Tokyo prosecutors&nbsp;arrested&nbsp;ruling Liberal Democratic Party&nbsp;lawmaker&nbsp;Tsukasa Akimoto on Wednesday on&nbsp;suspicion&nbsp;of&nbsp;accepting&nbsp;bribes&nbsp;from a Chinese company interested in setting up a&nbsp;casino&nbsp;in&nbsp;Japan, public broadcaster&nbsp;NHK&nbsp;reported.

Akimoto was a senior vice minister in the Cabinet Office until October 2018 and&nbsp;oversaw the government's policy on opening&nbsp;casinos, as part of Prime Minister <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/xi-meets-japans-abe-in-beijing-calls-for-advancing-bilateral-ties-269799">Shinzo Abe's</a> plan to stimulate the economy and tourism.

Akimoto's office, asked about the reported arrest, said it had not heard anything. Tokyo prosecutors declined to comment.

Akimoto, whose office was raided by prosecutors last week, has repeatedly denied wrongdoing through his Twitter account and in comments to media.

The main&nbsp;Japanese government spokesman, Chief Cabinet Secretary <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/japanese-journalist-wins-damages-in-high-profile-lawsuit-over-alleged-rape-268819">Yoshihide Suga</a>, said he was not aware of the reported arrest but wanted preparations for integrated resorts to move ahead as quickly as possible.

The reported arrest drew criticism from opponents of&nbsp;casinos, which have been consistently unpopular in&nbsp;Japan&nbsp;despite the government's push to have them in operation during the early 2020s.

The government sees&nbsp;casinos anchoring "integrated resorts" that include shopping outlets and hotels and would be aimed at bolstering local economies, tourism and tax revenue.

"This shakes the foundation of the government's integrated-resort policy," Kazuhiro Haraguchi, parliamentary affairs chief for the opposition Democratic Party For the People, told Kyodo News.

"If a deputy minister in the Cabinet Office with authority (over&nbsp;the&nbsp;casino&nbsp;issue) used his position to get money, it would be outrageous."

An opinion poll in October found 57.9 per cent&nbsp;opposition to integrated resorts versus 26.6 per cent support.

Tokyo prosecutors arrested ruling Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker Tsukasa Akimoto on Wednesday on suspicion of accepting bribes from a Chinese company interested in setting up a casino in Japan, public broadcaster NHK reported.

Tokyo prosecutors arrested ruling Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker Tsukasa Akimoto on Wednesday on suspicion of accepting bribes from a Chinese company interested in setting up a casino in Japan, public broadcaster NHK reported. Akimoto was a senior vice minister in the Cabinet Office until October 2018 and oversaw the government's policy on opening casinos, as part of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's plan to stimulate the economy and tourism. Akimoto's office, asked about the reported arrest, said it had not heard anything. Tokyo prosecutors declined to comment. Akimoto, whose office was raided by prosecutors last week, has repeatedly denied wrongdoing through his Twitter account and in comments to media. The main Japanese government spokesman, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, said he was not aware of the reported arrest but wanted preparations for integrated resorts to move ahead as quickly as possible. The reported arrest drew criticism from opponents of casinos, which have been consistently unpopular in Japan despite the government's push to have them in operation during the early 2020s. The government sees casinos anchoring "integrated resorts" that include shopping outlets and hotels and would be aimed at bolstering local economies, tourism and tax revenue. "This shakes the foundation of the government's integrated-resort policy," Kazuhiro Haraguchi, parliamentary affairs chief for the opposition Democratic Party For the People, told Kyodo News. "If a deputy minister in the Cabinet Office with authority (over the casino issue) used his position to get money, it would be outrageous." An opinion poll in October found 57.9 per cent opposition to integrated resorts versus 26.6 per cent support.

Japanese Lawmaker Tsukasa Akimoto arrested on suspicion of accepting bribes over casino

Japanese Prime Minister <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/moon-abe-hold-friendly-talks-on-asean-sidelines-259835">Shinzo&nbsp;Abe</a>&nbsp;on Friday asked his&nbsp;cabinet&nbsp;to&nbsp;compile&nbsp;a&nbsp;package&nbsp;of&nbsp;stimulus&nbsp;measures to&nbsp;support&nbsp;the&nbsp;economy&nbsp;and build infrastructure to cope with large natural disasters, the government's top spokesman said.

Chief&nbsp;Cabinet&nbsp;Secretary Yoshihide Suga told reporters that the&nbsp;package&nbsp;will include steps to promote investment for growth through aggressive use of fiscal investment and loan programmes.

