing a “solid source”. Her post first appeared on the Chinese messaging app Weibo, according to the International Business …

U.S. President Donald Trump will declare a national emergency over the fast-spreading coronavirus on Friday, opening the door to more federal aid to combat a disease that has infected 138,000 people worldwide and left more than 5,000 dead. Trump, who some experts criticized for being slow to respond to the …

Passengers began disembarking on Wednesday from the virus-hit Diamond Princess cruise ship after spending two weeks in quarantine off Yokohama, near Tokyo, public broadcaster NHK said. Around 500 people were expected to disembark on Wednesday with the entire process to be completed by Friday, NHK reported. The Diamond Princess, operated …

On December 18, President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev received the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance of Japan, Taro Aso, at Akasaka residence, in Tokyo. Shavkat Mirziyoyev noted with deep satisfaction the consistent strengthening of Uzbekistan – Japan friendship and strategic partnership, as well as expanding …

On July 2, 2019, Abdulaziz Kamilov, the minister of Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Uzbekistan, received Japan’s Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Republic of Uzbekistan, Nobuaki Ito, who is completing his diplomatic mission in the country. During the meeting, the parties discussed the issues concerning further cooperation as well …

The UAE-Japan Friendship Committee for Women’s Career Development, which supports the empowerment of women in the oil and gas industry, kicked of on Tuesday its 9th meeting in Abu Dhabi under the patronage of its President, H.H. Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak, Chairwoman of the General Women’s Union (GWU), President of …

Brigadier Rashid Saeed Al Shehhi, Deputy Commander of the UAE Land Forces, today met with General Koji Yamazaki, Chief of Staff, Joint Staff of the Japan Self-Defence Forces. The meeting comes within the framework of the two parties’ keenness to review current developments and exchange views on a number of …

Iran has no intention of making or using nuclear weapons, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was quoted as saying on Thursday by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Khamenei’s comment, a reiteration of Iran’s stance, comes at a time of increased U.S.-Iranian tension, a year after Washington abandoned an agreement …

Iran will ask Japan to mediate between Tehran and Washington to ease oil sanctions imposed by the United States, Iranian officials said on Wednesday, as Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe arrived in the country for a two-day visit. Abe, the first Japanese leader to visit Iran since its 1979 Islamic …

His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, today received a phone call from Shinzo Abe, Prime Minister of Japan, on the prospects for further accelerating bilateral relations at various fronts. The latest regional and international …

Japan imported from the United Arab Emirates 21.564 million barrels of crude oil in April 2019, data released by the Agency of Energy and Natural Resource in Tokyo showed. This accounts for 23.7 percent of Japan’s total crude imports, the agency that belong to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and …

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he was unaware of any effort to move the USS John S. McCain that was stationed near the site of his recent speech in Japan. A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed to Reuters that an initial request had been made …

Refiners in Japan and South Korea are looking to resume Iranian oil imports from January after receiving waivers from U.S. sanctions on Tehran, sources familiar with the matter said. The unexpected resurgence in Iranian oil imports due to the waivers has helped push spot prices for Middle East crude and …

As part of its continuing commitment to efficiency and the adoption of cutting-edge technologies in its growing network of service stations, ADNOC Distribution, the UAE’s largest fuel and convenience retailer, has signed an agreement with Japan Cooperation Centre Petroleum, JCCP, to supply, install and pilot the use of a photovoltaic, …

U.S. fighter jets darted over the Western Pacific on Saturday as the nuclear powered USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier joined Japanese destroyers and a Canadian warship for the biggest combat readiness war game ever staged in and around Japan. Japan and the United States have mobilized 57,000 sailors, marines and …

A Japanese freelance journalist held hostage by militants in northern Syria for three years has been freed and has confirmed he is safe and well. In a video sent from the Turkish border, Jumpei Yasuda spoke in English and gave his name, confirming he had been held hostage for 40 …

Japan has been announced as this year’s guest of honour at Sharjah International Book Fair (SIBF), which will run from October 31 to November 10 at Expo Centre Sharjah. SIBF’s organisers, the Sharjah Book Authority (SBA), said the selection aligns with their goal of introducing Arab readers and intellectuals to …

A Japanese spacecraft released two small rovers on an asteroid on Friday in a mission that could provide clues to the origin of the solar system. The Japan Space Exploration Agency said the two Minerva-II-1 rovers were lowered from the unmanned spacecraft Hayabusa2 to the asteroid Ryugu. The spacecraft arrived …

