Tokyo, Dec. 28 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s rice policy is at a crossroads as prices of the country’s staple food stay around record highs, squeezing households. “We’ll change course and boost production,” then Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said in August 2025, declaring a change

New York, Dec. 27 (Jiji Press)–U.S. investment company Berkshire Hathaway Inc. plans to keep its shares in five major Japanese trading houses over the long term, even after the exit of CEO Warren Buffett on Wednesday. The five are Mitsubishi Corp., Mitsui

Tokyo, Dec. 27 (Jiji Press)–Japanese convenience store chain Lawson Inc. plans to launch as early as 2026 a delivery service for over-the-counter drugs at its stores with no pharmacists or registered sellers present, President Sadanobu Takemasu has said. The service, which allows

Tokyo, Dec. 27 (Jiji Press)–Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s administration is merging and abolishing councils that its predecessors set up within the Cabinet Secretariat and the Cabinet Office one after another. The councils, established to implement key policies under the leadership of

Maebashi, Gunma Pref., Dec. 27 (Jiji Press)–A multiple collision accident involving 67 vehicles has happened on the Kan-Etsu Expressway in Gunma Prefecture, eastern Japan, leaving two people dead and 26 injured. Around 7:30 p.m. Friday, the accident occurred near the expressway’s Minakami

Tokyo, Dec. 27 (Jiji Press)–A survey by a nonprofit organization has shown that 76 pct of needy young people in Japan saw an increase in their monthly food expenditure compared with last year amid the ongoing inflation. DxP, the organization based in

Tokyo, Dec. 27 (Jiji Press)–Japanese lawmaker Muneo Suzuki has said that he conveyed Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s stance on Japan-Russia relations to Moscow during his trip to Russia. At a press conference in Moscow on Friday, Suzuki, a member of the House

Maebashi, Gunma Pref., Dec. 27 (Jiji Press)–A truck accident on the Kan-Etsu Expressway in Gunma Prefecture, eastern Japan, has led to multiple collisions involving more than 50 vehicles, leaving one dead and 26 injured. Around 7:30 p.m. Friday, police received an emergency

Tokyo, Dec. 26 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s Defense Ministry said Friday that it has decided to suspend Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd. from bidding on its projects for two and a half months until March 11, citing data falsifications. According to the ministry, Kawasaki Heavy

Tokyo, Dec. 26 (Jiji Press)–U.S. military police in Okinawa Prefecture, southernmost Japan, temporarily detained a civilian by mistake in the city of Okinawa on Nov. 22, a panel between the Japanese and U.S. governments said Friday. The Japan-U.S. Status of Forces Agreement

Tokyo, Dec. 26 (Jiji Press)–The Japanese government plans to raise basic public pension benefits for the fourth straight year in fiscal 2026, reflecting wage increases, it was learned Friday. Basic pension benefits are expected to rise around 2.0 pct from the preceding

Tokyo, Dec. 26 (Jiji Press)–The first eight members of Japan’s national team for the 2026 World Baseball Classic were announced on Friday, including two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Dodgers. The eight members also include Yusei Kikuchi of the Los

Tokyo, Dec. 26 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s transport ministry and the Cabinet Office announced on Friday a roadmap for revitalizing the country’s shipbuilding industry, aiming to double annual ship output to 18 million gross tons by 2035 through sector realignment. Japan’s share of the

Shizuoka, Dec. 26 (Jiji Press)–Several people were attacked with a knife at a Yokohama Rubber Co. factory in Mishima, Shizuoka Prefecture, central Japan, on Friday evening. Shizuoka police received a report of the attack at around 4:30 p.m. According to rescue authorities,

Tokyo, Dec. 26 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s business leaders have offered a mixed response to the government’s draft budget for fiscal 2026, which was adopted at a cabinet meeting on Friday. Yoshinobu Tsutsui, chairman of the Japan Business Federation, or Keidanren, the country’s biggest

Tokyo, Dec. 26 (Jiji Press)–Tokyo police on Friday arrested two individuals in a high-profile fraud case involving a luxury watch sharing service. The two are Takazumi Fukuhara, 44, who headed the Osaka-based company providing the service, and Taishi Nakayama, 44, a former

Tokyo, Dec. 26 (Jiji Press)–The number of new influenza patients in Japan remained above the warning level of 30 per medical institution last week, the health ministry said Friday. New flu cases reported by 3,000 regularly monitored hospitals and clinics across the

Tokyo, Dec. 26 (Jiji Press)–While the Japanese government’s fiscal 2026 budget bill, adopted on Friday, calls for record-high spending on social security, its efforts to reduce the health insurance premium burden on the working generation are still limited. The budget bill allocates

Beijing, Dec. 26 (Jiji Press)–The Chinese government is instructing travel agencies in the country to reduce the number of group tours to Japan, it was learned Friday. One agency has been told to lower the frequency of such tours to about 60

Tokyo, Dec. 26 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s education ministry said Friday that it has revised the calculation method for the basic school survey, after it was pointed out that the survey’s university entry rate had been calculated without reflecting the rate of graduates from

Tokyo, Dec. 26 (Jiji Press)–The Japanese government plans to issue bonds totaling 180,692 billion yen in fiscal 2026, up 3,835.2 billion yen from the fiscal 2025 initial level, the Finance Ministry said Friday. New bonds to cover a revenue shortfall under the

Tokyo, Dec. 26 (Jiji Press)–Swelling debt-servicing costs, shown by Japan’s fiscal 2026 initial budget drafted by the government, will pose the risk of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s expansionary fiscal policy losing market confidence, experts warn. The draft budget, adopted at a cabinet

Tokyo, Dec. 26 (Jiji Press)–Japanese screenwriter Makiko Uchidate, known for writing scripts for many television drama series in the country, died of acute left-side heart failure at a hospital in Tokyo on Dec. 17. She was 77. Uchidate was born in Akita

Tokyo, Dec. 26 (Jiji Press)–In response to continuing military buildups by China and North Korea, the Japanese government has set defense-related spending at a record 9,035.3 billion yen under its draft fiscal 2026 budget adopted at Friday’s cabinet meeting. The figure, including

Tokyo, Dec. 26 (Jiji Press)–The Japanese government’s general-account tax revenue in fiscal 2026, which starts next April, is projected to reach a record high of 83,735 billion yen, up 7.6 pct from the level under the fiscal 2025 initial budget, according to

Tokyo, Dec. 26 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s Children and Families Agency on Friday decided to collect 600 billion yen as so-called child-rearing support funds in the form of extra fees to be added to public medical insurance premiums in fiscal 2026, which starts next

Tokyo, Dec. 26 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s seasonally adjusted effective job offers-to-applicants ratio stood at 1.18 in November, unchanged from the preceding month, the labor ministry said Friday. The ratio represents the number of job offers available per seeker registered at Hello Work public

Tokyo, Dec. 26 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s industrial production in November fell 2.6 pct from the previous month, logging the first drop in three months as vehicle output dropped, the industry ministry said Friday. The production index for the manufacturing and mining sectors was

Tokyo, Dec. 26 (Jiji Press)–The Japanese government’s draft fiscal 2026 budget, adopted Friday, highlights generous funding for its crisis management and growth investment policies to build a strong economy, a goal set by the administration of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. Investments through

Tokyo, Dec. 26 (Jiji Press)–The Japanese government on Friday adopted an outline of an envisaged disaster management agency, including its organizational structure and operations. Aiming to set up the agency in 2026, the government will submit related legislation to next year’s ordinary