Twenty people are still missing and two are dead after houses were obliterated in the mudslide
More than 1,000 rescuers have arrived at a Japanese town hit by a deadly landslide on Saturday that killed two people.
The rescuers climbed onto cracked roofs and searched cars thrown onto engulfed buildings, as more rain lashed the area.
Continue reading...Only the most hardcore action junkies will have the stamina for what is essentially one marathon sword-fighting scene
The craziness is all in the idea of this singular Japanese action movie: essentially one marathon battle scene, filmed in a single take, in which a master swordsman takes down several hundred assailants. The execution, as it were, is a triumph of stuntwork, strategy and stamina, but in the watching it gets rather repetitive and wearying. Few but the most hardcore action junkies will really be up for it.
The set-up is quickly dealt with: a clan rallies in the forest around its newly anointed leader, a small boy, in anticipation of an attack. Attack there swiftly comes, in the form of Musashi Miyamoto: real-life master swordsman, 17th-century folk hero, and fixture of Japanese pop culture (Toshiro Mifune played him four times; Kinnosuke Nakamura played him seven times). Here, the role is filled with focused athleticism by local action hero Tak Sakaguchi, although acting abilities play a distant second to sword-swinging skills. The battle progresses through woodlands then into an abandoned village, with Miyamoto dispatching most of his inept assailants with a few efficient strokes: a slash to the neck, a chop to the top of the head, slashes across the belly as they practically hurl themselves into the path of his blade.
Continue reading...China, India, Indonesia, Japan and Vietnam plan to build more than 600 coal power units
Five Asian countries are jeopardising global climate ambitions by investing in 80% of the world’s planned new coal plants, according to a report.
Carbon Tracker, a financial thinktank, has found that China, India, Indonesia, Japan and Vietnam plan to build more than 600 coal power units, even though renewable energy is cheaper than most new coal plants.
Continue reading...Beijing lodges diplomatic protest with Japan after defence minister calls island a ‘democratic country’
China and Japan are once again embroiled in a diplomatic row over Taiwan, in the latest example of Beijing’s extreme sensitivity over the status of the self-ruled island and Tokyo’s changing attitude towards Beijing.
Speaking to the US conservative thinktank Hudson Institute on Monday, Japan’s state minister of defence, Yasuhide Nakayama, spoke of a growing threat posed by Chinese and Russian collaboration, and said it was necessary to “wake up” to Beijing’s pressure on Taiwan and protect the island “as a democratic country”.
Continue reading...Naruhito said to be ‘extremely worried’ and shares widespread public unease over the Games
Japan’s emperor has voiced concern over the possible spread of coronavirus during the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, in an unexpected intervention in the debate over holding the Games in the middle of a pandemic.
Naruhito, who ascended the Chrysanthemum throne in 2019 after his father, Akihito, abdicated, said he shared widespread public concern about the Games, which open in a month’s time.
Continue reading...Games officials faced accusations the event was getting preferential treatment while other Tokyo businesses still faced alcohol restrictions
The organisers of the Tokyo Olympics have been forced to abandon plans to allow the sale of alcohol at venues after public outcry.
The president of the Tokyo 2020 organising committee, Seiko Hashimoto, said on Wednesday that the decision had been made to ensure the Games were “safe and secure” during the coronavirus pandemic.
Continue reading...Thousands of Japanese spectators will be allowed to attend events at the Olympic Games this summer, organisers said on Monday, despite warnings from health experts that crowds risk fuelling a surge in coronavirus cases.
The president of the Tokyo 2020 organising committee, Seiko Hashimoto, said attendance would be capped at up to 50% of a venue’s capacity or a maximum of 10,000 people.
Continue reading...A wild bear has run through the of streets the Japanese city of Sapporo and made it past the gates of a Japanese defence base next to Okadama airport. According to Japanese broadcaster NHK, the bear reached the grounds of the airport by jumping the fence. The bear was first sighted in the early hours of Friday before it was killed.
Continue reading...Meeting of leaders at G7 reportedly cancelled over Seoul’s decision to stage exercises around Dokdo islands, which are also claimed by Tokyo
South Korea has begun annual military drills near a pair of remote islands that are also claimed by Japan, as the long-running territorial dispute threatened to sour preparations for the Tokyo Olympics.
The exercises near the Dokdo islands – referred to as Takeshima in Japan – began days after a meeting between the countries’ leaders on the sidelines of the Cornwall G7 summit was reportedly cancelled due to Japanese objections to the exercises.
Continue reading...PM resists pressure to commit Australia to 2050 climate deadline as he talks up hydrogen, LNG and carbon capture and storage
Scott Morrison has inked deals with Japan and Germany to develop technology to help reach “a net zero emissions future” – but continues to resist international pressure to formally commit Australia to a firm 2050 deadline.
With the climate crisis taking centre stage on the final day of the G7 summit in Cornwall, England, the prime minister stuck to his preferred approach of focusing on technologies such as hydrogen, rather than signing up to more ambitious medium- and long-term emission reduction commitments.
Continue reading...IOC officials have avoided any mention of the commercial forces driving the Tokyo Games towards their 23 July opening date
The least divisive statement in the saga surrounding Tokyo 2020 – assuming, as many people now do, that it will happen in just over 40 days’ time – is that it will be an Olympics like no other.
Overseas fans have been banned; athletes will spend what for many will be the pinnacle of their career sealed off from the outside world; GPS-tracked journalists hoping to escape their hotel rooms for a late-night fix of ramen risk being put on the next flight home.
