Tokyo, July 6 (Jiji Press)–Expectations that rice prices will fall in Japan in the months ahead are increasing among rice growers and traders, an industry group said Monday. The diffusion index for the outlook on rice prices over the next three months

Tokyo, July 6 (Jiji Press)–Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said Monday that her plan to submit a document summarizing an aide’s explanations over a campaign video scandal was not an attempt to avoid answering questions about it in the Diet, the country’s

Tokyo, July 6 (Jiji Press)–The Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, an opposition party, is increasingly concerned about the risk of a split over its potential merger with two other opposition parties–the Centrist Reform Alliance and Komeito. The concerns come as the Komeito

Tokyo/Beijing, July 6 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara on Monday voiced concern over China’s reported missile launch toward the Pacific Ocean earlier in the day. The missile was not confirmed to have flown over Japan’s territory or its exclusive economic

Tokyo, July 6 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s Sapporo Breweries Ltd. said Monday that it will form a capital and business tie-up with Danish brewing giant Carlsberg Breweries A/S. The two companies plan to establish a joint venture in Singapore. Sapporo will invest about 643

Tokyo, July 6 (Jiji Press)–Shunichi Mizuoka, who heads the opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, on Monday criticized the government’s bill to revise the Imperial House Law for including items not taken up in ruling-opposition discussions. “Using a cheap trick that feels

(Adnkronos) – Russia launched waves of missiles and drones against Kyiv and the surrounding region overnight, killing at least 10 people and injuring at least 56 others, hours after President Volodymyr Zelensky had warned of another possible large-scale attack on the capital.

Kurashiki, Okayama Pref./Hiroshima, July 6 (Jiji Press)–Residents across the Chugoku western Japan region on Monday mourned over 300 people who lost their lives in a devastating rain disaster that mainly hit the area in 2018. Monday marked the eighth anniversary of the

Tokyo, July 6 (Jiji Press)–Powerful Typhoon Bavi is expected to approach the Sakishima Islands of the southernmost Japan prefecture of Okinawa from Friday to Saturday, possibly bringing strong winds and heavy rain, the Japan Meteorological Agency said Monday. High waves are also

Tokyo, July 6 (Jiji Press)–The yield on the most recent issue of 10-year Japanese government bonds rose as high as 2.830 pct in Tokyo interdealer bond trading on Monday, hitting the highest level since May 1997. JGBs remained under selling as the

Tokyo, July 6 (Jiji Press)–Tokyo police have arrested a 15-year-old high school student on suspicion of fraudulently canceling the subscriptions of about 46,800 accounts on the Bandai Channel video streaming service by exploiting a system vulnerability. The Metropolitan Police Department’s cybercrime countermeasure

Tokyo, July 6 (Jiji Press)–Six Japanese opposition parties in the House of Councillors, the upper chamber of the Diet, agreed Monday to return to parliamentary proceedings on Tuesday. The agreement came after Yoshihiko Isozaki, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s Diet affairs chief

Brussels, July 6 (Jiji Press)–Maintaining stability in Europe, with which Japan shares fundamental values, serves the country’s interests, Japanese Ambassador to NATO Osamu Izawa said in an interview with Jiji Press. Izawa pointed out that even if U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration

Tokyo, July 6 (Jiji Press)–The Defense Ministry introduced Luup Inc.’s electric scooter-sharing service at its Ichigaya headquarters in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward this month to help employees travel inside and outside the 25-hectare site, which is five times larger than the Tokyo Dome

Beijing, July 6 (Jiji Press)–A Chinese navy submarine has fired a missile toward the Pacific, China’s state-run Xinhua news agency reported Monday. Earlier in the day, the Japanese government was notified by the Chinese defense ministry of a plan to shortly launch

Tokyo, July 6 (Jiji Press)–Companies in Japan face the need to improve job opportunities and work environments for people with disabilities, after the statutory minimum employment rate for such people was raised to 2.7 pct from 2.5 pct on Wednesday. Even before

Tokyo, July 6 (Jiji Press)–Japan should engage in discussions involving all stakeholders on whether and how to reform its public medical insurance system, Takashi Yonekawa, deputy head of the National Federation of Health Insurance Societies, or Kenporen, said in a recent interview.

Tokyo, July 6 (Jiji Press)–The number of reported fraud cases in Tokyo involving scammers posing as police officers dropped 38.8 pct from a year earlier in the first five months of 2026, Metropolitan Police Department sources said Monday. The number of such

Tokyo, July 6 (Jiji Press)–Women are becoming increasingly visible in Japan’s fish markets as the country shifts toward a more gender-neutral society, making inroads into the traditionally male-dominated industry. At the Toyosu wholesale food market in Tokyo’s Koto Ward, more than 10

Tokyo, July 6 (Jiji Press)–Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has sent a congratulatory letter to Peruvian President-elect Keiko Fujimori over her election victory in the South American country. In the letter sent Sunday, Takaichi expressed her desire to work together to further

Tokyo, July 6 (Jiji Press)–As younger consumers increasingly turn away from alcoholic drinks, major Japanese brewers are expanding their lineups of nonalcoholic beverages and products with low alcohol content. The companies believe that many young people still want to enjoy the lively

Otsu, Shiga Pref., July 5 (Jiji Press)–Taizo Mikazuki won a fourth term as governor of the western Japan prefecture of Shiga in an election Sunday, defeating three rivals. Mikazuki, 55, was supported by the ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s Shiga prefectural chapter and

Otsu, Shiga Pref., July 5 (Jiji Press)–Taizo Mikazuki won a fourth term as governor of the western Japan prefecture of Shiga in an election Sunday, defeating three rivals. Mikazuki, 55, was supported by the ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s Shiga prefectural chapter and

Tokyo, July 5 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s Hayabusa2 unmanned probe successfully flew past the asteroid Torifune at close range on Sunday, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency said. The probe is in normal condition, JAXA said. According to the plan, Hayabusa2 passed about 800 meters

Tokyo, July 5 (Jiji Press)–Japanese police served fresh arrest warrants on three people on Sunday, including a 44-year-old man believed to be an executive of one of Asia’s largest international fraud organizations, for allegedly violating the immigration control law by illegally using

Tokyo, July 5 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s Foreign Ministry is considering the possibility of easing its evacuation advisory for Iran and three other Middle Eastern countries in response to a deal between the United States and Iran to end their fighting. The plan has

Tokyo, July 5 (Jiji Press)–Ryoma Hudzeleu, a Japanese national from Mitaka, Tokyo, has won the gold medal in the senior men’s solo category at the International Ballet Competition in Moscow, held at the Bolshoi Theater in the Russian capital. After winning first

Hitoyoshi, Kumamoto Pref., July 5 (Jiji Press)–A memorial ceremony was held in Kumamoto Prefecture on Sunday to mark the sixth anniversary of the heavy rain disaster that left 67 people dead and two others unaccounted for in the southwestern Japan prefecture. At

By Yuka Moriyama Tokyo, July 5 (Jiji Press)–Philippine Ambassador to Japan Mylene J. Garcia-Albano has said she is “very encouraged” to see women assuming greater responsibilities in Japan, while expressing her willingness to share lessons from her own country’s “long history” of

By Yuka Moriyama Tokyo, July 5 (Jiji Press)–Philippine Ambassador to Japan Mylene J. Garcia-Albano has emphasized the importance of further strengthening bilateral cooperation in security and economic affairs as the two countries prepare to mark the 70th anniversary of the resumption of