Tokyo, June 26 (Jiji Press)–The Japanese government on Friday presented a funding plan for the proposed reduction of the consumption tax rate on food items from 8 pct to 1 pct for 2 years starting next April, stating that it will avoid

Tokyo, June 26 (Jiji Press)–The Japanese government plans to consider nationalizing defense equipment production facilities to secure production capacity during emergencies, it was learned Friday. This plan is expected to be included in the government’s new economic and fiscal management guidelines, according

Tokyo, June 26 (Jiji Press)–A strong earthquake struck central Japan on Friday night, measuring lower 6, the third-highest level on the Japanese seismic intensity scale, in the town of Fujikawaguchiko in Yamanashi Prefecture. According to the Japan Meteorological Agency, the quake occurred

Tokyo, June 26 (Jiji Press)–Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said Friday that the sons of adoptees into the Imperial Family would have the right to inherit the throne, despite a fierce backlash from opposition parties when House of Representatives Speaker Eisuke

Tokyo, June 26 (Jiji Press)–Japanese opposition parties are poised to boycott all proceedings in the House of Representatives after the Lower House steering committee decided on Friday, without their agreement, to leave the Lower House seat reduction and second capital bills to

Tokyo, June 26 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako on Friday returned from their state visits to the Netherlands and Belgium. A Japanese government plane carrying the Imperial couple landed at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport in the afternoon following the two-week trip.

Tokyo, June 26 (Jiji Press)–A Japanese government advisory panel on Friday called for a virtuous cycle of investments and wage hikes to achieve a strong economy. This call was included in the Fiscal System Council’s proposals submitted to Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama

(Adnkronos) – Saved by smartphones: many people who own Android phones were able to save themselves thanks to alerts launched by their devices, even minutes before Venezuela was hit by the two deadly earthquakes. Many nations have developed systems to alert the

Tokyo, June 26 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s Justice Ministry disposed of official documents linked to the ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s screening of a bill to revise the Code of Criminal Procedure for retrial system reform, Justice Minister Hiroshi Hiraguchi said Friday. The disposal is

(Adnkronos) – Belgian police announced they have arrested 7 people responsible for the explosion of a device that occurred on March 9 in front of the synagogue on Rue Léon Frédéricq in Liège. Israeli websites report this. The attack caused no casualties

(Deletes the section about Indonesia the second paragraph from the bottom, which contained a factual error. A corrected substitute story follows.) Canada Sends Trade Mission to Japan in Diversification Effort By Hiroki Shimoo Tokyo, June 26 (Jiji Press)–Canada has sent a large-scale

Tokyo, June 26 (Jiji Press)–Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi will visit India for three days from Wednesday for a summit with her Indian counterpart, Narendra Modi, in New Delhi on Thursday, the government said Friday. The summit was initially scheduled to take

Brussels, June 26 (Jiji Press)–With this year marking the 160th anniversary of diplomatic ties between Japan and Belgium, festivals across the European country will continue to showcase the two countries’ cultural exchanges even after the state visit of Japanese Emperor Naruhito and

Tokyo, June 26 (Jiji Press)–Japan will provide a total of 15 million dollars in emergency grant aid to Iran, Lebanon and Palestine to address the worsening humanitarian situation in the region, the Foreign Ministry said Friday. The aid will be used to

Tokyo, June 26 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s House of Representatives, the lower chamber of the Diet, the country’s parliament, approved bills by a majority vote on Friday aimed at addressing the misuse of social media during election campaigns. The bills are expected to be

Tokyo, June 26 (Jiji Press)–Japanese companies from different sectors are entering rice production after supply disruptions triggered price surges in the country last summer. These moves are expected to help realize sustainable agriculture at a time when abandoned farmland is increasing due

Dusseldorf, Germany, June 26 (Jiji Press)–Hendrik Wust, minister-president of the western German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, has expressed hopes for enhancement of cooperation with Japan in the defense industry. In a recent interview with Jiji Press, he said there is a strong

Tokyo, June 26 (Jiji Press)–Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and Rafael Mariano Grossi, director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, on Friday confirmed their close collaboration in efforts to peacefully resolve the issue of Iran’s nuclear program. At their meeting at the

Tokyo, June 26 (Jiji Press)–Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has been accused of making false statements in her political organizations’ funds reports. Hiroshi Kamiwaki, a professor at Kobe Gakuin University, filed a criminal complaint with public prosecutors on June 3, accusing Takaichi

Tokyo, June 26 (Jiji Press)–Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi will visit India for three days from Wednesday for a summit with her Indian counterpart, Narendra Modi, in New Delhi on Thursday, according to a government plan approved Friday. The summit was initially

Tokyo, June 26 (Jiji Press)–The Japanese government is considering delaying its goal of raising the country’s average minimum hourly wages to 1,500 yen by the end of the 2020s, people familiar with the matter said Friday. One idea being discussed is allowing

Tokyo, June 26 (Jiji Press)–Tokyo stocks plummeted Friday as profit-taking dragged down artificial intelligence-linked issues that had jumped the previous day, sending the benchmark Nikkei 225 stock average skidding over 3,700 points briefly. The index of 225 major issues on the Tokyo

Tokyo, June 26 (Jiji Press)–Honda Motor Co. President and CEO Toshihiro Mibe apologized to shareholders Friday for the Japanese automaker’s huge net loss incurred mainly for scaling back its electric vehicle ambitions. “I deeply apologize for the great concern and inconvenience we

Tokyo, June 26 (Jiji Press)–Typhoon Mekkhala moved close to the main island of Okinawa Prefecture, southernmost Japan, on Friday morning and is expected to approach the Amami Islands region in the southwestern prefecture of Kagoshima in the night. The seventh typhoon of

Tokyo, June 26 (Jiji Press)–Two Japan-linked vessels have passed through the Strait of Hormuz, Japanese Transport Minister Yasushi Kaneko said Friday. Crew members are in good health and there are no abnormalities in the vessels, Kaneko said at a press conference. The

Tokyo, June 26 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s Fuji Media Holdings Inc. and financial group SBI Holdings Inc. said Friday that they have begun talks on a capital and business alliance for cooperation in media and content operations. The two companies plan to collaborate in

Tokyo, June 26 (Jiji Press)–The leaders of the Centrist Reform Alliance, the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan and Komeito at a meeting Friday agreed to set up a body for discussions on a potential merger of the three Japanese opposition parties. CRA

Tokyo, June 26 (Jiji Press)–The Diet, Japan’s parliament, enacted a bill Friday to reorganize the Air Self-Defense Force as the Air and Space Self-Defense Force. With the reorganization, Japan aims to ramp up capabilities for space operations in light of the growing

Paris, June 25 (Jiji Press)–Luffy and other major characters of the globally popular Japanese manga and anime series “One Piece” have joined a wax museum in Paris. The 10 wax dolls of the Straw Hat Crew members, the first Japanese anime characters

Dallas, Texas, June 25 (Jiji Press)–The Japanese men’s national soccer team, nicknamed Samurai Blue, advanced to the knockout stage of the 2026 FIFA World Cup after a 1-1 draw against Sweden in its final group stage match in Dallas, Texas, on Thursday.