Tokyo, Oct. 26 (Jiji Press)–Former Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda died Thursday at the age of 90, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party said Monday. As the country’s prime minister, he chaired a Group of Eight summit in Toyako, Hokkaido, northern Japan, in

Tokyo, Oct. 26 (Jiji Press)–Japanese shipbuilders are stepping up capital investment in shipyards across the country as part of the government’s target of doubling domestic shipbuilding volume, with the overall amount on track to exceed 1 trillion yen. A total of 900

Tokyo, Oct. 26 (Jiji Press)–The Japanese government takes seriously a massive grassland fire that broke out earlier this month in a nature reserve in Mongolia, Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said Monday. “We take the extent of the damage seriously. We’d like

Tokyo, Oct. 26 (Jiji Press)–Seven in 10 people in Japan would prefer to shelter at home after a major disaster if their homes were safe, according to a recent survey by market research firm Macromill Inc. The survey also showed that only

Tokyo, Oct. 26 (Jiji Press)–The Japan Shogi Association said Monday that it has accepted an application from “joryu kishi” female professional shogi player Tomoka Nishiyama to join the main pro ranks of “kishi” for the first time as a woman. Nishiyama, 31,

Tokyo, Oct. 26 (Jiji Press)–A Japanese government study has found that global warming intensified six major heavy rain events that happened in the country in August or September this year, highlighting growing risks of disasters. The science ministry and the Japan Meteorological

Tokyo, Oct. 26 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s Digital Agency has added an artificial intelligence agent function capable of autonomously performing two or more tasks simultaneously to its “Gennai” generative AI platform, which is available to about 180,000 government employees. The agent can perform a

Tokyo, Oct. 26 (Jiji Press)–The Tokyo metropolitan government is considering building small public crematoriums, each with two to four cremation furnaces, in the Japanese capital’s 23 special wards to ensure stable cremation capacity. Building such crematoriums would require a review of existing

Osaka, Oct. 26 (Jiji Press)–Police in Osaka Prefecture, western Japan, have taken action against 43 minors for harassing behavior targeting police, such as throwing firecrackers, shouting a slogan and making prank calls. Such acts, known as “shorinji racing,” are spreading across the

Haenam, S. Korea, Oct. 26 (Jiji Press)–Japanese golfer Yuri Yoshida has won the BMW Ladies Championship in Haenam, South Korea, claiming her first-ever U.S. LPGA Tour victory. She became the fourth Japanese golfer to claim an LPGA Tour title this season. The

Narita, Chiba Pref., Oct. 26 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s new agriculture minister Arata Takebe has visited the city of Narita, Chiba Prefecture, eastern Japan, to inspect farmland and agricultural pump stations damaged by Typhoon Dujuan, this year’s 25th typhoon, which struck in September. Takebe

Beijing, Oct. 26 (Jiji Press)–The Mongolian government plans to consider seeking compensation over a recent large-scale grassland fire in the country after identifying those responsible for the blaze, according to media outlets including the country’s national broadcaster. The plan was shown at

Tokyo, Oct. 26 (Jiji Press)–Three and a half years after a revised road traffic law called on all cyclists in Japan to make efforts to wear helmets, their use has risen, but only slowly, with just one in four cyclists now wearing

Saitama, Oct. 26 (Jiji Press)–Former Japanese opposition heavyweight Yukio Edano has sounded negative about forming a new political party. Discussing his future political activities at a meeting with his supporters in the city of Saitama, north of Tokyo, on Saturday, Edano said:

Fukushima, Oct. 25 (Jiji Press)–Incumbent Fukushima Governor Masao Uchibori won a fourth term in Sunday’s gubernatorial election in the northeastern Japan prefecture. Uchibori, 62, received support from local chapters of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and three opposition parties–the Democratic Party for

Tokyo, Oct. 25 (Jiji Press)–Japan is facing a shortage of Japanese language teachers for foreign workers ahead of the introduction next April of a new system for accepting foreign workers, according to a recent government survey. Under the new Employment for Skill

Naha, Okinawa Pref., Oct. 25 (Jiji Press)–Public prosecutors in Okinawa Prefecture indicted U.S. Marine Lance Cpl. Devin Jacob Ballard, 20, on robbery and murder charges on Sunday after a 39-year-old woman was found dead in the southwestern Japan prefecture earlier this month.

Kochi, Oct. 25 (Jiji Press)–Japanese Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako attended the opening ceremony of the 41st National Cultural Festival and the 26th National Arts and Culture Festival for Persons with Disabilities in Kochi Prefecture on Sunday. The Imperial couple arrived in

Naha, Okinawa Pref., Oct. 25 (Jiji Press)–Public prosecutors in Okinawa Prefecture indicted U.S. Marine Lance Cpl. Devin Jacob Ballard, 20, on Sunday on robbery and murder charges after a 39-year-old woman was found dead in the southwestern Japan prefecture earlier this month.

Tokyo, Oct. 25 (Jiji Press)–U.S. Democratic Rep. Ami Bera, a member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, condemned Russia’s recent detention of a Japanese journalist as unacceptable, during an interview with Jiji Press in Tokyo this weekend. “I don’t think there’s

Tokyo, Oct. 25 (Jiji Press)–Opposition party officials demanded Sunday that Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi clearly explain her government’s consumption tax cut legislation in the Diet herself. During a televised debate, opposition representatives questioned the lack of details about a planned benefit

Tokyo, Oct. 25 (Jiji Press)–The number of replies mentioning foreign citizens or immigrants to Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s posts on X, formerly Twitter, has surged since she took office a year ago, especially since late September, a Jiji Press survey has

Nagoya, Oct. 24 (Jiji Press)–The 2026 Asian Para Games came to a close on Saturday after Japan, which hosted the para sports event for the first time, won a record 64 gold medals. At the Aichi-Nagoya Games, a total of about 3,000

Tokyo, Oct. 24 (Jiji Press)–GMO Internet Inc. has made an urgent request for the Japanese government to implement “active cyber defense” operations following an unauthorized access incident, it was learned Saturday. GMO Internet has revealed that there was unauthorized access to its

Tokyo, Oct. 24 (Jiji Press)–Large Typhoon Champi could approach the Kyushu region in southwestern Japan on Monday before becoming an extratropical cyclone and reaching waters off the coast of the Shikoku western region, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency. The agency is

Tokyo, Oct. 24 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s four major beer companies, suspected of price collusion, kept shipping prices unchanged after the 2023 tax cut of 19 yen per liter of beer, citing higher costs, it was learned on Saturday. Meanwhile, they all implemented a

Tokyo, Oct. 24 (Jiji Press)–GMO Internet Inc. has made an urgent request for the Japanese government to implement “active cyber defense” operations following an unauthorized access incident, it was learned on Saturday. GMO Internet has revealed that there was unauthorized access to

Tokyo, Oct. 24 (Jiji Press)–Shiga Bank and Senshu Ikeda Holdings Inc., which owns Senshu Ikeda Bank, are considering a management integration under a new holding company, aiming to expand their customer bases and strengthen their competitiveness, people familiar with the matter have

Tokyo, Oct. 24 (Jiji Press)–GMO Internet Inc. has made an urgent request for the Japanese government to implement “active cyber defense” operations following an unauthorized access incident, it was learned on Saturday. GMO Internet has revealed that there was unauthorized access to

Tokyo, Oct. 24 (Jiji Press)–Park24 Co. has announced plans to provide a consolation payment of 3,000 yen in cash or gift cards to Times Car vehicle-sharing service users affected by a recent data breach. The company has confirmed that about 6.62 million