International

The Japanese government's advisory panel on coronavirus measures approved on Thursday a plan to let the state of emergency expire in the Tokyo area as scheduled on March 21, while the capital's governor warned citizens not to let down their guard. Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga had flagged the move on Wednesday, saying the availability of hospital beds had improved in Tokyo and its three neighbouring prefectures, where restrictions have remained since early January. ‘There was no objection to the plan,’ Economy Minister Yasuhisa Nishimura, who also heads Japan's coronavirus response, said after a meeting with the advisory panel. He added, however, that experts noted that infections had been creeping up in recent days, and that a resurgence was bound to occur. While under pressure to bring Covid-19 under control ahead of the Tokyo Olympics this summer, the government is eager to jumpstart economic activity in the Greater Tokyo area, whose 36 million residents account for 30% of Japan's population. The number of new Covid-19 cases has plunged from a peak in early January, when the third and most deadly wave of the pandemic swept the country. But the daily tally for Tokyo remains far from Governor Yuriko Koike's target of reducing the seven-day average to 70% or lower than the preceding week. On Wednesday, the capital reported 409 cases, compared with a peak of 2,520 on Jan. 7, but the highest since mid-February. ‘(The state of emergency will be lifted) on the 21st, but does that mean anything goes after that? No, it doesn't, and we have to see it as entering a new stage,’ Koike told reporters. ‘The first drop of vaccines for (Tokyo's) 14 million has only just begun, and until we're done, we have to fight with our bare hands,’ she said. While other parts of the country lifted the emergency status at the end of February, Tokyo, Kanagawa, Chiba and Saitama prefectures extended it, with officials saying they wanted to see a continued decline in infections and hospitalisations. Under the curbs, restaurants and bars are asked to close by 8 p.m and companies to allow more telecommuting. After the lifting of the emergency, the four prefectures will ask eateries to close by 9 p.m., at least until the end of March, to reduce the chance of a resurgence in infections, Kanagawa Governor Yuji Kuroiwa said on Wednesday. The government's task force will meet later on Thursday to finalise the plan, followed by a news conference by Prime Minister Suga at 7 p.m. (1000 GMT). So far in Japan, roughly 449,000 people have tested positive and 8,715 have died from Covid-19 as of Wednesday.  

Spectators will be barred from the start of the Tokyo Olympics torch relay, organisers said Monday, announcing a pared-back launch as the countdown to the postponed Games begins in earnest. Fans were told to stay away from next week's ‘simplified’ starting ceremony and first leg of the nationwide relay, which was put on hold a year ago when the Olympics were delayed over the coronavirus. ‘The grand start ceremony and the first section of the Fukushima torch relay... will not be open to the public,’ organisers said in a statement, adding that the festivities would be broadcast live online. The announcement comes ahead of a decision on whether fans from overseas will be allowed to enter Japan for the coronavirus-delayed Games, which is expected to be taken before the torch relay begins on March 25. Reports last week suggested the Japanese government is set to ban fans from abroad over fears of a rise in infections. The torch relay will begin in Fukushima prefecture, which last week marked the 10th anniversary of the 2011 earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster that left 18,500 dead or missing. But the torch, headed for the Olympics opening ceremony on July 23, will get a more muted send-off than originally planned. ‘In order to allow all possible Covid-19 countermeasures to be taken, the number of participants travelling from Tokyo to the site is being substantially curtailed,’ Tokyo 2020 said. ‘In addition, the programme has been simplified and the number of performers at the ceremony has been reduced.’ About 3,000 spectators had been expected to attend the relay's starting ceremony.    

A bus carrying school children and some parents returning from an excursion plunged into a ravine on the Indonesian island of Java on Wednesday night, killing 27 people, the country's transportation ministry said. The search and rescue agency said in a statement on Thursday that the driver of the bus lost control shortly before the crash in an area near the city of Sumedang in West Java province. The transportation ministry said the bus was carrying junior high school students and some parents and that 39 people had survived. Photographs from the scene showed the bus had ended up on its side with rescue workers trying to search for any more victims. Supriono, a local search and rescue agency official, said later evacuation efforts had been completed and survivors taken to a nearby hospital. The exact cause of the crash was not immediately clear, though the ministry said there were initial indications that the vehicle's road worthiness tests were not up to date.  

