Tokyo, Dec. 4 (Jiji Press)–The Japanese government and ruling parties are considering scrapping as early as next spring a defense equipment transfer rule that limits exports to five types of defense equipment, such as rescue and transport gear, informed sources said Thursday.

Oita, Dec. 4 (Jiji Press)–The massive fire in the city of Oita in southwestern Japan had been fully contained, the city government declared on Thursday, the 17th day of the disaster. “We appreciate the efforts of various people to extinguish the fire,”

Tokyo, Dec. 4 (Jiji Press)–The Bank of Japan is reviewing the level of the so-called neutral interest rate, which neither stimulates nor cools the economy, informed sources told Jiji Press on Thursday. The central bank estimates that Japan’s neutral interest rate currently

Tomari, Hokkaido, Dec. 4 (Jiji Press)–Hokkaido Governor Naomichi Suzuki on Thursday inspected Hokkaido Electric Power Co.’s Tomari nuclear plant, ahead of his final decision on whether to approve the planned restart of the No. 3 reactor at the plant in the northernmost

Tokyo, Dec. 4 (Jiji Press)–Senior foreign and defense officials of Japan and Vietnam on Thursday agreed to flesh out cooperation in the field of security to realize a free and open Indo-Pacific region. At their first vice minister-class “two-plus-two” meeting covering the

Tokyo, Dec. 4 (Jiji Press)–Aozora Bank plans to strengthen cooperation with regional banks, such as on syndicated loans, to expand its investment banking business, its president, Hideto Oomi, said in a recent interview. “Finding business partners is important,” Oomi said at a

Tokyo, Dec. 4 (Jiji Press)–Bain Capital is “actively discussing” possible business acquisitions to boost the corporate value of York Holdings Co., which the U.S. investment firm acquired from Seven & i Holdings Co. in September, Naofumi Nishi, a partner of Bain Capital,

Tokyo, Dec. 4 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s government and ruling coalition are considering introducing a system designed to increase the annual automobile tax according to the weight of electric vehicles, for which the minimum rate is currently applied, informed sources said Thursday. The measure

Tokyo, Dec. 4 (Jiji Press)–Tetsuya Yamagami, charged with the 2022 murder of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, apologized to the bereaved family for the first time at Nara District Court on Thursday. At the 14th court hearing of his lay judge trial,

Tokyo, Dec. 4 (Jiji Press)–Japan plans to introduce a ban with penalties on implanting a genome-edited fertilized human egg into the womb of a human or another animal amid concerns over “designer babies.” A Japanese government expert panel broadly approved a proposal,

Tokyo, Dec. 4 (Jiji Press)–Tokyo police served an arrest warrant on a 17-year-old boy on Thursday for allegedly carrying out a cyberattack on the operator of the Kaikatsu Club internet cafe chain. The Metropolitan Police Department charged the second-year high school student

(Adnkronos) – The EU Council reached an agreement overnight with the European Parliament on a series of rules establishing a legal framework for new genomic techniques (Ngt). The regulation, according to the Council, aims to improve the competitiveness of the agri-food sector

(Adnkronos) – Vladimir Putin’s traditional live broadcast with the Russian public and journalists will take place on the 19th of this month, the Kremlin announced. The event, which usually lasts for hours, will begin at noon (Moscow time). “Year-end summary with Vladimir

(Adnkronos) – Russia “has no intention of returning to the G8”, from which it was excluded in 2014 after the annexation of Crimea. President Vladimir Putin reiterated this in an interview with India Today, emphasizing how the group has now lost economic

Tokyo, Dec. 4 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s government and ruling parties have begun discussions on correcting what they say is an imbalance in tax revenues favoring Tokyo, which has led to widening regional disparities in administrative services, it was learned Thursday. They are considering

Tokyo, Dec. 4 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s rice price outlook index fell 7 points from the previous month to 32 in November, an organization comprising the National Federation of Agricultural Cooperative Associations, or Zen-Noh, and others said Thursday. The result reflects increased rice harvests

Tokyo, Dec. 4 (Jiji Press)–Robots equipped with cutting-edge technologies that perform duties on behalf of humans at workplaces and disaster-hit sites are on display at the 2025 International Robot Exhibition in Tokyo. At the exhibition, which kicked off at Tokyo Big Sight

Tokyo, Dec. 4 (Jiji Press)–The yield on the most recent issue of 10-year Japanese government bonds, regarded as the country’s benchmark long-term interest rate, rose to 1.935 pct, the highest level in about 18 and a half years, in Tokyo interdealer trading

Tokyo, Dec. 4 (Jiji Press)–Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc. on Thursday began the sixth round for fiscal 2025 of the release into the sea of treated water from its disaster-crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant in northeastern Japan. In the

Tokyo, Dec. 4 (Jiji Press)–The suspension of pork imports from Spain due to African swine fever outbreaks in the country has raised concerns about the supply of ham, bacon and other pork products in Japan. With nearly 70 pct of Japan’s total

Tokyo, Dec. 4 (Jiji Press)–A federation of labor unions from small and midsize companies in Japan’s machinery and metal sectors said Thursday that it will request a pay scale hike of at least 17,000 yen per month in next year’s “shunto” spring

Tokyo, Dec. 4 (Jiji Press)–The yield on the most recent issue of 10-year Japanese government bonds rose above 1.9 pct to hit the highest level in about 18 and a half years in Tokyo interdealer trading Thursday morning. The 10-year JGB yield,

Tokyo, Dec. 4 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s Diet on Wednesday started deliberations on three bills related to reform of political donations from companies and other organizations, at the political reform special committee of the House of Representatives, the lower chamber of the parliament. The

Tokyo, Dec. 4 (Jiji Press)–Tokyo police served an arrest warrant on a 17-year-old boy on Thursday for allegedly carrying out a cyberattack on the operator of the Kaikatsu Club internet cafe chain. The Metropolitan Police Department charged the second-year high school student

Fukui, Dec. 4 (Jiji Press)–Tatsuji Sugimoto, governor of Fukui Prefecture, central Japan, resigned on Thursday over his sexual harassment against prefectural government employees. The Fukui prefectural assembly accepted his resignation at a plenary session on the same day. Sugimoto, 63, submitted a

Tokyo, Dec. 4 (Jiji Press)–Tokyo police plan to serve an arrest warrant on a 17-year-old boy as early as Thursday for allegedly carrying out a cyberattack on the operator of the Kaikatsu Club internet cafe chain, investigative sources said. The Metropolitan Police

Tokyo, Dec. 4 (Jiji Press)–The Japanese health ministry proposed Thursday that the cost of child delivery be fully covered by public health insurance. The proposal was presented to the Social Security Council’s medical insurance subcommittee, which discusses the advisability of eliminating out-of-pocket

Tokyo, Dec. 4 (Jiji Press)–The yield on the most recent issue of 10-year Japanese government bonds rose above 1.9 pct to hit the highest level in about 18 and a half years in Tokyo interdealer trading Thursday morning. The key 10-year JGB

Osaka, Dec. 4 (Jiji Press)–The economic impact of the 2025 World Exposition in the western Japan city of Osaka is estimated to have reached 3,054.1 billion yen, a private-sector survey has shown. The figure surpassed last year’s projection of 2,745.7 billion yen,

Kyoto, Dec. 4 (Jiji Press)–A Japanese research team has succeeded in producing induced pluripotent stem, or iPS, cells safely and efficiently by adding artificially synthesized ribonucleic acid to human blood cells. The team, comprising researchers from Kyoto University’s Center for iPS Cell