News

Tokyo, Dec. 15 (Jiji Press)–Business sentiment among large manufacturers in Japan improved for the third straight quarter, the Bank of Japan’s “tankan” survey for December showed Monday. The headline diffusion index for large manufacturers’ current business conditions rose to plus 15 from

Tokyo, Dec. 15 (Jiji Press)–Data from Japan’s next-generation electronic toll collection system, known as ETC 2.0, are coming into broader use across the country. Unlike the conventional ETC system, which is limited to automatic toll payments, ETC 2.0 records and visualizes detailed

Ito, Shizuoka Pref., Dec. 14 (Jiji Press)–Sunday’s mayoral election in the city of Ito, Shizuoka Prefecture, central Japan, held due to the ouster of former Mayor Maki Takubo resulted in the first-time election of former city council member Kazuya Sugimoto, with Takubo’s

Tokyo, Dec. 14 (Jiji Press)–The Tsukiji Outer Market in Tokyo’s Chuo Ward, a popular tourist spot crowded with food shoppers and inbound visitors, has issued an unusual request this month asking tour operators to refrain from guiding tourists there toward the end

Fukuoka, Dec. 14 (Jiji Press)–A woman in her 20s and a man in his 40s were stabbed with a knife-like object at a commercial facility in the southwestern Japan city of Fukuoka on Sunday afternoon, the Fukuoka prefectural police said. They are

Tokyo, Dec. 14 (Jiji Press)–The Tsukiji Outer Market in Tokyo’s Chuo Ward, a popular tourist spot crowded with food shoppers and inbound visitors, has issued an unusual request this month asking tour operators to refrain from guiding tourists there toward the end

Washington, Dec. 14 (Jiji Press)–The United States needs to express solidarity with Japan including through a Congress resolution amid growing Tokyo-Beijing tensions following Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s remarks regarding a possible Taiwan contingency, Ami Bera, a Democrat in the U.S. House

Tokyo, Dec. 14 (Jiji Press)–Japanese Princess Aiko on Sunday attended a ceremony commemorating the 50th anniversary of the founding of Chiba University’s School of Nursing. “I hope that you will continue to thrive while supporting people, and that you will dedicate your

Washington, Dec. 13 (Jiji Press)–It is necessary for Japan, the United States, Australia and the Philippines to conclude a “collective defense pact” to contain China and ensure regional peace and stability, Ely Ratner, former U.S. assistant secretary of defense for Indo-Pacific security

Tokyo, Dec. 14 (Jiji Press)–Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko’s administration released 123 prisoners on Saturday, including former Japanese language teacher Masatoshi Nakanishi and Nobel Peace Prize winner Ales Bialiatski, according to local and other media reports. The Japanese Embassy in Belarus confirmed that