With a moment of silence, prayers and anti-nuclear protests, Japan on Thursday mourned about 20,000 victims of the massive earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan 10 years ago, destroying towns and triggering nuclear meltdowns in Fukushima. Huge waves triggered by the 9.0-magnitude quake - one of the strongest on record - crashed into the northeastern coast, crippling the Fukushima Dai-ichi power plant and forcing more than 160,000 residents to flee as radiation spewed into the air. The world's worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl and the tremor have left survivors struggling to overcome the grief of losing families and towns to the waves in a few frightening hours on the afternoon of March 11, 2011. About 50 kilometres (31 miles) south from the plant, in the gritty coastal city of Iwaki, which has since become a hub for labourers working on nuclear decommissioning, restaurant owner Atsushi Niizuma prayed to his mother killed by the waves. ‘I want to tell my mother that my children, who were all close to her, are doing well. I came here to thank her that our family is living safely,’ said Niizuma, 47. Before setting off for work, he quietly paid his respects at a stone monument at a seaside shrine with carvings of his mother's name, Mitsuko, and 65 others who died in the disaster. On the day of the earthquake, Mitsuko was looking after his children. The children rushed into a car but Mitsuko was swept away by the waves as she returned to the house to grab her belongings. It took a month to recover her body, Niizuma said. The Akiba shrine has become a symbol of resilience for the survivors, as it was barely damaged by the tsunami while houses nearby were swept away or burned down. About two dozen residents gathered with Niizuma to decorate it with paper cranes, flowers and yellow handkerchiefs with messages of hope sent by students from across the country. ‘It was sleeting 10 years ago, and it was cold. The coldness always brought me back to the memory of what happened on the day,’ said Hiroko Ishikawa, 62. ‘But with my back soaking up the sun today, we are feeling more relaxed. It's as if the sun is telling us that 'It's okay, why don't you go talk with everyone who came back to visit their hometown?'‘ REMEMBERING THE DEAD Emperor Naruhito and Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga were slated to honour the dead at a commemorative anniversary ceremony in Tokyo while several other events were planned across northeastern Japan, which was most badly hit by the tremor. The government has spent about $300 billion (32.1 trillion yen) to rebuild the region, but areas around the Fukushima plant remain off-limits, worries about radiation levels linger and many who left have settled elsewhere. Decommissioning of the crippled plant will take decades and billions of dollars. Some 40,000 people are still displaced by the disaster. Japan is again debating the role of nuclear power in its energy mix as the resource-poor country aims to achieve net carbon neutrality by 2050 to fight global warming. But an NHK public TV survey showed 85% of the public worries about nuclear accidents. The mass demonstrations against nuclear power seen in the wake of 3/11 have faded, but distrust lingers. Some antinuclear activists are planning demonstrations in front of the operator of the plant, Tokyo Electric Power, for Thursday night. Only nine of Japan's 33 remaining commercial reactors have been approved for restarts under post-Fukushima safety standards and only four are operating, compared with 54 before the disaster. Nuclear power supplied just 6% of Japan's energy needs in the first half of 2020 compared with 23.1% for renewable sources - far behind Germany's 46.3% - and nearly 70% for fossil fuels.    

Japan has decided to stage this summer's Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics without overseas spectators due to public concern about Covid-19, two government sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters on Wednesday. The Olympics, postponed by a year because of the pandemic, are scheduled for July 23 to Aug. 8 and the Paralympics from Aug. 24 to Sept. 5. Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has said a decision on spectators would be made by the end of March. The government has concluded that welcoming fans from abroad would not be possible given public concern about the coronavirus and the detection of more contagious variants in many countries, the people said, declining to be identified because the information is not public. Kyodo News, which reported the decision on Tuesday, said the opening ceremony of the torch relay on March 25 would also take place without spectators. ‘The organising committee has decided it is essential to hold the ceremony in the northeastern prefecture of Fukushima behind closed doors, only permitting participants and invitees to take part in the event, to avoid large crowds forming amid the pandemic,’ Kyodo said, quoting the officials. The Tokyo organising committee said a decision would be made based on ‘factors including the state of infections in Japan and other countries, possible epidemic-prevention measures, and expert scientific advice.’ Tokyo 2020 President Seiko Hashimoto has said she wants a decision made on before the start of the torch relay on whether to allow overseas spectators. 'TRADE-OFF' Sebastian Coe, the man behind the 2012 London Olympics which enjoyed sell-out crowds, and now President of World Athletics, said the goal has always been to ensure ‘the best possible games for the athletes and having full stadiums of passionate people’, preferably with a ‘good global presence’. ‘With all the work being done around vaccinations and the huge sacrifices large parts of the world have made over the last year, I would hope that fans (international and domestic) will be able to attend (the Tokyo Olympics), of course it would be better,’ he told Reuters. ‘However, if local communities are concerned, then athletes will accept that and it is a trade-off they are prepared for.’ Figures released in December had projected ticket sales would contribute $800 million for the Tokyo organising committee, or about 12% of its budget. Local ticket sales have typically accounted for 70-80% of ticket sales at past Olympics. In the last Olympic Games, the 2018 Winter Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea, local fans accounted for 80% of all ticket sales, with international fans buying 20%. Most Japanese people do not want international visitors to attend the Games amid fears that a large influx could spark a resurgence of coronavirus infections, a Yomiuri newspaper poll showed this week. The survey showed 77% of respondents were against allowing foreign fans to attend, versus 18% in favour. Some 48% said they were against allowing any spectators into venues and 45% were in favour. While coronavirus infection numbers have been relatively low in Japan compared with the United States and many European countries, the country has been hit hard by the third wave of the pandemic and Tokyo remains under a state of emergency. Japan has recorded more than 441,200 Covid-19 cases since the start of the pandemic and more than 8,300 deaths.  

