Kiyoshi Takenaka News

Tokyo Gas and 13 other Japanese companies plan to set up a consortium "soon" to develop technology to mass produce floating offshore wind power facilities at a low cost, the Nikkei business daily reported on Wednesday.The other companies include Japan's biggest power generator JERA and regional utilities Kansai Electric Power, Tohoku Electric Power and Chubu Electric Power, the Nikkei said.Although Japanese companies have offshore wind assets in countries from Taiwan to Belgium and Britain, they have yet to build large-scale farms at home.(Reuters- Reporting by Kiyoshi Takenaka; editing by Mil

Japan's health ministry said on Tuesday it had ordered the suspension of shipments of black rockfish caught off Fukushima prefecture after radiation exceeding an upper limit was detected in a catch late last month.The development comes on the heels of an announcement by Taiwan that it would relax a ban on food imports from Japan put in place after the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster.The suspension means the targetted fish would not be shipped, regardless of the destination, a ministry official said. (Reporting by Kiyoshi Takenaka; Editing by Andrew Heavens)

A group of 10 naval vessels from China and Russia sailed through a strait separating Japan's main island and its northern island of Hokkaido on Monday, the Japanese government said, adding that it is closely watching such activities.It was the first time Japan has confirmed the passage of Chinese and Russian naval vessels sailing together through the Tsugaru Strait, which separates the Sea of Japan from the Pacific.While the strait is regarded as international waters, Japan's ties with China have long been plagued by conflicting claims over a group of tiny East China Sea islets.

A Japanese submarine and a commercial vessel were involved in a crash off the Pacific coast on Monday and three of the submarine’s crew suffered minor injuries and it was slightly damaged but still able to sail, government officials said.The submarine, operated by the Maritime Self-Defense Force, as Japan’s navy is known, and the ship crashed off Kochi prefecture in southern Japan, chief cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato told a regular news conference.Kato, quoting the Coast Guard, said that there was no damage to the private ship.Authorities were looking into details, such as the type of the ship and in which country it was registered, Kato said.The Maritime Self-Defense Force said three crew members on the submarine suffered minor injuries and the vessel’s mast was damaged but not enough

Four ministers from Japan and Britain voiced serious concern on Wednesday about the situation in the East and South China seas and opposed any unilateral attempts to change the status quo, in a apparent reference to China’s maritime expansion.The joint statement was issued after an online meeting of Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi and Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi of Japan, and their respective British counterparts Dominic Raab and Ben Wallace.“The four ministers reaffirmed…

Japan and Australia agreed on a breakthrough defense pact on Tuesday allowing reciprocal visits for training and operations, and voiced concern over the disputed South China Sea, where China is extending its military influence.It is Japan's first agreement covering foreign military presence on its soil since a status of forces agreement in 1960 that allowed the United States to base warships, jets and troops in Japan as part of an alliance that Washington describes as the bedrock of regional security.The Reciprocal Access Agreement strengthens defense ties between the two U.S.

Japan has told Mauritius it would offer support on an "unprecedented scale", Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said on Monday, after a Japanese-owned ship struck a coral reef off the country's southeast coast in late July and spilled oil.Motegi was speaking to reporters after a phone call with Mauritius Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth."A sense of gratitude was expressed over our offer of support on an unprecedented scale, including financial support," Motegi told reporters.Jugnauth said during the phone call that he did not believe Japan was responsible for the accident…

Japanese Environment Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said on Saturday Tokyo planned to send a team of environment ministry officials and specialists to Mauritius soon to respond to the oil spill.A Japanese bulk carrier struck a coral reef off Mauritius on July 25, spilling about 1,000 tonnes of fuel oil and triggering a state of “environmental emergency” in what some scientists call the country’s worst ecological disaster.The ship, MV Wakashio, is owned by Japan’s Nagashiki Shipping and chartered by Mitsui OSK Lines.(Reporting by Kiyoshi Takenaka; Editing by Shri Navaratnam)Related: Grounded Bulk Ca

A Japanese bulk carrier that ran aground on a reef in Mauritius last month threatening a marine ecological disaster around the Indian Ocean island has broken apart, authorities said on Saturday.The condition of the MV Wakashio was worsening early on Saturday and it split by the afternoon, the Mauritius National Crisis Committee said.“At around 4:30 p.m., a major detachment of the vessel’s forward section was observed,” it said in a statement. “On the basis of the experts’ advice…

A Japanese bulk carrier struck a coral reef off the Indian Ocean island nation of Mauritius on July 25, spilling about 1,000 tonnes of fuel oil and triggering a state of "environmental emergency".Scientists say the spill is the country's worst ecological disaster, killing wildlife and damaging pristine waters that attract tourists from around the globe. The full impact is still unfolding. As residents scramble to mop up the oil slicks, they are seeing dead eels and fish floating…

Most of the fuel left on a Japanese bulk carrier that has leaked an estimated 1,000 tonnes of oil off the Mauritius coast has been pumped off, ship owner Nagashiki Shipping said on Wednesday.Mauritian Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth said on Tuesday that the MV Wakashio was still holding 2,000 tonnes of oil and was expected to break up, raising concern of a major ecological disaster."I heard the collection is almost over, but it is hard to tell if there is absolutely no oil left on the ship…

Mauritian volunteers fished dead eels from oily waters on Tuesday as they tried to clean up damage to the Indian Ocean island's most pristine beaches after a Japanese bulk carrier leaked an estimated 1,000 tonnes of oil.The ship, MV Wakashio, owned by Nagashiki Shipping and operated by Mitsui OSK Lines Ltd, struck a coral reef on Mauritius' southeast coast on July 25 and began leaking oil last week, raising fears of a major ecological crisis.Activists told Reuters that dead eels were floating in the water and dead starfish were marked by the sticky black liquid.

