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Kane Tanaka, a Japanese woman who was the world's oldest person, has died at the age of 119, Japanese authorities said. Born in 1903, Tanaka was the world's oldest human being as verified by the Guinness Book of World Records -- and the second-oldest person of all time. Japan's health ministry said that Tanaka died on April 19, making her 119 years and 107 days old. "We're sad to report that Kane Tanaka has passed away at the age of 119," the Guinness Book of World Records said in a tweet Monday. "Kane was the oldest living person in the...

Japan’s coast guard dispatched patrol ships and aircraft to search for a sightseeing boat that went missing with 26 people on board after reporting it was sinking off the northern island of Hokkaido on Saturday, public broadcaster NHK said. Authorities lost contact with the crew of the Kazu 1 boat after the crew reported water was flooding into the stern of the vessel and it had started to sink, NHK said. The crew also said those on board were wearing life jackets and the boat was keeling [listing?] at a 30-degree angle, NHK said. There were 24 passengers, including two...

At the end of March, we warned that the “Yen was At Risk Of “Explosive” Downward Spiral With Kuroda Trapped“… Yen At Risk Of “Explosive” Downward Spiral With Kuroda Trapped… And Why China May Soon Devalue https://t.co/8UbeP36cJL — zerohedge (@zerohedge) March 30, 2022 …. and that, more or less, is what happened with the Japanese currency subsequently suffering the longest stretch of daily losses in history with 13 consecutive days of losses. And absent the occasional short squeeze, it is unlikely that this relentless trend lower in the yen trajectory will change any time soon as it comes at the...

Valor. When things were their darkest for the U.S. after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, the Doolittle Raiders gave the nation hope. Sixteen B-25s, each with a five-man crew, were lined up on the aircraft carrier USS Hornet. This had never been tried in war—sending heavy bombers off a carrier. Because the Japanese military had learned of the strategy, the planes had to take off from farther out in the Pacific than had been planned. Their mission was to hit Tokyo, but now they would lack enough fuel to reach safety beyond Japan’s borders. They went anyway. They bombed Tokyo,...

One week after Pearl Harbor, President Roosevelt began pressing the U.S. military to immediately strike the Japanese homeland. The desire to bolster morale became more urgent in light of rapid Japanese advances. These included victories in Malaya, Singapore, the Philippines, Wake Island, Guam, and the Dutch East Indies, as well as sinking the British battleships Prince of Wales and Repulse.Only improbable, audacious ideas warranted consideration, because submarines confirmed Japan placed picket boats at extreme carrier aircraft range. One idea even involved launching four engine heavy bombers from China or Outer Mongolia to strike Japan and fly on to Alaska. Captain...

Nissan is working with NASA on a new type of battery for electric vehicles that promises to charge quicker and be lighter yet safe, the Japanese automaker said Friday. The all-solid-state battery will replace the lithium-ion battery now in use for a 2028 product launch and a pilot plant launch in 2024, according to Nissan. The all-solid-state battery is stable enough to be used in pacemakers. When finished, it will be about half the size of the current battery and fully charge in 15 minutes, instead of a few hours. The collaboration with the U.S. space program, as well as...

The chair of the powerful U.S. Senate committee on energy and natural resources — and a key swing vote in the Senate — will tour an oilsands mine and thermal oilsands facility with Premier Jason Kenney and Energy Minister Sonya Savage. The visit came about after the three politicians spoke by phone last month and discussed energy security and the need for a continental strategy. “He mentioned he’d like to come up and see the oilsands, see how they do things up here, have a tour, understand the processes and understand the potential,” Savage said in an interview Friday.... Industry...

If Putin had followed the advice offered in the Belmont Club just before the Ukraine War, Russia might still be a first-rank power. On Feb 21, 2022, I argued that he had no chance of conquering Ukraine and would be crazy to try. “Fears over Vladimir Putin’s threatened invasion of Ukraine continue to grow despite the fact that the effort would burst both Russia’s military and economy, not to mention ruining its foreign relations. Swallowing a poison pawn makes so little sense that UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson says Russia’s Putin may be ‘irrational,’ unable to act in his own...

TOKYO -- Japan "does not intend to withdraw" from oil and liquefied natural gas development projects in Russia, trade minister Koichi Hagiuda told reporters on Friday....

Japan's economy minister has reiterated that the country will not withdraw from oil and natural gas projects in Russia's Far East. Hagiuda Koichi says they are essential to securing energy supplies. He told reporters on Friday "Japan has stakes in both projects and has secured long-term supplies. The projects provide our country with energy at below-market prices, and soaring energy costs are making the projects more important." Hagiuda also said that Japan imports about 90 percent of its crude oil from the Middle East, and that the Sakhalin-1 project is an important energy source outside that region. He adds that...

