TOKYO (AP) -- IOC member John Coates, who oversees planning for next year's Tokyo Olympics, has claimed the postponed games could help "kick start" Japan's economy. Japan has been devastated like many countries by the coronavirus pandemic and could be in a recession when the Olympics are to open on July 23, 2021. "These games are a very positive opportunity for an economic stimulus," Coates said in a teleconference on Thursday with the Tokyo organizing committee. "T

US President Donald Trump has rejected South Korea's offer to raise its contribution to shared defense costs by at least 13 percent, a news report said Friday. Trump made the decision last week after consultations with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Secretary of Defense Mark Esper, Reuters said, quoting unidentified current and former US officials. Esper made a phone call to South Korean Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo earlier this week to press Seoul to quickly agree to much higher con

The United States has cancelled its preliminary designation of South Korea as a country that engages in illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing, lifting concerns of possible sanctions, the oceans ministry said Wednesday.     In September, the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) made the preliminary decision as it identified South Korea as "failing to apply sufficient sanctions to deter its vessels from engaging in fishing activities that

BEIJING (AFP) - China on Sunday slammed officials from the US and other countries for congratulating Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen after she was re-elected with a landslide victory in a stunning rebuke of Beijing's campaign to isolate the self-ruled island. Tsai, who had pitched herself as a defender of liberal democratic values against an increasingly authoritarian China, secured a record-breaking win in Saturday's presidential election.US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, as well as top diplomat

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) -- Iran deployed riot police in the capital on Sunday expecting more protests after its Revolutionary Guard admitted to accidentally shooting down a passenger plane at a time of soaring tensions with the United States. Riot police and plainclothes officers could be seen massing in Vali-e Asr Square in Tehran as calls circulated for protests later in the day. A large black banner unveiled in the square bore the names of those killed in the plane crash.The plane cr

Iran announced Saturday that its military  'unintentionally' shot down a Ukrainian jetliner, killing all 176 aboard. The statement came Saturday morning  and blamed ``human error'' for the shootdown.The jetliner, a Boeing 737 operated by Ukrainian International Airlines, went down on the outskirts of Tehran during takeoff just hours after Iran launched a barrage of missiles at US forces. Iran had denied for several days that a missile downed the aircraft. But then the US and Canada, ci

A South Korean statue symbolizing Japan’s sexual enslavement of women from Korea and elsewhere in Asia was put back on display Tuesday at a major Japanese art show in Nagoya.The statue, representing Korean women who were forced into sexual service for the imperial Japanese military during World War II, and its umbrella exhibition -- “After ‘Freedom of Expression?’” -- were withdrawn from the Aichi Triennale 2019 in Nagoya just days after the Japanese art show opened

South Korea on Tuesday called for a successful replenishment of the UN Green Climate Fund to better deal with climate change.The fund -- launched in 2010 -- aims to channel money from industrialized nations to developing countries to help them tackle climate change-related problems.The fund has so far received $7 billion from about 40 countries, including South Korea and the United States. South Korea contributed $100 million to the fund. "The expansion of public finances and a successful r

South Korean President Moon Jae-in formally expressed support Wednesday for a major press freedom initiative by Reporters Without Borders, meeting with its visiting leader.Moon greeted Christophe Deloire, secretary general of the Paris-based international non-governmental organization, also known as Reporters Sans Frontieres, at Cheong Wa Dae.Joining their half-hour meeting were Cedric Alviani, director of the RSF's East Asia bureau in Taipei, and Jung Kyu-sung, head of the Journalists' Associat

President Donald Trump said his administration has reached an initial trade accord with Japan over tariffs and that he intends to enter into the agreement in coming weeks.In a notice to Congress on Monday, Trump also said the US will be entering an “executive agreement” with Japan over digital trade.There was no mention by Trump if he’ll end his threat to slap tariffs on Japanese auto imports as part of the trade deal.“My administration looks forward to continued collabor

World shares were mixed on Tuesday and oil prices eased back pending updates on restoring output at a Saudi Aramco oil processing plant damaged by an attack over the weekend.Chinese benchmarks led declines in Asia after the credit ratings agency Moody's downgraded Hong Kong, citing its recent political turmoil.  Germany's DAX lost 0.2% to 12,362 after the ZEW index of economic confidence dropped again in September, pointing to the likelihood of a brief recession before a pick-up at the end

Any decision on whether to deploy intermediate-range missiles to Asia will be made jointly with US allies in the region, not unilaterally, a senior US official said Tuesday.Andrea Thompson, under secretary of state for arms control and international security, was commenting on Washington's push to deploy the missiles in Asia following its withdrawal from a missile treaty with Russia earlier this month.South Korea, a US treaty ally that hosts 28,500 American troops, has been cited as a candidate

The United States will consult allies and partners to decide where to deploy intermediate-range missiles in Asia and elsewhere to maintain deterrence after withdrawing from an anti-missile treaty with Russia, Secretary of Defense Mark Esper has said.The comments came after the US pledged to begin testing new missiles and deploy them around the world, including in Asia, after it formally pulled out of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty with Russia last week."Our exit from the

The foreign ministers who participated in a regional forum in Thailand this week welcomed the impromptu summit between Washington and Pyongyang in June and looked forward to the resumption of their nuclear talks, its chair's statement showed.The ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) took place in Bangkok on Friday and brought together top diplomats from the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and 17 other countries. "The ministers welcomed the meeting between US President Donald T

Despite what Japan cites as reasons for its curbs on exports to South Korea, the country may have hidden motives that include an attempt to evade responsibility for its past wrongdoings, officials here say.On July 4, Tokyo implemented tougher restrictions on South Korea-bound shipments of three materials -- resist, etching gas and fluorinated polyimide -- that are essential in the production of semiconductors and display panels.The only reason Tokyo has offered so far for its export restrictions