A Japanese nuclear energy station is relying on emergency back up power after a powerful earthquake knocked out electricity on the northern island of Hokkaido on Thursday, a stark reminder of the Fukushima disaster more than seven years ago. The three-reactor Tomari nuclear plant, operated by Hokkaido Electric Power and …

The Japanese government on Tuesday apologised for routinely overstating the number of disabled people it employed to meet legal quotas in a “highly regrettable” scandal. Thousands of able-bodied employees at 27 ministries and government agencies were wrongly counted as disabled, Tokyo admitted. “When the figures were revised, the ratio of …

Adnoc said on Tuesday Dr Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE Minister of State and group chief executive officer, held talks with Hiroshige Seko, Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan as it seeks to deepen and expand relationship with Japanese energy sector. During the meeting, partnership and investment opportunities, …

Robots are a regular staple in science fiction, from Isaac Asimov’s book I, Robot to the latest episode of Westworld. So while I was at an event in Boston, I picked up Generation Robot: A Century of Science Fiction, Fact, and Speculation by Terri Favro. It’s an interesting and funny …

A Japanese probe has reached an asteroid 300 million kilometres away to collect information about the birth of the solar system and the origin of life after a more than three-year voyage through deep space. The Hayabusa2 probe settled into an observation position 20 kilometres above the Ryugu asteroid, officials …

US key allies Japan and the EU notified the World Trade Organisation Friday of a wave of retaliatory measures against US tariffs on steel and aluminium, raising the prospects of a trade war. Japan informed the WTO it had the right to impose tariffs on US goods worth 50 billion …

His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, held talks with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at the Presidential Palace in Abu Dhabi on Monday. Shaikh Mohammad expressed confidence that Abe’s visit will have a massive impact …

Al Ghurair Iron and Steel, a joint venture between Nippon Steel Sumitomo Metal Corporation of Japan and UAE’s Al Ghurair Group, expects steel exports to the US will be hit due to the introduction of tariffs on imported steel and aluminium by the US government, the chief executive officer of …

By Emad El-Din Aysha, PhD*   Attended a very interesting lecture the other day with a deceptively simple title: “The Dynamics of the Indo-Pacific Region: The Challenges and Opportunities for Japan”, by Professor Satoru Mori from the Hosei University in Tokyo, Japan. (Faculty of Law, Department of Global Politics; little …

By Geoffrey Cook*   The friendly ties between India and Israel are only about twenty years old whereas rapprochement  started haltingly five years earlier in 1992.  They have become most friendly with the rise of the Narendra Modi and his Islamophobic BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) during 2014. Today their ties …

Russian President Vladimir Putin boasted Thursday that his country has developed a nuclear-powered missile with an unlimited range that is also completely immune to enemy intercept. Speaking during an annual state-of-the-nation speech in Moscow, Putin said the cruise missile is capable of penetrating any missile defense and can reach virtually any target around the …

Sultan Bin Ahmad Sultan Al Jaber, Minister of State and Group CEO of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, Adnoc, has met with Shinzo Abe, Prime Minister of Japan, as well as senior government and corporate leaders, during a visit to Tokyo, as Adnoc seeks to expand strategic partnership and …

China hopes to work with Japan to establish more cordial relations, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told his Japanese counterpart on Sunday, aiming to move on from a series of disputes, some dating back to before World War Two. China and Japan have sparred frequently about their painful history, with …

North Korea shipped coal to Russia last year which was then delivered to South Korea and Japan in a likely violation of U.N. sanctions, three Western European intelligence sources said. The U.N. Security Council banned North Korean exports of coal last Aug. 5 under sanctions intended to cut off an …

A group of North Korean citizens living in Japan called the Chongryon have proposed sending a cheer squad to the upcoming Pyeongchang Olympics. According to sources close to the group, the Chongryon cheer delegation is set to be around 170 people and may expand if they receive many applicants, Yonhap reported. According to …

For much of the world, it’s a niche product. In North Korea, where winter temperatures are frigid and which cannot produce enough cotton or wool for clothing, the synthetic fibre developed after nylon was glorified as a revolutionary invention. Known outside North Korea as vinylon, it was christened “vinalon” by …

Apple and Amazon are in licensing discussions with Riyadh on investing in Saudi Arabia, two sources told Reuters, part of Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman’s push to give the conservative kingdom a high-tech look. A third source confirmed that Apple was in talks with Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA), …