Tokyo, Oct. 1 (Jiji Press)–While Wednesday marked the 20th anniversary of the privatization of four Japanese public expressway corporations, the realization of free expressways in the country is still 90 years away. The privatization was a key policy of then Prime Minister

Tokyo, Oct. 1 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s transport ministry Wednesday notified 111 post offices that their use of mini cargo vehicles for delivery services will be banned for up to 160 days from Oct. 8 as a penalty for their inappropriate practices. By next

London, Oct. 1 (Jiji Press)–Japanese companies have been stepping up real estate development and investment in Britain, particularly in London, in recent years in an effort to expand profits overseas as they face a slowing market in Japan. Office demand in London

(6th para should have read “… calling …,” instead of as sent) Tokyo, Oct. 1 (Jiji Press)–Takayuki Kobayashi, Japan’s former economic security minister running in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s leadership race, emphasizes his party’s need for a generational change and a

Tokyo, Oct. 1 (Jiji Press)–Japanese agriculture minister Shinjiro Koizumi, a candidate in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s presidential election, on Wednesday demanded that the weekly magazine Shukan Bunshun correct a story reporting that his aide had kicked 826 rank-and-file members out of

Tokyo, Oct. 1 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s average retail price of regular gasoline fell 0.1 yen from a week earlier to 175.2 yen per liter as of Monday, marking the first decline in four weeks, due to lower crude oil prices, the industry ministry

Tokyo, Oct. 1 (Jiji Press)–A Japanese research team has unraveled the Venus flytrap’s detailed mechanism to detect insects using its touch sensor. While humans have known for about 200 years that the carnivorous plant detects insects using its sensory hairs, the mechanism

Nagoya, Oct. 1 (Jiji Press)–Japanese elementary school teacher Fumiya Kosemura pleaded guilty to charges of sharing child pornography via social media, in the first hearing on his case at Nagoya District Court on Wednesday. The charges are “correct, and I’m very sorry,”

Tokyo, Oct. 1 (Jiji Press)–Japanese police Wednesday launched special teams to reinforce their fight against “tokuryu” ad hoc crime groups made up of anonymous members. The National Police Agency and Tokyo’s Metropolitan Police Department took the action with no sign of decline

Japan Light Motor Vehicle and Motorcycle Association Oct. 1 Yr/Yr Change Total 807,723 units Up 4.7 pct Passenger Cars 622,543 Up 5.8 Trucks 185,180 Up 1.0 -Brand- Suzuki 279,120 Down 1.6 Daihatsu 247,028 Up 28.7 Mitsubishi 33,138 Up 1.0 Subaru 8,037 Up

Japan Light Motor Vehicle and Motorcycle Association Oct. 1 Yr/Yr Change Total 162,823 units Down 0.9 pct Passenger Cars 127,951 Up 1.7 Trucks 34,872 Down 9.5 -Brand- Suzuki 54,463 Up 0.9 Daihatsu 47,267 Up 9.8 Mitsubishi 5,865 Down 21.7 Subaru 1,714 Up

Japan Automobile Dealers Association Oct. 1 Yr/Yr Change Total 265,391 units Down 3.3 pct Over-2,000-c.c. Cars 158,580 Down 1.2 Smaller Cars 70,930 Down 11.2 Trucks 35,031 Up 5.8 Buses 850 Down 3.5 -Brand- Daihatsu 1,763 Down 41.2 Honda 31,346 Down 11.3 Lexus

Tokyo, Oct. 1 (Jiji Press)–Business sentiment among large manufacturers in Japan improved for two consecutive quarters, apparently warmed up by a recent Japan-U.S. tariff agreement, the Bank of Japan’s “Tankan” survey for September showed Wednesday. The headline diffusion index for large manufacturers’

Kyoto, Oct. 1 (Jiji Press)–Nintendo Co. said Tuesday that it established a subsidiary in Singapore on Friday, its first unit in Southeast Asia, to boost its business in the region. The new unit, Nintendo Singapore Pte. Ltd., is capitalized at 8 million

Tokyo, Oct. 1 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s transport ministry issued Wednesday a notice of suspending 111 post offices across the country from using mini cargo vehicles for delivery services for up to 160 days from Oct. 8, due to their failures to properly conduct

