A Taiwanese man was killed yesterday morning when he was hit by a car on a walkway near a temple in the Japanese city of Nara, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
The ministry confirmed reports of the accident in the Japanese media, which said that two pedestrians — a Taiwanese man, 62, and a Japanese man, 52, — were hit by a sedan on a walkway at Todaiji Temple at about 9:45am.
The two men were rushed to nearby hospitals, and the Taiwanese was later pronounced dead, having sustained severe head injuries, the reports said.
The Japanese was seriously injured and remained in hospital, they said.
The driver of the sedan, a 79-year-old man, was not injured and was later arrested, the reports said. As the owner of a shop on that section of the road, he was allowed to drive a vehicle along the walkway, the reports said.
Citing police, the reports said the driver told investigators that he had mistakenly stepped on the accelerator instead of the brake.
The ministry said its Osaka office had received confirmation from Nara police that the victim who died in the accident was a Taiwanese citizen.
He was part of a tour group visiting Nara, the ministry said, not disclosing the identity of the deceased.
The ministry said its Osaka office had contacted the victim’s relatives and has offered them assistance in dealing with his death.
Taiwanese traveling in the southern-central region of Japan’s main island of Honshu can call the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Osaka at +81-90-8794-4568 in an emergency, the ministry said.
Taipei and New Taipei City government officials are aiming to have the first phase of the Wanhua-Jungho-Shulin Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) line completed and opened by 2027, following the arrival of the first train set yesterday. The 22km-long Light Green Line would connect four densely populated districts in Taipei and New Taipei City: Wanhua (萬華), Jhonghe (中和), Tucheng (土城) and Shulin (樹林). The first phase of the project would connect Wanhua and Jhonghe districts, with Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall and Chukuang (莒光) being the terminal stations. The two municipalities jointly hosted a ceremony for the first train to be used
MILITARY AID: Taiwan has received a first batch of US long-range tactical missiles ahead of schedule, with a second shipment expected to be delivered by 2026 The US’ early delivery of long-range tactical ballistic missiles to Taiwan last month carries political and strategic significance, a military source said yesterday. According to the Ministry of National Defense’s budget report, the batch of military hardware from the US, including 11 sets of M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) and 64 MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile Systems, had been scheduled to be delivered to Taiwan between the end of this year and the beginning of next year. However, the first batch arrived last month, earlier than scheduled, with the second batch —18 sets of HIMARS, 20 MGM-140 missiles and 864 M30
Representative to the US Alexander Yui delivered a letter from the government to US president-elect Donald Trump during a meeting with a former Trump administration official, CNN reported yesterday. Yui on Thursday met with former US national security adviser Robert O’Brien over a private lunch in Salt Lake City, Utah, with US Representative Chris Stewart, the Web site of the US cable news channel reported, citing three sources familiar with the matter. “During that lunch the letter was passed along, and then shared with Trump, two of the sources said,” CNN said. O’Brien declined to comment on the lunch, as did the Taipei
A woman who allegedly attacked a high-school student with a utility knife, injuring his face, on a Taipei metro train late on Friday has been transferred to prosecutors, police said yesterday. The incident occurred near MRT Xinpu Station at about 10:17pm on a Bannan Line train headed toward Dingpu, New Taipei City police said. Before police arrived at the station to arrest the suspect, a woman surnamed Wang (王) who is in her early 40s, she had already been subdued by four male passengers, one of whom was an off-duty Taipei police officer, police said. The student, 17, who sustained a cut about