Tokyo, July 17 (Jiji Press)–Prices of newly harvested rice in Japan are increasingly likely to fall this year after rising for two straight years. This month, the Kagoshima Prefectural Economic Federation of Agricultural Cooperatives notified local agricultural cooperatives of suggested purchase prices

Osaka, July 17 (Jiji Press)–Twenty-three people, mainly students, were injured after an unknown substance was sprayed at a municipal junior high school in the city of Kaizuka, Osaka Prefecture, western Japan, on Friday morning. According to the city’s board of education, 15

Tokyo, July 17 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s parliament Friday passed into law a bill designed to prevent the birth of genetically edited “designer babies” whose appearance and other characteristics would be altered according to their parents’ preferences. The law prohibits the implantation of genome-edited

Tokyo, July 17 (Jiji Press)–Seven & i Holdings Co. is considering spending several hundred billion yen to acquire a stake in Zabka Group SA, Poland’s largest convenience store operator, people familiar with the matter said Friday. Through the investment, the Japanese convenience

Tokyo, July 17 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s key Nikkei 225 stock average on Friday marked the fifth-biggest one-day point loss on record, hurt by heavy selling of semiconductor- and artificial intelligence-related issues. The index of 225 major issues listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange’s

Tokyo, July 17 (Jiji Press)–The use of biomass plastic, derived from renewable resources such as plants, to make garbage bags is spreading in Japan in response to supply disruptions of naphtha due to the Middle East conflict. The “naphtha shock” exposed the

Tokyo, July 17 (Jiji Press)–The Diet, Japan’s parliament, enacted a bill Friday to revise the Imperial House Law as part of efforts to secure a sufficient number of Imperial Family members, marking the first substantive change to the law since its establishment

Tokyo, July 17 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s key Nikkei 225 stock average on Friday marked the fifth-biggest one-day point loss on record, hurt by heavy selling of semiconductor- and artificial intelligence-related issues. The index of 225 major issues listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange’s

Tottori, July 17 (Jiji Press)–Prefectural governors from across Japan on Friday expressed opposition to a proposal that their authority be transferred to ordinance-designated major cities on the second day Friday of their two-day annual meeting in Tottori, a city in western Japan.

(The second paragraph should have read, “…its junior coalition partner, the Japan Innovation Party,…” instead of as sent. A substitute story follows.) Tokyo, July 17 (Jiji Press)–The Diet, Japan’s parliament, enacted a bill Friday to revise the Imperial House Law as part

Kashiwa, Chiba Pref., July 17 (Jiji Press)–A former nurse arrested for allegedly killing a patient at a hospital in Chiba Prefecture, eastern Japan, by mixing feces into his intravenous drip had been seen entering the patient’s room several times shortly before the

Tokyo, July 17 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 stock average temporarily plunged over 4,100 points Friday afternoon due to selling of issues related to semiconductors and artificial intelligence following overnight falls in their U.S. counterparts. At 1:41 p.m., the index of 225

Tokyo, July 17 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s parliament on Friday enacted a bill to prevent the unauthorized sales of domestically developed agricultural products overseas. Aiming to better protect the rights related to Japan-developed fruits that are popular overseas and prevent a loss of profit,

Tokyo, July 17 (Jiji Press)–The Diet, Japan’s parliament, on Friday enacted a bill to revise the retrial system for the first time since the Code of Criminal Procedure was established in 1948. The bill to amend the code was approved by a

Tokyo, July 17 (Jiji Press)–The Diet, Japan’s parliament, enacted a bill Friday to criminalize acts of damaging the Japanese national flag, despite concerns that it could infringe on freedom of thought and expression guaranteed by the Constitution. At a plenary meeting, the

Tokyo, July 17 (Jiji Press)–The Diet, Japan’s parliament, enacted a bill Friday to revise the Imperial House Law as part of efforts to secure a sufficient number of Imperial Family members, marking the first substantive change to the law since its establishment

Tokyo, July 17 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 stock average plunged over 2,900 points Friday morning due to selling of issues related to semiconductors and artificial intelligence following overnight falls in their U.S. counterparts. The index of 225 major issues listed on

Tokyo, July 17 (Jiji Press)–The Diet, Japan’s parliament, enacted a bill Friday to revise the Imperial House Law as part of efforts to secure a sufficient number of Imperial Family members, marking the first substantive change to the law since its establishment

Tokyo, July 17 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 stock average briefly plunged over 2,700 points Friday morning due to selling of issues related to semiconductors and artificial intelligence following overnight falls in their U.S. counterparts. At 9:43 a.m., the index of 225

(Adnkronos) – Hezbollah speaks of “unfounded” reports after post-Assad Syria reported the seizure of weapons destined for the Lebanese Shiite movement along the border between the Arab country and Iraq. Hezbollah, in a statement relayed by al-Manar (a Lebanese TV affiliated with

(Adnkronos) – Explosions were heard today in central Dubai, according to witnesses. This was reported by the Times of Israel website, citing Reuters.  

(Adnkronos) – Post-Assad Syria seizes weapons destined for Lebanese Hezbollah. Damascus’ Interior Ministry announced that it had intercepted a large shipment of sophisticated weapons destined for Hezbollah and prevented its passage from Iraq into Syrian territory to reach Lebanon, the official Syrian

(Adnkronos) – Kuwait is again in the crosshairs of “drone” attacks. “The Army General Staff reports that explosions, if heard, are due to air defense systems intercepting hostile attacks,” reads a statement released via X, which condemns the “criminal Iranian aggression.”  

(Adnkronos) – Italy’s premier Giorgia Meloni expressed the government’s “deepest condolences” for the victims of a fire that broke out at a children’s care home in the Algerian capital, Algiers early on Thursday, in which at least 11 people died and a

(Adnkronos) – The Rome-based UN Food and Agriculture Organisation has extended a cash assistance scheme to help 1,500 small farmers in the war-devastated Gaza Strip cultivate at least 0.1 hectars of land each with the goal of producing enough fresh vegetables to

(Adnkronos) – The Russian army launched a missile attack against Odesa’s infrastructure, killing one person and injuring another. This was announced on Telegram by the head of the city’s military administration, Serhiy Lysak, as reported by Ukrinform. “Another missile attack on the

Tokyo, July 16 (Jiji Press)–Nvidia Corp. announced plans to expand its collaboration with Japanese companies, such as Toyota Motor Corp. and Fujitsu Ltd., on Thursday, during CEO Jensen Huang’s visit to Japan. The major U.S. chipmaker will provide advanced graphics processing units

(Adnkronos) – “Although the implementation of the memorandum of understanding” between the US and Iran, from last June, “is encountering difficulties, Pakistan will continue to encourage all parties to end the violence and resume technical-level talks.” This was stated to journalists in

(Adnkronos) – Moscow’s ballistic missiles hit Kyiv during the night, the second Russian raid against the Ukrainian capital this week after the raid on the night of the 13th and 14th, causing two deaths and six injuries, including a 16-year-old boy, announced

Tokyo, July 16 (Jiji Press)–The top diplomats of Japan and Greece agreed Thursday to strengthen their countries’ cooperation on maritime security in order to ensure freedom of navigation and the safety of maritime transportation. During their meeting in Tokyo, Japanese Foreign Minister