FUMIO KISHIDA

The transport ministry has retracted the request after receiving criticism that the travel ban was too strict.

The transport ministry has retracted the request after receiving criticism that the travel ban was too strict.

Japan says it has retracted a ban on new incoming international flight bookings to defend against the new variant of the coronavirus only a day after the policy was announced.

Japan says it has retracted a ban on new incoming international flight bookings to defend against the new variant of the coronavirus only a day after the policy was announced, following criticisms that it was an overreaction. The transport ministry on Wednesday issued a request to international airlines to stop taking new reservations for flights coming into Japan until the end of December as an emergency precaution to defend against the new omicron variant. The ministry said Thursday it has retracted the request after receiving criticisms that the ban was too strict and tantamount to abandoning its own people.

Tourism businesses that were just finding their footing after nearly two years of devastation wrought by the COVID-19 pandemic are being rattled again as countries throw up new barriers to travel in an effort to contain the omicron variant.

Asian shares are mixed as investors continue to cautiously weigh how much damage the new omicron coronavirus variant may unleash on the global economy.

The World Health Organization says the global risk from the omicron variant of the coronavirus is “very high” based on early evidence, and it could lead to surges with “severe consequences.”.

Japan announced Monday it will suspend entry of all foreign visitors from around the world as a new coronavirus variant spreads, prompting an increasing number of countries to tighten their borders. “We are taking the step as an emergency precaution to prevent a worst-case scenario in Japan,” Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said. The decision means Japan will restore border controls that it eased earlier this month for short-term business visitors, foreign students and workers.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, at his first troop review, has renewed his pledge to consider “all options,” including acquiring enemy base strike capability, and vowed to create a stronger Self-Defense Force to protect the country amid growing threats from China and North Korea.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, at his first troop review Saturday, renewed his pledge to consider “all options,” including acquiring enemy base strike capability, and vowed to create a stronger Self-Defense Force to protect the country amid growing threats from China and North Korea. Kishida said the security situation around Japan is rapidly changing and that “the reality is severer than ever,” with North Korea continuing to test-fire ballistic missiles while advancing its capability, and China pursuing a military buildup and increasingly assertive activity in the region.

The leaders of Japan and Vietnam expressed serious concern on Wednesday about the situation in the South China Sea and any unilateral actions aimed at altering the status quo, and agreed to work together to sustain free and open sea lanes as tensions escalate in the region amid China's rise. Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh is the first foreign leader to visit Japan for talks with new Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who took office in October. Kishida told Chinh in his opening remarks that “Vietnam is an important partner who holds a key to achieving ‘a free and open Indo-Pacific,’" a vision aimed at countering China's increasingly assertive territorial claims in the disputed region.

Asian stock markets are higher after Wall Street hit a record and Japanese inflation eased.

Stocks closed mostly lower on Wall Street Friday, though gains for several tech companies pushed the Nasdaq composite to another record high and its first close over 16,000 points.

Japan's Cabinet has approved a record 56 trillion yen, or $490 billion stimulus package, including cash handouts and aid to ailing businesses, to help the economy out of the doldrums worsened by the coronavirus pandemic.

Asian stock markets are higher as President Joe Biden and China’s Xi Jinping hold a summit meeting by video link.

Japan’s economy shrank at a 3% annual rate in the July-September quarter, as private consumption and auto production took a hit from the ongoing efforts to curb the coronavirus pandemic.

One person has died as a result of a two-car accident in Southwest Philadelphia.

Japan’s preparations for the next coronavirus surge include adding thousands more hospital beds to avoid a situation like last summer when COVID-19 patients were forced to stay home, even when they needed supplemental oxygen.

The head of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command has met with Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and reaffirmed America’s commitment to achieving a free and open Indo-Pacific despite rising tensions amid China’s increasingly assertive military actions.

Asian shares are trading mixed after a worrisome report on U.S. inflation that slammed into the bond market and knocked stocks lower on Wall Street.

Shares are mostly higher in Asia after Wall Street benchmarks managed to close mostly higher.

Fumio Kishida has been reelected as Japan’s prime minister after his governing party scored a major victory in key parliamentary elections.

Fumio Kishida is set to be reelected as Japan's prime minister after clearing the first major test of his leadership in recent elections.