Continue reading...UK currently has the strictest entry requirements of any host country; Russian president spoke as Serbia starts to produce vaccine
Here are some of the key developments over the past few hours:
A quarter of elderly black people in the UK have not been vaccinated, recent figures show, despite signs that hesitancy is improving generally.
Nearly six months after the government kicked off the country’s most ambitious vaccination campaign, almost one in four black people over the age of 70 were not vaccinated as of 26 May, compared with 97% of white people of the same age.
Related: One in four elderly black people in the UK still not vaccinated
Continue reading...After a slow start, Italy has now given 35m doses to adults; Johns Hopkins figures show Israel remains most vaccinated country
The UK has recorded 5,274 new cases - the highest daily figure since March. There were 18 deaths reported within 28 days of a positive test.
Airlines and travel firms have reacted with dismay to the latest UK government guidance on foreign holidays, saying it has “failed on a promise” to the industry to provide greater notice on its directives.
PA has the story:
Many were angry at the lack of consultation and said it risked the summer being ruined for the struggling sector.
John Holland-Kaye, boss of Heathrow, the UK’s largest airport, said: “Ministers spent last month hailing the restart of international travel, only to close it down three weeks later all but guaranteeing another lost summer for the travel sector.
Related: Portugal removed from ‘green list’ of Covid travel destinations
Continue reading...Messages flood in after tennis player withdraws from French Open saying press conferences worsen her anxiety and depression
Athletes and sponsors in Naomi Osaka’s native Japan have joined much of the tennis world in rallying behind the player after she withdrew from the French Open, citing struggles with anxiety and depression.
The Japanese world No 2 left the grand slam tournament on Monday, days after she had been fined and threatened with expulsion for refusing to attend press conferences, saying she needed to protect her mental wellbeing.
Continue reading...Japan may require Games fans to test negative or show vaccine proof; India reports lowest case numbers since 11 April; signs UK is facing third wave
China today re-imposed anti-coronavirus travel controls on its southern province of Guangdong, announcing anyone leaving the populous region must be tested for the virus following a spike in infections that has alarmed authorities, the Associated Press reports. .
Guangdong, which borders Hong Kong, recorded 20 new confirmed cases, all contracted locally, in the 24 hours through to midnight yesterday.
Guangdong’s numbers are low compared with many places in the world, but the rise has rattled Chinese leaders who thought they had the disease under control.
Hello, this is Haroon Siddique. I’ll be updating the blog for the next few hours.
Burkina Faso, one of several countries in Africa that has yet to launch a Covid-19 vaccination campaign, received its first shipment under the global vaccine-sharing scheme Covax yesterday, Reuters reports, citing the country’s health ministry.
The 115,200 AstraZeneca doses were flown into the airport of the capital Ouagadougou and were welcomed by a local delegation led by health minister Charlemagne Ouedraogo.
“In a few weeks other vaccines will probably arrive to supplement what we have,” Ouedraogo said.
Continue reading...Games authorities are relying on Japan’s spectators to provide atmosphere but are now in a race against time to inoculate population
Sports fans in Japan could be allowed to attend Olympic events in Tokyo this summer if they have proof of vaccination or a negative Covid-19 test, a newspaper reported on Monday.
While many athletes are expected to have been fully vaccinated by late July, poor planning and staff shortages mean most Japanese citizens will still be waiting for a jab when the Olympics begin in less than two months’ time.
Continue reading...Medical officials say case numbers in Tokyo need to be much lower to prevent another surge during the Games
Japan is expected to extend emergency coronavirus measures in Tokyo and several other regions by about three weeks, according to officials, as the country struggles to rein in a fourth wave of infections less than two months before the Olympics.
The state of emergency – the third in the capital since the start of the pandemic – was called in late April and was originally due to end on 11 May, but was extended until the end of this month, as restrictions on businesses failed to make a dent in infections. Media reports said the latest extension could last until 20 June.
Continue reading...Senior Games figures John Coates and Thomas Bach criticised for attitude amid calls for event to be cancelled
The International Olympic Committee’s insistence that “sacrifices” must be made to ensure the Games go ahead in Tokyo regardless of the coronavirus situation in Japan has sparked a backlash and more calls for them to be cancelled.
John Coates, an IOC vice president, drew criticism in Japan after saying the Games would proceed even if the host city was still under a state of emergency due to the coronavirus. “The answer is absolutely yes,” Coates, who is overseeing preparations, said when asked on Friday if he thought they could be delivered despite the restrictions.
Continue reading...A conductor, who was not qualified to drive the train, sat in the driver’s seat during his three-minute absence, in breach of the rules
A driver on one of Japan’s shinkansen bullet trains is facing disciplinary measures after he abandoned his cab to go to the toilet while the train was carrying passengers and travelling at 150km/h.
The 36-year-old driver, who has not been named, reportedly had a stomachache and asked a conductor to take his place while he went to the toilet.
Continue reading...Analysis: Seoul’s navigation of geopolitical landscape in east Asia hints at limits of united front with US
When the South Korean president goes to Washington DC on Friday, his discussions with Joe Biden about China will test the limits of the US president’s rhetoric to “work with [its] allies to hold China accountable”. It will also exhibit the dilemma faced by middle-sized powers such as South Korea.
The White House spokesperson, Jen Psaki, said last month that Moon Jae-in’s visit “will highlight the ironclad alliance between the United States and [South Korea], and the broad and deep ties between our governments, people and economies”.
Continue reading...