Kyodo News Digest: Dec. 28, 2024

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

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Work begins to reinforce soft soil in Okinawa U.S. base transfer

NAHA, Japan – Sand deposition for work reinforcing soft soil as part of the U.S. military base transfer within Okinawa Prefecture began Saturday, Japan’s Defense Ministry said, marking progress in the controversial plan.

As part of land reclamation at the relocation site for U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, sand is being embedded in the soft ground on the Oura Bay side of Henoko before the installation of approximately 70,000 piles into the seabed at depths of up to 70 meters.

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Japan transport hubs overflow as 9-day New Year break begins

TOKYO – Travelers flooded airports and major train stations in Japan on Saturday as they departed cities to spend time in their hometowns and elsewhere during the up to nine-day New Year holiday break.

Shinkansen bullet train services were temporarily suspended in the morning between Shin-Osaka and Okayama stations in western Japan due to a fire near the tracks in Bizen, Okayama Prefecture, according to JR West. The disruption affected connecting trains as well.

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PM Ishiba says elections for both houses could be held in summer

TOKYO – Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on Saturday refused to rule out the possibility he might call a lower house election to coincide with next summer’s scheduled House of Councillors poll.

If the government is unable to pass key bills or faces a no-confidence motion, Ishiba said dissolving the lower house is a possibility.

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Japan’s labor productivity ranks 29th among 38 OECD members in 2023

TOKYO – Japan ranked 29th in labor productivity among the 38 OECD members in 2023, up two spots from the previous year’s all-time low, thanks to an economic recovery after the coronavirus pandemic, a Tokyo-based group said.

Measured by the worth of goods or services a worker produces per hour, Japan’s labor productivity was $56.80, remaining the lowest among the Group of Seven advanced economies since 1970 when comparable data became available, the Japan Productivity Center said.

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Hokkaido to introduce lodging tax of up to 500 yen a night from 2026

SAPPORO – The government of Hokkaido, a northern island popular with tourists, will introduce a lodging tax of up to 500 yen ($3) per night from April 2026, joining a growing number of prefectures and municipalities around Japan using such revenues to improve infrastructure and transportation amid a tourism boom.

With around 20 local governments in Hokkaido, including the prefectural capital Sapporo, preparing to implement their own accommodation taxes, lodgers at hotels and inns will face double taxation.

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Rugby: Wild Knights hold off 2nd-half surge from Spears

KUMAGAYA, Japan – Saitama Wild Knights flyhalf Kyohei Yamasawa helped set up the opening try and was perfect from the kicking tee Saturday as he orchestrated a 26-24 win over the visiting Kubota Spears in a closely fought Japan Rugby League One clash.

Wearing the No. 10 jersey vacated by departed Japan playmaker Rikiya Matsuda, the younger of Saitama’s Yamasawa brothers tallied 14 points for a home side who were forced to spend much of the second half defending near their own tryline.

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M5.1 quake hits northeastern Japan, no tsunami warning issued

TOKYO – An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 5.1 struck northeastern Japan early Saturday morning with strong shaking felt in Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures, the weather agency said, but no tsunami warning was issued.

The 4:10 a.m. quake measured 4 on the Japanese seismic intensity scale of 7 in part of the two prefectures, the Japan Meteorological Agency said. Areas of the same region were devastated by a magnitude-9.0 quake and massive tsunami in March 2011.

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Video: Detour built on the north shore of Noto Peninsula in Suzu following partial closure

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