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'Ianfu' Ruling No Fix for Poor S. Korea Ties

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'Ianfu' Ruling No Fix for Poor S. Korea Ties 125th year | no. 43,369 www.japantimes.co.jp THE INDEPENDENT VOICE IN ASIA IN TODAY’S NYT: ELECTRIC VEHICLES, WITHOUT THE ASSEMBLY LINES PAGE 7 INSIGHTS: SPOTLIGHT: SERIOUS ABOUT THE MAKING DATA SECURITY OF A SCULPTOR Calls for stronger Isamu Noguchi regulation grow after created works to be Line scandal | PAGE 4 ‘lived’ | PAGE 10 金 FRIDAY, APRIL 23, 2021 Lack of trust prevents improvement in relations Japan pledges 46% cut to ‘Ianfu’ ruling greenhouse no fix for poor gases by 2030 OSAMU TSUKIMORI STAFF WRITER Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga announced Thursday that Japan will target a 46% cut in S. Korea ties greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 from 2013 levels, a sharp upgrade from the 26% cut that the world’s fifth-biggest emitter had pledged Shortly after the court ruling in January in July 2015. AAnalysis that awarded compensation for the former “In line with 2050 goals, we aim for a 46% SATOSHI SUGIYAMA comfort women — who were forced or cut by fiscal 2030 as an ambitious target. We STAFF WRITER coerced into sexual servitude under various will continue to strive toward the higher goal circumstances, including abduction, decep- of 50%,” Suga said at a government meeting. A South Korean court’s decision Wednes- tion and poverty — Moon said in a news con- In October, he pledged Japan would reach day that contradicted a previous “comfort ference he was “perplexed,” saying the 2015 carbon neutrality by 2050. women” ruling may be seen as a win for deal struck between two countries marking Suga’s announcement came shortly before Japan, but Tokyo is not celebrating the ver- “the final and irreversible resolution” of the a key two-day virtual climate summit hosted dict as it does not expect tensions between comfort women issue was official. by U.S. President Joe Biden that kicked off the two neighboring countries to ease any- “My impression was that Wednesday’s Kyoto Prefecture will be placed under a COVID-19 state of emergency along with Tokyo and the prefectures of Osaka and Hyogo. KYODO Thursday. Biden was expected to pledge an time soon. court decision was in line with Moon’s ambitious 2030 target in hopes of having The Seoul Central District Court tossed out remarks at the January news conference,” the leaders of dozens of invited countries, a lawsuit by former comfort women, also Nishino said. including China’s Xi Jinping and Russia’s known as ‘ianfu’ — a euphemism for those Moon’s remarks marked a reversal on his Emergency close to finalization Vladimir Putin, do the same. who suffered under Japan’s military brothel earlier position that had cast doubt on the Media reports say the U.S., the world’s system before and during World War II — legitimacy of the deal, which established second-biggest polluter, was likely to com- demanding roughly ¥290 million in dam- a foundation with ¥1 billion contributed Several prefectures end. Osaka Prefecture, the current epicenter of COVID-19 variants. mit to slashing emissions by at least half by ages directly from the Japanese government by Japan. Still, his administration has been of COVID-19 cases in the country, reported a The government could make exceptions 2030 compared with 2005 levels. The Barack to compensate for physical and psychologi- advocating for policies that put victims’ face tougher measures record 1,242 new infections on Wednesday. for certain facilities in order to soften the Obama administration had pledged a cut cal suffering. The dismissal was in direct con- interests first, afraid of agitating voters that The government will examine the situation, blow to the economy, which is already reel- of around 26% to 28% by 2025 from 2005 tradiction to a January ruling delivered by a supported him for nixing the 2015 deal. through Golden Week including the availability of hospital beds for ing from COVID-19 restrictions and the loss levels. different group of judges in the same court. The plaintiffs vowed to appeal to a higher COVID-19 patients, and will make a decision of foreign tourists due to the pandemic, peo- The Japan Climate Initiative, with the sup- Debilitated by a failure to stabilize soar- court. KYODO, BLOOMBERG after determining the necessary restrictions as ple familiar with the matter said. port of 208 companies, 22 local governments ing housing costs and election losses in key The South Korean Foreign Ministry well as the appropriate time period and area, Infections have been back on the rise and 60 nongovernmental and other organi- mayoral races, South Korean leader Moon refrained from directly commenting on The government stepped up preparations its top spokesman, Chief Cabinet Secretary across the country despite a quasi-state of zations, had called on the government on Jae-in is in danger of essentially becoming a the dismissal but admonished Tokyo Thursday to declare a