Yatsushiro, Kumamoto Pref., Aug. 28 (Jiji Press)–Children returned to school after the summer break in Yatsushiro, Kumamoto Prefecture on Friday, a month after a major earthquake struck the southwestern Japan prefecture. The second term started at 40 elementary, junior high schools and

Tokyo, Aug. 28 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s Defense Ministry on Friday concluded a contract with Nippon Steel Corp. to acquire a former plant site in Kure in Hiroshima Prefecture, western Japan, to develop a multifunctional defense complex there. The approximately 140-hectare land plot, Nippon

Tokyo, Aug. 28 (Jiji Press)–Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi on Friday held 20-minute phone talks with International Criminal Court President Tomoko Akane of Japan. This was the first such discussion between Motegi and Akane since the United States announced sanctions against Akane

Tokyo, Aug. 28 (Jiji Press)–Japanese system developer Dentsu Soken Inc. said Friday that it plans to go private through a tender offer by a subsidiary of trading house Itochu Corp. The tender offer will start in early November at the earliest, contingent

Tokyo, Aug. 28 (Jiji Press)–Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said Friday that he will visit Turkmenistan, Slovakia, Austria and Mongolia from Saturday through Sept. 4 to hold talks with his counterparts. In Slovakia, Motegi will also meet with foreign ministers from the

Tokyo, Aug. 28 (Jiji Press)–Japanese authorities spent 15,399.3 billion yen in foreign exchange market interventions from July 30 to Wednesday, the Finance Ministry said Friday. The figure marked the largest-ever monthly amount spent on yen-buying, dollar-selling interventions. END [Copyright The Jiji Press,

Tokyo, Aug. 28 (Jiji Press)–Japan has entered the influenza season, the health ministry said Friday, marking the second earliest start since 1999, when the infectious disease control law went into force. In the week to Sunday, the number of flu patients reported

Tokyo, Aug. 28 (Jiji Press)–The opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan informed the Centrist Reform Alliance and Komeito on Friday that it will not take part in a proposed merger with the two other opposition parties. The three parties tried to form

Tokyo, Aug. 28 (Jiji Press)–The number of births in Japan rose in the first half of the year for the first time in 11 years, health ministry data showed Friday in a sign that the figure’s rapid decline is ending. The preliminary

(Corrects the dateline. A substitute story follows.) Yokohama Mayor Yamanaka Announces Resignation over Harassment Yokohama, Aug. 28 (Jiji Press)–Yokohama Mayor Takeharu Yamanaka on Friday announced his decision to resign from office to take responsibility for a harassment scandal. “I deeply apologize for

Tokyo, Aug. 28 (Jiji Press)–The opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan informed the Centrist Reform Alliance and Komeito on Friday that it will not take part in a proposed merger with the two other opposition parties. CDP leader Shunichi Mizuoka conveyed the

Tokyo, Aug. 28 (Jiji Press)–Tokyo District Court on Friday found the former head of Albatross Co., a resignation assistance service provider, and a former employee of the company guilty of earning profit from referring customers to lawyers without a license to practice

Tokyo, Aug. 28 (Jiji Press)–Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has sent letters to Chinese and Nepalese leaders expressing condolences and sympathy for those killed or missing in Wednesday’s flash floods near the border between their countries. The letters, dated Thursday, were addressed

Tokyo, Aug. 28 (Jiji Press)–The number of births in Japan edged up 0.8 pct in the January-June period from a year before to 342,068, the health ministry said Friday. The figure marked the first rise for the first half of a year

Tokyo, Aug. 28 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s Tourism Agency said Friday that travel discounts for earthquake-stricken Kumamoto and neighboring prefectures in the Kyushu southwestern region will start on Oct. 1 to support tourism in areas affected by the tremblor. Discounts will be 60 pct

Seoul, Aug. 28 (Jiji Press)–Japan, the United States and South Korea will conduct a five-day joint military exercise from Sept. 7 in international waters east and south of South Korea’s Jeju Island, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said Friday. The three

Tokyo, Aug. 28 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s Fire and Disaster Management Agency plans to launch a model project in fiscal 2027 to utilize artificial intelligence in handling 119 emergency calls for firefighting, rescue and ambulance services. The agency will introduce an AI-powered speech recognition

Tokyo, Aug. 28 (Jiji Press)–Core inflation in central Tokyo rose to 1.8 pct in August, accelerating for the third straight month, driven by higher costs for dining out and prepared foods and rising medical fees, the Japanese internal affairs ministry said Friday.

Tokyo, Aug. 28 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate in July dropped 0.1 percentage point from the previous month to 2.4 pct, a level unseen in one year, the internal affairs ministry said Friday. The jobless rate fell for the first time in

Tokyo, Aug. 28 (Jiji Press)–The number of children on nursery waiting lists in Japan as of April 1 rose by 181 from a year earlier to 2,435, up for the first time in nine years due largely to a sharp increase in

Saitama, Aug. 28 (Jiji Press)–Bank of Japan Deputy Governor Ryozo Himino has indicated the possibility that the central bank will raise interest rates in September. At a press conference in the city of Saitama, near Tokyo, on Thursday, Himino said the BOJ

Tokyo, Aug. 28 (Jiji Press)–Toyota Motor Corp. has agreed with Nippon Steel Corp. to raise steel procurement prices by about 12,000 yen per ton from October, marking the first increase in four years, according to informed sources. Toyota negotiates steel procurement prices

Sapporo, Aug. 28 (Jiji Press)–A Hokkaido University graduate student in his 20s died after being exposed to hydrofluoric acid at a facility belonging to the Faculty of Science of the university in Sapporo, the capital of Japan’s northernmost prefecture of Hokkaido. At

Kumamoto, Aug. 28 (Jiji Press)–Nearly 2,500 people are still staying in evacuation centers amid scorching heat one month after a powerful earthquake hit the southwestern Japan prefecture of Kumamoto. While efforts toward recovery and reconstruction are underway, challenges remain numerous, with water

(Adnkronos) – The number of deaths caused by the forest fires that have hit Algeria in recent hours has risen to 12 – including an eight-year-old child. The victims – local media report – were registered in the provinces of Jijel (5),

(Adnkronos) – The trial of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged architect of the September 11, 2001 attacks, will begin on June 5, 2028. This was stated by a spokesperson for the US military court in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where Mohammed is detained. 

(Adnkronos) – Currently, 540 foreigners and 127 Nepalese are reported missing. This was announced by the Nepalese Authorities. In total, the number of missing stands at 667. Two Italians are still reported missing by the Nepalese authorities. 

(Adnkronos) – The White House aims to keep the war with Iran out of the headlines before the November midterm elections, as the conflict drags on, energy prices remain high, and fear grows among Republicans of losing control of Congress. According to

(Adnkronos) – Asylum applications in the United Kingdom between June 2025 and June 2026 totaled 85,89, a 21% decrease compared to the 108,585 applications in the same period of the previous year. This is the lowest figure since June 2022. 40% of

(Adnkronos) – The Parliament of Taiwan has approved a plan of 240 billion Taiwanese dollars, approximately 6.5 billion euros, to boost national drone production and strengthen the island’s defenses against the threat of a possible Chinese attack. The proposal, supported by opposition