Tokyo, Dec. 5 (Jiji Press)–Household spending in Japan in October fell 3.0 pct from a year before in inflation-adjusted real terms, the first drop in six months, reflecting sluggish expenditures on mobile phone services and automobiles, the internal affairs ministry said Friday.

Washington, Dec. 4 (Jiji Press)–A spokesperson at the International Monetary Fund on Thursday commended Japan’s draft supplementary budget for fiscal 2025. “We are encouraged to see that some of the more fiscally burdensome proposals that had been discussed” are not included in

Tokyo, Dec. 5 (Jiji Press)–Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities Co. said Thursday that it plans to sell yen-denominated money management funds, an investment trust that mainly invests in short-term government bonds, starting next year. Yen-denominated MMFs will be sold in Japan for

Tokyo, Dec. 5 (Jiji Press)–The Diet, Japan’s parliament, enacted Friday a bill aimed at addressing the uneven availability of doctors in the country and promoting digital transformation in the medical sector. The legislation to revise the medical care law was approved at

New York, Dec. 4 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s ambassador to the United Nations on Thursday sent U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres another letter challenging China’s claim concerning recent remarks by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on a possible Taiwan contingency. “The assertions contained therein are

Tokyo, Dec. 5 (Jiji Press)–The Japanese government plans to strengthen the oversight of regional lenders that have received public funds, or taxpayer money, to improve their financial standings. The Financial System Council, which advises the prime minister, broadly approved at a working

Tokyo, Dec. 5 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s ruling and opposition parties remained apart during Thursday’s parliamentary deliberations on bills related to the reform of political donations from companies and other organizations. At a meeting of the political reform special committee of the House of

Tokyo, Dec. 5 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s tourism industry is concerned that the current tensions between Japan and China over Taiwan could have a prolonged impact. Amid the tensions, the Chinese government has advised its citizens not to visit Japan, resulting in flight and

(Adnkronos) – The New York Times is suing the Pentagon over restrictions imposed on journalists, who are now forbidden from seeking news and information from government sources that have not been authorized to provide it. In the lawsuit filed today in Washington’s

(Adnkronos) – China will provide 100 million dollars in aid to help alleviate the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and support reconstruction efforts. Chinese President Xi Jinping announced this during a joint press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron, following their meeting in

(Adnkronos) – The British government has summoned the Russian ambassador to the Foreign Office in response to the campaign of “hostile activities” that Moscow is conducting against the United Kingdom. The summons, British media explain, follows the publication of the report by

(Adnkronos) – Up to 6,500 people risk being displaced in the Democratic Republic of Congo due to the Lobito Corridor, the large infrastructure project funded by the United States and the European Union. This is revealed by a new report from Global

(Adnkronos) – The FBI has arrested Brian Cole, a Virginia man suspected of planting the homemade bombs found on January 5, 2021, near the headquarters of the Republican National Committee (RNC) and Democratic National Committee (DNC) in Washington, the evening before the

(Adnkronos) – On the fourth day of the presidential election vote count in Honduras, Nasry Asfura is once again narrowly ahead of Salvador Nasralla. With 84.5% of the ballots counted, the candidate of the right-wing National Party, who has Donald Trump’s endorsement,

(Adnkronos) – The U.S. Treasury Department has authorized Lukoil-branded gas stations located outside Russia to continue their operations, suspending part of the sanctions against the Russian energy giant.  The decision effectively allows Lukoil pumps in countries like the United States to remain

Tokyo, Dec. 4 (Jiji Press)–Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is considering holding talks with South Korean President Lee Jae-myung in the western Japan prefecture of Nara in mid-January next year, a Japanese government source said Thursday. If realized, it will be Lee’s

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