Japan

The NEWS is going to be housed in the new Tonga Broadcasting Commission building being built in Fasi.

With the latest in technology, the new system is expected to cover 100 percent of Tonga and will be able to send out tsunami warning sirens through special radios that have also been distributed countrywide.

The system will also be able to reach out to all radio wavelengths in the Kingdom.

The new system will be able to send out warning signals and sirens within 8 minutes, compared to the 90 minutes it currently takes to do that.

Aminiasi Tuimaba and Napolioni Bolaca scored in the first half as Fiji led 14-5 at the break.

Isoa Tabu added another try in the second half to secure the win.

Fiji will play Japan SDS today while Australia play Samoa in the Men's Olympic Qualifier Final.

The Fiji Airways Fijiana 7s Team will take on Samoa in the first semifinal of the Women's Olympic Qualifier while Papua New Guinea take on Solomon Islands in the second semifinal at 12.34pm.

Australia will take on New Zealand in the Women's Oceania International Final.

Anolyn Lulu and Stephanie Qwea flew out of the country Monday to join Priscilla Tommy, who is currently training in Japan.

It was a positive news for Vanuatu following the withdrawal of Australia’s women’s team from the competition which gave Vanuatu the opportunity to represent the continent at the much anticipated World Cup.

There will be a total 38 matches (19 men + 19 women) and seeding for the teams will be based on the latest available Team World Ranking List on November 5.

And the Pacific region is the focus of cooperative waste management projects, including innovative recycling programs,which are beginning to resolve long-standing waste problems in the region.

This was revealed by Mr Kenichiro Koiwa of the JICAE nvironmental Management Group during a presentation to journalists at the JICA Head Office in Tokyo Monday.

The journalists from the Caribbean, Pacific and Japan are part of the Association for Promotion of International Cooperation (APIC) Japan Media Fellowship program.

In what was a first World Cup quarter-final for the Japanese, neither an entire nation seemingly now besotted by rugby, nor a raucous 50,000 crowd packed into Tokyo Stadium, could carry the hosts to victory on Sunday.

"Test match rugby is all about creating opportunities and capitalising, but unfortunately they kept us out and with their set-piece... they played well," Japan skipper Michael Leitch said.

"Credit to them."

Former Japan captain and head coach Hirao – nicknamed "Mr Rugby" in his homeland – died three years ago this Sunday aged 53 after a battle with cancer.

Full-back Ryohei Yamanaka played under Hirao, who represented the Brave Blossoms at the 1987, 1991 and 1995 World Cup, at Kobe Steelers.

"[The quarter-final] is the date he passed away, so there'll be a game on an important day for me as well," he said.

Japan's scrum coach Shin Hasegawa was handed his international breakthough by Hirao during his playing days.

Typhoon Hagibis brought heavy rain and winds of 225km/h (140mph) to Japan at the weekend, killing 72 people.

But when two homeless men tried to use a shelter in Tokyo, they were turned away as they did not have addresses.

The case has caused huge debate in Japan - with not everyone sympathetic.

As Hagibis took hold on Saturday morning, a 64-year-old homeless man went to a primary school, which was being used as an evacuation centre.

Tournament hosts Japan qualified for the knockout stages for the first time in their history, Sunday's hard-fought victory over Scotland also seeing them finish top of Pool A.

The 28-21 result means the Brave Blossoms next face South Africa, who were second in Pool B, rather than New Zealand, with the two-time reigning champions instead going up against Ireland. 

Pleased to avoid one of the in-form teams still left standing, Hansen praised the way Japan's players had lifted their nation after the devastation caused by Typhoon Hagibis.

Hagibis, the 19th named storm of the season, tore through Japan’s main island of Honshu on Saturday and early Sunday packing winds of up to 144 kph at landfall, killing 35 and leaving 17 unaccounted for as of Sunday afternoon, according to Kyodo News. NHK reported 166 people were injured.

Cities and towns across the country — including in Nagano, Niigata, Miyagi, Fukushima, Ibaraki, Kanagawa and Saitama prefectures — were inundated by flood waters after levees failed in the face of record rainfall,forcing many people to abandon submerged homes.

The hosts triumphed 28-21 in Yokohama, sparking jubilant scenes as they reached the quarter-finals of the tournament for the first time.

Japan have won four matches from four at their home tournament and, as Pool A winners, they go on to face South Africa next Sunday in Tokyo, with rugby fever gripping the country.

This has otherwise been a grim weekend in Japan, though, as the deadly tropical storm has claimed more than 20 lives, according to local reports, with many others missing and considerable damage done to property.