When a huge earthquake and tsunami struck Japan on March 11, 2011, devastating towns and triggering nuclear meltdowns in Fukushima, a stunned world watched the chaotic struggle to contain the world's worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl. An onslaught of waves sparked by the 9.0-magnitude quake crashed into the northeastern coast, killing nearly 20,000 people and crippling the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant. More than 160,000 residents fled as radiation spewed into the air. At the time, some - including Prime Minister Naoto Kan - feared Tokyo would need to be evacuated, or worse. ‘Fukushima is stamped for the rest of the history of nuclear energy,’ said Kiyoshi Kurokawa, head of an investigation that concluded the disaster was ‘profoundly man-made’. The government has spent about $300 billion (32.1 trillion yen) to rebuild the tsunami-devastated Tohoku region, but areas around the Fukushima plant remain off-limits, worries about radiation levels linger and many who left have settled elsewhere. Decommissioning of the crippled plant will take decades and billions of dollars. Japan is again debating the role of nuclear power in its energy mix as the resource-poor country aims to achieve net carbon neutrality by 2050 to fight global warming. But an NHK public TV survey showed 85% of the public worries about nuclear accidents. Energy policy was left in limbo after Shinzo Abe led his pro-nuclear energy Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) back to power the year after the disaster, ousting the novice Democratic Party of Japan, whose image was tainted by its handling of Fukushima. ‘They sort of left things adrift,’ said Tobias Harris, senior vice president at consultancy Teneo and author of a book about Abe. 'RESULT OF COLLUSION' Kurokawa's commission, appointed by parliament, concluded in 2012 that the Fukushima accident was ‘the result of collusion between the government, regulators and Tokyo Electric Power Co’ and a lack of governance. Abe resigned last year, citing poor health, and his successor, Yoshihide Suga, has announced a goal of net carbon neutrality by 2050. Proponents say nuclear power is vital to decarbonization. Critics say cost, safety and the challenge of storing nuclear waste are all reasons to avoid it. ‘Those talking about atomic power are people in the 'nuclear village', who want to protect their vested interests,’ former Prime Minister Kan told a news conference last week. The mass demonstrations against nuclear power seen in the wake of 3/11 have faded, but distrust lingers. A February Asahi newspaper survey found that nationwide, 53% are opposed to restarting reactors, compared with 32% in favour. In Fukushima, only 16% backed bringing restarting units. ‘Ten years have passed and some people have forgotten. The zeal is gone,’ said Yu Uchiyama, a University of Tokyo political science professor. ‘Restarts are not happening, so people think if they just wait, nuclear power will disappear.’ NUCLEAR FUTURE BLEAK? Only nine of Japan's 33 remaining commercial reactors have been approved for restarts under post-Fukushima safety standards and only four are operating, compared with 54 before the disaster. Nuclear power supplied just 6% of Japan's energy needs in the first half of 2020 compared with 23.1% for renewable sources - far behind Germany's 46.3% - and nearly 70% for fossil fuels. Extending the lifespan of Japan's 33 existing commercial reactors to 60 years, there would be only 18 in 2050 and none by 2069, said Takeo Kikkawa, an adviser to the government on energy policy. Newer business lobbies are pushing for renewable energy. ‘Japan is a resource-poor country so we should not casually abandon the nuclear option,’ Kikkawa told a media briefing. ‘But in reality, the future of nuclear power is bleak.’  

Japan's Covid-19 inoculation campaign is moving at a glacial pace, hampered by a lack of supply and a shortage of specialty syringes that underscore the enormous challenge it faces in its aim to vaccinate every adult by the year's end. Since the campaign began three weeks ago, just under 46,500 doses had been administered to frontline medical workers as of Friday. At the current rate, it would take 126 years to vaccinate Japan's population of 126 million. Supplies are, however, expected to increase in the coming months. By contrast, South Korea, which began its vaccinations a week later than Japan, had administered nearly seven times more shots as of Sunday. Unlike many other countries, Japan requires clinical trials for new medicines, including vaccines, to be conducted with Japanese patients, slowing down the approval process. So far, only the vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech has been approved. Clinical trials in Japan for AstraZeneca and Moderna's vaccines have been conducted and the vaccines are now awaiting regulatory approval. ‘The sense of urgency among the government is not, I think, similar to other G7 countries,’ said Haruka Sakamoto, a physician and researcher at Keio University, noting Japan's comparatively low case numbers and death toll. Japan has had about 438,000 confirmed cases of Covid-19 with 8,251 deaths. Cases in Tokyo, which is still under a state of emergency, have subsided from a daily peak of 2,520 on Jan. 7 to 237 on March 7. Sakamoto said the health ministry's conservative stance stems from previous examples of a new medicine gaining approval relatively quickly only for the ministry to be criticised by the public and media for going too fast and endangering safety. The health ministry did not immediately reply with comment on the pace of the inoculation rollout. Japan is focusing on vaccinating about 4.8 million medical workers first before moving on to its elderly population of 36 million. Vaccine Minister Taro Kono has said that while shots for those over 65 will start next month, supplies will be extremely limited. Unlike South Korea, which has been using low dead space syringes to extract six or even seven doses of Pfizer vaccine from a vial instead of five, and 12 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine per vial instead of 10, Japan has fallen short on readying sufficient supply of the specialty syringes. That shortage will mean that some doses will go to waste when shots for the elderly start, Kono said on Friday. Japan is continuing to negotiate with Pfizer on supplies, Kono said, and imports are expected to increase four-fold in April from March to about 1.7 million vials. Each shipment must be approved by the European Union, which introduced the mechanism in late January to monitor vaccine exports after drug makers announced delays in their supplies to the bloc. Japan has secured rights to at least 564 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines, the largest volume in Asia, and Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has pledged to have enough for the whole population by June, before the July 23 start of the Tokyo Olympics.  

Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa on Wednesday launched a search for eight people to join him as the first private passengers on a trip around the moon with Elon Musk's SpaceX. He had originally planned to invite artists for the weeklong voyage slated for 2023. The rejigged project will "give more people from around the globe the chance to join this journey. If you see yourself as an artist, then you are an artist," Maezawa said. The first stage of the selection process runs to March 14, with applicants needing to pass medical checks and, eventually, an interview with Maezawa. The entrepreneur, who sold his online fashion business Zozo Inc to SoftBank in 2019, is paying the entire cost of the voyage on SpaceX's next-generation reusable launch vehicle, dubbed the Starship. "I thought there might be delays but everything is on schedule," said Maezawa in an interview. Two recent Starship prototypes have exploded during testing, underscoring the risks for Maezawa, 45, and his fellow passengers, who must also contend with the strains of space travel in the first private journey beyond Earth's orbit. "Elon Musk says there is no problem and I believe him," said Maezawa. SpaceX ferried four astronauts to the International Space Station in November on its Falcon 9 rocket. Maezawa said he is not in training - which he expects to take a few months at most - but is watching his alcohol intake and exercising while spending a few hours a week considering the mission. "I'm only preparing mentally," said the fashion guru, wearing a Dior shirt over a T-shirt depicting the iconic 1968 Earthrise photo. Seeing the whole Earth and the far side of the moon would be highlights of the trip, said Maezawa, who had considered a trip the ISS before choosing the more ambitious moon voyage. "This mission we expect people will go further than any human has ever gone from Planet Earth," Musk said, days after SpaceX completed its latest $850 million fundraising, which has helped turn the businessman into one of the world's richest people. Costs for the trip remain in line with the original contract with SpaceX, said Maezawa, who has declined to say how much that is, but says is more than his $110 million purchase of a Jean-Michel Basquiat painting. Both Musk and Maezawa have built loyal followings on social media, with the latter's cash giveaways helping to make him Japan's most-followed Twitter account. Maezawa, who recently introduced SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son to audio app Clubhouse, said he plans to feature mission preparation on his YouTube channel, which also offers videos of him playing golf in Hawaii and racing supercars. Last year he launched a short-lived documentary search for a new girlfriend to join him on the trip before pulling out citing "mixed feelings."

