US military continues Moderna shot campaign in Japan as new emergency measures take effect stripes.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from stripes.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
FA18 jets fly at MCAS Futenma 15 years after return agreement, harm continues with 115 decibel noise
FA18 combat jet stopping by hooking the hook at the back of the plane to the wire hung over the runway, around 5:30 p.m. on April 12 at Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Ginowan (photograph by Keizo Shinzato)
April 13, 2021 Ryukyu Shimpo
On the evening of April 12, exactly 25 years after the agreement was made to completely close U.S. Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Futenma in 1996, four FA18 combat jets from MCAS Iwakuni in Yamaguchi Prefecture arrived one after another to MCAS Futenma, exposing the surrounding cities and towns to explosive noise. Their training continued into the night. Though a quarter of a century has passed since the return agreement, there is no change in the reality of U.S. military aircraft flights causing harm to surrounding residents, and the severity of the situation only continues to increase.
. TOKYO – Another seven people within the U.S. military in Japan had contracted the coronavirus by 6 p.m. Tuesday, according to reports from military installations. Meanwhile, the virus continued to infect thousands in Japan’s two largest cities. The governor of Osaka prefecture, Hirofumi Yoshimura, asked the national government Tuesday for further emergency measures to curb the virus’ spread, according to public broadcaster NHK. Osaka and neighboring Hyogo prefecture were already in a “quasi-emergency,” but Yoshimura wants to close restaurants, amusement parks, department stores and other sites that attract large numbers of people or are shown to facilitate the spread.
There is no doubt about the importance for Japan to maintain close cooperation with the United States.
But Japan cannot protect its own peace and security by simply serving as a part of Washington’s strategy for responding to challenges posed by China.
Tokyo needs to map out its own strategy for dealing with China’s growing might. Its strategic focus should be on preventing the dangerous escalation of the confrontation between the two leading powers through joint diplomatic efforts with the United States and other countries concerned.
Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and U.S. President Joe Biden held their first face-to-face talks on April 16 in Washington.
Biden, Suga Issue Joint Statement After In-person Summit
Posted On
(White House photos)
WASHINGTON The White House issued the following joint statement from President Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga on April 16.
= =
“U.S.-JAPAN GLOBAL PARTNERSHIP FOR A NEW ERA”
President Joseph R. Biden is honored to welcome Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide for the first foreign-leader visit of his presidency. Today, the United States and Japan renew an alliance that has become a cornerstone of peace and security in the Indo-Pacific region and around the world. An ocean separates our countries, but commitments to universal values and common principles, including freedom, democracy, human rights, the rule of law, international law, multilateralism, and a free and fair economic order, unite us.