Tokyo, Jan. 18 (Jiji Press)–People in snowy regions in Japan are concerned about a snap election for the House of Representatives that is likely to be held on Feb. 8, in the middle of winter. It will be the first general election

Tokyo, Jan. 17 (Jiji Press)–Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc. said Saturday that an alert system did not work during a test operation prior to the restart of the No. 6 reactor at its Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear plant in Niigata Prefecture on the

Tokyo, Jan. 17 (Jiji Press)–The Bank of Japan is adopting a wait-and-see approach over the U.S. Department of Justice’s investigation of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, while other central banks around the globe have expressed their support for him. BOJ Governor Kazuo

Tokyo, Jan. 17 (Jiji Press)–Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi and his Indian counterpart, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, have agreed to boost collaboration in the fields of economic security and artificial intelligence, based on an agreement reached at last August’s bilateral summit. At Friday’s strategic

Kobe, Jan. 17 (Jiji Press)–Bereaved families and others renewed their commitment to passing on their experiences and lessons from the 1995 Great Hanshin Earthquake in western Japan to future generations on Saturday, the 31st anniversary of the disaster, amid concerns over a

Tokyo, Jan. 17 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s annual two-day unified university entrance examinations started on Saturday at 650 venues across the country. A total of 496,237 final-year high school students and others are taking the exams. Applications for the exams were accepted online only

Tokyo, Jan. 17 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s health ministry has asked local governments across the country to survey safety management at sauna facilities following a fatal accident in Tokyo last December, Jiji Press learned Saturday. In a notice dated Wednesday, the ministry requested that

Tokyo, Jan. 17 (Jiji Press)–Yoshihiko Noda, leader of the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, is likely to be the prime minister candidate of the Centrist Reform Alliance, a new party jointly formed by the CDP and Komeito, a former member

Tokyo, Jan. 17 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s Foreign Ministry has raised its travel alert on Iran to the highest level, advising Japanese citizens not to travel to the country for any purpose, in light of heightened tension there due to anti-regime protests. The ministry

Yokohama, Jan. 17 (Jiji Press)–Former Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga on Saturday announced his decision not to run in the next House of Representatives election. “I’ve been considering the timing of retiring as a lawmaker since I turned 70,” Suga told reporters

Tokyo, Jan. 16 (Jiji Press)–The Japanese Foreign Ministry said Friday that it has confirmed moves by China to build a new structure on the Chinese side of the median line between the two countries in the East China Sea. “It is extremely

Tokyo, Jan. 16 (Jiji Press)–The Japanese government said Friday that Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi will hold a press conference on Monday evening, when she is expected to formally announce her intention to call a snap general election. She is believed to be

Tokyo, Jan. 16 (Jiji Press)–Former Japanese Communist Party leader Kazuo Shii said Friday that he will not run in the next election for the House of Representatives, the lower chamber of the Diet, Japan’s parliament. At a press conference at the Diet

(Adnkronos) – Italy takes a long-term view of the “increasingly strategic” Artic and wants to strengthen relations with Arctic countries to boost Euro-Atlantic security, foreign minister Antonio Tajani stated on Friday.  “We want to deepen relations with Arctic countries, contribute to Euro-Atlantic

Tokyo, Jan. 16 (Jiji Press)–The leaders of the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan and Komeito, formerly a longtime ally of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, said Friday that a new party they have created is named the Centrist Reform Alliance.

(Adnkronos) – Officials from the US-led international coalition met with representatives of the Kurdish community to try to reduce tensions with Damascus that flared up again in Aleppo, northern Syria. This was stated by Farhad Shami, spokesman for the Syrian Democratic Forces

(Adnkronos) – Doctors Without Borders (MSF) warns that ongoing restrictions on humanitarian movements in some areas of Jonglei state, South Sudan, are blocking the transfer of at least 20 critically ill patients who require urgent specialized care, putting their lives at risk.

(Adnkronos) – The committee for the governance of the Gaza Strip is holding its first meeting today in Egypt, in Cairo. This was reported by Al-Qahera News, close to the Egyptian government. Established on Wednesday after Washington announced the entry into force

(Adnkronos) – Two women lost their lives due to a Russian airstrike on Nikopol, in the Dnipropetrovsk oblast. The Ukrainian emergency service announced this on Telegram, explaining that six other people, three women and three men, were injured in the attack. 

Osaka, Jan. 16 (Jiji Press)–Osaka Governor Hirofumi Yoshimura and Osaka Mayor Hideyuki Yokoyama on Friday tendered their resignations to run in subsequent elections in an attempt to push for the so-called Osaka metropolis plan for local government realignment. Their resignation letters were

(Adnkronos) – For now, the protest against the regime in Iran, triggered at the end of December in Tehran against currency devaluation, which led thousands of people to demonstrate in city streets since January 8, has subsided.   The end of the

Tokyo, Jan. 16 (Jiji Press)–Former Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga plans not to run in the next election for the House of Representatives, the all-important lower chamber of the country’s parliament, informed sources said Friday. The 77-year-old ruling Liberal Democratic Party member

Tokyo, Jan. 16 (Jiji Press)–The contract amount for the Japanese government’s defense equipment procurement in fiscal 2023 under the U.S. government’s Foreign Military Sales program, or FMS, totaled about 1.38 trillion yen, more than three times the amount five years earlier, the

Tokyo, Jan. 16 (Jiji Press)–East Japan Railway Co.’s busy Yamanote Line in Tokyo was halted on all sections for about eight hours on Friday because of a predawn power outage, affecting around 673,000 people. With the service disruption hitting morning rush hour,

(Adnkronos) – The stability of the crucial Artic region “is not a tactical but a strategic issue” which demands political and economic action by Italy and other European Union and Nato members for the West’s security, foreign minister Antonio Tajani said Friday. 

Tokyo, Jan. 16 (Jiji Press)–The Bank of Japan is expected to keep its policy interest rate unchanged at its next two-day policy meeting starting Thursday. At the meeting, the Japanese central bank is expected to review market trends, such as the yen’s

(Adnkronos) – Italy “cannot overlook” the crucial raw materials which the Artic region possesses, foreign minister Antonio Tajani said on Monday at the presentation in Rome of the government’s strategy for the region.   “With our embassy in Denmark, we are planning

(Adnkronos) – Foreign minister Antonio Tajani said on Friday that Italy will send an Italian business mission to the Artic at a conference in Rome to present the government’s strategy for region.  “I believe we need to set up an Arctic business

(Adnkronos) – Italy’s premier Giorgia Meloni and Japanese counterpart Sanae Takaichi will continue strengthening their countries’ strategic cooperation across a raft of areas, “all the way to the great global challenges,” Meloni wrote Friday on X after talks in Tokyo with Takaichi.

Tokyo, Jan. 16 (Jiji Press)–The leaders of Japan and Italy agreed Friday to accelerate security cooperation, including over next-generation fighter jet development involving the two nations plus Britain, and to strengthen collaboration on economic security, including expanding supply chains for critical minerals.