* Plane carrying Michael Taylor, son Peter arrives in Tokyo from the US * Pair accused of helping Ghosn flee Japan while he awaited trial in 2019 * Taylors face charges that could carry a three year prison sentence, prosecutors say   An American father and son accused of helping former Nissan Motor Co Ltd Chairman Carlos Ghosn flee Japan arrived in Tokyo on Tuesday to face questioning from prosecutors and the prospect of charges that could carry a three-year prison term. The plane carrying US Army Special Forces veteran Michael Taylor and his son Peter, who were extradited by US authorities on Monday, landed at Tokyo's Narita airport, and the two men were escorted on to waiting police buses, according to a Reuters witness. The Taylors will not be indicted immediately, but will likely face charges after an investigation is concluded. The two were arrested on Tuesday on suspicion of helping Ghosn flee Japan on a private jet hidden in luggage, in contravention of his bail conditions, the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office said in a statement. Under Japanese law, suspects can be held for up to 20 days before being indicted or released, and are not allowed to have their lawyers present during questioning by prosecutors. Once charged, defendants are often refused bail by courts. "We'll conduct our investigation first so it is too early yet to say when any trial would start," Tokyo Deputy Chief Prosecutor Hiroshi Yamamoto said at a press conference Tuesday. The two men will be detained at the Tokyo Detention House, the city's main jail where Ghosn was held after his arrest, he added. The Taylors are alleged to have helped Ghosn flee Japan on Dec. 29, 2019, hidden in a box and on a private jet before reaching his childhood home, Lebanon, which has no extradition treaty with Japan. Their lawyers waged a months-long battle to avoid them being sent to Japan to face charges they helped Ghosn escape, arguing they could not be prosecuted for helping someone "bail jump". They also claimed that, if extradited, they faced the prospect of relentless interrogations and torture. The US State Department in a November court filing rejected the torture claim as unlikely, and the US Supreme Court last month cleared the way for their extradition. Japanese authorities did not comment on the allegation. The campaign by the Taylors, who have been in US custody since their arrest in May, to press their case against extradition was waged in the courts, the media, State Department and White House. "This is a sad day for the family, and for all who believe that veterans deserve better treatment from their own country," their lawyer Paul Kelly said in a statement on Monday. The US Justice Department and the US State Department declined to comment. At the time of his escape, Ghosn was awaiting trial on charges that he had engaged in financial wrongdoing, including by understating his compensation in Nissan's financial statements and enriching himself at his employer's expense through payments to car dealerships. Ghosn denies wrongdoing. Prosecutors said the elder Taylor, a 60-year-old private security specialist, and Peter Taylor, 27, received $1.3 million for their services.

Nami Hamaura says she feels less lonely working from home thanks to her singing companion Charlie, one of a new generation of cute and clever Japanese robots whose sales are booming in the pandemic. Smart home assistants such as Amazon's Alexa have found success worldwide, but tech firms in Japan are reporting huge demand for more humanlike alternatives, as people seek solace during coronavirus isolation. ‘I felt my circle became very small,’ said 23-year-old Hamaura, a recent graduate who has worked almost entirely remotely since April 2020. With socialising limited, life in her first job at a Tokyo trading company was nothing like she had imagined. So she adopted Charlie, a mug-sized robot with a round head, red nose and flashing bow-tie, who converses with its owner in song. Yamaha, which makes Charlie, describes it as ‘more chatty than a pet, but less work than a lover’. ‘He is there for me to chat with as someone other than family, or friends on social networks, or a boss I needed to produce a report for,’ Hamaura told AFP. She is a pre-launch test customer for Charlie, which Yamaha plans to release later this year. ‘Charlie, tell me something interesting,’ she asks while typing at her dining table. ‘Well, well... balloons burst when you spray lemon juice!’ he replies, cheerfully tilting his head to each side. - 'Every object has a soul' -Sharp said sales of its small humanoid Robohon were up 30 percent in the three months to September 2020 compared with a year earlier. ‘Not only families with children, but also seniors in their 60s and 70s’ are snapping up Robohon, which talks, dances and is also a working phone, a Sharp spokesman told AFP. But the adorable android -- first released in 2016 and only available in Japan -- does not come cheap, with regular models priced between $820 and $2,250. Charlie and Robohon are part of a new wave of robot companions pioneered by firms such as Sony with its robot dog Aibo, on sale since 1999, and SoftBank's friendly Pepper, which hit shelves in 2015. ‘Many Japanese people accept the idea that every object has a soul,’ said Shunsuke Aoki, CEO of robot firm Yukai Engineering. ‘They want a robot to have a character, like a friend, family or a pet -- not a mechanical function like a dishwasher.’ Yukai's robots include Qoobo, a fluffy pillow with a mechanical tail that wiggles like a real pet. They will soon release their latest home assistant ‘Bocco emo’, which looks like a miniature snowman and allows families to leave and send voice messages through their phones. Kaori Takahashi, 32, bought a Yukai robot-building kit for her six-year-old son to keep him occupied during the pandemic. Robots feel normal in everyday life because they are in so many Japanese children's films and cartoons, she said. ‘I grew up watching anime shows 'The Astro Boy Essays' and 'Doraemon', which both feature robots, and my children love them too.’ - 'Heartwarming feeling' – Studies have shown that therapeutic robot pets designed in Japan, such as fluffy mechanical seals, can bring comfort to dementia patients. But the makers of Lovot -- a robot the size of a small toddler, with big round eyes and penguin-like wings that flutter up and down -- think everyone can benefit from a bot that just wants to be loved. It has more than 50 sensors and an internal heating system, making it warm to touch, which it reacts to with squeaks of joy. Manufacturer Groove X said monthly sales shot up more than tenfold after the coronavirus hit Japan. A single Lovot costs around $2,800, plus fees for maintenance and software -- but those without deep pockets can visit the ‘Lovot Cafe’ near Tokyo instead. One customer there, 64-year-old Yoshiko Nakagawa, called out to one of the robots fondly by name, as if to a grandson. During Japan's virus state of emergency, the capital became ‘stark and empty’, she said. ‘We need time to heal ourselves after this bleak period. If I had one of these babies at home, the heartwarming feeling would probably do the trick.’    