The head of Japan's largest labor federation says stable work must be the top priority after the pandemic, which has hit women and other vulnerable groups the hardest.

Asian shares are mixed amid cautious trading ahead of a Federal Reserve Open Market Committee meeting.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is heading to the U.N. climate summit saying his country will push strongly for emissions reductions.

Stocks have advanced in Asia, with Tokyo's benchmark up 2.5% after the ruling Liberal Democrats won a stronger than expected majority in an election Sunday.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida says Japan should revitalize its economy through “new capitalism" and many in this country are puzzled over exactly what he has in mind.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s coalition kept a comfortable majority in a parliamentary election despite losing some seats.

Japan’s new Prime Minister Fumio Kishida faces a crucial test in Sunday's national parliamentary elections, which will determine if his government will have enough support to stay in power long enough to repair the pandemic-hit economy, and tackle climate change and China’s rise.

A Group of 20 summit scheduled for this weekend in Rome is the first in-person gathering of leaders of the world’s biggest economies since the COVID-19 pandemic started.

Japan has adopted a new energy policy that promotes nuclear and renewables as sources of clean energy to achieve the country’s pledge of reaching carbon neutrality by 2050.

Asian shares are mixed after a late-in-the-day wave of buying pushed the S&P 500 to a fresh record high.

Low turnout at the COP26 climate summit would also place Britain under the pandemic spotlight once again.

The launch of the missile into the sea came hours after the U.S. reaffirmed an offer to resume talks on North Korea's nuclear weapons program.

The launch of the missile into the sea came hours after the U.S. reaffirmed an offer to resume talks on North Korea's nuclear weapons program.

South Korea's military says North Korea has fired at least one ballistic missile into the sea that was likely designed to be launched from a submarine.

Almost overnight, Japan has become a stunning, and somewhat mysterious, coronavirus success story.

Japan's new prime minister has visited the tsunami-wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant and said a planned mass disposal of wastewater stored at the complex cannot be delayed, despite concerns from local residents.

Japan's new prime minister on Sunday said the planned mass disposal of treated but still radioactive water stored at the tsunami-wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant cannot be delayed, despite concerns from local residents. Speaking at his first visit to the facility since taking office, Fumio Kishida said his government would work to reassure residents in the prefecture about the technical safety of the wastewater disposal project. The Fukushima Daiichi plant suffered a triple meltdown in 2011 following a massive earthquake and tsunami.

Asian shares are higher after technology companies powered the biggest rally on Wall Street since March.

On Thursday, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida dissolved the lower house of parliament. The move paves the way for elections Oct. 31, which will be Japan's first of the pandemic.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has dissolved the lower house of parliament for Japan’s first elections of the pandemic.

Hundreds of supporters of Shiite religious leader Muqtada al-Sadr celebrated Monday night in Baghdad the first results of the Iraqi parliamentary elections, in which al-Sadr emerged as the front-runner.

Stocks closed broadly lower after a day of choppy trading on Wall Street Monday as investors prepare for a busy week of corporate earnings and inflation updates.

A spate of Chinese military flights off southwestern Taiwan in recent days has prompted alarm from the island, which Beijing claims as its own, and is increasing tensions in a region already on edge.

In his first policy speech, new Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has promised to strengthen the country’s response to the coronavirus pandemic in case of another resurgence and revive its battered economy while bolstering defenses against threats from China and North Korea.

Asian shares are higher, tracking a rally on Wall Street after signs of progress on resolving the standoff in Congress over the debt ceiling.

Global stock markets have risen as investors wait for U.S. jobs data that might influence a Federal Reserve decision on when to roll back stimulus.

With record numbers of military flights near Taiwan over the last week, China has been stepping up its harassment of the island it claims as its own, demonstrating a new level of threat as it asserts its territorial ambitions in the region.

Japan's new Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has held his first talks since taking office with President Joe Biden and confirmed they will work together to strengthen their alliance in regional security in the face of growing challenges from China and North Korea.

Fumio Kishida replaces Yoshihide Suga, who resigned after a year in office as his support plunged over his handling of the pandemic and insistence on holding the Tokyo Olympics as the virus spread.