The government will&nbsp;compile&nbsp;the&nbsp;package&nbsp;as soon as possible, though the size of spending will depend on proposals to be made by various ministries,&nbsp;Economy&nbsp;Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura told a news conference after a regular&nbsp;cabinet&nbsp;meeting.

"I've received an instruction from the prime minister to&nbsp;compile&nbsp;a new economic&nbsp;package&nbsp;to guard against the chance overseas risks may hurt&nbsp;Japan's&nbsp;economy," Nishimura said.

Japanese policymakers have been under pressure to fend off heightening overseas risks with a diminishing tool-kit, as the<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/china-us-agree-tariff-rollback-if-phase-one-trade-deal-is-completed-260641"> US-China trade war </a>and soft global demand hurt the export-reliant&nbsp;economy.

Finance Minister Taro Aso said the planned economic&nbsp;package&nbsp;should help enhance productivity and achieve strong growth to overcome the pressure caused by the declining population, which he said was the "biggest problem" Japan faces in the long run.

Aso added that the size and scope of the&nbsp;stimulus&nbsp;still needed to be worked out. He suggested that a supplementary budget would be&nbsp;compiled by the year-end, along with an annual budget for the next fiscal year that starts in April 2020, to ensure the economic&nbsp;package&nbsp;would be rolled out seamlessly over a 15-month period.

Abe&nbsp;had told a top economic council on Thursday that the government will consider what policy measures it can take to prevent intensifying global risks from derailing the export-reliant economic recovery.

Japan's&nbsp;economic growth likely slowed to an annualised 0.8 per cent&nbsp;in July-September from 1.3 per cent&nbsp;in the second quarter, a Reuters poll showed this week. The data will be reported on November&nbsp;14.

An increase in the sales tax to 10 per cent&nbsp;from 8 per cent, put in place from October, may also hurt consumption, analysts say.

Slowing growth underscores the challenge for&nbsp;Abe's government as it tries to strike a delicate balance between the need to boost growth and fix the industrial world's heaviest public debt burden that is more than twice the size of&nbsp;Japan's&nbsp;$5 trillion&nbsp;economy.

Some economists worry that additional public works spending would further strain the nation's dire public finances and aggravate a labour crunch in a fast-ageing population.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Friday asked his cabinet to compile a package of stimulus measures to support the economy and build infrastructure to cope with large natural disasters, the government's top spokesman said.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Friday asked his cabinet to compile a package of stimulus measures to support the economy and build infrastructure to cope with large natural disasters, the government's top spokesman said. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told reporters that the package will include steps to promote investment for growth through aggressive use of fiscal investment and loan programmes. The government will compile the package as soon as possible, though the size of spending will depend on proposals to be made by various ministries, Economy Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura told a news conference after a regular cabinet meeting. "I've received an instruction from the prime minister to compile a new economic package to guard against the chance overseas risks may hurt Japan's economy," Nishimura said. Japanese policymakers have been under pressure to fend off heightening overseas risks with a diminishing tool-kit, as the US-China trade war and soft global demand hurt the export-reliant economy. Finance Minister Taro Aso said the planned economic package should help enhance productivity and achieve strong growth to overcome the pressure caused by the declining population, which he said was the "biggest problem" Japan faces in the long run. Aso added that the size and scope of the stimulus still needed to be worked out. He suggested that a supplementary budget would be compiled by the year-end, along with an annual budget for the next fiscal year that starts in April 2020, to ensure the economic package would be rolled out seamlessly over a 15-month period. Abe had told a top economic council on Thursday that the government will consider what policy measures it can take to prevent intensifying global risks from derailing the export-reliant economic recovery. Japan's economic growth likely slowed to an annualised 0.8 per cent in July-September from 1.3 per cent in the second quarter, a Reuters poll showed this week. The data will be reported on November 14. An increase in the sales tax to 10 per cent from 8 per cent, put in place from October, may also hurt consumption, analysts say. Slowing growth underscores the challenge for Abe's government as it tries to strike a delicate balance between the need to boost growth and fix the industrial world's heaviest public debt burden that is more than twice the size of Japan's $5 trillion economy. Some economists worry that additional public works spending would further strain the nation's dire public finances and aggravate a labour crunch in a fast-ageing population.

Japan's Abe tells cabinet to compile stimulus package to support economy

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/trade-beef-aside-trump-and-abe-bond-over-burgers-sumo-and-golf-221840">US President Donald Trump</a> renewed his criticism of the US-Japan security alliance, the linchpin of Tokyo's security policies, ahead of talks with <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/japan-pm-abe-to-meet-irans-supreme-leader-khamenei-to-mediate-with-us-report-223544">Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe</a> on the sidelines of a Group of 20 summits in Osaka this week.