Japan confirmed a new variant of Covid-19, and an infection cluster emerged at a Tokyo immigration facility, presenting new challenges as the country tries to overcome a third wave of the pandemic. The new variant has been found in 91 cases in the Kanto area of eastern Japan and in 2 cases at airports, Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato told reporters on Friday. The government is raising surveillance against mutant varieties as they may be more resistant to vaccines, which Japan started to distribute this week. ‘It may be more contagious than conventional strains, and if it continues to spread domestically, it could lead to a rapid rise in cases,’ Kato said. The new strain appears to have originated overseas but is different from other types that have been found sporadically in Japan, according to the National Institute of Infectious Diseases. It has the E484K mutation on the spike protein of the virus that has been found in other variants, which may undermine the effectiveness of vaccines. Japan has reported 151 cases of variants from Britain, South Africa and Brazil, according to the health ministry. The nation has had more than 400,000 cases of Covid-19 with 7,194 fatalities. Meanwhile, 5 staff and 39 foreign detainees at a Tokyo immigration facility have tested positive for Covid-19. All 130 detainees at the facility have been tested for the virus, according to a spokesperson for the Tokyo Regional Immigration Bureau. None of the cases is serious, and all infected detainees remain quarantined from others. The representative declined to comment on the nationality of the infected detainees, citing privacy concerns. Japan's detention system for immigration law violators and asylum seekers has been widely criticized for its medical standards, monitoring of detainees and response to emergencies. ‘Many detainees are locked in a small, closed spaces,’ said Motoko Yamagishi, the head of a migrants-rights group. ‘It is regrettable that such a outbreak happened in the centre.’  

More than 120 people were injured after a 7.3-magnitude earthquake struck northeastern Japan late last night, causing blackouts, water cuts and suspension of trains. Earlier Sunday morning, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said that there was no risk of a tsunami, and the nuclear power plants had not reported any problems. For its part, the Japan Meteorological Agency said that there is an increased risk of house collapses and landslides in the areas severely hit by the earthquake. People are advised to remain alert in anticipation of the possibility of aftershocks with a maximum strength of up to six plus next week or so. Several earthquakes were coming from the waters off Fukushima Prefecture, occurred after the great earthquake that occurred last night. Officials called on people to remain alert in anticipation of the possibility of more aftershocks. According to the Japan Meteorological Agency, the quake occurred at a depth of 60 km in the Pacific Ocean off the Fukushima region, close to the epicenter of the devastating 2011 earthquake that killed more than 18,000 people. The agency initially stated that the earthquake had a magnitude of 7.1, but it corrected the figure to 7.3, noting that it was an aftershock of the 2011 earthquake. Japan is located at the Pacific Ring of Fire, a region experiencing intense seismic activity that extends from Southeast Asia and encompasses the Pacific Basin. In September 2018, a 6.6-magnitude earthquake shook the island of Hokkaido, causing landslides, collapsing homes and killing more than 40 people.

A strong earthquake hit off the coast of eastern Japan yesterday, injuring dozens of people and triggering widespread power outages, but there appeared to be no major damage and no tsunami warning was issued.  The earthquake had a 7.3 magnitude and its epicentre was off the coast of Fukushima prefecture at a depth of 60km, the Japan Meteorological Agency said. It shook buildings for some time after it hit, shortly after 11pm. Houses and offices in the capital Tokyo, hundreds of kilometres away, also swayed and shook. No tsunami warning had been issued, the meteorological agency said. At least two dozen people were injured, according to reports from the Kyodo news agency. A Reuters cameraman on location in Fukushima said his 10th floor hotel room shook for some time. One man at the hotel was taken to hospital after falling and hitting his head on a door, the cameraman said. Although injured, the man was still able to walk, the cameraman said. Television footage also showed broken glass from shop fronts. Some 950,000 households were initially without power, government spokesman Katsunobu Kato told a briefing carried on public broadcaster NHK. The blackouts appeared to be concentrated in northeast Japan, including Fukushima and neighbouring prefectures. There were no irregularities at the Fukushima Daiichi and Daini nuclear power plants, or at the Kahiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear plant, owner Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings said. The utility also said there was no change in the radiation levels around its plants. Kato said there were no irregularities at the Onagawa nuclear facility. The quake hit off of Fukushima just weeks before the 10th anniversary of a quake on March 11, 2011 that devastated northeast Japan and triggered a massive tsunami leading to the world’s worst nuclear crisis in a quarter of a century – one centred at the Daiichi facility. Earthquakes are common in Japan, one of the world’s most seismically active areas. Japan accounts for about 20% of the world’s earthquakes of magnitude 6 or greater.

