JAPANESE WARSHIPS VISIT NEW ZEALAND CAPITAL FOR FIRST TIME IN ALMOST 90 YEARS - WELLINGTON NEW ZEALAND

JAPANESE WARSHIPS VISIT NEW ZEALAND CAPITAL FOR FIRST TIME IN ALMOST 90 YEARS - WELLINGTON NEW ZEALAND  

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WELLINGTON

Japanese warships docked in New Zealand ’s capital Friday for the first time in almost 90 years amid efforts by Tokyo to deepen its strategic ties in the South Pacific Ocean.

Two destroyers with more than 500 crew on board sailed into Wellington harbor accompanied by the New Zealand navy ship HMNZS Canterbury. The JS Ise and destroyer JS Suzunami were on an Indo-Pacific deployment and arrived from Sydney, where Japan’s military took part this month in war games involving New Zealand, Australia and other countries.

The Wellington visit was a ceremonial one, but it came as Japan, whose only treaty ally is the United States, has increasingly sought to deepen bilateral military cooperation amid ongoing regional tensions.

“Our defense force are developing cooperative work, not only with New Zealand and Australia but also many Pacific Island countries,” Japan’s envoy to Wellington, Makoto Osawa, told reporters Friday. “Our main goal is the free and open Indo-Pacific.”

The ambassador’s remarks followed the announcement Tuesday by Australia’s government that Japanese firm Mitsubishi Heavy Industries had won the bid for a contract to build Australian warships, beating out a German firm. While officials in Canberra said the Japanese proposal was the best and cheapest, they also hailed it as the biggest defense industry agreement between the countries.

New Zealand too has sought to shore up its strategic and military relations in Asia as part of a foreign policy reset in recent years that the government says has turned more attention on Pacific cooperation and security. Officials in Wellington announced in July that work had started on a defense logistics agreement with Japan, intended to make it easier for the countries’ militaries to work together.

Japanese naval vessels do not often make visits so far south in the Pacific Ocean, but the rich and strategically important waters of New Zealand, Australia and smaller Pacific Island countries are increasingly contested by the world’s major powers, making it the site of a fierce battle for influence between Beijing and Western nations.

Although remote, New Zealand has recently been drawn into more fraught questions of regional security. In February, live firing exercises by Chinese naval frigates in the Tasman Sea between New Zealand and Australia drew alarm from those countries’ governments after flights were forced to divert at short notice.

The last port visit to Wellington by a Japanese naval vessel was in 1936, New Zealand’s military said. A Japanese ship visited New Zealand’s largest city, Auckland, in 2016.

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VIRAL - JAPAN SUMMER HOLIDAY TRAVEL RUSH UNDERWAY AS TRAINS, FLIGHTS FULL- TOKYO JAPAN

VIRAL - JAPAN SUMMER HOLIDAY TRAVEL RUSH UNDERWAY AS TRAINS, FLIGHTS FULL- TOKYO JAPAN

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TOKYO

Japan's summer holiday travel rush got underway Saturday, with many shinkansen bullet train services and flights fully booked as people returned to their hometowns or set off on domestic and overseas vacations.

JR Tokyo Station was crowded from the early morning as all seats on the Nozomi shinkansen bullet train services to the major metropolises of Nagoya, Osaka and Fukuoka were booked out, with long lines of passengers seeking unreserved seats on other trains.

Traffic jams snaked along the country's expressways, while travelers at train stations crowded concourses and waiting rooms to shelter from the summer heat on the platforms.

Keisuke Nakagawa, 7, who was returning with his father to Otsu in Shiga Prefecture, western Japan, from Chiba Prefecture neighboring Tokyo, said he planned to play in the water at Lake Biwa and see his grandparents.

Throngs of people passed through JR Shin-Osaka Station on the Tokaido and Sanyo shinkansen lines in western Japan. Karin Takimura, 10, from Utsunomiya city in Tochigi Prefecture, met her father in Osaka before they set off on a family trip to Hiroshima.

"I learned about Itsukushima Shrine in school, and want to go and see it," she said.

Yoko Nishio, 75, and her friends, all wearing matching t-shirts, were headed to western prefecture of Kochi to perform at the yosakoi dance festival there. "We've been practicing since June," she said. "Even though it is supposed to rain, we hope to enjoy dancing."

