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You are here: Home / Archives for Japan

Strong 6.8-magnitude quake hits northeastern Japan

May 13, 2015 by Nasheman

Japan Earthquake

Tokyo: A strong 6.8-magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of northeastern Japan this morning, the US Geological Survey said, but authorities did not issue a tsunami warning and there were no immediate reports of damage.

The quake struck at 6:12 am (local time) off the east coast of Japan’s Honshu island in the Pacific Ocean, according to USGS, at a depth of 38.9 kilometres.

Japan’s meteorological agency said there was no immediate tsunami threat from the quake.

The quake hit 33 kilometres south east of the nearest city of Ofunato. Japan’s islands are situated at the conjuncture of several tectonic plates and experience a number of relatively violent quakes every year.

(AFP)

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Earthquake, Japan

ISIL sets sunset deadline for hostage swap

January 29, 2015 by Nasheman

ISIL threatens to kill a Jordanian pilot if al-Qaeda-linked female prisoner is not released by sunset on Thursday.

ISIL threatened to killed pilot Moaz al-Kasasbeh if death row prisoner Sajida al-Rishawi was not released by sunset on Thursday [EPA]

ISIL threatened to killed pilot Moaz al-Kasasbeh if death row prisoner Sajida al-Rishawi was not released by sunset on Thursday [EPA]

by Al Jazeera

The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group set a deadline for Jordan to release an al-Qaeda-linked female prisoner, saying the group would kill a Jordanian pilot it holds “immediately” if the women is not freed by sunset on Thursday.

In a new audio recording a voice identifying itself as Japanese freelancer Kenji Goto said his captors would kill pilot Moaz al-Kasasbeh if Iraqi death row prisoner Sajida al-Rishawi is not handed over by the end of the day.

“If Sajida al-Rishawi is not ready for exchange for my life at the Turkish border by Thursday sunset, 29th of January, Mosul time, the Jordanian pilot Moaz al-Kasasbeh will be killed immediately,” Goto said, in an unverified audio message distributed by ISIL-linked Twitter accounts.

It was not clear from the message if either Goto or Kasasbeh would be freed.

The recording was reported by monitoring group SITE Intelligence.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told parliament: “We are aware of the new message…(and) are verifying (its authenticity).”

The apparent communication breaks an anxious silence from the group since their previous 24-hour deadline for Rishawi expired, around 14:00 GMT Wednesday.

Amman had offered to free the Iraqi woman, who was convicted for her part in 2005 triple-hotel bombings in the Jordanian capital that killed 60 people, if the ISIL released their airman.

“Jordan is ready to release the prisoner Sajida al-Rishawi if the Jordanian pilot is freed unharmed,” state television quoted a government spokesman as saying on Wednesday.

“From the start, the position of Jordan was to ensure the safety of our son, the pilot Moaz al-Kasasbeh,” it added. The government spokesman made no mention of Japanese hostage Goto.

‘Save my son’

Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh wrote on Twitter shortly before 15:00 GMT that his country was still awaiting confirmation that the pilot was safe.

Wednesday passed in a maelstrom of conflicting reports on the fate of the three key players, complicated by linguistic and cultural misunderstandings, and by the high stakes on all sides.

The atmosphere was tense in Jordan, where the country’s involvement in the US-led air raids against ISIL positions is contentious.

The downing on December 24 of Kasasbeh’s F-16 fighter jet over northern Syria and his subsequent capture and humiliation by ISIL exacerbated the situation.

This week the pilot’s father begged the government to save his son “at any price”.

Japan, which plays no military part in the fight against ISIL, was thrust onto the front line last week when a video appeared in which Goto and Haruna Yukawa, a self-described contractor, were seen kneeling in the desert.

A masked knifeman said Tokyo had 72 hours to pay a $200m ransom if it wanted to spare their lives.

When that deadline expired, new pictures appeared to show Yukawa had been beheaded, and a voice identifying itself as Goto demanded the release of Rishawi.

That twist left Japan pleading with Jordan, whose trump card-high-value al-Qaeda operative Rishawi – in the battle to get back its own captured airman had now been compromised.

In their next communication, on Tuesday, ISIL demanded Rishawi be handed over in exchange for Goto within 24 hours or both he and Kasasbeh would be killed.

Japan, a large donor to Jordan, has thrown itself on Amman’s mercy, aware that they hold the key to Goto’s safety, but also knowing that intense domestic pressure means the Jordanians must prioritise Kasasbeh.

The Japanese public has rallied round Goto, a respected war reporter and humanitarian, and though they are largely supportive of Abe’s handling of the crisis thus far, may take a dim view if he does not come home alive.

Goto’s mother, Junko Ishido, was at Japan’s parliament on Wednesday in a failed bid to meet Abe. After being refused an appointment, she issued a plea for her son’s life through assembled media.

“Prime Minister Shinzo Abe,” Ishido said. “Please continue your utmost efforts in negotiating with the Jordanian government until the last minute. There is not much time left.”

Filed Under: Muslim World Tagged With: IS, ISIL, ISIS, Islamic State, Japan, Jordan, Muath al-Kaseasbeh, Sajida al-Rishawi

Japan seeks help from Jordan on ISIL hostage

January 28, 2015 by Nasheman

Efforts to free Japanese journalist and Jordanian pilot comes after ISIL threatens to kill the two within 24 hours.