COVID-19 state of Katsunobu Kato, told a news conference. emergency covering 10 prefectures includ- Monday to declare a more ambitious target lame-duck president with his term expiring to demonstrate a spirit of remorse and emergency in Tokyo as well as Osaka, Kyoto Tokyo and Osaka plan to ask major com- ing Tokyo and Osaka. of 50% to better represent Japan’s position of in May next year. self-examination. and Hyogo prefectures, with tougher restric- mercial facilities such as department stores, Tokyo reported 861 new cases Thursday, responsibility as an advanced economy and Unless he is able to propose solutions on Wednesday’s decision called for Seoul tions — such as the closure of department shopping malls and amusement parks to the second day in a row that the tally topped put it more in line with the goals of Europe the sensitive issue that will satisfy Tokyo, to step up its diplomatic efforts to resolve stores and shopping malls — expected to be temporarily close. 800. On Wednesday, the daily nationwide and the U.S. with any acquiescence risking further dam- the problem, but the window of oppor- in place through the Golden Week holidays. Yoshimura has said he will ask restaurants total topped 5,000 for the first time in three The announcement also comes less than a age to his floundering support rate, he could tunity is rapidly closing under Moon’s Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga is set to and bars to stop serving alcohol and to close months. week after Suga’s talks with Biden in Wash- be caught in a bind as U.S. President Joe administration. finalize the decision at a task force meet- on weekends, a step further than his current Health experts have warned of the spread ington led to an agreement to promote mul- Biden urges his country’s two allies to work More than anything else, Moon is strug- ing Friday, as a resurgence of infections puts request for eateries to close by 8 p.m. He also of highly contagious variants of the virus, tilateral efforts to meet the goals of the 2015 together to confront North Korea and China. gling domestically. His promise to bring down pressure on the medical system with just said sports events would either be canceled with a Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry Paris Agreement, which calls on nations to Wednesday’s court decision reflects housing prices in the Seoul metropolitan area three months until the opening of the Tokyo or held without spectators. panel estimating that they account for about make all efforts to keep the average global Moon’s stance on Japan ties but it is too early has been unsuccessful. His Democratic Party Olympics. Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike is also seeking to 80% of all cases in Osaka and Hyogo, and a temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius. to be optimistic, said Junya Nishino, a polit- lost crucial mayoral elections in Seoul and The state of emergency is expected to be ban alcohol at restaurants and bars regard- rapidly growing share in Tokyo. Japan was initially planning to unveil new ical science professor who studies Japan- Busan earlier this month. A Gallup poll from in effect for about three weeks through mid- less of the time of day, metropolitan govern- Suga has said the declaration of what will 2030 reduction goals ahead of the key U.N. South Korea relations at Keio University. last week revealed his approval rating hit a May, with one government official saying it is ment sources said. be the country’s third state of emergency, COP26 meeting in Glasgow, Scotland, in “It’s unmistakable that at the very least, the record low of 30% since he took office in 2017. crucial to stop people from moving around “We are talking with the central gov- following those in April last year and Janu- November. president does not want the relations to get An election to choose Moon’s successor during the upcoming holidays — usually one ernment. We’re now narrowing down on ary this year, will not affect the staging of the Many nations are facing renewed pres- any worse,” Nishino said. “At the same time, will take place in March next year, leaving of the busiest times of the year for travel. details,” Koike told reporters Thursday. Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics, reiterating sure to target more ambitious cuts in emis- Moon’s stance on historical issues, which roughly a year for Moon to work on build- Osaka Gov. Hirofumi Yoshimura called Koike said she has asked for the state of that the government will continue efforts to sions for 2030 that scientists say are crucial to is getting support from the victims, hasn’t ing his legacy. on the government not to waste any time, emergency, stressing that the capital “can- ensure they are “safe and secure.” keeping the daunting challenge of achieving changed.” Continued on page 2 -> saying the measure should begin this week- not miss this timing” amid the rapid spread Continued on page 2 -> carbon neutrality by 2050 possible.
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