London, Sept. 21 (Jiji Press)–The Bank of Japan conducted a “rate check” with financial institutions, a move regarded as a preparatory step toward possible currency market intervention, ahead of a five-day holiday period through Wednesday in Japan, market sources said Monday. The

(Adnkronos) – Just Russia, the party of the ‘systemic opposition’, meaning the fake opposition tolerated by the Kremlin which in fact always votes as requested in the lower house of Parliament, does not exceed the five percent electoral threshold.   According to

(Adnkronos) – The outgoing State Duma ‘speaker’ Vyacheslav Volodin has been re-elected with over 92 percent of the votes for a single-mandate seat in the Saratov constituency, according to the vote count results, relating to the tabulation of just over 4 percent

(Adnkronos) – Three South Korean officers were injured in an explosion near the border with North Korea. The Seoul army announced this, specifying that the incident occurred south of the Military Demarcation Line within the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), one of the most

Tokyo, Sept. 21 (Jiji Press)–Former Japanese internal affairs minister Yoshimasa Hayashi is drawing attention within the country’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party over his next move after leaving the cabinet in a reshuffle on Thursday. Of the four candidates who ran against Prime

Kanazawa, Ishikawa Pref., Sept. 21 (Jiji Press)–People in Ishikawa Prefecture observed a moment of silence Monday for the victims of torrential rains that struck the northern part of the Noto Peninsula in the central Japan prefecture two years ago. The disaster left

Tokyo, Sept. 21 (Jiji Press)–Yuichiro Tamaki, leader of the Japanese opposition Democratic Party for the People, will visit Ukraine on Monday, his office said. Tamaki will be the first leader of a Japanese opposition party to visit Ukraine since Russia invaded the

Manila, Sept. 21 (Jiji Press)–A 90-year-old second-generation Japanese woman born in the Philippines who was separated from her father after World War II is planning to visit his native Okinawa Prefecture in southernmost Japan for the first time by the end of

Kanazawa, Ishikawa Pref., Sept. 21 (Jiji Press)–People in Ishikawa Prefecture observed a moment of silence Monday for the victims of torrential rains that struck the northern part of the Noto Peninsula in the central Japan prefecture two years ago. The disaster left

Tokyo, Sept. 21 (Jiji Press)–Needy households in Japan live on an average food expenditure of less than 500 yen per person a day amid lingering inflation, according to a survey by Save the Children Japan, a nongovernmental organization. The survey, conducted in

Manila, Sept. 20 (Jiji Press)–Economy ministers from Japan and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations agreed at a meeting in Manila on Sunday to begin a study on expanding the Japan-ASEAN economic partnership agreement, Japan’s Ryosei Akazawa said after the meeting. Participants

Seoul/Tokyo, Sept. 20 (Jiji Press)–North Korea fired two ballistic missiles toward the Sea of Japan from around Wonsan, Kangwon Province, at around 3 p.m. and 5:50 p.m. Sunday, according to the South Korean military. Both missiles are believed to have fallen into

Tokyo, Sept. 20 (Jiji Press)–Ahead of Respect for the Aged Day in Japan on Monday, the National Institute of Technology and Evaluation warned of accidents involving nursing beds or wheelchairs and urged elderly people to review proper usage with their families and

Seoul/Tokyo, Sept. 20 (Jiji Press)–North Korea fired a ballistic missile toward the Sea of Japan from around Wonsan, Kangwon Province, at around 3 p.m. Sunday, according to the South Korean military. According to Japanese Defense Ministry sources, it is believed to have

Tokyo, Sept. 20 (Jiji Press)–The number of people aged 65 and older in Japan is estimated to have totaled 36.24 million as of Tuesday, up by 20,000 from a year earlier, the internal affairs ministry said Sunday, ahead of Respect for the

Tokyo, Sept. 20 (Jiji Press)–What was possibly a ballistic missile was launched from North Korea, Japanese Defense Ministry sources said Sunday. The possible ballistic missile is believed to have fallen into waters outside Japan’s exclusive economic zone, according to the sources. END

Hitoyoshi, Kumamoto Pref., Sept. 20 (Jiji Press)–Kumagawa Railroad Co., a public-private railway operator in the southwestern Japan prefecture of Kumamoto, fully resumed service on Sunday, about six years and two months after the railway was heavily damaged in the July 2020 Kumamoto

Nagoya, Sept. 20 (Jiji Press)–Takumi Hojo won the men’s triathlon at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games on Sunday, bringing Japan its first gold medal at the 2026 Games and marking the country’s fifth consecutive victory in the event. In the women’s individual karate,

Tokyo, Sept. 20 (Jiji Press)–Yohei Sasakawa, honorary chair of the Nippon Foundation, a Japanese charity group, met with senior Russian government officials, including Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko, in Moscow this month. At a press conference at the Japanese Embassy in the

Tokyo, Sept. 20 (Jiji Press)–Canada has decided to join the Global Combat Air Program, a joint initiative by Japan, Britain and Italy to develop a next-generation fighter jet, becoming the program’s first observer. Canada is weighing the future purchase of the aircraft,

Tokyo, Sept. 20 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s Foreign Ministry has drawn criticism on social media that costumes used in its antiterrorism drill this month were associated with the Middle East and the Islamic world. Following the backlash, the ministry deleted a photo of the

Nagoya, Sept. 19 (Jiji Press)–The opening ceremony of the 20th Asian Games was held at Paloma Mizuho Stadium in Nagoya, the capital of Aichi Prefecture, central Japan, on Saturday evening, marking the official start of the 2026 Games. The Aichi-Nagoya Games are

Jefferson, Wisconsin, Sept. 18 (Jiji Press)–Japanese soy sauce maker Kikkoman Corp. on Friday held an opening ceremony for its third U.S. plant in Jefferson, Wisconsin. During the ceremony at the new plant, Yuzaburo Mogi, honorary CEO of Kikkoman, said that the company

Tokyo, Sept. 19 (Jiji Press)–About 15 pct of municipalities in Japan are positive about replacing their existing sewer systems with combined septic tanks, according to a recent survey by Jiji Press. The survey was conducted after a law revision was enacted during

Tokyo, Sept. 19 (Jiji Press)–Tokyo police arrested Shuto Inomata, a 25-year-old member of the Japanese boy band Timelesz on Saturday for allegedly assaulting a woman in her 20s. Inomata is suspected of punching the victim in the face on Friday evening at

Naha, Okinawa Pref., Sept. 19 (Jiji Press)–Two Chinese research vessels were spotted operating in Japan’s exclusive economic zone off Kubashima, an island in Japan’s southernmost prefecture of Okinawa, this week, the Japan Coast Guard said. According to the 11th Regional Coast Guard

New York, Sept. 18 (Jiji Press)–The yen rebounded past 157 per dollar in New York on Friday, amid speculation that the Bank of Japan may have conducted a “rate check” with financial institutions before potential yen-buying market intervention. As of 5 p.m.,

Tokyo, Sept. 19 (Jiji Press)–Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi and U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth held phone talks on Friday night and reaffirmed their countries’ commitment to advancing a wide range of security cooperation in order to further strengthen the deterrence and

Washington/Tokyo, Sept. 18 (Jiji Press)–Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is set to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump in New York on Tuesday and to deliver a speech at the U.N. General Assembly the same day. The U.S. government said Friday that

(Adnkronos) – Russian President Vladimir Putin voted online in the elections for the renewal of the State Duma currently underway in Russia and in the occupied territories of Ukraine. The Kremlin released an image of the President sitting at his desk in