A Japanese bulk carrier that ran aground off Mauritius and has leaked at least an estimated 1,000 tonnes of oil, passed the latest annual inspection in March with no problems, Japan's ClassNK inspection body said on Tuesday.The ship, MV Wakashio, is owned by Nagashiki Shipping and operated by Mitsui OSK Lines Ltd.Mitsui OSK said earlier on Tuesday it had set up a task force and was cooperating with the authorities in Japan and Mauritius.The company said it was preparing to dispatch personnel to the site."We will do our utmost towards resolving the situation quickly," the company said in a stat

As many as 91 crew of an Italian cruise ship docked in the Japanese port of Nagasaki are infected with coronavirus, officials said on Friday, as questions persist over how they might return to their home countries.Authorities have tested about half the vessel’s crew of 623 and are racing to screen the rest. Those who test negative will be repatriated, the government said.The vessel, the Costa Atlantica, was taken into a shipyard in Nagasaki in February for repairs and maintenance after the pandemic prevented its scheduled repairs in China.Earlier this year, more than 700 of its passengers and crew tested positive for the virus on the Diamond Princess cruise liner as it was docked in Yokohama.Nagasaki authorities quarantined the Costa Atlantica on arrival in Japan…

A Japanese infectious disease specialist has castigated his government's handling of quarantine on a coronavirus-stricken cruise ship, saying it was run by "bureaucrats" who stoked the crisis by failing to follow basic protocols.Kentaro Iwata of Kobe University Hospital took his criticism to YouTube after he spent a day as a volunteer doctor on the Diamond Princess. The luxury liner has become an incubator for the novel coronavirus, with more than 600 people now infected.The ship docked in Yokohama on Feb. 3. Japan has been criticized for its handling of the quarantine, including by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).But Iwata's criticism is some of the most scathing yet."The cruise ship was completely inadequate in terms of the infection control…

Dozens more people onboard a cruise ship quarantined in the port of Yokohama, Japan, tested positive for the coronavirus on Friday and thousands of passengers remained confined to their cabins, only allowed on deck briefly for fresh air.The Diamond Princess, owned by Miami-based Carnival Corp, was placed on a two-week quarantine on arriving at Yokohama on Monday after a man who disembarked in Hong Kong was diagnosed with the virus.Japanese Health Minister Katsunobu Kato told a news conference that 41 people on the liner had tested positive for coronavirus on Friday…

A panel of experts advising Japan's government on a disposal method for radioactive water from the destroyed Fukushima nuclear plant on Friday recommended releasing it into the ocean, a move likely to alarm neighboring countries.The panel under the industry ministry came to the conclusion after narrowing the choice to either releasing the contaminated water into the Pacific Ocean or letting it evaporate - and opted for the former. Based on past practice it is likely the government…

Japan will send a warship and patrol planes to protect Japanese ships in the Middle East as the situation in the region, from which it sources nearly 90% of its crude oil imports, remains volatile, Japan's top government spokesman said on Friday.Under the plan approved by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's cabinet, a helicopter-equipped destroyer and two P-3C patrol planes will be dispatched for information-gathering aimed at ensuring safe passage for Japanese vessels through the region.If there are any emergencies…

Japan rescued about 60 North Korean crew members from a fishing boat that sank after it collided with a Japanese patrol boat that was chasing it out of Japanese waters, the Japan Coast Guard said on Monday.All the crew members that abandoned the fishing boat were rescued and handed over to another North Korean ship, the Coast Guard said.The collision between the North Korean vessel and a patrol ship from Japan's Fisheries Agency took place 350 km (220 miles) northwest of Noto peninsula in central Japan.Following the collision shortly after 9:00 a.m. (0000 GMT), the Fisheries Agency and Coast Guard mobilised seven ships and aircraft to search for North Korean crew members.The Coast Guard did not give details about how the two vessels crashed in the Sea of Japan…

Japan has notified the World Trade Organisation that it reserves the right to take counter-measures against U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminium imports, the foreign ministry said on Friday.Japan is the only major U.S. ally that did not receive exemptions from U.S. President Donald Trump's decision in March to set import tariffs of 25 percent on steel and 10 percent for aluminium.But it had previously refrained from following in the footsteps of China and the European Union, which responded to the U.S.

Australia’s Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said on Saturday the country will send a military patrol aircraft to monitor North Korean vessels suspected of transferring prohibited goods in defiance of United Nations sanctions.Canada also plans to deploy patrol aircraft for such activities, and surveillance planes from both countries will be based in the U.S. military’s Kadena air base on Japan’s southern island of Okinawa, the Japanese government said in a separate statement.The…

Japan and China agree that a trade war will have serious consequences for the world economy, Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono said on Monday after a high-level economic dialogue between the world's third- and second-largest economies. Concern is growing about a trade row between China and the United States in which the two nations have threatened each other with tariffs. Japan has been criticised by U.S. President Donald Trump on trade and been hit with tariffs on steel and aluminum, but it has not yet threatened counter-tariffs.

Japan has discovered another North Korean tanker it suspects of transferring goods with a vessel in defiance of U.N. Security Council resolutions, the Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday. It was the fourth time Japan has suspected such an illegal transfer in recent weeks and comes as the Trump administration and key Asian allies prepare to expand interceptions of ships suspected of violating sanctions on North Korea. North Korea last year conducted dozens of missile launches and…