* Mori says sorry for his sexist remarks * Tokyo searches for new Games chief five months from opening * Female replacement as Olympic chief a possibility Tokyo 2020 Olympics chief Yoshiro Mori resigned on Friday and apologised again for remarks that sparked a global outcry, leaving the troubled Olympics searching for a chief five months from the opening ceremony. The resignation of former prime minister Mori, 83, will further erode confidence in the organisers' ability to pull off the postponed Summer Games during a coronavirus pandemic. A selection committee made up of an equal number of men and women, and centred around athletes, would choose a new president, Tokyo 2020 chief executive Toshiro Muto told a news conference after a meeting of a board of advisers. He did not say when the decision would be made but it had to be done ‘urgently’. ‘Regarding qualities of a new president ... experience in Olympics and Paralympics ... Gender equality or diversity and inclusion ... we need a person that has a really high-level of understanding of that,’ Muto said. Among the possible candidates, media said, was Olympics Minister Seiko Hashimoto, 56, a seven-time Olympian and pioneering female lawmaker. Her first name is based on the Japanese words for the Olympic flame and she was born just days before the 1964 Tokyo Olympics opened. Hashimoto later told reporters she had not been asked to replace Mori and she sought to reassure the public that Japan would stay focused on preparations. Mori sparked a furore when he said during an Olympic committee meeting this month that women talk too much, setting off a chorus of calls for him to be sacked. He initially refused to step down. ‘My inappropriate comments caused big trouble. I'm sorry,’ Mori said at the beginning of a meeting of senior organising committee officials on Friday, adding that the most important thing was for the Tokyo Olympics to be a success. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) said it was ‘as committed as ever’ to staging the Games, which are due to open on July 23. ‘The IOC will continue working hand-in-hand with his successor to deliver safe and secure Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 in 2021,’ IOC President Thomas Bach said in a statement. 'DAMAGE' Mori on Thursday had asked the mayor of the Olympic Village, 84-year-old Saburo Kawabuchi, to take over the job but by Friday, amid public dismay that the chosen successor was another older man, media reported that Kawabuchi turned the job down. Broadcaster Fuji News Network quoted a government source as saying: ‘We can't give the impression that things have changed unless we install a woman or see a generational shift.’ Top government spokesman Katsunobu Kato declined to comment on the issue except to say things would be done according to procedures and in a transparent way. The Mori controversy has done ‘serious reputational damage’ to the Tokyo Olympics, said one source involved in the Games, requesting anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter and adding that many officials want a woman to replace Mori. Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike, herself a pioneer as Tokyo's first female leader, avoided a direct answer when asked during a news conference who Mori's successor should be, but said the person should embody Olympic ideals of inclusivity and be somebody the world can accept. ‘Diversity and harmony - that's something that the person at the top needs to understand, embody and broadcast,’ she said. Tammy Parlour, head of the Women’s Sports Trust in Britain, told Reuters in an email that the Olympics were a chance to showcase equality. ‘The wider issue is not what one man says though, but how the Olympic movement can capitalise on its visibility to promote brilliant women across all sports and create greater diversity behind the scenes in leadership positions,’ she said.  

India and China have reached an agreement on disengagement at Pangong Tso in Ladakh, Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said Thursday in parliament, giving details of a breakthrough after a protracted stand-off and several rounds of talks between military commanders and diplomats. ‘Our sustained talks with China have led to agreement on disengagement on the north and south banks of Pangong Lake. After this agreement, India-China will remove forward deployments in a phased, coordinated manner,’ the Defence Minister said in his statement in the Rajya Sabha. ‘I want to assure this House that in these talks we have not conceded anything,’ he asserted. ‘The agreement that we have been able to reach with the Chinese side for disengagement in the Pangong lake area envisages that both sides will cease their forward deployments in a phased, coordinated and verified manner.’ Singh said the Chinese would keep their troop presence in the North Bank area to east of Finger 8 and the Indian troops would be based at their permanent base at Dhan Singh Thapa Post near Finger 3, according to (NDTV). Similar action would be taken in the South Bank by both sides. ‘These are mutual and reciprocal steps and any structures that had been built by both sides since April 2020 in both North and South Bank area will be removed and the landforms will be restored,’ he said. The minister said both sides had also agreed to a moratorium on military activities in the North Bank, including patrolling, in traditional areas. Patrolling would be resumed when both sides reached an agreement in diplomatic and military talks. The disengagement started yesterday in the North and South Bank of the Pangong Lake and would ‘substantially restore’ the situation to that before the standoff began last year, the minister said. Singh said there were still some outstanding issues on deployment and patrolling at some other points along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh and these would be the focus of further discussions. (QNA)  

