Tokyo, June 5 (Jiji Press)–Household spending in Japan fell 0.5 pct in April from a year earlier in inflation-adjusted real terms, down for the fifth straight month, the internal affairs ministry said Friday. Average spending by households comprising two or more members

Tokyo, June 5 (Jiji Press)–Japanese home electronics retailers Yamada Holdings Co. and Edion Corp. said Friday that they have reached a basic agreement to integrate their operations with combined annual sales of 2.5 trillion yen. They plan to establish a holding company

Tokyo, June 5 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s foreign exchange reserves fell in May at their fastest pace on record dating back to April 2000 after authorities intervened to support the yen against the dollar, the Finance Ministry said Friday. The reserves stood at 1,305,874

Washington, June 4 (Jiji Press)–U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer indicated Thursday that the United States will respect its trade agreements with Japan and the European Union regarding Washington’s plan to impose additional tariffs of up to 12.5 pct under Section 301 of

Tokyo, June 5 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s foreign exchange reserves fell in May at their fastest pace on record dating back to April 2000 after authorities intervened to support the yen against the dollar, the Finance Ministry said Friday. The reserves stood at 1,305,874

Washington, June 4 (Jiji Press)–The Japanese and U.S. governments announced a five-year plan on Thursday to jointly provide 1 billion dollars for the development of scientific technologies using artificial intelligence. This is part of a U.S. national project called Genesis Mission, and

Tokyo, June 5 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 stock average briefly plummeted over 1,600 points Friday morning, due mainly to selling pressure on semiconductor-related issues. At 10:25 a.m., the index of 225 selected issues listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange’s Prime section

Naha, Okinawa Pref., June 5 (Jiji Press)–Okinawa Prefecture’s gubernatorial election, set for Sept. 13, is shaping up as a de facto one-on-one race between incumbent Governor Denny Tamaki and Genta Koja, a prospective candidate effectively backed by the Liberal Democratic Party. With

Tokyo, June 5 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s inflation-adjusted real wage index rose 1.9 pct in April from a year earlier, up for the fourth straight month, labor ministry data showed Friday. The increase reflected stronger nominal wage growth as well as a slower consumer

Tokyo, June 5 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 stock average briefly plummeted over 1,200 points Friday morning, due to selling pressure on semiconductor-related issues. At 9:14 a.m., the index of 225 selected issues listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange’s Prime section stood

Nagoya, June 5 (Jiji Press)–A Japanese court has sentenced a former elementary school teacher to three years and six months in prison for possessing naked images of girls created by generative artificial intelligence, among other acts, in violation of the law against

(Adnkronos) – A Lufthansa Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner suddenly collapsed onto its nose at Frankfurt Airport, where it was stationary awaiting passenger boarding for Los Angeles. Several crew members were injured.   “While the aircraft was stationary, the front landing gear unexpectedly retracted,”

(Adnkronos) – The Mont Blanc tunnel’s expansion is crucial for the whole of northwest Italy and the government is renewing its request to France to build a second tube that will boost a key transport link for Italian exports and tourism, foreign

(Adnkronos) – After more than seven years, Russia and the United States will face each other again in an ice hockey friendly match on July 1st in Moscow. The event takes on particular significance in light of the exclusion of Russian teams

(Adnkronos) – The agreement reached in Washington between the Israeli and Lebanese delegations under the aegis of the United States amounts to ”a surrender and a defeat”. Hezbollah Secretary General Naim Qassem declared this, defining the direct negotiations between Israel and Lebanon

Tokyo, June 4 (Jiji Press)–Information security firm Trend Micro Inc. said Thursday that it will use Claude Mythos, a cutting-edge artificial intelligence model developed by Anthropic, for its cyber defense services for corporate customers. Trend Micro is believed to be the first

(Adnkronos) – Italy’s foreign minister Antonio Tajani has expressed “deepest condolences” to the United Nations peacekeeping force in Lebanon and to Belgrade after a Serbian soldier serving with UNIFIL died on Thursday from injuries sustained in a mortar shelling of his position

Tokyo, June 4 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party will propose that the government consider nationality-blind regulations for the acquisition of land linked to national security, such as land near Self-Defense Forces bases, it was learned Thursday. Including this, draft proposals were

(Adnkronos) – North Korean leader Kim Jong Un intends to ensure an “exponential” increase in the production of nuclear material for military use. This was reported today by North Korean official media: during a visit to a facility, Kim stated that North

(Adnkronos) – “With a meaningless vote, yesterday the House voted, four bad Republicans and all Democrats, to limit my war powers, right in the middle of my final negotiations to end the war with Iran.” Donald Trump wrote this on Truth Social,

(Adnkronos) – For the first time since the start of the conflict with Iran over three months ago, a resolution aimed at preventing Donald Trump from ordering new raids without congressional authorization has been approved in Congress. After several failed attempts in

(Adnkronos) – Italy’s foreign minister Antonio Tajani on Thursday called on Hezbollah to comply with a US-brokered accord between Lebanon and Israel to renew their fragile ceasefire announced in a joint statement which said the deal was”contingent on complete cessation” of attacks

Tokyo, June 4 (Jiji Press)–PayPay Corp., a smartphone payment firm under SoftBank Group Corp., said Thursday that it will enter the life insurance business by acquiring T&D Financial Life Insurance Co. PayPay will acquire a 70.2 pct stake in the T&D Holdings

Tokyo, June 4 (Jiji Press)–Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is planning to make her first visit to India as early as July to meet with her Indian counterpart, Narendra Modi, it was learned Thursday. Through the visit, which would be part of

Tokyo, June 4 (Jiji Press)–The Japanese government’s new growth strategy, due to be adopted this summer, will feature a plan to promote overseas investment by the country’s public and private sectors, Jiji Press learned Thursday. The government will position foreign direct investment

Tokyo, June 4 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party is considering cutting 45 proportional representation seats in the House of Representatives, the lower chamber of the Diet, the country’s parliament, a senior LDP official said Thursday. At a meeting of the LDP’s

Kawasaki, Kanagawa Pref., June 4 (Jiji Press)–Sakie Yokota, mother of a Japanese abductee to North Korea, has called for the early return of her daughter in an interview ahead of the sixth anniversary of her husband’s death on Friday. “I talk to

Tokyo, June 4 (Jiji Press)–The Japanese government will set a new target of more than halving potential damage from a possible major earthquake directly beneath Tokyo, it was learned Thursday. According to a draft of its revised basic plan for emergency countermeasures,

Tokyo, June 4 (Jiji Press)–The Japanese government’s fiscal 2026 supplementary budget bill cleared the House of Representatives Budget Committee on Thursday and the full Lower House later in the day. The lower chamber of the Diet approved the extra budget bill by

Tokyo, June 4 (Jiji Press)–A foreign exchange market intervention is the “ultimate means of sending a message” to market participants, Japanese Vice Finance Minister for International Affairs Atsushi Mimura said during a recent interview with Jiji Press. Such intervention should be used