A malfunction of the E8-series shinkansen trains in June had led to a reduction in the number of direct trains between Tokyo and northeastern Yamagata Prefecture, with regular services resuming only at the beginning of the month.

"It is challenging to make transfers with small children," said Takamichi Okudaira, 36, at JR Yamagata Station on his way home to Sagae in the prefecture with his family after coming from Saitama, near Tokyo. "I am grateful to be able to make it here directly."

Rail operators said Tokaido Shinkansen bookings were nearly full on Saturday morning for bullet trains departing from Tokyo.

While regular trains on the Yamagata Shinkansen are operating normally, the number of extraordinary services has decreased, with operators calling for passengers to spread out their travel dates.

All Nippon Airways and Japan Airlines flights departing from Tokyo's Haneda airport were fully booked out on routes to Okinawa Prefecture in southern Japan, where the new theme park Junglia Okinawa opened last month.

Departure flights from the Narita airport, the other hub serving the capital, were also robust.

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VIRAL - JAPAN AT NUCLEAR CROSSROADS 80 YEARS AFTER A-BOMBINGS AS SURVIROS AGE - NAGASAKI JAPAN

VIRAL - JAPAN AT NUCLEAR CROSSROADS 80 YEARS AFTER A-BOMBINGS AS SURVIROS AGE - NAGASAKI JAPAN

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NAGASAKI

Eighty years after the U.S. atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan faces with growing urgency the question of how to carry forward the moral voice for ridding the world of nuclear weapons as generational memory fades and nuclear risks rise amid the advancement of technology.

Atomic bomb survivors, who have helped shape the nuclear taboo over the past decades, are now on average over the age of 86, meaning that the generation of those who witnessed firsthand the horrific effects of nuclear weapons is nearing its end, leaving a void increasingly difficult to fill.

Positioned close to an assertive China and North Korea that is honing its nuclear capabilities, the Japanese government is unlikely to give up its reliance on the U.S. nuclear deterrent anytime soon, despite viewing its mission as advocating for a world without nuclear weapons.

Following this week's 80th atomic bomb commemorative events, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said at a press conference Saturday that the government is committed to defending the country and its people, while at the same time working to eliminate nuclear weapons.

"So how do we balance these two issues? I firmly believe that we have to fulfill both responsibilities," he said.

Heigo Sato, a professor with expertise on security issues at Takushoku University in Tokyo, said Japan, the only country to have suffered nuclear attacks in war, should continue to play a key role in leading global efforts toward nuclear disarmament through what he calls a "multiple-pronged approach," given the challenges seen in international treaties regarding nuclear weapons.

While the U.N. nuclear ban treaty lacks the support of nuclear weapon states, a broader arms control regime based on the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty is increasingly under strain. In June, the United States carried out air strikes on Iran to degrade its nuclear programs, leading Tehran to issue threats to withdraw from the NPT.

"We should neither be too dominated by talks on nuclear deterrence, nor be obsessed with the nuclear ban treaty," Sato said, suggesting that other approaches could include reinforcing a system to prevent nuclear proliferation or "fostering an international social movement that rejects nuclear weapons."

As nuclear weapon states continue to modernize and expand their arsenals amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine, conflicts in the Midde East and other geopolitical tensions, the landscape could be further complicated as artificial intelligence is eventually incorporated into nuclear command and control systems.

Melissa Parke of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, which won the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize, warned of a "perilous" nuclear age in which AI, rather than human judgment, drives decision-making.

She argues that this technological detachment makes it all the more urgent that policymakers heed the messages of those who have experienced the consequences of nuclear weapons firsthand.

"We need global leaders to be listening to the hibakusha (survivors) about the reality of what nuclear weapons actually do to people. They talk in very abstract terms about nuclear weapons and nuclear deterrence," said Parke. "But the reality is actually what the hibakusha are talking about."

The testimonies of the survivors to convey the humanitarian consequences of nuclear weapons can only increase its significance as time passes, with both the Hiroshima and Nagasaki city governments training future generations to become "storytellers" to carry forward the account.