Trump was responding to a question in a Fox television interview in Washington on Wednesday about what <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/donald-trump-begins-his-japan-visit-to-burnish-ties-with-shinzo-abe-over-golf-sumo-and-steak-221444">bilateral deals</a> he would like to see with various countries including Japan. Tokyo and Washington are engaged in difficult trade talks as Trump's administration seeks to lower the US trade deficit.

"Almost all countries in this world take tremendous advantage of the United States ... Like even Japan on the treaty, we have a treaty with Japan. If Japan is attacked, we will fight World War Three," Trump said.

"We will go in and we will protect them and we will fight with our lives and with our treasure. We will fight at all costs, right? But if we’re attacked, Japan doesn’t have to help us at all. They can watch it on a Sony television, the attack."

Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, asked about the remarks, said the two governments had not discussed revising the treaty and dismissed the notion that the pact was unfair.

"The obligations of the United States and Japan ... are balanced between both countries," he told a news conference.

Under the decades-old US-Japan security treaty, the United States has committed to defending Japan, which renounced the right to wage war after its defeat in World War Two.

Japan in return provides military bases that Washington uses to project power deep into Asia, including the biggest concentration of US Marines outside the United States on Okinawa, and the forward deployment of an aircraft carrier strike group at the Yokosuka naval base near Tokyo.

Trump is scheduled to hold nine bilateral meetings, with nations such as Japan, China and Russia, at the June 28-29 G20 summit.

A deterioration in US-Japan ties that resulted in an end to the security pact, which puts Japan under the US nuclear umbrella, could force Washington to withdraw a major portion of its military forces from Asia at a time when China’s military power is growing.

It would also force Japan to seek new alliances in the region and bolster its own defences, raising concern about nuclear proliferation in the tense region.

On a visit to Japan in May, Trump said he expected Japan’s military to reinforce US forces throughout Asia and elsewhere as Tokyo bolsters the ability of its forces to operate further from its shores.

Abe, who has cultivated warm ties with Trump since the US leader took office, has pledged to strengthen Japan's defences. He also wants to revise the nation's post-war, pacifist constitution to clarify the ambiguous status of its military.

US President Donald Trump renewed his criticism of the US-Japan security alliance, the linchpin of Tokyo's security policies, ahead of talks with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on the sidelines of a Group of 20 summits in Osaka this week.

US President Donald Trump renewed his criticism of the US-Japan security alliance, the linchpin of Tokyo's security policies, ahead of talks with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on the sidelines of a Group of 20 summits in Osaka this week. Trump was responding to a question in a Fox television interview in Washington on Wednesday about what bilateral deals he would like to see with various countries including Japan. Tokyo and Washington are engaged in difficult trade talks as Trump's administration seeks to lower the US trade deficit. "Almost all countries in this world take tremendous advantage of the United States ... Like even Japan on the treaty, we have a treaty with Japan. If Japan is attacked, we will fight World War Three," Trump said. "We will go in and we will protect them and we will fight with our lives and with our treasure. We will fight at all costs, right? But if we’re attacked, Japan doesn’t have to help us at all. They can watch it on a Sony television, the attack." Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, asked about the remarks, said the two governments had not discussed revising the treaty and dismissed the notion that the pact was unfair. "The obligations of the United States and Japan ... are balanced between both countries," he told a news conference. Under the decades-old US-Japan security treaty, the United States has committed to defending Japan, which renounced the right to wage war after its defeat in World War Two. Japan in return provides military bases that Washington uses to project power deep into Asia, including the biggest concentration of US Marines outside the United States on Okinawa, and the forward deployment of an aircraft carrier strike group at the Yokosuka naval base near Tokyo. Trump is scheduled to hold nine bilateral meetings, with nations such as Japan, China and Russia, at the June 28-29 G20 summit. A deterioration in US-Japan ties that resulted in an end to the security pact, which puts Japan under the US nuclear umbrella, could force Washington to withdraw a major portion of its military forces from Asia at a time when China’s military power is growing. It would also force Japan to seek new alliances in the region and bolster its own defences, raising concern about nuclear proliferation in the tense region. On a visit to Japan in May, Trump said he expected Japan’s military to reinforce US forces throughout Asia and elsewhere as Tokyo bolsters the ability of its forces to operate further from its shores. Abe, who has cultivated warm ties with Trump since the US leader took office, has pledged to strengthen Japan's defences. He also wants to revise the nation's post-war, pacifist constitution to clarify the ambiguous status of its military.

