Kyodo News Digest: July 6, 2021

On July 5, 2021, a Tokyo Olympic torch relay participant is on a boat (R) on Lake Kasumigaura in Ibaraki Prefecture. A sailing boat can be seen nearby. (Kyodo Co.) == Kyodo Co.

The following is an up-to-date list of selected news summaries of Kyodo News.

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The search for survivors of the Atami mudslide passed the crucial 13th day

TOKYO-On Tuesday, the critical three days to search for survivors of a large mudslide in central Japan have passed, and local authorities reduced the number of people believed to be missing from 64 to 29.

The first 72 hours passed in Atami City, Shizuoka Prefecture around 10:30 AM, where 1,100 firefighters, police and Self-Defense Force personnel continued to clear debris and search muddy houses.

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Xi Jinping urges France and Germany not to stand on the side of the United States

BEIJING – According to official media reports on Tuesday, Chinese President Xi Jinping urged his French and German counterparts not to join the administration of US President Joe Biden from taking a hard line against China.

Xi Jinping’s speech at an online summit held with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Monday came after Biden visited European countries and agreed to strengthen cooperation with them.

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Japan issues visas to 300 Myanmar nationals amid political turmoil

TOKYO-Minister of Justice Yoko Kamikawa said on Tuesday that Japan has extended visa extensions to approximately 300 Myanmar nationals in Japan as an emergency measure in the political turmoil following the military coup.

They include goalkeeper Pyae Lyan Aung of the Myanmar national football team, who refused to go home with his teammates last month.

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China considers sending a deputy prime minister to attend the opening ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics

BEIJING – A source close to the Chinese Communist Party said on Tuesday that China is considering sending Vice Premier Sun Chunlan to participate in the opening ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics on July 23, before the Beijing Winter Olympics in February next year.

Sources said that China has been keen to strengthen cooperation with Japan in the Olympic Games, but in the ongoing new coronavirus pandemic, no official will visit Tokyo with seven members from the Standing Committee of the Politburo of the ruling party.

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Baseball: The Angels manager says Otani will pitch the ball and hit the ball in the All-Star Game

Anaheim, California – Los Angeles Angels head coach Joe Madden confirmed on Monday that Japan’s sensational Masahira Otani will pitch and batting for the American League in next week’s All-Star Game.

Madden said that he and Tampa Bay Rays coach Kevin Cash have discussed Otani’s plan, and he will play at the Coors Field in Denver on July 13. Details on how he will be used on the mound and in which rounds are still being worked out.

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Japanese household spending soared in May, rebounding from the virus downturn

TOKYO-Government data released on Tuesday showed that household spending in Japan increased by 11.6% in May from the same period last year. After a sharp increase last month, it continued to rebound from the downturn caused by the coronavirus pandemic last year.

According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, the average expenditure for households with two or more people is 281,063 yen (US$2,500). Since comparable data was available in January 2001, the year-on-year increase has been the second largest, after a surge of 13.0% in April.

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Japanese citizens do not need to be vaccinated before leaving Indonesia

JAKARTA-Officials from the Japanese Embassy said on Tuesday that Japanese citizens living in Indonesia do not need to prove that they have been vaccinated against the coronavirus when leaving international airports (including Soekarno Hatta International Airport in Jakarta).

The Indonesian government announced on Sunday that starting from Tuesday, foreign residents must be vaccinated before traveling domestically and abroad, and Japanese people in the country who have not been vaccinated are increasingly worried.

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The controversial “comfort woman” statue on display at the Nagoya Gallery

Nagoya-The organizers of the event stated on Tuesday that the work of an art exhibition has repeatedly caused controversy due to its so-called “anti-Japanese” message. An exhibition in a gallery.

The Nagoya Sakae Art Museum will display a statue of a girl wearing a traditional hanbok, symbolizing women working in a Japanese military brothel during the war, and two other works in the exhibition until July 11.