But Sato is doubtful about the effectiveness of such efforts, saying that future storytellers are "no different from a game of telephone" as they are essentially recounting someone else's story.

"As with any game of telephone, the further along the chain you go, the more the message gets distorted or loses impact," he said.

Mitsuhiro Hayashida, whose grandfather survived the atomic blast in Nagasaki, said a broader understanding of history, including Japan's aggression in the lead-up to and during World War II, will help encourage the youth to link the stories with present day action to realize peace.

In contrast to Germany, where children study the history of World War II in the hope of preventing future atrocities, the discourse in Japan tends to focus on victimhood, he said.

"We need to explain the atomic bombings not just as isolated events, but in connection with the broader history of the war -- why that war happened, and what kind of reflection followed in postwar Japan," said the 33-year-old, who founded Peace Education Lab Nagasaki in 2023 to provide such training.

While the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize last year to Nihon Hidankyo, Japan's leading group of atomic bomb survivors, has helped to reinvigorate citizens' movements and individual activists, a significant impact on a government policy level has yet to be seen.

Terumi Tanaka, 93, who has long played a key role in Nihon Hidankyo, said that the government, as a democracy, reflects the will of the people.

"If we have a government that supports policies like nuclear deterrence, ultimately, it's the responsibility of the citizens," Tanaka, a co-chair of the group, said at an event in Nagasaki on Friday.

For Tanaka, who was exposed to the bombing in the city at age 13, seeing his efforts culminate in the signing and ratification of the nuclear ban treaty by Japan and meaningful steps toward eliminating nuclear weapons is one of his greatest wishes in life.

"If we can begin to see a path to abolition, I think I can finally say farewell with peace in my heart," he said.

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JAPAN PUBLISHER SORRY FOR COLUMN TARGETING PEOPLE WITH FOREIGN ROOTS - TOKYO JAPAN

JAPAN PUBLISHER SORRY FOR COLUMN TARGETING PEOPLE WITH FOREIGN ROOTS - TOKYO JAPAN 

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TOKYO

A Japanese publisher has apologized for running a column in its weekly magazine last month that was criticized as discriminatory toward people with foreign roots and for promoting xenophobia.

In the column in the July 31 issue of "Shukan Shincho," published by Shinchosha, journalist Masayuki Takayama discussed naturalization and attacked author Ushio Fukazawa -- who is of Korean descent -- for speaking out against discriminatory attitudes in Japan.

Shinchosha said in a statement, "We offer our sincerest apologies. We are acutely aware of, and take responsibility for, our shortcomings as a publisher."

"We recognize that while 'freedom of speech and expression' is extremely important, the scope of that freedom varies depending on the subject matter and social context, and changes over time," the publisher added.

At a press conference the same day, Fukazawa said, "I wonder how frightened people with foreign roots must feel." She added, "I hope Japan remains a country where people from diverse backgrounds can live with pride."

Comments condemning the column from around 40 individuals, including novelist Natsuo Kirino and manga artist Akiko Higashimura, were also presented.

In the column, Takayama also bashed model Kiko Mizuhara for accusing a producer in the Japanese film industry of sexual harassment, saying, "She was born to an American and a Korean, and has absolutely no connection or ties to a Japanese."

"It's hard to accept someone using a Japanese name while sounding as if they are exposing Japan from the inside. Shouldn't they speak openly under a foreign name instead?" he wrote.

Shinchosha previously suspended publication of its monthly magazine "Shincho 45" after it was lambasted in 2018 for running a contributing piece that used a derogatory term to describe the LGBT community.

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JAPAN SETS RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURE OF 41.8 C IN GUNMA; WORRIES MOUNT OVER RICE CROPS - TOKYO JAPAN

JAPAN SETS RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURE OF 41.8 C IN GUNMA; WORRIES MOUNT OVER RICE CROPS - TOKYO JAPAN

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TOKYO

Japan recorded its highest-ever temperature of 41.8 degrees Celsius on Tuesday, prompting the government to advise residents to stay indoors and promise steps to ease weather-related damage to rice crops.

The city of Isesaki, in Gunma prefecture, set the record to surpass the previous high of 41.2 degrees Celsius marked last week in the city of Tamba in Hyogo Prefecture, the country's meteorological agency said.

