News - Page 33

Tokyo, Aug. 5 (Jiji Press)–Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi has expressed support for a world without nuclear weapons after his proposal for debates without any taboos on nuclear policy sparked controversy, including among hibakusha atomic bombing survivors. “I strongly sympathize with the

Tokyo, Aug. 5 (Jiji Press)–The Japanese government plans to make a decision Wednesday afternoon on a plan to lower the consumption tax rate on food from 8 pct to 1 pct for two years from next April as an anti-inflation measure. The

Tokyo, Aug. 5 (Jiji Press)–The number of people rushed to hospitals for heatstroke in earthquake-hit Kumamoto Prefecture, southwestern Japan, in the week through Sunday totaled 309, according to the Fire and Disaster Management Agency. The figure was up 89 from the previous

Tokyo, Aug. 5 (Jiji Press)–U.S. Ambassador to Japan George Glass will not attend this year’s peace ceremonies in Hiroshima and Nagasaki to honor the victims of the 1945 atomic bombings of the cities, the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo has said. Aaron Snipe,

Chiba, Aug. 5 (Jiji Press)–Right-hander Naoya Masuda of the Chiba Lotte Marines has become the fifth player in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball Organization, or NPB, to record 250 career saves. Masuda, 36, notched his second save of the season in Tuesday’s home

Washington, Aug. 4 (Jiji Press)–U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Tuesday that Washington will help Japan stabilize the yen, and that he believes the Bank of Japan will take necessary measures, including a possible interest rate hike. “I’m not going to prejudge

Tokyo, Aug. 5 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s key Nikkei 225 stock average on Wednesday briefly firmed more than 2,200 points to retake 66,000 during trading hours for the first time in nearly two weeks. The index of 225 major issues listed on the Tokyo

Tokyo, Aug. 5 (Jiji Press)–Experts have called on the Japanese government to consider countermeasures against economic coercion, apparently having China in mind. At Tuesday’s meeting of an expert panel on the government’s plan to update its three key security-related documents by year-end,

Tokyo, Aug. 5 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s inflation-adjusted real wage index rose 1.6 pct year on year in June, up for six months in a row, thanks to higher wages and slower growth in prices, labor ministry data showed Wednesday. Nominal wages per worker,

Kumamoto, Aug. 5 (Jiji Press)–Chipmaking plants in Kumamoto Prefecture are gradually restarting operations following their suspensions caused by the 7.1-magnitude earthquake that struck the southwestern Japan prefecture late last month. Production is expected to return to the levels before the quake by