If US is attacked, Japan can watch it on Sony television, says Trump as he heads to Osaka for G20

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/japan-pm-shinzo-abe-calls-for-strengthing-ties-with-india-221913">Japan</a> on Thursday flatly rejected as "unacceptable" a South Korean proposal to set up a joint fund to compensate <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/dont-shift-blame-over-wartime-labour-ruling-japan-tells-south-korea-189507">wartime forced labourers</a>, a bitter dispute that has bogged down bilateral ties.

The proposed fund would not solve the issue, the top government spokesman told a regular press conference in Tokyo.

"The South Korean proposal is utterly unacceptable," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told reporters.

"We will continue to urge South Korea to agree to arbitration," he added. Relations between the two US allies have been increasingly strained by a series of rulings from South Korean courts ordering Japanese firms that used wartime forced labour to compensate victims.

Japan's government and the firms involved have rejected the rulings, with Tokyo saying the issue was settled when the two countries normalised relations.

Last month, Tokyo proposed the issue be put to arbitration under the terms of an agreement signed by the two countries in 1965 when ties were normalised.

The agreement calls for the two countries to set up an arbitration panel if they cannot resolve a dispute through diplomatic negotiations.

South Korea on Wednesday offered a counterproposal that would see South Korean and Japanese firms, including those involved in the court cases, set up a voluntary fund to compensate the victims.

"If Tokyo accepts our offer, our government is willing to review the Japanese government's request (to discuss the issue)," Seoul said in a statement.

Japan and South Korea are both democracies, market economies and US allies, but their relationship has been strained for decades as a result of Tokyo's brutal 1910-45 colonial rule over the Korean peninsula.

The tense ties between Tokyo and Seoul come amid diplomatic efforts to persuade North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to give up his nuclear weapons, to ease one of the key security risks for the region.

When relations were normalised, Tokyo agreed on a reparations package that included grants and cheap loans intended to cover victims of various wartime policies. Japan argues that the package should have permanently resolved the issue.

Japan on Thursday flatly rejected as "unacceptable" a South Korean proposal to set up a joint fund to compensate wartime forced labourers, a bitter dispute that has bogged down bilateral ties.

Japan on Thursday flatly rejected as "unacceptable" a South Korean proposal to set up a joint fund to compensate wartime forced labourers, a bitter dispute that has bogged down bilateral ties. The proposed fund would not solve the issue, the top government spokesman told a regular press conference in Tokyo. "The South Korean proposal is utterly unacceptable," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told reporters. "We will continue to urge South Korea to agree to arbitration," he added. Relations between the two US allies have been increasingly strained by a series of rulings from South Korean courts ordering Japanese firms that used wartime forced labour to compensate victims. Japan's government and the firms involved have rejected the rulings, with Tokyo saying the issue was settled when the two countries normalised relations. Last month, Tokyo proposed the issue be put to arbitration under the terms of an agreement signed by the two countries in 1965 when ties were normalised. The agreement calls for the two countries to set up an arbitration panel if they cannot resolve a dispute through diplomatic negotiations. South Korea on Wednesday offered a counterproposal that would see South Korean and Japanese firms, including those involved in the court cases, set up a voluntary fund to compensate the victims. "If Tokyo accepts our offer, our government is willing to review the Japanese government's request (to discuss the issue)," Seoul said in a statement. Japan and South Korea are both democracies, market economies and US allies, but their relationship has been strained for decades as a result of Tokyo's brutal 1910-45 colonial rule over the Korean peninsula. The tense ties between Tokyo and Seoul come amid diplomatic efforts to persuade North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to give up his nuclear weapons, to ease one of the key security risks for the region. When relations were normalised, Tokyo agreed on a reparations package that included grants and cheap loans intended to cover victims of various wartime policies. Japan argues that the package should have permanently resolved the issue.

Japan rejects South Korea deal over wartime forced labour

Japan's foreign minister was in South Korea for a rare visit Wednesday, armed with a list of issues Tokyo wants to push onto the agenda of a looming summit between North and South Korea.

The first such visit in more than two years comes at a time of frenetic diplomatic activity in Northeast Asia, ahead of the North's planned summits with South Korean President Moon Jae-in and US President Donald Trump.&nbsp

North Korea's young leader Kim Jong Un met Chinese President Xi Jinping in his first overseas trip last month.

Japan has largely remained on the sidelines, with suggestions last month of the third summit between Kim and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe quickly petering out.

Instead, Tokyo has found itself forced to rely on the US and South Korea to tackle its concerns regarding the North, which last year test-fired several missiles that flew over Japan, sparking security concerns.