In Tokyo, the highest temperature was 40.4 degrees in Ome City.

"Today is murderously hot," said 63-year-old auto worker Takeshi Ishikawa, who was filling his water bottle at a fountain in central Tokyo.

So far this summer, more than 53,000 people have been taken to hospital for heatstroke, according to the Fire and Disaster Management Agency.

Average temperatures across Japan have continued to climb after marking a record high in July for the third year in a row, while the northeastern region along the Sea of Japan saw critically low levels of rainfall, raising concerns over the rice harvest.

High temperatures have caused a proliferation of stink bugs in some rice-growing areas, even as the government is set to officially adopt a new policy on Tuesday of increased rice production to prevent future shortages.

"We need to act with speed and a sense of crisis to prevent damage" from high temperatures, Agriculture Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said at a press conference. The government will offer support for pest control and measures to tackle drought, he said.

Extreme heat in 2023 had damaged the quality of rice, causing an acute shortage last year that was exacerbated by the government's misreading of supply and demand. That led to historically high prices of the all-important staple food, causing a national crisis.

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JAPAN'S OLDEST PERSON IS A 114-YEAR-OLD RETIRED DOCTOR WHO CARRIED AN OLYMPIC TORCH IN YEAR 2021 - TOKYO JAPAN

JAPAN'S OLDEST PERSON IS A 114-YEAR-OLD RETIRED DOCTOR WHO CARRIED AN OLYMPIC TORCH IN YEAR 2021 - TOKYO JAPAN

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TOKYO

Shigeko Kagawa, a 114-year-old retired physician from Nara Prefecture, has became Japan’s oldest living person, following the death of 114-year-old Miyoko Hiroyasu, according to Japan's Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare.

Kagawa, a symbol of Japan’s extraordinary longevity, graduated from medical school before World War II, served at a hospital in Osaka during the war, and later ran her family’s clinic as an obstetrician and gynecologist. She retired at 86.

At 109, Kagawa became one of the oldest torchbearers in Olympic history during the Tokyo 2021 torch relay.

“I don’t have any,” Kagawa told TOS News in 2023 when asked about the secret to her longevity. “I just play every day. My energy is my greatest asset. I go where I want, eat what I want and do what I want. I’m free and independent.”

Her predecessor as Japan's oldest person led a similarly active life. Born in 1911, Hiroyasu studied art in Tokyo, taught in Hiroshima Prefecture and raised three children.

She died in a nursing home in Oita Prefecture, where she spent her days reading newspapers, sketching and playing card games.

“I am grateful to be healthy,” she said on her 113th birthday.

Despite an overall population decline, Japan’s elderly population continues to grow. As of September 1, 2024, a record 36 million people — 29% of the population — were aged 65 or older, the highest proportion of seniors in the world. Those aged 80 and above now make up 10% of the population, according to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications.

There are 95,119 centenarians across the country.

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HIROSHIMA MARK 80 YEARS ANNIVERSARY OF ATOMIC BOMBING - HIROSHIMA JAPAN

HIROSHIMA MARK 80 YEARS ANNIVERSARY OF ATOMIC BOMBING - HIROSHIMA JAPAN 

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HIROSHIMA

Hiroshima called Wednesday for young people to take on the challenge of ridding the world of nuclear weapons and urged nations to rise above self-interest to end conflicts, as the city marked the 80th anniversary of the U.S. atomic bombing amid growing global instability.

"Despite the current turmoil at the nation-state level, we, the people, must never give up," Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui said in the Peace Declaration read during the annual memorial ceremony, which took place after Japan's leading group of atomic bomb survivors was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize last year.

"Our youth, the leaders of future generations, must recognize that misguided policies regarding military spending, national security, and nuclear weapons could bring utterly inhumane consequences," he said. "We urge them to step forward with this understanding and lead civil society toward consensus."

A moment of silence was observed at 8:15 a.m., the exact time when the uranium bomb was dropped by the U.S. bomber Enola Gay and detonated over the city on Aug. 6, 1945, in the final stage of World War II, killing an estimated 140,000 people by the end of the year.

