Tokyo, April 30 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s Environment Ministry plans to begin a health survey as early as this year on residents of coastal areas hit by the outbreak of Minamata mercury poisoning disease caused by water pollution from industrial waste. The survey on

Tokyo, April 30 (Jiji Press)–Consumer sentiment in Japan fell for the second consecutive month in April, hit by rising tensions over Iran, a Cabinet Office survey showed Thursday. The seasonally adjusted consumer confidence index, which covers households with two or more members,

Tokyo, April 30 (Jiji Press)–Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi is planning to visit South Korea in late June to hold talks with his South Korean counterpart, Ahn Gyu-back, it was learned Thursday. This will be Koizumi’s first visit to South Korea since

Tokyo, April 30 (Jiji Press)–Selling hit Japan’s stock and bond markets, as well as its currency, on Thursday amid surging crude oil prices fueled by concerns over the Middle East. On the Tokyo Stock Exchange, the Nikkei 225 average temporarily fell below

(Adnkronos) – Career diplomat Stephen Hickey has been appointed the United Kingdom’s new envoy to Italy and San Marino and will take up his post in June, the embassy said in a statement on Thursday.  Hickey is a former UK ambassador to

Tokyo, April 30 (Jiji Press)–Tokyo police placed a 44-year-old man on the public wanted list Thursday, a day after he attacked two high school students with a hammer and sprayed liquid at police officers responding to the incident in Fussa in Tokyo.

New York, April 29 (Jiji Press)–A Chinese diplomat pledged to “resolutely prevent Japan from acquiring nuclear weapons” at a review conference of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty on Wednesday, calling on the international community to “stay on high alert.” Japan “is pushing to

Tokyo, April 30 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama said Thursday that the country’s time to take “decisive action” against the yen’s rapid depreciation is “approaching.” Following Katayama’s remarks, the dollar briefly slipped below 160 yen after climbing as high as around

Tokyo, April 30 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 stock average temporarily fell below 59,000 on Thursday, dragged down by surging crude oil prices amid the deepening turmoil in the Middle East. The index of 225 selected issues listed on the Tokyo Stock

Tokyo, April 30 (Jiji Press)–The Japanese government is seeking a stopover by U.S. President Donald Trump in Japan during his planned trip to China in mid-May, Japanese and U.S. government sources told Jiji Press on Thursday. During the proposed stopover, Trump is

Tokyo, April 30 (Jiji Press)–The Bank of Japan will continue to mull the timing of the next policy rate increase, after its Policy Board decided Tuesday to keep the rate unchanged for the third straight policy-setting meeting. Momentum for rate hikes has

Tokyo, April 30 (Jiji Press)–Industrial production in Japan dropped 0.5 pct in March from the previous month after seasonal adjustment as chemical makers’ output fell because of a shortage of naphtha amid Middle East tensions, the industry ministry said Thursday. The production

Washington, April 29 (Jiji Press)–U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth expressed support for Japan’s plans to increase defense spending in a document submitted ahead of a congressional hearing Wednesday. “Japan also clearly recognizes the threat environment confronting all of us and has signaled

Tokyo, April 30 (Jiji Press)–The yen, Japanese government bonds and stocks all fell on Thursday morning, following the markets’ closure for a national holiday, amid deepening turmoil in the Middle East. The Japanese currency approached 160.50 per dollar early in the morning,

Tokyo, April 30 (Jiji Press)–Major food makers in Japan plan to raise prices for 70 items in May, an 85.4 pct decrease from a year earlier, Teikoku Databank Ltd., a research firm, said Thursday. A Teikoku Databank official warned that makers could

Tokyo, April 30 (Jiji Press)–Business sentiment among small and midsize companies in Japan dropped to its lowest level in over three years in April, affected by materials supply concerns caused by Middle East tensions, the Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry said

Tokyo, April 30 (Jiji Press)–A 44-year-old man is on the run after attacking two high school students with a hammer in Fussa in Tokyo on Wednesday and spraying a liquid at police officers responding to the incident. A witness reported the incident

Naha, Okinawa Pref., April 30 (Jiji Press)–A Chinese maritime survey ship that had been operating without permission in Japan’s exclusive economic zone off Ishigaki Island in Okinawa Prefecture for two weeks has left the area, according to the Japan Coast Guard. The

(Adnkronos) – The man arrested for the stabbing of two Jews today in Golders Green, a north London suburb, has a history of serious violent incidents and suffers from mental health problems. This was stated by the head of the Metropolitan Police,

(Adnkronos) – The war in Iran, which began on February 28, has so far cost the United States 25 billion dollars. This was stated during a hearing of the House Armed Services Committee by the interim Undersecretary of War, Jules Hurst III,

Tokyo, April 29 (Jiji Press)–The Japanese government said Wednesday that one Japanese national who had been aboard a Japan-related vessel stranded in the Persian Gulf disembarked and returned to Japan. According to the Japanese Foreign Ministry, the individual is in good health.

Istanbul, April 29 (Jiji Press)–A crude oil tanker owned by Idemitsu Tanker Co., a subsidiary of Japanese oil refiner Idemitsu Kosan Co., passed through the Strait of Hormuz and is en route to Japan, it was learned Wednesday. Three Japanese nationals are

Tokyo, April 29 (Jiji Press)–The Japanese government held a ceremony to mark this year’s 100th anniversary of the 1926 start of the Showa era at Tokyo’s Nippon Budokan hall on Wednesday, Showa Day, a national holiday. Delivering a speech at the event,

(Adnkronos) – Two Orthodox Jews were stabbed today, Wednesday, April 29, outside a synagogue in Golders Green, a northern suburb of London. This is reported by several Israeli media outlets such as the Times of Israel. According to Shomrim, the Jewish community’s

(Adnkronos) – Fifa gives green light for Afghan athletes to return to the field for international competitions. Since 2021, the Taliban are back in power in Afghanistan. And their return, along with the limitations on women’s rights, has prompted many athletes to

(Adnkronos) – Security increasingly strengthened around the center of Ouagadougou, capital of Burkina Faso, after last Saturday’s attacks in neighboring Mali. This was reported by Radio France Internationale, which collected testimonies from the city’s inhabitants where measures – they say – have

(Adnkronos) – Tension in Madrid after the words of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, who defended the maxi-regularization of approximately 500,000 people: “Spain is a child of migration and will not become a mother of xenophobia.” Just as the socialist government claims the

(Adnkronos) – North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un has publicly praised the soldiers sent to fight against Ukraine alongside Russia who, rather than being captured, took their own lives by detonating their grenades. In a speech delivered in Pyongyang during the inauguration of

By Adriana Reinecke Washington, April 29(Jiji Press)–Speaking ahead of the upcoming U.S.-China summit, former U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell said that China has “ambitions” regarding the Taiwan issue. In an interview with Jiji Press on Monday, Campbell expressed concern that

(Adnkronos) – After the coordinated offensive by jihadist and separatist groups that hit Mali, reaching the capital Bamako, the country faces a phase of great uncertainty. The killing of the Defense Minister and the loss of strategic areas in the north have