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Japan plans to push for women's participation in society, especially in politics, top government spokesperson Hirokazu Matsuno said on Wednesday, after an annual report showed the country was struggling to narrow the gender gap.

The World Economic Forum report measuring gender parity ranked Japan 125th out of 146 countries this year, down from 116th in last year's report.

"We need to humbly accept our country's current situation," Matsuno, the chief cabinet secretary, told reporters during a briefing.

In economic participation and opportunity, a category that examines labour force participation, wage equality and income, Japan was 123th, the lowest among East Asian and the Pacific countries.

Its gender parity in political empowerment was one of the world's lowest, at 138th, behind China, Saudi Arabia and Turkey.

Women account for just two of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's 19 cabinet ministers and roughly a tenth of lower house lawmakers.

Investors, particularly those overseas, are cranking up the pressure on Japanese businesses to diversify their boards, traditionally skewed toward older men.

Norges Bank Investment Management, the world's largest sovereign wealth fund, will oppose the appointment of board chairs for Japanese companies lacking female board members, the Nikkei business daily said in April.

Kishida laid out a gender equality initiative this month, aiming for women to occupy at least 30% of executive positions in top companies by the end of the decade, from 2.2% in July 2022.

Voters and activists have also pushed politicians to take action. The ruling Liberal Democratic Party compiled a plan this month to boost the share of its female lawmakers to 30%. (Reuters)

North Korea on Wednesday criticised U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken's recent visit to Beijing as a "begging trip" to ease tensions in what it called a policy failure to pressure China.

At one of the most significant U.S.-China exchanges since U.S. President Joe Biden took office, Blinken and Chinese President Xi Jinping met on Monday and agreed to stabilise their intense rivalry so it did not veer into conflict.

Blinken said after the meeting on Monday that he urged China to encourage North Korea to stop launching missiles as Beijing holds a "unique position" to press Pyongyang to engage in dialogue.

In a commentary carried by the North's KCNA news agency, Jong Yong Hak, whom it described as an international affairs analyst, said the rare visit was aimed at begging for the relaxation of tensions as the "attempt to press and restrain China may become a boomerang striking a fatal blow to the U.S. economy."

"In a word, the U.S. state secretary's recent junket can never be judged otherwise than a disgraceful begging trip of the provoker admitting the failure of the policy of putting pressure on China," the commentary said.

The commentary said the United States was responsible for escalating regional tensions with "anti-China complexes," such as the QUAD grouping with Japan, India and Australia and the AUKUS pact with Britain and Australia.

"It is the height of the double-dealing and impudence peculiar to the U.S. to provoke first and then talk about the so-called 'responsible control over divergence of opinion,'" the commentary said.

Daniel Kritenbrink, the U.S. assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs who was also on the Beijing trip, is expected to visit South Korea on Wednesday to brief Seoul officials on the two days of talks in China, South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported. (Reuters)

The United States on Wednesday imposed sanctions on Myanmar's defense ministry and two banks used by the ruling military junta to buy arms and other goods from foreign sources.

The U.S. Treasury Department said in a statement the military has relied on foreign sources, including Russian entities under sanctions, to purchase and import arms, equipment and raw materials to manufacture weapons to support its "brutal repression".

Washington accused the defense ministry of importing goods and materiel worth at least $1 billion since the 2021 coup in which the military leaders seized power.

State-owned Myanmar Foreign Trade Bank (MFTB) and Myanma Investment and Commercial Bank (MICB), were also hit with sanctions. The Treasury said they allowed revenue-generating state-owned enterprises, including Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE), access to international markets.

The banks receive and transmit foreign currencies for Myanmar's government.

"Burma’s military regime has leveraged state-run access to international markets to import weapons and materiel, including from sanctioned Russian entities, to continue its violence and oppression," the Treasury's Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, Brian Nelson, said in the statement.

The United States and other Western nations have imposed several rounds of sanctions on Myanmar's military leaders since they seized power in a coup in 2021, overthrowing the democratically elected government led by Aung San Suu Kyi and killing thousands of opponents in a crackdown.

A spokesman for Myanmar's military junta ahead of the announcement said it was not worried about any new sanctions.

Zaw Min Tun told the state media channel MWD on Tuesday the country has experienced sanctions before and they will not face losses if there are new ones on Myanmar state-owned banks.

He said the United States was "just doing this to cause difficulties in economics and politics".

"These kinds of things will cause unnecessary delays while we walk towards the multi-party democratic system."

The Bangkok Business News, cited Thai sources as saying the sanctions would hit Thailand and other countries in the region financially because of their connections with local banks.

The U.S. Embassy said it had regular conversations with the Thai government on Myanmar including how to mitigate the impact of any sanctions on Thailand or other countries.

Experts say the sanctions on the banks, while short of targeting gas projects that are a big source of revenue for the junta, could have an impact on the junta’s ability to fund its war against ethnic groups and insurgencies.

A February report by campaign group EarthRights International said the two banks were the Myanmar government’s "foreign currency treasuries" and were now under junta control.

It said the junta relied on foreign currency to buy jet fuel, parts for small arms production, and other supplies that could not be bought with the Myanmar kyat, EarthRights said.

"As a result, sanctions against MFTB and MICB could contribute substantially to cutting off the junta’s access to foreign currency, especially if combined with strong enforcement," it said. (Reuters)

Dozens of U.S. President Joe Biden's fellow Democrats urged him on Tuesday to raise human rights issues with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit to Washington this week, according to a letter sent to Biden.

Modi left for Washington on Tuesday for a visit projected as a milestone in ties between the two countries.

The U.S. lawmakers said they were concerned about religious intolerance, press freedoms, internet access and the targeting of civil society groups.

"We do not endorse any particular Indian leader or political party — that is the decision of the people of India — but we do stand in support of the important principles that should be a core part of American foreign policy," said the letter, led by Senator Chris Van Hollen and Representative Pramila Jayapal.

A total of 75 Democratic senators and members of the House of Representatives signed the letter, sent to the White House on Tuesday and first reported by Reuters.

"And we ask that, during your meeting with Prime Minister Modi, you discuss the full range of issues important to a successful, strong, and long-term relationship between our two great countries," the letter said.

Modi has been to the United States five times since becoming prime minister in 2014, but the trip will be his first with the full diplomatic status of a state visit, despite concerns over what is seen as a deteriorating human rights situation under his Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party.

Washington hopes for closer ties with the world's largest democracy, which it sees as a counterweight to China, but rights advocates worry that geopolitics will overshadow human rights issues. Several U.S. rights groups plan protests during Modi's visit.

The State Department's annual report on human rights practices released in March listed "significant human rights issues" and abuses in India.

'FRIENDS CAN AND SHOULD DISCUSS THEIR DIFFERENCES'

Modi will address a joint meeting of the House and Senate on Thursday, one of the highest honors Washington affords to foreign dignitaries.

"A series of independent, credible reports reflect troubling signs in India toward the shrinking of political space, the rise of religious intolerance, the targeting of civil society organizations and journalists, and growing restrictions on press freedoms and internet access," the lawmakers said in the letter.

They said they joined Biden in welcoming Modi to the United States, and want a "close and warm relationship" between the people of the two countries, saying that friendship should be based on shared values and "friends can and should discuss their differences in an honest and forthright way."

"That is why we respectfully request that — in addition to the many areas of shared interests between India and the U.S. — you also raise directly with Prime Minister Modi areas of concern," the letter said.

Speaking to reporters before Modi arrived in Washington, White House national security spokesperson John Kirby declined comment on whether Biden would raise the issue, but that it is "commonplace" for Biden to raise concerns about human rights. (reuters)