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said it is Japan's mission as the only country to have experienced the horror of nuclear devastation in war to advance global efforts to realize a world free of nuclear weapons, especially amid increasing divisions over disarmament.

With the 80-year milestone, a record 120 nations and regions attended the ceremony at the Peace Memorial Park, located near the hypocenter, according to the city of Hiroshima.

Following a controversy last year over whether to invite countries involved in armed conflicts to Japan's atomic bomb commemorations, which are aimed at promoting peace, Hiroshima has shifted from sending invitations to simply notifying all countries and regions of its event.

The ceremony, attended by around 55,000 people, followed the awarding of last year's Nobel Peace Prize to Nihon Hidankyo, also known as the Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations, for its decades-long campaign against nuclear weapons using the testimony of survivors.

But opportunities to hear directly from those who witnessed the atomic bombings are declining, with the combined number of officially recognized survivors of the attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki falling below 100,000 for the first time. Their average age exceeded 86.

The momentum toward nuclear disarmament has diminished in recent years with growing global instability amid the war in Ukraine, the conflict in Gaza, and President Donald Trump's pursuit of an "America First" foreign policy and transactional approach to diplomacy.

In a dangerous escalation of Middle East tensions, the United States in June struck three sites in Iran with the stated aim of destroying its nuclear weapons infrastructure.

Matsui said policymakers in some countries believe "nuclear weapons are essential for national defense" and that the developments "flagrantly disregard the lessons the international community should have learned from the tragedies of history."

Criticizing security policies focused on "narrow self-interest" that foment international conflicts, he urged all world leaders to visit Hiroshima to witness the consequences of atomic bombs and called for nations strengthening their military forces to engage in dialogue aimed at abandoning reliance on nuclear weapons.

Matsui also reiterated the city's call for Japan to sign the U.N. treaty outlawing nuclear weapons, saying doing so would comply with the wishes of the atomic bomb survivors, including Nihon Hidankyo.

While advocating for a world without nuclear weapons, Japan has not joined the nuclear ban treaty as a complete prohibition would conflict with its policy of relying on U.S. nuclear deterrence.

Ishiba said in his speech that the Japanese government will explore specific steps both nuclear and non-nuclear states can work together on, without touching on the treaty, which none of the nuclear powers are part of.

Warning that the risk of nuclear conflict is growing, U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres lamented in a statement that "the very weapons that brought such devastation to Hiroshima and Nagasaki are once again being treated as tools of coercion."

But he noted that Nihon Hidankyo's Nobel Prize win was a sign of hope, saying in the statement read out by U.N. disarmament chief Izumi Nakamitsu that "countries must draw strength from the resilience of Hiroshima and from the wisdom" of the survivors.

Many survivors braved the intense summer heat to offer prayers and flowers near the Cenotaph for the A-bomb Victims, an arch-shaped monument at the park, early in the morning.

Among them was Shinobu Ono, who was just 4 years old when the bomb dropped. Her family home, nestled at the foot of a mountain, was spared from the firestorm, but her father, who had been outside at the time, suffered serious burns to his face.

Now 84, Ono said she was too young to fully grasp what happened at the time but returns every year to honor her family and pray for peace.

"I am grateful for the efforts of those who can share their stories. Since I can't contribute, all I can do is pray," she said. "When I look at what is happening in Ukraine now, it just breaks my heart."

The United States and Russia together possess around 90 percent of all nuclear weapons, while China's arsenal has grown faster than any other country's with around 100 warheads added each year since 2023, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute said in its latest annual report.

Three days after the first atomic bomb, nicknamed "Little Boy," decimated Hiroshima in western Japan, a second one, dubbed "Fat Man," was dropped on Nagasaki in the southwest. Japan surrendered to the Allied forces six days later, marking the end of World War II.

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A SCHOOLBOY IN HIROSHIMA KEEPS MEMORIES OF WAR ALIVE WITH GUIDED TOURS - HIROSHIMA JAPAN

A SCHOOLBOY IN HIROSHIMA KEEPS MEMORIES OF WAR ALIVE WITH GUIDED TOURS - HIROSHIMA JAPAN

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HIROSHIMA

Since the age of seven, Japanese schoolboy Shun Sasaki has been offering free guided tours to foreign visitors of the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park with a mission: ensuring that the horrors of nuclear war do not fade from memory with the passage of time.