Tokyo's top government spokesman Yoshihide Suga said "it is extremely important that Japan, the US, and South Korea share information and coordinate closely" ahead of the two summits.

Foreign minister Taro Kono will meet with his South Korean counterpart Kang Kyung-wha on Wednesday morning.&nbsp

As well as Pyongyang's "nuclear and missile issues", Kono has said he will try to ensure that "the abduction issue will be talked about in the North-South summit".

He was referring to Japanese citizens abducted by the North's agents in the 1970s and 80s in a bid to train spies in Japanese language and customs before overseas missions.

The North regularly excoriates Japan over its brutal 1910-45 colonial rule of the Korean peninsula.

But ties between the South and Japan have also remained sour for years due to the controversy over historical issues left unresolved -- including Korean women forced into sexual slavery for Japanese troops during World War II.

Seoul has urged Tokyo to take legal and moral responsibility, while Japan says that the issue was resolved when the two nations reached a controversial deal in 2015 to offer compensations to the victims.&nbsp

Suga said Japan's foreign minister would seek to boost a "forward-looking" bilateral relationship despite the row.

Kim is set to meet Moon on April 27 for a third-ever summit between the two neighbours, and is expected to talk with Trump in May or early June.

Japan -- a key Asian ally of the US and host of 50,000 American troops -- had long supported Trump's hardline position to press Pyongyang to abandon its widely-condemned nuclear and missile weapons programmes.

But Trump's sudden decision to open dialogue with Kim reportedly stoked concerns over whether Japan was being ignored in the regional push to engage the unpredictable North.

The first such visit in more than two years comes at a time of frenetic diplomatic activity in Northeast Asia, ahead of the North's planned summits with South Korean President Moon Jae-in and US President Donald Trump

Japan's foreign minister was in South Korea for a rare visit Wednesday, armed with a list of issues Tokyo wants to push onto the agenda of a looming summit between North and South Korea. The first such visit in more than two years comes at a time of frenetic diplomatic activity in Northeast Asia, ahead of the North's planned summits with South Korean President Moon Jae-in and US President Donald Trump. North Korea's young leader Kim Jong Un met Chinese President Xi Jinping in his first overseas trip last month. Japan has largely remained on the sidelines, with suggestions last month of the third summit between Kim and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe quickly petering out. Instead, Tokyo has found itself forced to rely on the US and South Korea to tackle its concerns regarding the North, which last year test-fired several missiles that flew over Japan, sparking security concerns. Tokyo's top government spokesman Yoshihide Suga said "it is extremely important that Japan, the US, and South Korea share information and coordinate closely" ahead of the two summits. Foreign minister Taro Kono will meet with his South Korean counterpart Kang Kyung-wha on Wednesday morning. As well as Pyongyang's "nuclear and missile issues", Kono has said he will try to ensure that "the abduction issue will be talked about in the North-South summit". He was referring to Japanese citizens abducted by the North's agents in the 1970s and 80s in a bid to train spies in Japanese language and customs before overseas missions. The North regularly excoriates Japan over its brutal 1910-45 colonial rule of the Korean peninsula. But ties between the South and Japan have also remained sour for years due to the controversy over historical issues left unresolved -- including Korean women forced into sexual slavery for Japanese troops during World War II. Seoul has urged Tokyo to take legal and moral responsibility, while Japan says that the issue was resolved when the two nations reached a controversial deal in 2015 to offer compensations to the victims. Suga said Japan's foreign minister would seek to boost a "forward-looking" bilateral relationship despite the row. Kim is set to meet Moon on April 27 for a third-ever summit between the two neighbours, and is expected to talk with Trump in May or early June. Japan -- a key Asian ally of the US and host of 50,000 American troops -- had long supported Trump's hardline position to press Pyongyang to abandon its widely-condemned nuclear and missile weapons programmes. But Trump's sudden decision to open dialogue with Kim reportedly stoked concerns over whether Japan was being ignored in the regional push to engage the unpredictable North.

Japan Finance Minister to voice North Korea concerns in rare Seoul visit

yoshihide-suga

Yoshihide Suga, News on Yoshihide Suga, stories on Yoshihide Suga, articles on Yoshihide Suga, Yoshihide Suga stories at Wion, Yoshihide Suga news, Yoshihide Suga latest news

yoshihide suga

Japanese Lawmaker Tsukasa Akimoto arrested on suspicion of accepting bribes over casino

Japan's Abe tells cabinet to compile stimulus package to support economy

If US is attacked, Japan can watch it on Sony television, says Trump as he heads to Osaka for G20

Japan rejects South Korea deal over wartime forced labour

Japan Finance Minister to voice North Korea concerns in rare Seoul visit