News Headlines - 20 May 2020

▽Top Tokyo Prosecutor Kurokawa Hit by Gambling Scandal, Urged to Resign - JIJI PRESS

Tokyo High Public Prosecutors Office head Hiromu Kurokawa faced a weekly magazine allegation on Wednesday that he played mahjong for money earlier this month in disregard for Prime Minster Shinzo Abe's state-of-emergency declaration and Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike's stay-at-home request to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus outbreak.
In the wake of the online report by the Shukan Bunshun news magazine, Noritoshi Ishida, policy head of Komeito, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's coalition partner, demanded at a press conference that Kurokawa resign, saying, If (the report) is true, he cannot continue his duties." ... The magazine article said Kurokawa visited a Sankei Shimbun reporter's home on May 1 and played mahjong as a betting game with others including an employee of the Asahi Shimbun, another major Japanese daily, until the small hours of the following day. The prosecutor was also alleged to have played mahjong on May 13, during the coronavirus emergency.

▽Japan suspects missile data leak in Mitsubishi cyberattack - Stripes

The Defense Ministry has been studying a prototype missile known as HGV, which flies at supersonic speeds and is also being developed by the U.S., China and Russia.
The ministry suspects the information might have been stolen from documents sent from several defense equipment makers as part of a bidding process for the project, Mitsubishi Electric did not win the bid, Japanese media reports said.
Mitsubishi said in a statement Wednesday that it had reported to the Defense Ministry in February a possible leak of sensitive information related to a cyberattack earlier this year. Mitsubishi has acknowledged that its personal data on some 8,000 people also might have been leaked.

▽Japan's government approves cash handout for struggling students amid pandemic | The Japan Times

The Cabinet approved Tuesday a program to provide up to ￥200,000 ($1,900) in a cash handout to each of around 430,000 university and other students in the nation struggling financially to pay for tuition or living costs amid the spread of the new coronavirus.
The support measure comes as the pandemic has led to business closures in many regions, and forced students to suspend or cut back on their part-time jobs. Students from overseas are also eligible for the program.
Students from low-income households exempt from residence tax will receive ￥200,000 each, and others ￥100,000.

▽Summer Koshien canceled due to coronavirus pandemic | The Japan Times

The Japan High School Baseball Federation decided Wednesday to cancel this summer's edition of Japan's famed summer high school baseball tournament due to the coronavirus pandemic, meaning the nation's largest amateur sporting event will not be held for the first time since World War II.

▽China exports over 50 bln masks - Xinhua

China has exported a large amount of anti-epidemic supplies since March 1, including 50.9 billion masks, to support fighting against the global COVID-19 pandemic, official data showed.
The country has also exported 216 million protective suits, 81.03 million goggles, 26.43 million infrared thermometers and 1.04 billion pairs of surgical gloves, along with COVID-19 testing kits for 162 million people and 72,700 ventilators during the same period, the General Administration of Customs said Sunday.