KATHMANDU, April 19: The fourth meeting of the Nepal-Japan Bilateral Consultation Mechanism was held in Tokyo, the capital of Japan on Tuesday.
During the meeting, the two sides took stock of all aspects of bilateral relations and exchanged views on further promoting cooperation
Oct 4: The ballistic missile travelled about 4,500km (2,800 miles) before falling into the Pacific Ocean - far enough to hit the US island of Guam if it took another trajectory.
It is the first North Korean missile launch over Japan since 2017.
The launch saw Japan issue a rare alert to some citizens to take cover.
The UN prohibits North Korea from testing ballistic and nuclear weapons. Flying missiles towards or over other countries without any pre-warning or consultation also contravenes international norms.
Most countries avoid doing it completely as it can easily be mistaken for an attack. While it is not as big as a nuclear test - which could be next - it can be considered hugely provocative.
People in the north of Japan, including Hokkaido island, reportedly woke up to the noise of blaring sirens and text alerts which read: "North Korea appears to have launched a missile. Please evacuate into buildings or underground."
As the missile flew overhead, they were warned to look out for falling debris.
Officials later said the intermediate-range ballistic missile fell into the Pacific Ocean far from Japan, and there were no reported injuries.
It had covered the longest distance ever travelled by a North Korean missile, and reached a height of around 1000km - higher than the International Space Station.
Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida described the launch as "violent behaviour", while defence minister Yasukazu Hamada said Japan would not rule out any options to strengthen its defences including "counterattack capabilities".
The US National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson called it a "dangerous and reckless decision" that was "destabilising" to the region.
The launch comes as Japan, the US and South Korea have been working together to strengthen their defences, in response to the growing threat posed by the North.
Last week, the three countries held a naval exercise - such drills have long antagonised Pyongyang leader Kim Jong-un, who views them as his enemies preparing for war.
Following the last joint exercise in 2017, North Korea fired missiles over Japan in response. A week later, it conducted a nuclear test.
Recent intelligence has suggested that North Korea is getting ready to test another nuclear weapon.
Many expected that North Korea would only do so until after China - its main ally - holds its Communist party congress later this month.
But experts see Tuesday's launch as North Korea preparing the ground now for a nuclear test, with some asking if it could come sooner than expected.
The missile launch is the fifth carried out by Pyongyang in a week. On Saturday, two rockets came down in waters outside Japan's exclusive economic zone.
Many of North Korea's missile tests are conducted on a high, lofted flight path - reaching a high altitude, avoiding flights over its neighbours.
But firing over or past Japan allows North Korean scientists to test missiles under circumstances "that are more representative of the conditions they'd endure in real-world use", analyst Ankit Panda told news agency Reuters.
These actions have contributed to enduring tensions between North Korea and Japan, rooted in Japan's previos colonisation of Korea from 1910 to 1945 and the North's abduction of Japanese citizens in the past.
Earlier this month, North Korea passed a law declaring itself to be a nuclear weapons state, with leader Kim Jong-un ruling out the possibility of talks on denuclearisation.
Pyongyang conducted six nuclear tests between 2006 and 2017, despite widespread sanctions.
The East Asian state regularly defies the ban on nuclear and missile tests, saying it needs to bolster its defences.
A rare and controversial state funeral for assassinated former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe began Tuesday in tense Japan where the event for one of the country’s most divisive leaders has deeply split public opinion.
JULY 8: Ex-Tokyo governor Yoichi Masuzoe said in a tweet that Mr Abe was in a state of cardiopulmonary arrest.
The term is often used before a death is officially confirmed in Japan.
Videos circulating on social media, which could not be verified, appear to show paramedics huddled around Mr Abe in the middle of a street. He has now reportedly been rushed to hospital.
Mr Abe was giving a stump speech for a candidate in Nara when the attacked happened - eye-witnesses say they saw a man with what they described as a large gun fire from behind, according to the BBC's Japan correspondent Rupert Wingfield-Hayes.
The first shot appears to have missed but the second shot hit Mr Abe in the back. He immediately fell to the ground bleeding.