About 200 relatives of captured Jordanian pilot protested outside the prime minister's office in Amman [AP]

About 200 relatives of captured Jordanian pilot protested outside the prime minister’s office in Amman [AP]

by Al Jazeera

Japan is seeking help from the Jordanian government after the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIL) group released a new video threatening to kill Japanese journalist Kenji Goto and Jordanian pilot Muath al-Kaseasbeh held hostage within 24 hours.

Japanese and Jordanian officials were reportedly holding talks over ISIL’s demand for the release of Sajida al-Rishawi, an Iraqi woman convicted for her part in multiple bombings in Amman in 2005 that killed 60 people, in exchange for Goto and al-Kaseasbeh.

An angry Japanese prime minister on Wednesday slammed as “utterly despicable” the threat to kill both hostages.

“The government, in this extremely severe situation, has been asking for the Jordanian government’s cooperation towards the early release of Mr Goto, and this policy remains unchanged,” Shinzo Abe said.

After initially demanding a $200 million ransom for the release of the two Japanese men, the group said it wanted Jordan to free Sajida al-Rishawi, a would-be suicide bomber who has been on death row since 2006.

Goto was abducted by fighters in October last year after venturing into Syria on a mission to free his friend Haruna Yukawa.

Yukawa was apparently executed last week after Japan failed to meet an initial $270m ransom demand by Friday.

Parents of hostages plea

Goto’s mother Junko Ishido read to reporters a plea to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Wednesday to “Please save Kenji,” which she said she had sent earlier in the day.

She begged Abe to work with the Jordanian government to try to save Goto, saying “Kenji has only a little time left.”

Safi al-Kaseasbeh, the father of the Jordanian hostage, made a last-ditch appeal for Jordan “to meet the demands” of ISIL to secure his release.

Several hundred people, including relatives of the Jordanian pilot, gathered in front of the office of Jordan’s prime minister late on Tuesday, urging the authorities to meet the ISIL demands and release al-Rishawi to save the young pilot’s life.

A member of Jordan’s parliament said the country was in indirect talks with the fighters to secure the hostages’ release.

Bassam Al-Manasseer, chairman of the foreign affairs committee, told Bloomberg News that the negotiations are taking place through religious and tribal leaders in Iraq, adding that Jordan and Japan will not negotiate directly with ISIL and will not free al-Rishawi in exchange for Goto only.

Manaseer’s comments were the strongest suggestion yet that authorities in Jordan and Japan may be open to a prisoner exchange, something that would go against the policy of the kingdom’s main ally, the US, which opposes negotiating with armed groups.

Japan’s Deputy Foreign Minister Yasuhide Nakayama was in Amman to coordinate hostage-release efforts with Jordan, but refused comment on details of the talks early on Wednesday.

Filed Under: Muslim World Tagged With: IS, ISIL, ISIS, Islamic State, Japan, Jordan, Muath al-Kaseasbeh

Japan PM dissolves parliament ahead of election

November 22, 2014 by Nasheman

Shinzo Abe

Tokyo: The lower chamber of Japan’s parliament was dissolved Friday in readiness for a general election, expected next month, as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe seeks to consolidate his grip on power and reinvigorate his economic drive.

“In accordance with article seven of Japan’s constitution, the lower house is dissolved,” speaker Bunmei Ibuki told the chamber.

Ibuki’s move came after a mandate from Abe, who is going to the polls less than half way through a four-year term.

Abe said earlier this week that he wanted to ask for voters’ endorsement for his decision to postpone a sales tax rise after data showed an earlier hike had knocked the economy off its axis.

His cabinet is scheduled to hold an emergency meeting Friday afternoon to confirm the election will be Sunday, December 14.

“I’m fully aware that it’s going to be a tough election,” Abe told a meeting of businessmen Thursday afternoon in Tokyo.

“Through the election campaign, I want to clarify if the growth strategy we are pushing is right or wrong,” he said.

The last 24 months have seen two of the so-called “three arrows” of “Abenomics” fired — massive fiscal stimulus and a flood of easy money. A third “arrow” of structural reforms remains stuck in the quiver, a victim of the vested interests it is intended to undermine.

“The third arrow has never flown at all, facing resistance” from his own conservative Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), Kenji Eda, co-leader of the opposition Japan Restoration Party, said Thursday.

Banri Kaieda, head of the largest opposition Democratic Party of Japan, also said: “We can’t have the (rich-poor) gap widen. We can’t give him a blank cheque for another four years.”

According to opinion polls conducted by the Asahi Shimbun Wednesday and Thursday, the Abe cabinet’s approval rate fell to 39 percent from 42 percent earlier this month.

His disapproval rate rose to 40 percent from 36 percent, making it higher than his approval rate for the first time since he took office in December 2012, the survey showed.

Abe has tried to cast the election as a referendum on his decision to delay the sales tax hike to 10 percent, after the first jump to 8.0 percent sent consumers scurrying for cover and took a huge bite out of GDP.

But the Asahi survey said 65 percent of voters were not convinced by his reasoning.

Most commentators agree that the election is a fig leaf to cover Abe’s attempt to consolidate his own position within his fractious LDP, and to fend off challengers in a party leadership election scheduled for September next year.

However, he also runs the risk of undermining his authority if his coalition’s majority is reduced too much.

(AFP)

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Bunmei Ibuki, Elections, Japan, Shinzo Abe

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