Japan hopes to strengthen its relations with Sweden further as partners sharing basic values, Kishida added.
Updated 29 June 2022
JIJI press
MADRID: Japanese Prime Minister KISHIDA Fumio on Wednesday expressed support for Sweden’s bid to join NATO in a meeting with his Swedish counterpart, Magdalena Andersson, on Wednesday.
“We support (Sweden’s) historic decision. We also express our respect for its efforts,” Kishida told Andersson.
NATO, which opened a two-day summit in Madrid on Wednesday, is expected to grant membership to Sweden and Finland after Turkey switched to support their participation.
Kishida said that Japan and Sweden will hold the presidency of the Group of Seven major powers and the European Union, respectively, next year.
Japan hopes to strengthen its relations with Sweden further as partners sharing basic values, Kishida added.
Andersson expressed gratitude for Japan’s strong action against Russia in response to its invasion of Ukraine.
* This article originally appeared on Arab News Japan, click here to read it.
Video shows the brazen jewel thieves breaking into display cases
Four suspects are in police custody over the October 19 heist
Updated 6 sec ago
AFP
PARIS: Footage of the spectacular robbery at the Louvre Museum has been broadcast for the first time on French television, showing the brazen jewel thieves breaking into display cases. The images, filmed by surveillance cameras, were shown by the TF1 and public France Televisions channels on Sunday evening, three months after the hugely embarrassing break-in in October. They show the two burglars, one wearing a black balaclava and a yellow high-visibility jacket, the other dressed in black with a motorcycle helmet, as they force their way into the Apollo Gallery. After breaking in through a reinforced window with high-powered disk cutters, they begin slicing into display cases under the eyes of several staff members who do not intervene. Managers at the Louvre have stressed that staff are not trained to confront thieves and are asked to prioritize the evacuation of visitors. The security failures highlighted by the break-in on a Sunday morning in broad daylight have cast a harsh spotlight on management of the institution and director Laurence des Cars. Trade unions are pressing for more recruitment and better maintenance of the vast former royal palace, launching several days of strikes in recent months. Another stoppage on Monday forced a full closure for the third time since December, leaving thousands of tourists disappointed outside again. Four suspects are in police custody over the October 19 heist, including the two suspected thieves, but the eight stolen items of French crown jewels worth an estimated $102 million have not been found. During the roughly four minutes that the two men were inside the gallery, one staff member can be seen holding a bollard used to orient visitors through the gallery, according to France Televisions. The images, as well as multiple DNA samples found at the scene, form a key part of the ongoing criminal investigation into the robbery. Details of the footage have been reported in French newspapers, including Le Parisien. Metal bars have been installed over the windows of the Apollo Gallery since the break-in.