The president of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics organising committee, Yoshiro Mori, will resign over a remark that sparked an outcry, two sources said on Thursday, while the former prime minister said he could not let the controversy drag on. Mori's resignation would be bound to raise new doubts over the viability of holding the postponed Games this year. The sources, who have knowledge of the matter, said Mori would be replaced by former Japan Football Association president and mayor of the Olympic village, Saburo Kawabuchi, 84. Mori made the remark - that women talk too much - at a Japanese Olympic Committee board meeting early this month, setting off a storm of criticism at home and abroad. Mori, 83, told Nippon TV he would ‘explain his thoughts’ at a meeting on Friday but he had to deal with the issue. He did not confirm the reports that he would step down. ‘I cannot let this problem prolong any longer,’ Mori said, and he again apologised for the remark. A spokesman for the organising committee declined to comment. Mori first retracted the comment about women at a hastily called news conference on Feb. 4, acknowledging it was inappropriate and against the Olympic spirit. But he declined, at that time, to resign. Pressed then on whether he really thought women talked too much, Mori said: ‘I don't listen to women that much lately, so I don't know’. Mori served as prime minister for a gaffe-plagued year from April 2000. His comment on women drew sharp criticism in parliament, where opposition lawmakers demanded his resignation, and from the public on social media. Olympic and ruling party officials told Reuters this week that Mori's resignation could imperil the Games. They said his deep network of politicians and Olympic officials was key to pulling off a successful Games. But others were in favour of his resignation. ‘Because of Mori's comments, I've recognised again the importance of gender equality and diversity,’ ruling party lawmaker Masazumi Gatona said on Twitter. ‘Discrimination is absolutely unacceptable.’ Mizuho Fukushima, head of the opposition Social Democratic Party, said on Twitter: ‘This is the result of many, many women raising their voices. Of course, this doesn't resolve the problem. We need to create a society of gender equality.’ VACCINATION DRIVE The 2020 Tokyo Games were postponed for a year because of the novel coronavirus and the pandemic is still creating huge questions about their viability, even though the government has said it is determined the July 23-Aug 8 Games go ahead. Even before last year's postponement, ballooning costs and a plagiarism scandal involving the official logo bedevilled preparations. But the coronavirus has proven to be the biggest threat. Nearly 80% of the public are opposed to holding the Games this year because of concern about the coronavirus, recent polls show. Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has said coronavirus vaccines are key to a safe Olympics and he said on Wednesday the vaccination drive would begin in the middle of next week. Japan's vaccination campaign is later than in most major economies and any delay could sow doubts about a government aim to secure enough doses for everyone before the Olympics. If Mori does step down, it would the first time an Olympics organising committee president has not seen the job through to a Summer Games since the 2004 Athens Olympics. Gianna Angelopoulos-Daskalaki led the successful Athens bid but was pushed aside by the government, which appointed Panagiotis Thomopoulos organising committee president. Angelopoulos-Daskalaki replaced Thomopoulos after the International Olympic Committee warned Greece they could lose the Games because of poor progress with preparations. Angelopoulos-Daskalaki was the first woman to run an organising committee for an Olympics.  

Criticism mounted Friday over sexist remarks made by Tokyo 2020 chief Yoshiro Mori, who has refused to step down and justified his comments by explaining he doesn't "speak to women much." Mori, 83, has apologised for claiming women speak too much in meetings, and the International Olympic Committee says it now considers the matter "closed." But in Tokyo, the controversy only grew, with the city's governor saying she was left "speechless" by the remarks and Japan's Olympic Committee chief saying they violated the spirit of the Games. Olympic medallists, Japanese sports officials and local volunteers have also lined up to lambast the gaffe-prone former prime minister's comments. "I was speechless. The remark was something that shouldn't have been said," Kyodo news agency quoted Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike as saying. "The mission of the city and the organising committee is to prepare for a safe and secure Games, and we are facing a major issue," added Koike, one of Japan's few prominent female politicians. JOC chief Yasuhiro Yamashita said the comments were "inappropriate" and "against the spirit of Olympics and Paralympics", but added that he was not calling for Mori's resignation, local media said. Mori said Thursday he wanted to retract the comments, but athletes were among those who said his apology fell short. "The same thing will happen again unless you admit your prejudice and take measures to do something about it," she wrote. Swimmer Satomi Suzuki, who won two silver medals and one bronze at the 2012 London Olympics, said the remarks had left her "angry." The Asahi Shimbun daily, which is often critical of Japan's ruling party, called in an editorial for Mori's resignation. And an online campaign calling on Olympic officials to sack him attracted more than 58,000 signatures, including from Grammy-winning musician Ryuichi Sakamoto, in less than 24 hours. On the streets of Tokyo, Aoi Suzuki, 31, told AFP Mori's comments were "really embarrassing" for Japanese people. "It's simply unacceptable. Even for a regular citizen, that kind of speech isn't OK, so it makes you wonder what he's doing in such a prestigious position," added a design industry employee who asked to remain anonymous. Local media said Tokyo's city government received a slew of complaints from Olympic and Paralympic volunteers, and the Mainichi Shimbun newspaper quoted one as saying he was now considering quitting. Mori began his press conference on Thursday by apologising and saying he wished to retract his remarks, but then became defensive when questioned, insisting he had heard complaints that women speak at length. "I hear those things often," he insisted. "I don't speak to women much recently, so I wouldn't know." Despite the uproar, the IOC said Thursday that with Mori's apology it "considers the issue closed." The row is the latest headache for organisers already battling public disquiet about the Games, with polls showing more than 80 percent of Japanese oppose holding the event this summer. Mori, who has a history of controversial remarks, had already made waves earlier this week by insisting the Games would go ahead this summer "however the coronavirus (pandemic) evolves." Japan ranks highly on a range of international indicators, but persistently trails on promoting gender equality -- coming 121 out of 153 nations surveyed in the World Economic Forum's 2020 global gender gap report. Human Rights Watch, which has called for Japan to improve attitudes towards women, criticised Mori's remarks in a statement entitled "a gold medal for sexism in Japan." "Mori's comments show the Japanese government urgently needs to reform its attitudes towards women, and a good place to start would be in sports," the group said in a statement issued Thursday.

