Tokyo, April 10 (IANS) Japan has downgraded its description of China in its 2026 Diplomatic Bluebook released on Friday, showcasing strained ties between two nations triggered by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s remarks in November, local media reported. In the annual report submitted by Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi at a Cabinet meeting, China is referred to as an “important neighbouring country” instead of “one of the most important bilateral relations” in the 2025 editio…
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Tokyo, April 10 (IANS) Japan plans to release 20 days’ worth of oil reserves from May, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said Friday, adding to the ongoing efforts that began in mid-March.Takaichi revealed the plan at a ministerial meeting on the day to address the Middle East situation amid uncertainty over safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz despite the US-Iran ceasefire deal.The Japanese government began releasing some 50 days’ worth of reserves to the market on March 16 to secure stable su…
Mumbai, April 10 (IANS) Indian equity benchmarks traded sharply higher on Friday, mirroring gains in global markets despite fresh geopolitical tensions and concerns over the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.Sensex climbed as much as 0.82 per cent or 630 points to hit an intra-day high of 77261 in early trade, while Nifty surged 0.85 per cent or 203 points to trade at 23,978.Earlier, the 30-share Sensex opened at 77,121, up 0.64 per cent or 489 points, while the 50-share index began the session at…
New Delhi, April 9 (IANS) World Archery Para Champion and world number one Sheetal Devi is not looking at LA 2028 Paralympics just yet, as she remains rooted in the present, focusing on a step-by-step ascent towards the Para Asian Games later this year in Japan before looking towards the larger goal of the Paralympics. Last month, Sheetal took the honour of the para-archer of the year at the World Archery Awards after a breakthrough 2025 season that included a world title in Gwangju.”I don’t thi…
New Delhi, April 8 (IANS) US President Donald Trump, during his second term in office, is radically altering the close and longstanding ties between India and the United States that had been forged over recent years, as his administration pursues a more isolationist America First policy, and given this, the “new rapprochement between India and the EU is crucially deemed to strengthen stability within the international system”, according to an article.The Trump administration has made a drastic s…
Ahmedabad, April 8 (IANS) The Mumbai‑Ahmedabad Bullet Train project reached a major engineering milestone on Wednesday, with the successful launch of one of its heaviest precast‑prestressed portal beams on the Ahmedabad‑Vadodara railway line in the Maninagar area, officials said. The portal beam, a precast concrete structure weighing nearly 1,360 metric tonnes, measures 34 metres in length with a cross‑section of 5.5 metres by 4.5 metres.Officials said that a total of five such b…
New Delhi, April 8 (IANS) Indian triple jumper Abdulla Aboobacker has set a clear benchmark for a podium finish at the 2026 Asian Games in Japan; the 17-metre mark. After narrowly missing the podium in the last edition, the Commonwealth Games bronze medallist believes that breaching the 17m mark will guarantee a gold or a silver medal in Japan. At the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou, Chinese jumpers Zhu Yaming (17.13m) and Fang Yaoqing (16.93m) bagged the top two spots on the podium, with India’s P…
Seoul, April 8 (IANS) Former Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on Wednesday called for South Korea and Japan to work together, such as at the UN level, to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz, citing deepening supply disruptions from the war against Iran that are affecting the global economy.Ishiba made the remarks during a forum in Seoul, stressing that Iran’s effective blockade of the vital waterway, responsible for about 20 per cent of global energy supplies, is not limited to just a few cou…
Washington, April 8 (IANS) Oil prices dropped sharply after US President Donald Trump said he would pause planned military strikes on Iran for two weeks, easing fears of a wider conflict in the energy-rich Gulf region. US crude futures fell below $100 a barrel, reversing recent gains driven by weeks of tensions around the Strait of Hormuz, a key global oil transit route, The Wall Street Journal said on Tuesday (Local time).The decline followed Trump’s announcement that he would suspend attacks…
New Delhi, April 7 (IANS) As global supply chains realign and businesses look at setting up facilities outside China, India has emerged as a long-term strategic investment destination, with competitive export potential for Japan’s mid-sized companies to partner Indian MSMEs (micro, small and medium enterprises) to drive growth.The India–Japan ‘Joint Vision for the Next Decade’, adopted during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Tokyo in August 2025, encourages cooperation among SMEs (sma…