Tokyo, Oct. 1 (Jiji Press)–Japanese Emperor Naruhito met with Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, who is visiting Japan for the 2025 World Exposition in the western city of Osaka, at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo. During their meeting on Tuesday, which

Tokyo, Oct. 1 (Jiji Press)–A 76-year-old woman was stabbed at an apartment in Machida, Tokyo, on Tuesday evening and died shortly after being transported to hospital. Officers from Tokyo’s Metropolitan Police Department arrested Kota Kuwano, a 40-year-old man from Machida, who was

Osaka, Oct. 1 (Jiji Press)–Japanese airline ANA Holdings Inc. and U.S. startup Joby Aviation Inc. performed the first demonstration flight of their flying car for the press at the World Exposition in the western Japan city of Osaka on Tuesday. The electric

Kagoshima, Oct. 1 (Jiji Press)–A Chinese survey ship was spotted again within Japan’s exclusive economic zone off the island of Amami Oshima in the southwestern prefecture of Kagoshima, according to the Japan Coast Guard. The JCG’s 10th Regional Coast Guard Headquarters, based

New York, Sept. 30 (Jiji Press)–Ryosuke Takashima, mayor of Ashiya, a city in Hyogo Prefecture, western Japan, is among Time’s 100 most influential emerging people, according to the list released by the U.S. magazine on Tuesday. Takashima, who became the youngest-ever mayor

Tokyo, Oct. 1 (Jiji Press)–Japanese pitcher Masahiro Tanaka has hit combined 200 career wins in the Nippon Professional Baseball Organization (NPB) and U.S. Major League Baseball, becoming the fourth Japanese professional baseball player to achieve this feat. With this achievement, the 36-year-old

Tokyo, Oct. 1 (Jiji Press)–Talks between Japan’s ruling and opposition parties have stalled over a proposal to scrap the provisional gasoline tax surcharge. The slowdown is widely attributed to the political lull caused by the ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s leadership election, slated

Tokyo, Oct. 1 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s agriculture minister Shinjiro Koizumi, a candidate in the Liberal Democratic Party’s upcoming leadership election, has said that expanding the ruling coalition, currently made up of the LDP and Komeito, is the “best option.” Koizumi and four other

Mumbai, Sept. 30 (Jiji Press)–Next-generation E10 series Shinkansen bullet trains of East Japan Railway Co., or JR East, are expected to be delivered to India in 2029 for a planned high-speed rail link in the South Asian nation, an urban development official

Tokyo, Oct. 1 (Jiji Press)–Business sentiment among large manufacturers in Japan improved for two consecutive quarters, the Bank of Japan’s “Tankan” survey for September showed Wednesday. The headline diffusion index for large manufacturers’ current business conditions rose to plus 14 from plus

Misawa, Aomori Pref., Sept. 30 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s Air Self-Defense Force and the Royal Australian Air Force kicked off their “Bushido Guardian” joint exercise in Aomori Prefecture, northeastern Japan, on Tuesday. The Japan-Australia exercise is joined by the U.S. Air Force for the

Minabe, Wakayama Pref., Oct. 1 (Jiji Press)–Undeterred by major setbacks that recently befell the famed “Kishu ume,” or plums grown in the western Japan prefecture of Wakayama, “umeboshi” pickled plum makers are working on developing new products using hail-damaged ume. Wakayama has

Tokyo, Oct. 1 (Jiji Press)–Sanae Takaichi and Shinjiro Koizumi are neck-and-neck in support among rank-and-file members of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party ahead of Saturday’s party leadership election, a Jiji Press survey has found. The survey covered 47 senior local LDP officials

Tokyo, Oct. 1 (Jiji Press)–An elderly woman was stabbed at an apartment in Machida, Tokyo, on Tuesday evening and died shortly after being transported to hospital. Officers from Tokyo’s Metropolitan Police Department rushed to the scene after a relative of the woman

(Adnkronos) – A 6.9 magnitude earthquake was recorded off the coast of the Philippines. The epicenter, according to the USGS (US Geological Survey), was recorded approximately 11 kilometers east-southeast of the Calape area, in Bohol province, with a population of approximately 33,000