Japan's government approved a month-long extension of its coronavirus state of emergency on Tuesday, less than six months before the pandemic-postponed Olympic Games open in Tokyo. "We have decided to extend the state of emergency until March 7th," Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said at a meeting of the taskforce guiding the government's pandemic policy. The extension will apply to 10 of the 11 areas currently under the measure, including greater Tokyo, which had been due to end on February 7. It will not be extended in Tochigi, north of the capital, where cases are judged to have dropped sufficiently. "In prefectures where the virus situation improves, we will gradually lift the state of emergency, without having to wait for March 7th," Suga added. The extension had been widely expected, with government spokesman Katsunobu Kato telling reporters Tuesday morning that "it is our understanding that continued vigilance is warranted for a while". Japan's virus emergency is significantly looser than the lockdowns seen elsewhere in the world, and primarily calls for increased teleworking and the closure of bars and restaurants from 8pm. Legislation currently working its way through parliament would add enforcement measures including fines for businesses that do not close early. But even the comparatively relaxed approach appears to have yielded results, with new infections dropping across the country. Still, after facing criticism for its initial reluctance to impose the measure, the government has been cautious about lifting it too quickly. "Since the declaration of the state of emergency last month, the number of coronavirus patients in Japan is declining and we can say this measure focusing on shorter hours at restaurants has clearly been effective," Suga said. "We need to continue with this downward trend and decrease the number of hospitalised patients and patients in serious condition." - Organisers confident on Olympics -Suga's government resisted calls for the emergency late last year, despite an uptick in cases in December, worried about the impact on an economy that only just exited recession. The measure initially covered just the greater Tokyo area, but was expanded about a week after it was first announced as infections spiked in several parts of the country. Japan's coronavirus outbreak has been comparatively small nationwide, with around 5,800 deaths overall. But the country's healthcare system has become increasingly overburdened, and public support for both the initial imposition of the emergency, and Tuesday's extension, is strong. Suga's government has seen approval ratings plummet over its handling of the country's third wave of infections, which has increased doubts about the prospects for this summer's postponed Olympics. Japan's government, organisers and Olympic officials all insist the Games will go ahead this summer, and extensive virus countermeasures are being developed to keep the event safe. But public opinion remains opposed, with around 80 percent of Japanese polled backing a further postponement or outright cancellation. Japan has tightened border restrictions during the state of emergency, ending exemptions for athletes. That has forced the cancellation and postponement of some sports events, including the first Olympic test event of 2021 -- an artistic swimming qualifier that had been scheduled for March. Earlier Tuesday, Tokyo 2020 President Yoshiro Mori said the Games would go ahead "however the coronavirus (pandemic) evolves." "We must go beyond discussion about whether we will hold it or not. It's about how we will do it. Let's think about a new kind of Olympics on this occasion," he added at a meeting of Olympic organisers and members of the Suga's ruling party.

A Japanese woman who said she hid her mother's corpse in a freezer in her apartment for a decade told police she feared eviction if the death was discovered, media reported Saturday. Police told AFP that Yumi Yoshino, 48, was held "on suspicion of abandoning and hiding a female body" found Wednesday in a freezer in a Tokyo apartment. Yoshino said after finding her mother dead 10 years ago, she hid the body because she "didn't want to move out" of the home they shared, local media reported, citing unnamed police sources. The mother, thought to have been aged around 60 at the time of her death, was named on the lease of the apartment in a municipal housing complex, Kyodo News said. Yoshino had been forced to leave the apartment in mid-January after missing rent payments, according to the reports, and a cleaner then discovered the body in a freezer hidden in a closet. An autopsy could not determine the time and cause of the woman's death, while there were no visible wounds on the frozen body, the reports said. The body had been bent to fit in the freezer, police told Jiji Press. Yoshino was arrested in a hotel in the city of Chiba, near Tokyo, on Friday.

Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga vowed on Monday to forge ahead with preparations to hold the Tokyo Olympics this summer, in the face of growing public opposition as Japan battles a surge in coronavirus infections. Suga faces heightened scrutiny after Taro Kono, his administrative and reform minister, told Reuters last week the Games may not go ahead as planned, becoming the first cabinet member to voice doubt over their staging. Kono's comments added fuel to the fire after recent media polls showed close to 80% of Japanese believe the Olympics, already postponed by a year because of the pandemic, should be delayed again or cancelled entirely. "We will press ahead with preparations, with determination of building watertight anti-infection measures and holding an event that can bring hope and courage to the world," Suga said in a policy speech at the start of a regular parliament session. Japan has been less severely hit by the pandemic than many other advanced economies, but the recent surge in cases spurred it to close its borders to non-resident foreigners and declare a state of emergency in Tokyo and major cities. Suga's support ratings have tumbled as critics have described the government's handling of the pandemic as too slow and inconsistent. Monday's comments echo a pledge by International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach that the Tokyo Olympics will be a "light at the end of the tunnel" in the global pandemic fight. Organisers face no shortage of logistical headaches, with tough decisions looming over how to welcome spectators and athletes while safeguarding against the virus. The IOC expects just 6,000 athletes at the opening ceremony, down from an initial figure of about 11,000 from 200 nations, the Yomiuri newspaper said on Monday. It plans to scale back the ceremony because athletes will not be allowed to arrive at the Olympic Village more than five days before they compete and must depart within two days of completion of their events, the paper added. "We believe it is necessary to reconsider the number of participants at the Opening and Closing Ceremonies and how they will enter the stadium," the Tokyo 2020 organising committee said in an email. This step would ensure the safety and security of the athletes and simplify operations, it said, while adding that a specific approach had not yet been decided in its talks with the IOC and other groups.