Kyodo News Digest: July 2, 2022

The following is the latest list of selected news summaries by Kyodo News.

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“au” mobile customers across Japan hit by network troubles

TOKYO – The operator of the “au” mobile brand, one of Japan’s top three carriers, said Saturday its customers are facing difficulties making calls and connecting to the internet, with the nationwide network troubles affecting a range of services from weather data and banking to parcel delivery.

KDDI Corp. said work to restore services is still under way after the disruption started at around 1:35 a.m. The troubles have not only rippled to its and other firms’ low-cost mobile services, but have also affected the transmission of key data such as weather information.

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Japan eases travel advisory for 34 nations, including China, South Korea

TOKYO – Japan’s government on Friday eased its travel warning over the coronavirus pandemic for 34 countries, including China, South Korea and India, and is no longer requesting that residents in Japan refrain from nonessential trips to those nations.

The Foreign Ministry also lowered its travel advisory for France, Germany and Italy, as well as other 11 European nations, by one notch to the lowest Level 1 on its four-point scale, advising Japanese nationals traveling to those regions to “stay fully alert.”

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Russia to install new operator for Sakhalin 2 energy project

TOKYO – Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree to set up a new operating company for the Sakhalin 2 oil and liquefied natural gas project, Russian media reported, casting the investments of two major Japanese trading houses into doubt.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida denied it would immediately cause a halt in the shipment of LNG to Japan. “We must communicate with the operator and consider how to respond,” he told reporters in Okinawa Prefecture.

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U.S. renews commitment to nuclear nonproliferation treaty

WASHINGTON – The United States reaffirmed its commitment to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons as a U.N. review conference on the pact is one month away, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Friday.

Noting that the treaty opened for signatures on this day 54 years ago, Blinken said in a statement, “The NPT has provided the essential foundation for international efforts to stem the looming threat — then and now — that nuclear weapons would proliferate across the globe.”

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China’s Xi calls Hong Kong governance a success on 25th anniv. of handover

HONG KONG – Chinese President Xi Jinping called his country’s governance of Hong Kong a success on the 25th anniversary Friday of the handover of the former British colony as he attended a ceremony marking the special administrative region’s transition into a new era under Beijing’s tightened grip.

Making his first trip outside mainland China since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, Xi said in a speech at the ceremony to swear in the city’s new chief that Beijing’s “one country, two systems” policy has “achieved success in Hong Kong recognized by all.”

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FEATURE: CBD takes root in Japan as gov’t mulls easing laws for cannabis meds

TOKYO – From ingestible oils and gummies to skin lotions and makeup, products made from cannabidiol, an extract of the cannabis plant devoid of its psychoactive properties, are rapidly gaining popularity in Japan.

CBD, as cannabidiol is commonly known, is touted to have numerous health benefits, such as helping treat stress and anxiety and possessing anti-inflammatory properties. CBD items are now readily available in shops in cities around the country, while trials for a British-manufactured CBD drug have also started this year.

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British ad giant WPP looking for opportunities in aging Japan

TOKYO – British advertising giant WPP Plc sees potential in Japan’s shrinking market, with elderly consumers a segment to tap into, the head of its Japanese operations has said.

Japan’s population is expected to continue to decline and age, reflecting its falling birthrate, but there is a chance to “further unlock opportunities,” said Kyoko Matsushita, who took the newly established post of CEO of WPP in Japan in April.

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Canadian rocker reunited with stolen guitar in Tokyo after 45 yrs

TOKYO – Canadian musician Randy Bachman, a former member of rock band The Guess Who, was recently reunited with his beloved guitar in Tokyo some 45 years after it was stolen.

The instrument was found to have made its way into the hands of a professional musician in Japan, who agreed to return it to the Canadian rocker. Speaking during the Friday handover at the Canadian Embassy in Tokyo, Bachman held the guitar reverently and said he felt like an abandoned wish had come true.