Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso gave his first policy speech to parliament yesterday, stressing the country’s responsibility to help fight the global war on terror and to fuel recovery in the domestic economy.
Aso, who took office last Wednesday, said it was “not an option” for the country’s military, known as the Self-Defense Forces, to end activities abroad in support of the US-led coalition in Afghanistan, a stance that Japan’s opposition has questioned.
In January, the government passed a bill to continue a naval mission in which Japanese ships refuel vessels on anti-terror patrols in Afghanistan, but that bans direct help by Japanese forces in the region.
Aso emphasized Tokyo must deepen the Japan-US partnership and build on that to foster stability in Asia with close neighbors such as China, South Korea and Russia.
Aso said he would seek to resolve outstanding issues with North Korea, including concerns over that country’s missile tests and nuclear weapons program, as well as resolving the longstanding issue of the kidnapping of Japanese citizens decades ago.
On the economy, Aso said it was crucial to build business confidence and implement government policies that led to economic growth. He said it was important to address the country’s bloated bureaucracy and create a more efficient government.
Aso is under pressure to quickly win over the general public.
He took office last week after soundly defeating all challengers in a party vote held by the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, in part because he was seen as the most popular choice among the general public. But a number of polls taken in the days after he became Japan’s leader show his public support to be below 50 percent.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique