Overview

• Former abductee Hitomi Soga led a signature drive on Sado Island on Oct. 5, the day Megumi Yokota turned 61, urging renewed action to resolve the North Korea abductions.
• The Japan Meteorological Agency said a tropical depression near the Ogasawara Islands is expected to strengthen into a typhoon and track west, warning of strong winds, high waves and sudden heavy rain through Oct. 6.
• In Tochigi’s Nasu-Shiobara, police and firefighters searched for an 83-year-old orienteering competitor who was confirmed through six of nine checkpoints; the search will resume on Oct. 6.
• Rescuers in Komatsu, Ishikawa, responded to a mountain landslide that buried a man in his 30s as his companion suffered a broken left leg, and in Shizuoka’s Numazu Port a sightseeing boat struck a quay, injuring about 13 with no severe cases reported.
• New LDP leader Sanae Takaichi met senior adviser Tarō Asō at party headquarters on Oct. 5 to discuss party personnel decisions she aims to finalize early this week.