Tokyo, March 19 (Jiji Press)–Jun Matsumoto, a former Liberal Democratic Party member of the House of Representatives, the lower chamber of Japan’s parliament, who served as chairman of the National Public Safety Commission, died on Thursday at the age of 75. He

Tokyo, March 19 (Jiji Press)–The Japan Meteorological Agency said Thursday that its sample cherry tree at Yasukuni Shrine in central Tokyo has begun blooming this season. The announcement came five days earlier than average and than last year. Earlier this week, the

Tokyo, March 19 (Jiji Press)–Four major Japanese mobile phone carriers have announced a plan to launch a new service called “Japan Roaming” that will allow users to connect to available lines of other companies if communication failures occur due to large-scale disasters

Tokyo, March 19 (Jiji Press)–Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda said Thursday that the central bank will examine how higher crude oil prices would put downward pressure on the domestic economy. The governor made the comment in a press conference held after

Tokyo/Berlin, March 19 (Jiji Press)–Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi told a press conference Thursday that he will hold a meeting with his German counterpart, Boris Pistorius, in the city of Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, south of Tokyo, on Sunday. They are expected to

Washington, March 18 (Jiji Press)–Former U.S. Ambassador to Japan William Hagerty has welcomed Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s remark that her country will do everything possible under its Constitution to ensure safe navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, which is currently under

Tokyo, March 19 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 stock average briefly shed over 2,000 points Thursday as concerns spread among investors over persistently high crude oil prices amid rising tensions in the Middle East. The index of 225 selected issues listed on

Tokyo, March 19 (Jiji Press)–Japanese police received 98,289 requests for consultations over domestic violence in 2025, up 3.5 pct year on year and hitting the highest level since the 2001 entry into force of the law for preventing such acts, National Police

Tokyo, March 19 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s seasonally adjusted core machinery orders in January fell 5.5 pct from the previous month, after a spike driven by large-scale orders the previous month, Cabinet Office data showed Thursday. The private-sector orders excluding those for ships and

Tokyo, March 19 (Jiji Press)–The number of stalking cases handled by police in Japan in 2025 hit the highest level since the antistalking law took effect in 2000, National Police Agency data showed Thursday. The figure rose by 205 from the previous

Tokyo, March 19 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s House of Representatives on Thursday approved two academics regarded as reflationists as new members of the Bank of Japan’s Policy Board. At the day’s plenary meeting, the lower chamber of the Diet, the country’s parliament, confirmed the

Tokyo, March 19 (Jiji Press)–The Bank of Japan decided to keep its monetary policy unchanged at a two-day Policy Board meeting that ended Thursday. The board voted eight to one to maintain the policy of guiding the unsecured overnight call rate, Japan’s

Tokyo, March 19 (Jiji Press)–The benchmark Dubai crude oil futures contract for August delivery on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange, or TOCOM, briefly reached 90,000 yen per kiloliter Thursday, hitting the highest level since July 2008 on an intraday basis. Supply-related concerns rose

Hansalpur, India, March 19 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s Suzuki Motor Corp. is set to raise annual automobile production capacity at its plant in western India by 250,000 units to one million units with the addition of a new line now under construction. The company

Tokyo, March 19 (Jiji Press)–The Bank of Japan decided to keep its monetary policy unchanged Thursday. At its two-day policy-setting meeting through the day, the BOJ’s Policy Board voted eight to one to maintain the policy of guiding the unsecured overnight call

Washington, March 18 (Jiji Press)–Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi arrived in the United States on Wednesday night, ahead of her meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump the following day. The prime minister flew to the U.S. Air Force’s Joint Base Andrews near

Tokyo, March 19 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 stock average gave up over 1,600 points briefly in Tokyo trading Thursday morning, following overnight falls in key U.S. stock indexes. At 10:13 a.m., the index of 225 selected issues listed on the Tokyo

By Nobutoshi Kobayashi Commentary Writer Tokyo, March 19 (Jiji Press)–Asked where she considers home, 32-year-old Juri Afuso paused for a moment. “Japan,” she said firmly. “That’s where I come back to.” Afuso was born and raised in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, to Brazilian

Tokyo, March 19 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s Foreign Ministry has raised its travel alert to the highest Level 4 for the whole of Iraq, urging Japanese nationals in the country to leave it immediately. The move reflects the deteriorating situation in Iraq, where pro-Iran

Tokyo, March 19 (Jiji Press)–Escalating tensions over Iran following U.S. and Israeli strikes on the country are beginning to affect foreigners’ travel to Japan. A number of flights have been canceled as airports in Middle East countries and airspace over the region

Washington, March 18 (Jiji Press)–Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s parliamentary remarks last year on a potential Taiwan contingency marked a “significant shift,” a U.S. government report said Wednesday. The 2026 annual threat assessment of the U.S. intelligence community, released by the Office

Tokyo, March 19 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 stock average gave up over 1,500 points in early trading in Tokyo on Thursday, following overnight falls in key U.S. stock indexes. At 9:06 a.m., the index of 225 selected issues listed on the

Berlin, March 18 (Jiji Press)–The German government said Wednesday that Defense Minister Boris Pistorius will visit Asia-Pacific countries including Japan, Singapore and Australia for nine days from Friday. The security of Europe and that of the Indo-Pacific region are closely interconnected, a

Cairo, March 19 (Jiji Press)–The Israeli Foreign Ministry has announced the appointment of foreign policy expert Emmanuel Navon, 55, as ambassador to Japan to succeed Gilad Cohen, 58. International order and geopolitics are the main research themes of Navon, who teaches international

(Adnkronos) – Regulating and limiting the use of artificial intelligence by the Pentagon. This is the objective of the bill introduced by Michigan Democratic Senator Elissa Slotkin, a member of the Armed Services Committee. This is reported by the Nbc broadcaster, emphasizing

(Adnkronos) – “Facing the worst-case scenario, Cuba is supported by one certainty: any internal aggressor will have to clash with an impregnable resistance.” This is the warning Miguel Diaz Canel addresses to Donald Trump, who continues to repeat that he can freely

(Adnkronos) – Most of the players of the women’s national football team have returned to Iran, after being at the center of a case in recent weeks after some of them had sought asylum in Australia. According to what an Afp agency

(Adnkronos) – The Oslo prosecutor’s office has requested a sentence of seven years and seven months in prison for Marius Borg Høiby, son of Norway’s Crown Princess Mette-Marit, who appears in hundreds of the so-called ‘Epstein files’, and of businessman Morten Borg,

(Adnkronos) – “I wonder if someone who applauds violence against political opponents is the right person to lead an agency that has trouble accepting limits on the proper use of force.” At the opening of the confirmation hearing for his appointment as

(Adnkronos) – The Nidwalden police confirmed in a press conference that one person died after a cable car crashed due to strong winds in Engelberg, in the canton of Obwalden in Switzerland. The victim was alone on board the cable car, so