Tokyo, Dec. 21 (Jiji Press)–One week after two customers died in a fire in a private room at a luxury sauna facility in Tokyo’s Akasaka district, police are investigating the facility’s operator for possible professional negligence resulting in death. According to investigative

Tokyo, Dec. 21 (Jiji Press)–A senior member of the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan on Sunday clarified the party’s stance against the envisioned abolition of the rules limiting the export of defense equipment to five categories, including equipment for rescue

Sao Paulo, Dec. 20 (Jiji Press)–Japan and Mercosur, the South American trade bloc including Brazil and others, launched a strategic partnership framework on Saturday to strengthen economic and trade relations. In a joint statement, the two sides said that they “will strive

Tokyo, Dec. 21 (Jiji Press)–Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has expressed gratitude for the Japanese government’s pledge to provide an additional 6 billion dollars in financial aid to his country next year. “We greatly appreciate that Japan takes such a leadership position, not

Tokyo, Dec. 21 (Jiji Press)–The mother of Matsuri Takahashi, a then 24-year-old employee of advertising giant Dentsu Inc. who committed suicide nearly a decade ago after working excessive hours, has called for a society without such deaths and voiced her opposition to

Tokyo, Dec. 20 (Jiji Press)–A total of 158 public- and private-sector cooperation deals, including in the fields of natural resources and digital technology, have been reached between Japan and five Central Asian countries, the Japanese government announced Saturday. The announcement was made

Tokyo, Dec. 20 (Jiji Press)–The Bank of Japan’s decision on Friday to raise its policy interest rate further is expected to affect households and businesses in both positive and negative ways. Following the latest BOJ decision, MUFG Bank and Mizuho Bank, two

Tokyo, Dec. 20 (Jiji Press)–Japan and five Central Asian nations agreed at their first summit, held in Tokyo for two days through Saturday, to enhance their economic security cooperation to strengthen supply chains involving natural resources. They adopted a joint declaration identifying

New York, Dec. 19 (Jiji Press)–U.S. doughnut store chain Krispy Kreme Inc. said Friday that it will sell its operations in Japan to Unison Capital Inc. for about 65 million dollars. “Unison is a proven, skilled operator with deep expertise in the

Oita, Dec. 20 (Jiji Press)–A farewell ceremony for former Japanese Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama, who died in October at the age of 101, was held in the southwestern city of Oita on Saturday. About 600 people attended the ceremony, including House of

Washington, Dec. 19 (Jiji Press)–The United States recognizes Japan as “a global leader and a valuable partner” on nuclear nonproliferation and advancing nuclear arms control, a spokesperson for the U.S. State Department said in a statement on Friday. The statement was issued

Tokyo, Dec. 20 (Jiji Press)–Japan and five Central Asian nations adopted a joint declaration at their first summit, held in Tokyo for two days through Saturday. The declaration identifies transportation infrastructure development, decarbonization, and people-to-people exchanges as three priority areas. “The current

Tokyo, Dec. 20 (Jiji Press)–Japanese electronic device maker Nidec Corp. has announced the resignation of its founder, Shigenobu Nagamori, as chairman amid an accounting scandal. On Friday, Nagamori became honorary chairman without the right to represent the company. He voluntarily stepped aside

New York, Dec. 19 (Jiji Press)–The dollar surged above 157.50 yen in New York trading on Friday, as investors sold the Japanese currency amid uncertainty over the Bank of Japan’s next policy rate hike and deep-rooted concerns about the country’s fiscal deterioration.

Tokyo, Dec. 19 (Jiji Press)–Japanese Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama on Friday expressed concerns over the day’s depreciation of the yen on the foreign exchange market, describing it as “one-sided and rapid.” “We will take appropriate measures against excessive movements, including speculative ones”

Tokyo, Dec. 19 (Jiji Press)–Japan will provide around 6 billion dollars, or about 940 billion yen, in additional financial assistance to Ukraine in the first half of 2026. Japanese Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama unveiled this plan at an online meeting of finance

(Adnkronos) – The United States Secretary of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem, has ordered the immediate suspension of the Diversity Visa program, the US federal program that annually grants up to 55,000 visas to citizens of countries with low immigration rates, and which

(Adnkronos) – There have been “almost three million” requests for the “direct line” with Vladimir Putin. This was stated by Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, as reported by the Russian agency Tass. “We have collected almost three million requests from citizens in just

(Adnkronos) – The Louvre Museum was able to reopen to the public “normally” today after employees of the Parisian museum voted to end the strike called to demand better working conditions, while maintaining a notice in the event of insufficient progress in

(Adnkronos) – The Swedish government has summoned the Iranian ambassador to Stockholm following news that a compatriot has been sentenced to death in the Islamic Republic. This was announced by the Scandinavian country’s Foreign Minister, Maria Malmer Stenergard, after Tehran’s judiciary announced

(Adnkronos) – London police are investigating several incidents of apparent vandalism against public menorahs in various areas of the English capital. This is reported by the Jewish News, according to which law enforcement could attribute the damage to the Jewish candelabras to

(Adnkronos) – The Wisconsin judge accused of trying to prevent ICE from arresting an undocumented migrant who was in her courtroom has been convicted. Hannah Dugan, a Milwaukee County court judge, was found guilty of obstructing federal agents but was acquitted of

Nagoya, Dec. 19 (Jiji Press)–The Fair Trade Commission on Friday recognized bid-rigging by Central Japan Railway Co., or JR Tokai, and five other firms regarding inspection work for bridges installed over railroad tracks in violation of the antimonopoly law, ordering them to

Tokyo, Dec. 19 (Jiji Press)–Four major Japanese banks said Friday that they will raise their annual interest rates on ordinary deposits to 0.3 pct from current 0.2 pct, effective Feb. 2, 2026, following the Bank of Japan’s latest rate hike decision. The

Tokyo, Dec. 19 (Jiji Press)–Japan and five Central Asian nations kicked off their first-ever leaders’ meeting in Tokyo on Friday, aiming to deepen cooperation on energy and mineral resources and on artificial intelligence. Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, chair of the two-day

Tokyo, Dec. 19 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s ruling parties agreed Friday to seek to reduce the country’s medical costs by 188 billion yen per year, by revising the eligibility of certain drugs for insurance coverage. The agreement was struck between the policy chiefs of

Tokyo, Dec. 19 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party is considering adding Japanese language proficiency as a requirement for permanent residency for foreigners, sources familiar with the matter said Friday. To obtain the status, foreigners will also be mandated to take a

Tokyo, Dec. 19 (Jiji Press)–Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. said Friday that it plans to invest some 396.2 billion Indian rupees, or about 682.3 billion yen, in major Indian nonbanking financial company Shriram Finance Ltd. The Japanese megabank group will acquire, through

Tokyo, Dec. 19 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s Emperor Naruhito held separate meetings with the visiting presidents of four Central Asian countries–Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan and Tajikistan–at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo on Friday. The Emperor and Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev talked about, among other things,

Tokyo, Dec. 19 (Jiji Press)–Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Friday instructed relevant government agencies to work to hold a summit on artificial intelligence in Japan as early as possible. The envisaged summit would bring together government officials and researchers from countries