He's expected to largely keep existing government policies in place – with a top priority almost certainly being the pandemic, which is front and center in Japanese politics.

Newly elected Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida says he will dissolve the lower house next week in preparation for Oct. 31 elections as he seeks a fresh mandate to deal with the coronavirus pandemic, the sagging economy and security threats from China and North Korea.

The two women in the Japanese governing party’s four-way leadership race was a step forward for gender equality.

Asian shares are mostly higher after a day of mixed results on Wall Street.

Fumio Kishida on Wednesday effectively became effectively become Japan's new prime minister after winning the leadership election at Japan's ruling party.

Kishida is the nation's former Foreign Minister and won the Liberal Democratic Party's run-off election by a landslide in the second round.

Kishida is the nation's former Foreign Minister and won the Liberal Democratic Party's run-off election by a landslide in the second round.

Ex-Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida will have to tackle COVID-19, a battered economy, a declining population and birthrate, and an increasingly assertive China.

Tokyo residents react after Japan's ruling party elected former foreign minister Fumio Kishida its new leader, setting him on course to become the next prime minister of the world's third-largest economy. Kishida, 64, will be confirmed as the new premier in a vote in parliament on October 4 and will then lead the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) into general elections that must happen by November. The 64-year-old won the ruling party's leadership vote, beating popular vaccine chief Taro Kono to finally clinch a job he has long targeted.

Former Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida has won the governing party's leadership election and is set to become the country's next prime minister.

Japan’s governing party chooses a new leader on Wednesday to succeed outgoing Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga.

Two women are among candidates for Japan’s governing party leadership for the first time in 13 years in what seems like a big step in the country's male-dominated politics.

Official election campaigning started Friday for the next head of Japan’s governing Liberal Democratic Party.

Japan has kicked off official election campaigning for the new head of the governing Liberal Democratic Party, whose winner is almost assured to become the next prime minister

Official campaigning has begun for the new head of Japan’s governing Liberal Democratic Party, who typically becomes the national leader because of the party’s control over parliament.

On Friday, Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga effectively paved the way for a new leader after announcing he will not be running in the upcoming leadership election.

Japan's Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election candidate and Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga attends a debate ahead of the LDP's leadership election, in Tokyo Saturday, Sept. 12, 2020. The party plans a vote on Sept. 14 to choose Shinzo Abe's replacement as party chief. (Charly Triballeau/Pool Photo via AP)TOKYO – Yoshihide Suga is poised to win Japan's ruling party leadership vote on Monday, virtually guaranteeing him parliamentary election as the country's next prime minister. The expected victory in the party vote by Suga, currently the chief Cabinet secretary, all but guarantees his election in a parliamentary vote because of the majority held by the Liberal Democrats' ruling coalition. The voting by nearly 400 ruling party lawmakers begins later Monday, with results expected within hours.

(Kim Kyung-hoon/Pool Photo via AP)TOKYO The official campaigning to lead Japan's ruling party began Tuesday with the longtime right-hand man of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe now seen as a top candidate and his likely successor to lead the government. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yosihide Suga, 71, had formally submitted his candidacy for the Liberal Democratic Party leadership last week. The winner of the in-party vote on Sept. 14 will eventually become Japans next prime minister because of the ruling blocs majority in the parliament. Suga pledged to carry out the challenges left behind by Abe, including measures on the coronavirus, the economic fallout and pursuing Japan-U.S. security alliance. Kishida, who is currently serving the party policy chief, says he seeks to be a leader who listens to the peoples voices more carefully than Abe and prioritize economic policies to address disparities.

Executives of Abes ruling Liberal Democratic Party met Tuesday and decided that the Sept. 14 vote for party leader and with it almost assuredly prime minister will be limited to lawmakers and not broader members of the party. ___FUMIO KISHIDA: Abe's foreign minister from 2012-2017, the 63-year-old Kishida had once been considered the party's preferred choice to become the next prime minister. ___SHIGERU ISHIBA: A former defense minister seen as Abes archrival within the party, the 63-year-old Ishiba is the publics favorite for the next prime minister in media surveys. Ishiba's vocal criticism of Abe, however, has hurt his popularity among ruling party lawmakers. In addition to defense minister, Ishiba has also held top ministry posts in agriculture and local revitalization.