A terrible incident unfolded in Tokaimura, Japan, on 30 September 1999 when an uncontrolled chain reaction involving radioactive material was triggered. This would become the country’s worst nuclear accident. Over the next 20 hours, 49 people within the plant were exposed to dangerous levels of radiation – though it’s expected the total reach may have exceeded this. Among them was Hisashi Ouchi, then aged 35, who was exposed to 17 sieverts (Sv) of radiation – 10 Sv more than the lethal dose, which is considered to be around seven. Attempts were made to save the technician’s life, but the devastating...

Ex-editor of Al Arabiya English writes that America is failing the region and siding with Iran while dismantling the last 70 years of regional order. The Saudi-US relationship is in the throes of a crisis. As a Saudi who went to college in the US, loves America and wants to see it strong, I am increasingly disturbed by the unreality of the American discussion about the subject, which often fails to acknowledge just how deep and serious the rift has grown. A more realistic discussion should focus on one word: “Divorce.” When President Barack Obama negotiated the nuclear deal with...

An extraordinary week has passed for the Indian government’s dalliance with the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue. Call it a defining moment, a turning point or even an inflection point, it has elements of all three. The past week saw a two-day visit to Delhi by Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, a virtual summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, and foreign-ministry-level consultations with the visiting US undersecretary for political affairs, Victoria Nuland. The leitmotif was the situation around Ukraine. US President Joe Biden has since taken a jab at India for a “somewhat shaky” stance on...

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said on Saturday the prospect of Russia using nuclear weapons was "increasingly real", welcoming a visit by the U.S. ambassador to Hiroshima, the first city to suffer a nuclear attack. Japan, the only country attacked by atomic weapons, has regularly spoken out against nuclear armaments. Kishida, who represents Hiroshima in parliament, visited the city's peace memorial and museum on Saturday with envoy Rahm Emanuel. “When the possible use of nuclear weapons by Russia is increasingly real, I believe Ambassador Emanuel's visit to Hiroshima and his experience of seeing the nuclear reality will...

Russia destroys Chernobyl lab, gaining 'highly active samples' BY JOSEPH CHOI - 03/23/22 12:37 PM EDT © AP Photo/Sergei Grits The Russian military has reportedly destroyed a laboratory near the decommissioned Chernobyl nuclear power plant that was working to improve the management of nuclear waste and contained "highly active samples." The State Agency of Ukraine on Exclusion Zone Management said in a statement on social media that Russian forces had destroyed the most recently established laboratory in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone. The laboratory, which was created with the cooperation of the European Union, sought to improve the infrastructure for handling...

Japan reacted angrily on Tuesday after Russia withdrew from peace treaty talks with Tokyo and froze joint economic projects related to the disputed Kuril Islands because of sanctions imposed by the Kishida administration over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. Moscow and Tokyo have still not formally ended World War II hostilities because of the stand-off over islands just off Japan’s northernmost island of Hokkaido, known in Russia as the Kurils and in Japan as the Northern Territories. The islands were seized by the Soviet Union at the end of second world war. Japan has imposed sanctions on 76 individuals, seven banks...

Fossil fuel prices have surged in recent weeks, with coal prices more-than-doubling from the end of Febuary to March 10th. Demand for key fossil fuels has surged as the anxiety of supply chain disruptions sparked by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has grown. China is expected to turn to Indonesia to fill the gap in its coal imports should Russian coal exports be further disrupted. ... China is the biggest importer of coal, followed by India, Japan, and South Korea. Coal prices rose from $186 per metric tonne on 23rd February to $462 on 10th March ... Asian governments are rapidly...

Japan’s defense ministry reported it had tracked four large Russian ships transporting troops through a strait north of the country and heading west. ... The Defense Ministry published photos that depicted a vessel identified as one typically used to land expeditionary forces for amphibious assaults. One vessel appeared to have military trucks loaded onto its deck, The Mainichi reported. ... The spokesman added that it is unusual for Russian ships to pass through the strait so close to Japanese territory. Japan recently reiterated its claim over the disputed Kuril Islands, which have served as a point of contention between Japan...

It's a big one.

Western countries have come together in surprising fashion, imposing economic and financial sanctions regardless of the damage to themselves. Contrary to Putin's game plan, NATO has become tighter, not looser, as an alliance. But does this mean that Washington is in a better position as the world's leader? Some analysts argue that while the alliance is stronger, the U.S. itself is weaker, especially because President Joe Biden was unable to stop Putin from invading Ukraine. ... "Then the president's decision ... to immediately say that we would not be sending armed forces into Ukraine -- Americans into combat in Ukraine...