Aged 12 now, Shun has conveyed that message to some 2,000 visitors, recounting in his imperfect but confident English the experiences of his great-grandmother, a 'hibakusha' who survived the atomic bomb.

"I want them to come to Hiroshima and know about what happened in Hiroshima on August 6," Shun said in English, referring to the day the bomb was dropped in 1945.

"I want them to know how bad is war and how good is peace. Instead of fighting, we should talk to each other about the good things of each other," he said.

About twice a month, Shun makes his way to the peace park wearing a yellow bib with the words "Please feel free to talk to me in English!" splashed across the back, hoping to educate tourists about his hometown.

His volunteer work has earned him the honour of being selected as one of two local children to speak at this year's ceremony to commemorate 80 years since the A-bomb was dropped -- its first use in war.

Shun is now the same age as when his great-grandmother Yuriko Sasaki was buried under rubble when her house, about 1.5 km (0.9 mile) from the hypocentre, collapsed from the force of the blast. She died of colorectal cancer aged 69 in 2002, having survived breast cancer decades earlier.

The uranium bomb instantly killed about 78,000 people and by the end of 1945 the number of dead, including from radiation exposure, reached about 140,000. The U.S. dropped a second atomic bomb on Nagasaki on August 9.

Canadian Chris Lowe said Shun's guided tour provided a level of appreciation that went beyond reading plaques on museum walls.

"To hear that about his family... it surely wrapped it up, brought it home and made it much more personal. So it was outstanding for him to share that," he said.

Shun said he plans to continue with the tours as long as he can.

"The most dangerous thing is to forget what happened a long time ago… so I think we should pass the story to the next generation, and then, never forget it, ever again."

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JAPAN TO INVITE NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT CONFAB CHAIR FOR A-BOMB ANNIVERSARY - TOKYO JAPAN

JAPAN TO INVITE NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT CONFAB CHAIR FOR A-BOMB ANNIVERSARY - TOKYO JAPAN 

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TOKYO

The Japanese government plans to invite Vietnamese Ambassador to the United Nations Do Hung Viet, who will chair next year's major nuclear disarmament conference, to attend the ceremony marking the 80th anniversary of the U.S. atomic bombing of Hiroshima in early August, government sources said Thursday.

It will be the first time a chair of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty review conference, which is held every five years in principle, attends the memorial ceremony, the Foreign Ministry said, citing data since 2000. The move signals Japan's desire to use his presence to help build momentum toward disarmament.

The Japanese government also expects Robert Floyd, head of the body overseeing an international nuclear test-ban treaty, to attend the Aug. 6 ceremony in Hiroshima and the Aug. 9 ceremony in Nagasaki, the other city hit by an atomic bomb.

Floyd has served as executive secretary of the preparatory commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organization since 2021 and previously attended the ceremony in Hiroshima in 2023 at the invitation of the Japanese government led by then Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.

The CTBT, adopted by the U.N. General Assembly in 1996, prohibits countries from carrying out all types of nuclear explosive tests but has yet to enter into force as nuclear powers like the United States and China have not ratified it.

The Japanese government sees the treaty as "a key norm that does not allow nuclear testing and plays an important role in nuclear nonproliferation," according to a senior Foreign Ministry official.

A total of 178 countries, including Japan, have ratified the CTBT, but for it to take effect, it must be signed and ratified by 44 treaty-defined nuclear technology holder states. Nine of these, including China, North Korea and the United States, have yet to sign or ratify.

While advocating for a world without nuclear weapons, Japan has not joined the U.N. nuclear ban treaty, as a complete prohibition conflicts with its policy of relying on U.S. nuclear deterrence for protection against potential threats.

The Japanese government has called for maintaining and strengthening the NPT regime, which includes both nuclear and non-nuclear states.

Amid deep divisions between nuclear-armed and non-nuclear states, the NPT review conference has failed to adopt a final document for two consecutive meetings. The most recent gathering in 2022 flopped due to opposition from Russia.

The chair of next year's NPT review conference is expected to be invited to Japan for a four-day visit starting Monday, the sources said.

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