Singapore, May 29 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi arrived in Singapore on Friday to attend the Asia Security Summit, also known as the Shangri-La Dialogue, which will run for three days through Sunday. During his stay here, Koizumi will meet with

Tokyo, May 29 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s Diet, or parliament, enacted a bill on Friday to oblige power plant operators to draw up and submit plans to dispose of used solar panels. At the day’s plenary meeting, the House of Councillors, the upper Diet

(Adnkronos) – Italy’s government is urging Europe to step up surveillance coordination at its borders to combat the spread of Ebola and is sending a team of experts from Rome’s Spallanzani infectious diseases hospital to the Democratic Republic of the Congo “as

Tokyo, May 29 (Jiji Press)–Japanese authorities spent 11,734.9 billion yen in foreign exchange market interventions from April 28 to Wednesday, with the amount hitting a record high on a monthly basis, the Finance Ministry said Friday. The figure far exceeded 9,788.5 billion

Tokyo, May 29 (Jiji Press)–Tokyo District Court on Friday found one anesthesiologist guilty and another not guilty over the death of a 2-year-old boy at Tokyo Women’s Medical University Hospital in 2014. Presiding Judge Yasunobu Hosoya sentenced Toru Kotani, 66, to a

Tokyo, May 29 (Jiji Press)–Women accounted for a record 35.7 pct of those who passed Japan’s career-track national public servant examination for the spring of fiscal 2026, the National Personnel Authority said Friday. A total of 2,021 applicants passed the exam to

(Adnkronos) – The overnight Russian drone strike on a residential building in Nato and European Union member Romania’s eastern city of Galati is a threat to European security, Italy’s prime minister Giorgia Meloni stated on Friday, deploring the “extremely serious act”  

Tokyo, May 29 (Jiji Press)–The share of Japanese households owning smartphones outnumbered that of television-owning households for the first time last year, the communications ministry said Friday. A survey by the ministry found that 91.8 pct of households owned smartphones in 2025,

Manila, May 29 (Jiji Press)–The Philippines is set to strengthen its oil stockpiling system in response to the energy crisis caused by the tense situation in the Middle East, with support from Japan, as agreed by the leaders of the two countries

Utsunomiya, Tochigi Pref., May 29 (Jiji Press)–Police on Friday placed on a public wanted list a 48-year-old man who allegedly orchestrated a fatal home-invasion robbery in the eastern Japan prefecture of Tochigi and fled the country after the crime. The Tochigi prefectural

(Adnkronos) – Itay has “strongly condemned” a Russian drone involved in an attack on Ukraine which hit an appartment block overight in Nato member Romania, in the eastern city of Galati, sparking a fire and injuring two people amid growing concern over

Tokyo, May 29 (Jiji Press)–Japanese Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako bid farewell to Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and his wife at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo on Friday. Marcos and his wife, who visited Japan as state guests for four days

Tokyo, May 29 (Jiji Press)–Japanese stocks climbed in trading in Tokyo Friday on hopes for an extension of the U.S.-Iran ceasefire, driving the benchmark Nikkei 225 average to a new closing high above 66,000. The Nikkei ended at 66,329.50, up 1,636.38 points,

Tokyo, May 29 (Jiji Press)–Vote-value disparities between single-seat constituencies for Japan’s House of Representatives, the lower chamber of parliament, reach up to 2.274 times, according to an estimate made based on preliminary results of the 2025 national census released by the internal

Tokyo, May 29 (Jiji Press)–Only about 30 pct of Japanese companies have taken substantive measures to ensure economic security, such as diversifying procurement sources and strengthening cybersecurity, with less profitable firms tending not to take action, a government report showed Friday. According

Tokyo, May 29 (Jiji Press)–Japanese stocks climbed in trading in Tokyo Friday on hopes for an extension of the U.S.-Iran ceasefire, driving the benchmark Nikkei 225 average to a new closing high above 66,000. The Nikkei ended at 66,329.50, up 1,636.38 points,

Tokyo, May 29 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s Defense Ministry said Friday that four Self-Defense Force members will take part in NATO’s mission to provide security aid and training to Ukraine. In the Germany-based Ukraine mission, the members will participate in noncombat activities such as

Tokyo, May 29 (Jiji Press)–The Diet, or Japan’s parliament, on Friday enacted health insurance system reform bills that call for, among others, raising patients’ out-of-pocket expenses for prescribed drugs with ingredients and effects similar to those of over-the-counter drugs. Starting next March,

Tokyo, May 29 (Jiji Press)–Major food makers in Japan plan to raise prices for 1,078 items in June, with the number topping the threshold of 1,000 for the first time in two months, a survey by Teikoku Databank Ltd. showed Friday. The

Tokyo, May 29 (Jiji Press)–The Japanese government expressed concern about the impact of a sharp increase in private-sector rice imports on domestic rice production in an annual white paper adopted Friday. The fiscal 2025 white paper on food, agriculture and rural areas

Tokyo, May 29 (Jiji Press)–The Diet, Japan’s parliament, enacted a bill Friday that paves the way for the creation of an investment screening body similar to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, or CFIUS. The bill to amend the

Tokyo, May 29 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s industrial production in April grew 0.8 pct from the previous month, the first rise in three months, thanks to strong output of general-purpose and business machinery, preliminary industry ministry data showed Friday. The seasonally adjusted production index

Tokyo, May 29 (Jiji Press)–The core consumer price index for central Tokyo in May advanced 1.3 pct from a year before, up for the 57th straight month, internal affairs ministry data showed Friday. The core consumer price index, which excludes volatile fresh

Tokyo, May 29 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell 0.2 percentage point from the previous month to 2.5 pct in April, the first improvement in two months, the internal affairs ministry said Friday. The improvement likely reflected progress in re-employment among

New York, May 28 (Jiji Press)–Japanese Ambassador to the United Nations Kazuyuki Yamazaki brushed aside Russia’s criticism against Japan’s defense buildup in a resumed U.N. session in New York on Thursday. The Russian allegation that Japan’s “remilitarization” is undermining the U.N.-centered international

Tokyo, May 29 (Jiji Press)–The Diet, Japan’s parliament, enacted on Friday a bill to raise the caps on fees for foreign nationals’ applications related to residence status by up to 30-fold. The revision to the immigration control and refugee recognition law was

Tokyo, May 29 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s total population, including foreign residents, fell by a record 3,096,575 in the past five years, a national census survey conducted last year showed Friday. Japan’s population as of Oct. 1, 2025, stood at 123,049,524, the internal affairs

Tokyo, May 29 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s total population, including foreign residents, fell by a record 3,096,575 in the past five years, a national census survey conducted last year showed Friday. Japan’s population as of Oct. 1, 2025, stood at 123,049,524, the internal affairs

Tokyo, May 29 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s three megabanks are expected to obtain access to a new artificial intelligence model of OpenAI, the U.S. company behind generative AI chatbot ChatGPT, according to informed sources. The banks–MUFG Bank, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. and Mizuho Bank–plan

(Adnkronos) – The European Union is looking at possible European initiatives to stablise southern Lebanon after the UN’s peacekeeping mission (UNIFIL) ceases operations at the end of December and starts to withdraw its personnel over the following year, Italy’s top diplomat, Antonio