Kyodo News Digest: Aug. 13, 2022

The four-day Awa dance festival begins in Tokushima, western Japan, on Aug. 12, 2022, the first time in three years that the traditional festival has had spectators in the outdoor stands amid the coronavirus pandemic. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

The following is the latest list of selected news summaries by Kyodo News.

———-

Typhoon Meari expected to hit Tokyo, eastern Japan on Aug. 13

TOKYO – A typhoon is expected to make landfall on Japan’s Pacific coast close to Tokyo on Saturday, possibly causing landslides and flooding over the weekend of the Bon summer holiday, the weather agency said Friday.

Typhoon Meari is forecast to bring up to 300 millimeters of rainfall for the central Tokai region in the 24 hours through Saturday evening, with 200 mm for the Kanto-Koshin region in east Japan and 100 mm for the northeastern Tohoku region, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency.

———-

China’s Xi eyes 1st in-person summit with Biden in Nov. in Asia: WSJ

WASHINGTON – Chinese officials are making plans for President Xi Jinping’s first face-to-face summit with his U.S. counterpart Joe Biden on the fringes of meetings to be held in Southeast Asia in November, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday, citing people familiar with the preparations.

The report emerged as tensions between the two countries tick up over Taiwan following U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to the self-ruled island earlier this month. It was the first such visit by a House speaker in 25 years as Pelosi aimed to show support for Taiwan, which Beijing views as its own.

———-

Japan PM shaken as list of lawmakers linked to Unification Church grows

TOKYO – At least 20 Japanese lawmakers appointed as deputies for Cabinet members confirmed Friday that they had links to a controversial religious group, after Prime Minister Fumio Kishida called for a self-check and review to appease a wary public.

The revelations add to evidence of what could be a deeply ingrained network of contact between ruling Liberal Democratic Party lawmakers and the Unification Church. Seven ministers in the revamped Cabinet have also acknowledged their ties of some sort to the group under the renewed spotlight since the assassination of former premier Shinzo Abe.

———-

Japan to not disclose tech research at risk of overseas military use

TOKYO – The Japanese government will not disclose results of its research on critical technologies if there is a risk the information may be diverted for military use overseas or otherwise jeopardize national interests, sources close to the matter said Friday.

Research results on cutting-edge technologies specified in the economic security law will be shared only within associations made up of government officials and private researchers, with some sensitive information further subject to confidentiality agreements, the sources said.

———-

FBI seizes “top secret” documents from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home

WASHINGTON – The FBI has collected over 10 sets of classified documents from former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, including some categorized as “top secret,” according to court papers released Friday.

Trump, whose presidency ended in January 2021, is facing questions over sensitive documents he took from the White House. The court papers showed that the search by the Federal Bureau of Investigation was linked to allegations including violation of the Espionage Act.

———-

China announces sanctions on Lithuanian official over Taiwan visit

BEIJING – China announced Friday sanctions on Lithuanian deputy transport minister Agne Vaiciukeviciute over her visit to Taiwan, which Beijing regards as its own, saying her trip undermines the Asian country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

The deputy minister of transport and communications said Thursday in Taipei that Lithuania and Taiwan are “good friends” and indicated that the Baltic country intends to further intensify economic exchanges with the self-ruled democratic island.

———-

Japan’s agricultural minister tests positive for COVID-19

TOKYO – Japan’s minister of agriculture Tetsuro Nomura tested positive for the coronavirus, his ministry said Friday, a day before he had planned to get a fourth shot of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Nomura, who assumed the post on Wednesday in a Cabinet reshuffle, has no symptoms and will isolate and work from home for a week, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries added.

———-

Relatives remember victims of 1985 JAL jet crash on 37th anniversary

UENO, Japan – The families of victims of the 1985 Japan Airlines plane crash on a mountain north of Tokyo that claimed 520 lives offered prayers on Friday, though the number climbing the steep trail to pay their respects at the site is on the decline as the relatives age.

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, local authorities in the village of Ueno, Gunma Prefecture, once again asked the families to limit the numbers visiting the ridge on Mt. Osutaka and attending a memorial service at the foot of the mountain on the 37th anniversary of the crash.