Kyodo News Digest: Sept. 12, 2024

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

———-

U.S. business groups ask Treasury not to politicize Nippon Steel deal

TOKYO – A coalition of Washington-based business groups on Wednesday sent a joint letter to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, asking her to avoid politicizing the ongoing review of Nippon Steel Corp.’s planned acquisition of United States Steel Corp.

The letter was sent to Yellen, who heads the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States that is in charge of the screening, as the major Japanese company is believed to have been making last-ditch efforts to prevent its deal with U.S. Steel from collapsing.

———-

Ex-Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori dies at 86: local media

SAO PAULO – Former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori, a controversial figure who attracted both praise and censure as the first head of state of Japanese descent of the South American country, has died at age 86, local media said Wednesday.

Fujimori, who led Peru from 1990 to 2000, was initially hailed for bringing the country back from economic crisis and political violence. But he later fled the country in disgrace following allegations of corruption, and ultimately served more than a decade in detention for human rights abuses.

———-

North Korea fires possible ballistic missile into sea: Japan gov’t

TOKYO – North Korea launched a suspected ballistic missile that fell into the sea on Thursday, the Japanese government said.

The South Korean military also said North Korea launched a ballistic missile toward the Sea of Japan.

———-

“Bullet climbing” on Mt. Fuji down 90% after gate put in place

KOFU, Japan – The number of people making an overnight “bullet climb” to the summit of Mt. Fuji plunged by 90 percent this summer after a gate was set up to restrict the dangerous practice, a city where part of the mountain is located said Wednesday.

“We’ve obtained effective results,” an official of Fujiyoshida in Yamanashi Prefecture said, referring to the gate at the 5th station on the most popular Yoshida Trail that was kept closed between 4 p.m. and 3 a.m. during this year’s climbing season, which ended Tuesday.

———-

Mother given 10 yrs for child abuse resulting in death of 6-yr-old

OKAYAMA, Japan – A Japanese court on Wednesday sentenced a woman to 10 years in prison for joining her boyfriend in abusing her 6-year-old daughter, resulting in the child’s death in Okayama, western Japan, in 2022.

In handing down the prison term as requested by prosecutors, the Okayama District Court concluded that Aya Nishida, 36, “ignored” her boyfriend’s abuse of her daughter Mao, even though the mother was “the only one” who was able to offer protection.

———-

Indonesia starts construction of new rapid train line with Japan aid

JAKARTA – Indonesian President Joko Widodo attended the ground-breaking ceremony Wednesday for the second train line of Jakarta’s mass rapid transit system, financed by a loan from Japan of about 140.7 billion yen ($990 million).

The MRT railway — the first phase of which, a 15.7-kilometer stretch on the North-South Line, opened in 2019 — “has changed the face of Jakarta and Indonesia,” the president popularly known as Jokowi, said during the ceremony at the site for Thamrin Station of the new East-West Line.

———-

Biden urges U.S. unity on 23rd anniversary of 9/11 attacks

NEW YORK – The United States on Wednesday marked the 23rd anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, with President Joe Biden calling for unity among the American people in the face of various challenges.

An annual ceremony held in New York was attended by Biden as well as both candidates in the upcoming Nov. 5 election — Vice President Kamala Harris, who is running as the Democratic nominee to succeed the 81-year-old incumbent, and her Republican rival, former President Donald Trump.

Video: A group representing the families of Japanese nationals abducted by North Korea holds a press conference in Tokyo