Niigata, Nov. 14 (Jiji Press)–A rally was held in the central Japan city of Niigata on Saturday, a day ahead of the 49th anniversary of a then 13-year-old Japanese girl being abducted to North Korea. Participants called for stepped-up efforts to realize

Naha, Okinawa Pref., Nov. 14 (Jiji Press)–Police on Saturday arrested U.S. Air Force Capt. Omena C. Mushale, stationed at a base in the southernmost Japan prefecture of Okinawa, for allegedly drinking under the influence of alcohol in violation of the Japanese road

Osaka, Nov. 14 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako arrived in Osaka Prefecture on Saturday for the 45th National Convention for the Development of an Abundantly Productive Sea and other events. In the afternoon, the Imperial couple, at a hotel in

Oyama, Shizuoka Pref., Nov. 14 (Jiji Press)–Subaru Corp. unveiled a new model of its WRX sports sedan on Saturday. The gasoline-powered vehicle is equipped with a six-speed manual transmission, meaning that a manual transmission model of the WRX is revived about seven

(The dateline is corrected. A substitute story follows.) Fuel Removal at Fukushima Reactor Going Smoothly: Workers Fukushima, Nov. 14 (Jiji Press)–An operation to remove fuel from the building for the No. 2 reactor at Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc.’s disaster-stricken Fukushima

Tokyo, Nov. 14 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s Tama Home Co. said Saturday it has informed three major nonlife insurance companies of a plan to end its insurance agency business following fire insurance fraud involving its employees. The homebuilder is considering a plan for outside

Tokyo, Nov. 14 (Jiji Press)–Cumulative global shipments of Sony Group Corp.’s PlayStation 5 video game console topped 100 million units Tuesday, about six years after its launch in November 2020. The PS5 has been popular as it provides immersive experiences to users

New York, Nov. 13 (Jiji Press)–A U.S. resident who fled Lithuania during World War II on a visa issued by Japanese diplomat Chiune Sugihara received an award Friday from the Japanese consul-general in New York for her efforts to preserve the late

Tokyo, Nov. 14 (Jiji Press)–The combined consolidated or unconsolidated net balance at Japan’s 73 listed regional banks and banking groups came to 1,124 billion yen in profit in the April-September first half of fiscal 2026, up 34.2 pct from a year before,

Tokyo, Nov. 14 (Jiji Press)–Japan and the Philippines are expected to sign a memorandum of understanding on strengthening cooperation on oil stockpiling in the Southeast Asian country, Jiji Press learned Saturday. Under the partnership, Japan’s public and private sectors will help the

Hirakata, Osaka Pref., Nov. 14 (Jiji Press)–Japanese police have arrested a man, 33, on suspicion of abusing and killing her 3-year-old-daughter. Arrested by the police department of Osaka Prefecture on Friday was corporate worker Kentaro Kanao, a resident of the city of

Tokyo, Nov. 14 (Jiji Press)–Japan is considering setting its total defense spending for the next five years at around 60 trillion yen, as it revises its three key national security-related documents at the end of this year. The Defense Ministry estimates that

(Adnkronos) – AfD remains clearly ahead of the Union (CDU/CSU) in Germany. If parliamentary elections were held this Sunday, Alternative for Germany would get 28%, two percentage points more than the previous week. The conservative bloc, formed by the Christian Democratic Union

(Adnkronos) – Starting from October 31, 2027, the time difference between Greenland and Copenhagen will increase by one hour, returning to 4, while the gap with Washington time will decrease by one hour, dropping to 2. This was established by a vote

(Adnkronos) – There are 33 female deputies out of 120 represented in the new Knesset. Never have there been so many women in the Israeli Parliament, but only 27.5% of the total number of deputies. An improvement compared to previous legislatures, therefore,

(Adnkronos) – American Vice President J.D. Vance is reportedly “seriously considering” not running for the White House in 2028, following the heavy defeat suffered by Republicans in the November 3 midterm elections. This is revealed by CNN, citing about a dozen allies

Tokyo, Nov. 13 (Jiji Press)–Watami Co., a Japanese restaurant chain, said Friday that it plans to go private through a management buyout scheme. An asset management company of Miki Watanabe, founder, chairman and CEO of the operator of “izakaya” Japanese-style pubs, will

Tokyo, Nov. 13 (Jiji Press)–Combined consolidated net profit at Japan’s five major banking groups is projected to reach 7.06 trillion yen in fiscal 2026, surpassing the 7 trillion-yen mark for the first time, according to their earnings forecasts. All five groups, including

Tokyo, Nov. 13 (Jiji Press)–Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi and his Mexican counterpart, Roberto Velasco, agreed Friday to strengthen bilateral cooperation on economic security. At their talks in Tokyo, Motegi and Velasco exchanged views on preparations for the first meeting of a

Tokyo, Nov. 13 (Jiji Press)–GMO Internet Group Inc. said Friday that the financial impact of an unauthorized access incident on its business so far is expected to reach approximately 3.05 billion yen. Much of the expected impact stems from compensation payments to

Tokyo, Nov. 13 (Jiji Press)–Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said Friday that the government will design a planned income-linked benefit program so that at least 50 pct of workers are eligible for benefits. The benefit program is part of a bill that

(Adnkronos) – The outage affecting some Microsoft services globally is having “severe repercussions” on British healthcare services. This was stated today by Rachel Harrison, of the Gmb union, who nevertheless stressed that “emergency services” appear to have been “spared”. “Staff on telephone

Berlin, Nov. 13 (Jiji Press)–German far-right party member Joerg Urban has shown his eagerness to learn from Japan over how to deal with an inflow of foreign nationals. “I think we can really learn from Japan…because you have a very restrictive policy,”

(Adnkronos) – The Norwegian Supreme Court has annulled three oil licenses in the North Sea because their impact on climate emissions was not adequately assessed. Confirming the two first and second instance rulings, the Norwegian Supreme Court sided with climate activists, who

(Adnkronos) – Around 71% of European citizens want Europe to have its own army. This is revealed by the results of a new survey, seen by Politico, which highlight growing unease about Washington’s reliability and deep divisions regarding Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Tokyo, Nov. 13 (Jiji Press)–The United States is demanding that Japan provide a total of 3 trillion yen over the five years starting in fiscal 2027 for U.S. forces stationed in the country under its Host Nation Support program, about three times

Tokyo, Nov. 13 (Jiji Press)–Japan plans to help the Association of Southeast Asian Nations jointly stockpile petroleum products, people familiar with the matter said. ASEAN is considering building stockpiling bases in Indonesia and Thailand as early as 2027, allowing member countries to

Tokyo, Nov. 13 (Jiji Press)–Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc. said Friday it has completed the seventh round of fiscal 2026 treated water release into the Pacific Ocean from its meltdown-stricken Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant in northeastern Japan. About 7,800

Tokyo, Nov. 13 (Jiji Press)–Russia is increasing pressure on Japan while rejecting its demand for the immediate release of a Japanese journalist who was detained for alleged espionage a month ago. The Japanese government has been struggling to come up with an

Tokyo, Nov. 13 (Jiji Press)–The so-called Quad countries of Japan, the United States, Australia and India are arranging a summit in Manila for Tuesday, Japanese Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Masanao Ozaki told a press conference Friday. The leaders, including Prime Minister Sanae