Kumamoto, Aug. 13 (Jiji Press)–Amid the summer holiday season, the tourism industry in Kumamoto Prefecture, southwestern Japan, is suffering a 6-billion-yen blow from the recent massive earthquake. According to the prefectural government, the July 28 earthquake, which measured the maximum seismic intensity

Kanazawa, Ishikawa Pref., Aug. 13 (Jiji Press)–An 83-year-old virtual YouTuber, or VTuber, who was born in Manchuria, now northeastern China, during World War II and returned to Japan at an early age, began to post videos of her and other people’s wartime

Tokyo, Aug. 13 (Jiji Press)–The number of passport applications in Japan in July increased 1.6-fold from a year earlier to about 530,000, following a fee reduction starting that month, Jiji Press learned Thursday. There were about 3.3 times more applications in the

Yatsushiro, Kumamoto Pref., Aug. 13 (Jiji Press)–Many foreign residents of areas affected by last month’s powerful earthquake in Kumamoto Prefecture, southwestern Japan, are relying on each other without using evacuation shelters due to language and cultural barriers. In the city of Yatsushiro,

Tokyo, Aug. 13 (Jiji Press)–U.S. technology giant Google LLC opened its first directly run store outside the United States in Tokyo’s Omotesando fashionable district Thursday. The store sells smartphones and offers repair services. Having two stories above ground and one below, it

Tokyo, Aug. 13 (Jiji Press)–A Jiji Press survey showed Thursday that 44.8 pct of respondents welcomed the recent enactment of a bill to create a secondary capital of Japan that would supplement Tokyo’s functions in the event of a major disaster. The

Tokyo, Aug. 13 (Jiji Press)–Chinese automakers are banking on the Japanese electric vehicle market as they struggle with slowing growth in their home market and high tariffs in the United States and Europe. BYD Co., a Chinese electric vehicle giant, released the

Tokyo, Aug. 13 (Jiji Press)–Nearly half of respondents in Japan support the government’s plan to cut consumption tax on food items to virtually zero, a Jiji Press survey for August has shown. In the survey, 49.1 pct backed the plan, while 31.6

Tokyo, Aug. 13 (Jiji Press)–Public support for Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s cabinet edged down 0.6 percentage point from the previous month to 48.4 pct in August, a Jiji Press survey showed Thursday. According to the survey, conducted for four days through

Kumamoto, Aug. 13 (Jiji Press)–Kumamoto Castle in Kumamoto Prefecture reopened to the public Thursday, about two weeks after a powerful earthquake struck the southwestern Japan prefecture. Safety checks were completed quickly following the 7.1-magnitude earthquake on July 28, which registered up to

Tokyo, Aug. 13 (Jiji Press)–Public support for Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s cabinet edged down 0.6 percentage point from the previous month to 48.4 pct in August, a Jiji Press survey showed Thursday. According to the survey, conducted for four days through

Tokyo, Aug. 13 (Jiji Press)–Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi released a statement Thursday protesting Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to one of the four disputed northwestern Pacific islands claimed by Tokyo but controlled by Moscow. “The Northern Territories are an inherent part

Tokyo, Aug. 13 (Jiji Press)–Russian President Vladimir Putin made his first visit to one of four Russian-held western Pacific islands that Japan calls its Northern Territories on Thursday, according to reports from Russia’s state-run Tass news agency and other media. Putin toured

Hong Kong, Aug. 13 (Jiji Press)–Japan has filled the leadership vacancy at its consulate-general in China’s Chongqing, Japanese government sources said. Shigehiro Nishiumi, former deputy consul-general in Hong Kong, took office as head of the mission in the inland city Aug. 4

Tokyo, Aug. 13 (Jiji Press)–Sales of beer and quasi-beer products in Japan in July fell 7 pct from a year earlier in volume, down for the fourth consecutive month, industry officials said Thursday. The decline was apparently because of reduced spending by

Tokyo, Aug. 13 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s producer prices in July rose 7.2 pct from a year earlier, driven by elevated prices across a wide range of products, especially nonferrous metals and petroleum and coal products, amid tensions in the Middle East, Bank of

Tokyo, Aug. 13 (Jiji Press)–The administration of Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is moving fast to tighten regulations on foreign residents in the country, as it seeks to ease concerns among some Japanese people about a sharp increase in foreigners. The government

Tokyo, Aug. 13 (Jiji Press)–Average retail prices of pork and chicken in Japan in August hit record highs since the survey began in August 2003, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. Prices of imported pork and chicken rose due

Tokyo, Aug. 13 (Jiji Press)–A tanker carrying Canadian crude oil has arrived in Japan for the first time since the situation in the Middle East deteriorated after the United States and Israel began attacks on Iran in February, according to Japanese Prime

Tokyo, Aug. 13 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s Environment Ministry has launched a demonstration experiment to help protect elderly people from heatstroke by utilizing artificial intelligence and sensors to encourage them to use air conditioners properly. The initiative aims to identify heatstroke risks proactively as

Tokyo, Aug. 13 (Jiji Press)–A law to criminalize acts of damaging Japan’s national flag came into effect Thursday, amid unresolved concerns about its impact on expressive activities following criticisms that the scope of punishable acts is unclear. Under the Japanese law, those

Seoul, Aug. 12 (Jiji Press)–South Korea’s Supreme Court on Wednesday finalized a lower court ruling ordering Japan’s Nippon Steel Corp. to pay 80 million won, or about 9 million yen, in damages to the bereaved family of a Korean wartime laborer. The

(Adnkronos) – When in Tokyo the thermometer reaches 38 degrees, even a city accustomed to frantic rhythms seems to slow down. It is the most unexpected face of the Japanese summer, as told by Jiji Press: a season made of shade, ghost

(Adnkronos) – The extreme heatwaves that have occurred this summer could cost France “between 10 and 15 billion euros”. This was stated by the French Minister for Ecological Transition, Monique Barbut. “We can estimate — in any case, this is INSEE’s estimate

(Adnkronos) – “The ‘vision’ of the ‘Mecca Agreement’ announced last Friday by the three countries, a result of the ‘new circumstances imposed by developments in our region’, is ‘not limited’ to Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan. The Turkish leader, Recep Tayyip Erdogan,

(Adnkronos) – Turkish diplomacy chief Hakan Fidan will visit Egypt tomorrow and Friday. The Turkish agency Anadolu reports that talks with Badr Abdelatty are scheduled, as well as a face-to-face meeting with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. At the top of the

Tokyo, Aug. 12 (Jiji Press)–Tokyo Kiraboshi Financial Group Inc. plans to realign the functions of its group companies, its president, Hisanobu Watanabe, has said in a recent interview with Jiji Press. The regional banking group aims to improve its operational efficiency by

(Adnkronos) – National mourning in Colombia after Monday’s devastating earthquake. Authorities have declared three days of national mourning. Flags at half-mast in public buildings and diplomatic representations abroad during the mourning period. 

Naha, Okinawa Pref., Aug. 12 (Jiji Press)–Okinawa Governor Denny Tamaki on Wednesday announced basic policies for his bid for a third term, in which he pledges to uphold locals’ opposition to the relocation of the U.S. Marine Corps’ Futenma air station within