Tokyo, Aug. 13 (Jiji Press)–A law to criminalize acts of damaging Japan’s national flag came into effect Thursday, amid unresolved concerns about its impact on expressive activities following criticisms that the scope of punishable acts is unclear. Under the Japanese law, those

Seoul, Aug. 12 (Jiji Press)–South Korea’s Supreme Court on Wednesday finalized a lower court ruling ordering Japan’s Nippon Steel Corp. to pay 80 million won, or about 9 million yen, in damages to the bereaved family of a Korean wartime laborer. The

(Adnkronos) – When in Tokyo the thermometer reaches 38 degrees, even a city accustomed to frantic rhythms seems to slow down. It is the most unexpected face of the Japanese summer, as told by Jiji Press: a season made of shade, ghost

(Adnkronos) – The extreme heatwaves that have occurred this summer could cost France “between 10 and 15 billion euros”. This was stated by the French Minister for Ecological Transition, Monique Barbut. “We can estimate — in any case, this is INSEE’s estimate

(Adnkronos) – “The ‘vision’ of the ‘Mecca Agreement’ announced last Friday by the three countries, a result of the ‘new circumstances imposed by developments in our region’, is ‘not limited’ to Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan. The Turkish leader, Recep Tayyip Erdogan,

(Adnkronos) – Turkish diplomacy chief Hakan Fidan will visit Egypt tomorrow and Friday. The Turkish agency Anadolu reports that talks with Badr Abdelatty are scheduled, as well as a face-to-face meeting with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. At the top of the

Tokyo, Aug. 12 (Jiji Press)–Tokyo Kiraboshi Financial Group Inc. plans to realign the functions of its group companies, its president, Hisanobu Watanabe, has said in a recent interview with Jiji Press. The regional banking group aims to improve its operational efficiency by

(Adnkronos) – National mourning in Colombia after Monday’s devastating earthquake. Authorities have declared three days of national mourning. Flags at half-mast in public buildings and diplomatic representations abroad during the mourning period. 

Naha, Okinawa Pref., Aug. 12 (Jiji Press)–Okinawa Governor Denny Tamaki on Wednesday announced basic policies for his bid for a third term, in which he pledges to uphold locals’ opposition to the relocation of the U.S. Marine Corps’ Futenma air station within

Tokyo, Aug. 12 (Jiji Press)–Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed on Wednesday that international documents confirm the Kuril Islands, including the four islands that Japan calls its Northern Territories, as Russian territory, according to Russia’s state-run Tass news agency. While inspecting Russian naval

Tokyo, Aug. 12 (Jiji Press)–Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi told Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Wednesday that it is important to ensure free and safe navigation without additional costs, such as transit fees, in the Strait of Hormuz. In their 20-minute phone

(Adnkronos) – Russian raids have caused the death of eight people and the injury of 57 others across Ukraine in the last 24 hours. One of the attacks occurred in the Odesa region, where Moscow’s forces struck an oil tanker truck. The

(Adnkronos) – British Prime Minister Andy Burnham will chair an emergency meeting of the Cobra committee to address the extreme heatwave affecting the United Kingdom, which is grappling with widespread fires and drought. According to The Guardian, temperatures could reach 33 degrees

Sydney, Aug. 12 (Jiji Press)–Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese had no ill intent when he made a remark regarding a gift from his Japanese counterpart Sanae Takaichi that has been criticized as sexist, the Australian government told the Japanese government. Sources at

Ueno, Gunma Pref., Aug. 12 (Jiji Press)–Victims of the 1985 crash of a Japan Airlines jumbo jet were remembered at the mountainous accident site in eastern Japan on Wednesday, the 41st anniversary of the tragedy. From early in the morning, bereaved family

Seoul, Aug. 12 (Jiji Press)–South Korea’s Supreme Court on Wednesday finalized a lower court ruling ordering Japan’s Nippon Steel Corp. to pay 80 million won, or about 9 million yen, in damages to the bereaved family of a South Korean wartime laborer.

(Adnkronos) – Pakistan’s Interior Minister, Mohsin Naqvi, during his visit to Tehran, conveyed a special message to the Iranian leadership from Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and the Chief of Army Staff, Field Marshal Asim Munir, regarding the regional situation. Al-Arabiya reports this,

Tokyo, Aug. 12 (Jiji Press)–The head of the Japanese Association of Metal, Machinery and Manufacturing Workers, or JAM, has urged the Centrist Reform Alliance, the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan and Komeito to draw up a clear vision on how to rise

Tokyo, Aug. 12 (Jiji Press)–Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is expected to skip a visit to Tokyo’s war-related Yasukuni Shrine on Saturday, the anniversary of the country’s surrender in World War II, people familiar with the matter said Wednesday. She is apparently

Tokyo, Aug. 12 (Jiji Press)–All Nippon Airways said Wednesday that it will lower fuel surcharges, added to airfares, for flights from Japan to North America and Europe by 10,000 yen to 55,000 yen for tickets to be issued in September and October.

Tokyo, Aug. 12 (Jiji Press)–Aeon Co. on Wednesday showed a plan to provide compensation early to relatives of tenant shop workers who died in an explosion that occurred at its shopping facility in Kumamoto Prefecture shortly after the July 28 major earthquake

(Adnkronos) – At least 15 people have died and 27 are missing after an overcrowded ferry capsized on Lake Kariba, Zimbabwe. Local authorities reported that the vessel, which provides transport service between the northern city of Kariba and several fishing villages, capsized

(Adnkronos) – Four Iranian drones have crashed in Iraq’s Erbil province. This was reported by the Kurdish news platform Rudaw, after it had reported that several missiles and drones had been launched by Tehran against Kurdish locations in the province. According to

Tokyo, Aug. 12 (Jiji Press)–An increasing number of young people in Japan, including those aged under 20, are seeking double eyelid surgery and other cosmetic treatments. At 17 clinics directly run by Kyoritsu Cosmetic Surgery, the proportion of patients aged 19 or

Ueno, Gunma Pref., Aug. 12 (Jiji Press)–A bereaved family member of one of the 520 victims of the 1985 crash of a Japan Airlines jumbo jet held a picture book event last month at an elementary school near the crash site in

Tokyo, Aug. 12 (Jiji Press)–Chikara Sakaguchi, who served as the country’s first health, labor and welfare minister, died of natural causes on Friday. He was 92. Sakaguchi, a former Komeito lawmaker, died at a hospital in the western Japan city of Takamatsu,

Nagoya, Aug. 12 (Jiji Press)–Hiroshi Okuda, who served as president and chairman of Toyota Motor Corp. and chairman of the Japan Business Federation, or Keidanren, died at 93, it was learned Wednesday. Born in the city of Tsu, Mie Prefecture, central Japan,

(Adnkronos) – The countries that consume the most coal (infographic) 

Tokyo, Aug. 12 (Jiji Press)–Tokyo police have arrested a Mexican national on suspicion of attempting to smuggle nine lizards into Japan by hiding them in socks in his luggage. Daniel Isaac Velasco Baltazar, 23, is suspected of attempting to import the lizards