(The second paragraph should have read, “…Matsusaka…,” and the final paragraph should have read, “…Japan Transport Safety Board…,” instead of as sent. A substitute story follows.) 2 Dead in Ship Collision off Mie Pref. Tsu, Mie Pref., Feb. 20 (Jiji Press)–A cargo

Tokyo, Feb. 20 (Jiji Press)–Tokyo police on Friday arrested three individuals, including a company executive who ran unsuccessfully as a Democratic Party for the People candidate in the Feb. 8 House of Representatives election, for allegedly paying campaign workers, investigative sources told

(Adnkronos) – Italy and Germany are committed to reconstruction and humanitarian aid in Gaza, stabilising the Middle East and bolstering the European Union’s competitiveness, foreign minister Antonio Tajani wrote Friday on X after talks in Stuttgart with German counterpart Johann Wadephul.  “At

(Adnkronos) – Italy and Germany will always work together to achieve the “great European dream” of political integration, common defence and a social market economy “with populism as the driving force”, foreign minister Antonio Tajani wrote Friday on X.  “Thank you to

(Adnkronos) – No agreement among EU member states on the twentieth package of sanctions against Russia for the war in Ukraine. Coreper, it is understood, held an exchange of views on the 20th sanctions package, in order to reach an agreement as

(Adnkronos) – The American aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford, the largest in the world, has entered the waters of the Mediterranean Sea. This is reported by the Times of Israel, citing specialized naval traffic monitoring sites, which also indicate that the

Tokyo, Feb. 20 (Jiji Press)–Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said Friday that there is no misunderstanding between Japan and the United States regarding the planned return of the site of the U.S. Marine Corps’ Futenma air base in Okinawa Prefecture, southernmost Japan.

Tokyo, Feb. 20 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s Fisheries Agency on Friday approved an increase to the catch quota for Japanese common squid to 68,400 tons for the next fishing season, a 3.6-fold jump from the current season’s initial quota. The decision was made at

Tokyo, Feb. 20 (Jiji Press)–Major Japanese restaurant chain operator Colowide Co. and others have expressed interest in acquiring the operator of the Cafe Veloce coffee shop chain, as its parent is considering selling it off, Jiji Press learned Friday. Longreach Group Ltd.,

Yamaguchi, Feb. 20 (Jiji Press)–A fire at a Buddhist temple and two nearby buildings in the city of Shimonoseki in Yamaguchi Prefecture, western Japan, in the small hours of Friday resulted in the deaths of five people, according to local police and

(Adnkronos) – Italy’s foreign minister Antonio Tajani was on Friday set to hold talks in Stuttgart with counterpart Johann Wadephul during their attendance at Germany’s ruling conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU)’s party congress, foreign ministry said in a statement.  “The presence of

Tokyo, Feb. 20 (Jiji Press)–Combined net profits at Japanese listed companies in April-December 2025 rose 3.9 pct from a year earlier to a record 44,528.1 billion yen, according to SMBC Nikko Securities Inc. The increase, which marked the third straight year of

Tokyo, Feb. 20 (Jiji Press)–The Federation of Electric Power Companies of Japan said Friday that it has selected Kansai Electric Power Co. President Nozomu Mori as its new chairman. Mori, 63, assumed the position at the industry group, which comprises the country’s

Tokyo, Feb. 20 (Jiji Press)–The Japanese government will send Parliamentary Vice Minister for the Cabinet Office Naoki Furukawa to this year’s annual ceremony for the Takeshima Islands, minister for territorial issues Jiro Akama said Friday. Furukawa will attend the “Takeshima Day” ceremony

(Adnkronos) – A “stronger, more prosperous” Japan, with a turning point in economic and security policies, is the promise reiterated by Sanae Takaichi, the first female prime minister of the Land of the Rising Sun, a staunch conservative, considered a hawk when

(Adnkronos) – Words full of optimism from Kim Jong-un at the Workers’ Party Congress in Pyongyang. The Kcna agency reported this the day after the start of the event, which normally takes place every five years. For Kim, North Korea, under sanctions

(Adnkronos) – German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is running for re-election as CDU chairman at the two-day Congress in Stuttgart. He will participate in the proceedings as a guest of honor, his first presence at a congress since the end of his chancellorship,

(Adnkronos) – The long-time correspondent in Turkey for the German broadcaster Deutsche Welle has been arrested in Ankara. Alican Uluda was stopped in front of his family by 30 officers and transferred to Istanbul police headquarters where he will soon appear before

(Adnkronos) – “China is intensifying efforts to unilaterally change the status quo by force or coercion in the East and South China Seas while expanding and intensifying its military activities in the areas around our country,” Japanese Premier Sanae Takaichi denounced in

Tokyo, Feb. 20 (Jiji Press)–The Japanese version of Major League Baseball superstar Shohei Ohtani’s English-language picture book about his beloved dog, Decoy, was published Friday. The book, whose original title is “Decoy Saves Opening Day,” describes how the dog, called Dekopin in

Tokyo, Feb. 20 (Jiji Press)–Japan and the United States are considering next-generation nuclear power reactor construction as a strong candidate for the second round of Japan’s investments in and loans to the United States totaling 550 billion dollars as part of the

(Adnkronos) – Italy observed the first meeting of US president Donald Trump’s Board of Peace on Thursday in Washington DC to be at frontline of efforts to achieve peace in Gaza and a two-state solution to the long-running conflict between Israel and

Tokyo, Feb. 20 (Jiji Press)–The Sompo Japan Insurance Inc. group will start a forest inventory service using drones in collaboration with Hitachi Systems Ltd., Jiji Press learned Friday. In Japan, forests, which cover about 70 pct of the archipelago, have increasingly been

Tokyo, Feb. 20 (Jiji Press)–The Japanese ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s Research Commission on Security on Friday approved a draft proposal for the government to scrap current rules limiting the scope of defense equipment exports, thereby allowing lethal arms shipments in principle. The

Tokyo, Feb. 20 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s health ministry ordered a clinic in Tokyo to improve its operations Friday over its violations of the law on safety in regenerative medicine. An on-site inspection of Ginza Phoenix Clinic found violations, including administrations of cultured cells

Tokyo, Feb. 20 (Jiji Press)–Police have arrested six men in their 20s to 30s, including an apartment management company employee, for allegedly setting fire to a private house and an adjacent vacant apartment building in Tokyo’s Shinagawa Ward last year, investigative sources

Tokyo, Feb. 20 (Jiji Press)–Japan will promote economic growth through crisis management investment, economic and fiscal policy minister Minoru Kiuchi said in a parliamentary speech Friday. Kiuchi said that the biggest mission of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s administration is to realize a

Tokyo, Feb. 20 (Jiji Press)–Japanese Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama on Friday pledged to reform the country’s fiscal structure to realize a strong economy and ensure fiscal sustainability. The country will “shift to a fiscal structure that supports a strong economy” by focusing

Tokyo, Feb. 20 (Jiji Press)–The Japanese government submitted to the Diet, the country’s parliament, on Friday a draft fiscal 2026 budget, which was compiled under Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s “responsible and proactive” fiscal policy. General-account spending under the draft budget for the

Tokyo, Feb. 20 (Jiji Press)–Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi in a speech before parliament Friday stressed the importance of communication with China. It is necessary to keep in touch with China all the more because there are pending issues between the two