Security then detained the attacker who made no attempt to run.
Local news broadcaster NHK reports that police have seized his gun and identified him.
Mr Abe, who was Japan's longest-serving prime minister, stepped down in 2020 citing health reasons. He later revealed that he had suffered a relapse of ulcerative colitis, an intestinal disease.
He was succeeded by his close party ally Yoshihide Suga, who was later replaced by Fumio Kishida.
Incidents of gun violence are rare in Japan, where handguns are banned - and incidents of political violence are almost unheard of.
In 2014, there were just six incidents of gun deaths in Japan, as compared to 33,599 in the US. People have to undergo a strict exam and mental health tests in order to buy a gun - and even then, only shotguns and air rifles are allowed.
Joining Tokyo and Okinawa, the four prefectures of Chiba, Kanagawa, Saitama, and Osaka entered into a COVID-19 state of emergency in Japan on Monday due to a recent spike in COVID-19 cases.
The state of emergency for the three prefectures near Tokyo, namely Chiba, Kanagawa and Saitama, and the prefecture of Osaka, would last until Aug. 31. Meanwhile, the emergency period in Tokyo and Okinawa was also extended to Aug. 31 from the originally planned Aug. 22.
The Japanese government is planning to roll out standards for easing restrictions with the progress of vaccination of the population. However, the end of the epidemic seems yet to come in Japan.
Under the state of emergency, establishments serving alcohol or offering karaoke services are asked to suspend their business, and those not serving liquor are requested to close at 8 p.m. local time. The government would offer monetary compensation for compliance.
Outside of the six prefectures, a quasi-state of emergency is implemented in parts of five prefectures, namely Hokkaido, Ishikawa, Kyoto, Hyogo, and Fukuoka from Monday to the end of August. The quasi-state of emergency is less restrictive on business activity than the state of emergency.
According to the government's policy, serving alcohol is prohibited and restaurants not serving liquor are asked to close at 8 p.m. local time under the quasi-state of emergency as well, and the local governors of the five prefectures could ease restrictions based on improvements in the situation.
According to the data released by the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry, the number of COVID-19 patients being taken care of at home increased to 18,927 as of July 28, 1.8 times the number in the previous week. Hospital bed occupancy rates in Tokyo, Saitama, Ishikawa, and Okinawa prefectures were 50 percent or higher.
In pace with the summer and Obon holidays, the National Governors' Association on Sunday urged people to avoid making trips across prefectural borders in principle. In case of making essential trips, it asked people to take virus tests.
TOKYO, April 27: Japan's COVID-19 death toll topped the 10,000-mark on Monday, a day after a third state of emergency was declared in Tokyo and the western prefectures of Osaka, Kyoto and Hyogo.
One year after Japan confirmed its first COVID-19 case, the nationwide death toll from the virus stood at 5,000, according to public broadcaster NHK.
Infectious disease experts warned that Japan is now battling a "fourth wave" of infections including highly-contagious variants of the virus.
The complete lifting of the second state of emergency in April saw the mortality rate begin to rise after being on a downtrend, health ministry data showed.
Meanwhile, according to data cited by Kyodo News, the COVID-19 mortality rate increases with age, with 13.9 percent of those in their 80s and above dying, followed by 5.2 percent of those in their 70s, and 1.5 percent in their 60s.
With more than 3,300 new infections reported nationwide on Monday, 900 of which in the hard-hit western prefecture of Osaka, the government is trying to curb the spread of the virus by encouraging people to work from home.
But according to NHK, mobile phone data has shown around 40 percent more people were around Tokyo station during rush hours on Monday morning, compared with the Monday average during the first state of emergency declared around a year ago.
In the capital city of Tokyo, 425 new cases were confirmed on Monday, down from the 635 cases reported Sunday.
However, on Saturday, the country's new cases over the past 24 hours surged to 876, marking the highest number of daily infections since the second state of emergency was lifted in late March.
Japan has been criticized for its slow vaccination rollout, with the first inoculations of 4.8 million health care workers beginning in February. Only 18 percent of them had received their second Pfizer jab as of last Friday.
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