Tokyo, Dec. 22 (Jiji Press)–The Japanese government decided Monday to move up a planned overhaul of the pay structure for Self-Defense Forces personnel to fiscal 2027, a year earlier than scheduled, as it seeks to address chronic staffing shortages. The decision was

Tokyo, Dec. 22 (Jiji Press)–The Japanese government is considering allocating a total of 3,069.3 billion yen under its fiscal 2026 budget for policies linked to the industry ministry, a 1.5-fold increase from the fiscal 2025 initial budget, it was learned Monday. The

Tokyo, Dec. 22 (Jiji Press)–Kazuhiro Sugita, who was Japan’s longest-serving deputy chief cabinet secretary with a tenure of eight years and nine months, has died, it was learned Monday. He was 84. Sugita held the top bureaucrat post from the start of

Taipei, Dec. 22 (Jiji Press)–Koichi Hagiuda, executive acting secretary-general of Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party, and Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te on Monday agreed to strengthen Japan-Taiwan relations, according to the Taiwanese presidential office. In a meeting at the Taiwanese presidential office in

Tokyo, Dec. 22 (Jiji Press)–The Japanese government and ruling parties began considering tightening the requirement for acquiring Japanese nationality to 10 years of residency or longer in principle, compared with the current five years, informed sources said Monday. By extending the necessary

Shizuoka, Dec. 22 (Jiji Press)–Japanese public prosecutors issued a summary indictment on Monday to actor Ryoko Hirosue, 45, over alleged negligent driving resulting in injury in a car accident on an expressway in Shizuoka Prefecture, central Japan, in April. Meanwhile, the prosecutors

Tokyo, Dec. 22 (Jiji Press)–The Japanese government is expected to compile a state budget for fiscal 2026 with record general-account expenditures of over 120 trillion yen. The spending for the year from next April will top the current all-time high of 115,197.8

Tokyo, Dec. 22 (Jiji Press)–A total of 281 teachers and staff at kindergartens, public elementary, junior high and high schools in Japan were disciplined for sexual offenses in fiscal 2024, the education ministry said in a survey report on Monday. The figure

(Adnkronos) – Thai Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow announced talks with Cambodia for Wednesday on the border dispute that has left over 40 dead in two weeks. “The discussion will be held within the framework of the existing joint border committee. The meeting

(Adnkronos) – Jiji press – From Hiroshima, you can reach Kawajiri in about one hour by train. This is where your adventure begins, with the Tobishima Kaido Cycling Route, which stretches to Imabari. Seven islands connected to each other and to the

Fukushima, Dec. 22 (Jiji Press)–Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc. said Monday it has completed the sixth release of treated water from its crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant in northeastern Japan into the Pacific for fiscal 2025. The release was

Tokyo, Dec. 22 (Jiji Press)–A Japanese expert team Monday released draft guidelines for the planned Japanese version of Britain’s Disclosure and Barring Service to check the sexual offense records of teachers and others whose work involves contact with children. The draft, written

(Adnkronos) – The Niigata Prefectural Assembly in Japan has approved plans for the restart of the world’s largest nuclear power plant, for the first time since the 2011 Fukushima disaster, which led to the closure of all Japanese reactors. Last month, Niigata

(Adnkronos) – Donald Trump has announced the appointment of Jeff Landry, current governor of Louisiana, as “special envoy of the United States to Greenland”. The stated objective is “to strongly promote the interests” of the United States “for the security and survival

Tokyo, Dec. 22 (Jiji Press)–Nippon Life Insurance Co. is considering increasing wages for its 40,000 sales representatives by at least 6 pct in fiscal 2026 starting next April, a major pay hike for the second consecutive year, Nippon Life President Satoshi Asahi

Tokyo, Dec. 22 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s Fast Retailing Co. said Monday that it will raise its starting salary by 12 pct to 370,000 yen per month for employees joining next spring who may be assigned overseas. With the increase from the current 330,000

Tokyo, Dec. 22 (Jiji Press)–The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s launch of its No. 8 H3 rocket on Monday was unsuccessful, failing to send the Michibiki No. 5 positioning satellite into the intended orbit. The rocket carrying the satellite for the Japanese version

Tokyo, Dec. 22 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s Tourism Agency plans to launch a subsidy program for so-called destination management/marketing organizations, or DMOs, beyond regional boundaries in a bid to provide intensive support to activities designed to attract tourists to regional areas, Jiji Press learned

Tokyo, Dec. 22 (Jiji Press)–The benchmark 10-year Japanese government bond yield, the country’s key long-term interest rate, rose to 2.100 pct in Tokyo interdealer bond trading Monday, reaching the highest level since February 1999. The rise is attributed to expectations that the

Haebaru, Okinawa Pref., Dec. 22 (Jiji Press)–A suicide note left by Japan’s under-the-table negotiator on the 1972 Okinawa reversion has been exhibited at the Okinawa Prefectural Archives, telling visitors the envoy’s grief of brokering a secret nuclear agreement with the United States.

Kesennuma, Miyagi Pref., Dec. 22 (Jiji Press)–A cafe set up by Japanese actor Ken Watanabe in 2013 has closed down after supporting the reconstruction of Kesennuma, Miyagi Prefecture, hit hard by tsunami from the March 2011 major earthquake. The cafe, K-port, in

Niigata, Dec. 22 (Jiji Press)–The Niigata prefectural assembly Monday endorsed Niigata Governor Hideyo Hanazumi’s decision to approve a restart of Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc.’s Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power station in the central Japan prefecture. The move effectively concluded the procedures for

(The final paragraph should have read, “…156.73-73 yen…,” instead of as sent. A substitute story follows.) (Update) Key 10-year JGB Yield Hits 26-Year High of 2.095 Pct Tokyo, Dec. 22 (Jiji Press)–The benchmark 10-year Japanese government bond yield, the country’s key long-term

Tokyo, Dec. 22 (Jiji Press)–Japanese Emperor Naruhito, Empress Masako and their daughter, Princess Aiko, visited on Sunday a special photo exhibition themed on Tokyo during World War II. On display at the exhibition at the National Showa Memorial Museum in Tokyo’s Chiyoda

New York, Dec. 21 (Jiji Press)–Japanese slugger Munetaka Murakami, posted for his potential move to U.S. Major League Baseball, has agreed to sign a two-year, 34-million-dollar contract with the Chicago White Sox, the team announced Sunday. The 25-year-old star from the Tokyo

Tokyo, Dec. 22 (Jiji Press)–A possible cut in the number of House of Representatives seats is unlikely to be implemented in time for the next election for the all-important lower chamber of the Diet, the country’s parliament, a Japanese ruling party official

Tokyo, Dec. 22 (Jiji Press)–Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is set to move soon to the official residence of the prime minister in the Nagatacho district in Tokyo’s Chiyoda Ward, she has said on X, formerly Twitter. “As ‘the person who manages

Tokyo, Dec. 22 (Jiji Press)–The benchmark 10-year Japanese government bond yield, the country’s key long-term interest rate, rose to 2.060 pct in Tokyo interdealer bond trading Monday morning, reaching the highest level since February 1999. The yield on the newest 380th issue

Tokyo, Dec. 22 (Jiji Press)–Seven & i Holdings Co. has said that Joseph DePinto, CEO of 7-Eleven Inc., the Japanese retail giant’s North American convenience store unit, is set to retire at the end of this month. Stanley Reynolds, president of 7-Eleven,

Tokyo, Dec. 22 (Jiji Press)–One week after two customers died in a fire in a private room at a luxury sauna facility in Tokyo’s Akasaka district, police are investigating the facility’s operator for possible professional negligence resulting in death. According to investigative