The Japanese government has decided to withdraw its request that UNESCO register a group of churches and other Christian places as a World Cultural Heritage site. The Cabinet approved the decision on Tuesday after UNESCO’s advisory body asked Japan to review the content of the nomination for the sites. The International Council on Monuments and […]
Japanese government data show that the average monthly salary in 2015 grew from a year earlier, but real wages adjusted for inflation actually fell for a 4th straight year. Labor ministry officials say the average worker earned about 2,700 dollars a month last year. That was the 2nd year it increased. And it was up […]
The Lower House of Japan’s Diet has unanimously adopted a resolution protesting North Korea’s recent rocket launch. The resolution adopted on Tuesday says the North launched what it calls a satellite-carrying rocket on Sunday, despite international calls for restraint. It calls the act a grave challenge that badly damages peace and safety in the region […]
The Philippines will see nearly 5,000 megawatts (MW) from 47 new power facilities being built in the next five years. However, over 70 percent of these new power facilities would be coal-based, government data showed. This is despite the country’s push for renewable energy projects and commitment in the 21st Conference of Parties (COP21) held […]
The Philippines is set to pioneer hybrid rice farming in Malaysia in April as the country’s ASEAN neighbor seeks to raise self-sufficiency in rice production amid its limited rice area. Local hybrid rice and seeds producer SL Agritech Corp. will ship out a minimum of 100 kilos of seeds for an initial pilot testing where […]
Mitsubishi Motors Corp’s Philippines unit plans to locally produce small cars as early as next year to take advantage of a US$600 million (RM2.5 billion) government incentive scheme, the automaker’s domestic head said. Mitsubishi sells the most cars in the Philippines after Toyota Motor Corp, which has also said it was keen to take part […]
The US is working closely with the government to monitor the threat of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria in the Philippines and Southeast Asia. Speaking at the Pandesal Forum in Quezon City, US Ambassador Philip Goldberg said the rhetorical support of the Abu Sayyaf, Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters and Ansar al-Khalifa to ISIS might […]
Third-year students at state-run and other public middle schools fall short of the levels in all four English-language skills. Third-year students at state-run and other public middle schools fall short of the levels in all four English-language skills cited by the education ministry as targets, based on the yardsticks used in the practical English proficiency […]
The World Health Organization says the Zika virus has spread to 32 countries and territories. It warns people to cover up to avoid infection with the mosquito-borne virus. The infections affect mostly the Caribbean and Central and South America, including Brazil and Mexico. The disease is also confirmed in Fiji, Samoa and two other Pacific […]
More foreign travelers are passing through Narita Airport near Tokyo, a major gateway to Japan. Their numbers reached about 1.25 million for the first time last year. The airport’s operator says that’s up 23 percent from the previous year and a record high for the second consecutive year. The operator attributes the growth to the […]
