Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is set to virtually deliver his address to the Japanese parliament on Wednesday to rally international support for his country’s fight against the Russian invasion.
KATHMANDU, August 24: Two lawmakers of the upper house of the parliament of Japan paid a courtesy call on President Ramchandra Paudel at the Office of the President in Shital Niwas on Thursday.
KATHMANDU, August 24: Two lawmakers of the upper house of the parliament of Japan paid a courtesy call on President Ramchandra Paudel at the Office of the President in Shital Niwas on Thursday.
KATHMANDU: Two lawmakers of the upper house of the parliament of Japan paid a courtesy call on President Ramchandra Paudel at the Office of the President in Shital Niwas today. The Japanese MPs- Kobayashi Kajuhiro and Nagai Manbu- held a meeting with the President. The two are also the members of the Nepal-Japan Parliamentary Friendship […]
June 16: Japan has passed laws that redefine rape and raise the age of consent in a landmark overhaul of sex crime laws.
The definition of rape was broadened to "non-consensual sexual intercourse" from "forcible sexual intercourse", aligning Japanese law'
SEPT 21: Hundreds of foreign dignitaries are expected to attend the funeral on 27 September.
On Wednesday, witnesses called police after spotting a man on fire near the prime minister's office in Tokyo.
Officers put out the blaze, and took the still-conscious man to hospital, local media reported.
The extent of his injuries and his current condition is unknown. Japanese media reports say the man is believed to be in his 70s.
The government is yet to comment on the protest. But public opposition to the holding of the state funeral has intensified in recent months, with polls showing a majority of voters unhappy with the expenditure.
Abe was shot dead on 8 July, aged 67, at a campaign rally for his political party. The killing of Japan's longest-serving prime minister was condemned internationally and shocked Japan, a country with a minimal record of political violence and gun crime.
But state funerals are not an established practice in Japan, and protesters say they resent the use of public funds on the event that is projected to cost about 1.65bn yen (£10.1m; $11.4m).
One of the country's main opposition parties, the Constitutional Democratic Party, has also said its lawmakers won't participate in next week's ceremony.
Police are yet to confirm details of the protest on Tuesday, but local media reported the man had voiced his opposition to the funeral to a nearby officer before setting himself alight.
Handwritten notes were also found around him expressing the same message, local media reported.
Criticism of the state funeral has also increased as more politicians in Japan's parliament have been found to have connections with a controversial church.
The man charged with killing Abe said he had targeted the former prime minister for his connections to the Unification Church, which he said had bankrupted his family.
JULY 12: The private funeral, which is only open to friends and close family, is underway at Tokyo's Zojoji temple.
Following the funeral, the hearse bearing Abe's body will proceed through downtown Tokyo.
The 67-year-old was shot last Friday while delivering a campaign speech in Nara in southern Japan.
Inside the Zojoji temple, Buddhist rites are being carried out. Outside and across Tokyo, flags are flying at half mast.
A funeral procession on Tuesday afternoon will pass by landmarks like the parliament building, which Abe first entered as a lawmaker in 1993, and the office from which he led the nation as prime minister.
Abe was Japan's longest serving post-war prime minister and one of its most influential politicians.
Police said the gunman targeted him due to grievances he had with a religious group that he believed Abe was a part of.
The attack sent shockwaves through a nation where incidences of gun violence are extremely rare.
A vigil held on Monday evening drew hundreds of dignitaries as well as thousands of ordinary Japanese citizens who came to lay flowers.
"I came here to offer flowers because I think he gave the Japanese something to be proud about," said Emi Osa, a vigil attendee.
Abe was delivering a campaign speech in support of a candidate for Japan's upper house election when he was shot twice.
Footage of the attack showed the gunman, 41-year-old Tetsuya Yamagami, using a makeshift weapon made of metal and wood and held together by duct tape.
Abe suffered two bullet wounds to his neck and damage to his heart during the attack. He was said to be conscious and responsive in the minutes after the attack, but doctors said no vital signs were detected by the time he was transferred for treatment.
Police are still investigating what the gunman's motives were and whether he acted alone.
The shooting left Japan, a country unaccustomed to gun crimes and political violence, profoundly shaken. On average, there are fewer than 10 gun-related deaths in Japan each year.
Guns are extremely difficult to acquire, and mandatory training, extensive background checks and psychological evaluation are required before permits are granted.
His death drew an outpouring of shock from prominent world leaders, with UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson condemning the shooting as a "despicable attack".
US President Joe Biden called Prime Minister Kishida to express his "outrage, sadness and deep condolences", before adding the assassination was "a tragedy for Japan and for all who knew him [Abe]".
With inputs from BBC
TOKYO, September 29: Fumio Kishida won the presidential election of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) on Wednesday.
Kishida, former Japanese foreign minister, secured 257 votes in a runoff to win over his contender Taro Kono who received 170 votes.
As the LDP-led coalition constitutes a majority in both chambers of the parliament in Japan, the new party president is almost certain to be elected prime minister in the extraordinary Diet session scheduled to be held on Oct. 4, succeeding the incumbent Yoshihide Suga.
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