Japan
As India, Japan, France to announce new platform to restructure SL's debts, China wants creditors to share burden
"We call on commercial and multilateral creditors to take part in Sri Lanka's debt restructuring based on fair burden-sharing," China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said while adding the Beijing would work with relevant countries and international financial institutions to jointly play a positive role in helping Sri Lanka navigate the situation, ease its debt burden and achieve sustainable development.
Swedish embassy in Islamabad shuts down indefinitely
The Swedish embassy did not elaborate on the nature of the threat, but many believe the decision was linked with the recent incident of burning of the holy Quran in Sweden, Dawn reported. A Danish-Swedish far-right extremist known for spreading anti-Muslim hatred burned a copy of the holy Quran in front of the Turkish embassy in Stockholm on Jan 21 under the protection of Swedish police, Dawn reported. "Due to the current security situation in Islamabad, the Embassy of Sweden is closed for visitors.
Japan's population drops below 125 mn, down for 12th year
As of October 1 last year, the total population including foreigners saw a decrease of 556,000, or 0.44 per cent from the previous year, according to the data released by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications. The number of Japanese nationals, which came in at 12.2 million, plunged by 750,000, the decline of which has been expanding since 2011, Xinhua news agency reported citing the Ministry as saying.
Half of unmarried people under 30 in Japan don't want kids: Survey
Of the 400 respondents between 18 to 29 years old, 49.4 per cent said they are not interested in having children, the highest percentage in any of the last three annual pregnancy white paper surveys conducted by Rohto Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. By gender, 53.0 per cent of men and 45.6 per cent of women have no interest in becoming parents, according to the online survey.
Finland becomes NATO member as Russia warns of 'counter-measures'
The national flag of Finland was raised and the country's anthem was played for the first time at NATO headquarters on Tuesday afternoon in a brief ceremony. "The era of military non-alignment in our history has come to an end. A new era begins," Finland's President Sauli Niinisto said at the ceremony on Tuesday, adding that he hoped to see neighbouring Sweden join soon.
37% of population displaced from Japan's Fukushima may have PTSD: Survey
Waseda University and a citizens group sent questionnaires to 5,350 households mainly in the Kanto region around Tokyo who had fled from Fukushima following the nuclear disaster, and obtained responses from 516, reports Xinhua news agency. The results indicated that 37.0 per cent of the evacuees had PTSD.
Japan mulls over more childcare policies amid declining birthrate
The policy package, proposed by Masanobu Ogura, minister in charge of policies for children, also includes expanding college education scholarships and upping support for single parents, reports Xinhua news agency.
It stated that until parents' children graduate from high school , the government would abolish income.
Japan marks 28 years since deadly gas attack in Tokyo subway
A vigil was held at Kasumigaseki subway station in the Japanese capital where one of the deadly attacks took place, with station officials observing a moment of silence at 8 a.m. local time, which was around the time the attack took place on March 20, 1995, reports Xinhua news agency.
Japan's Kishida doing final fine-tuning to invite Yoon to G-7 summit: Report
Yoon is expected to be one of the leaders to be invited to the gathering, together with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Indonesian President Joko Widodo, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported. Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi is also considering inviting Ukraine President.
North Korea fires missile ahead of South Korea-Japan summit
South Korean's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said it detected the launch from the Sunan area in Pyongyang at 7.10 a.m., and the missile, fired at a lofted angle, flew some 1,000 km before hitting the waters, reports Yonhap NewsAgency. A month earlier, the North test-fired a Hwasong-15 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).
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