Tokyo, Dec. 15 (Jiji Press)–Xiao Xiao and Lei Lei of Tokyo’s Ueno Zoo, the only giant pandas in Japan, will be returned to China in late January, the Tokyo metropolitan government said Monday. The male-female twins were born at the zoo in

Tokyo, Dec. 15 (Jiji Press)–Following are this year’s top 10 news stories in Japan and abroad selected by Jiji Press, with the appointment of Sanae Takaichi as Japan’s first female prime minister and the launch of a new ruling coalition of her

Hiroshima, Dec. 15 (Jiji Press)–The remains of a victim of the 1945 U.S. atomic bombing of Hiroshima, western Japan, have been identified using the first DNA testing of preserved hair, the city government said Monday. The victim was identified as Hatsue Kajiyama,

Kusatsu, Shiga Pref., Dec. 15 (Jiji Press)–The city of Kusatsu in the western Japan prefecture of Shiga, often confused for the famous “onsen” hot spring town in eastern Japan sharing the same name, is using the mix-up as a public relations opportunity.

Tokyo, Dec. 15 (Jiji Press)–Xiao Xiao and Lei Lei at Tokyo’s Ueno Zoo, the only giant pandas Japan has, will be returned to China in late January, the Tokyo metropolitan government said Monday. The male-female twins were born at the zoo in

Tokyo, Dec. 15 (Jiji Press)–Business sentiment among large manufacturers in Japan improved for the third straight quarter, apparently because the impacts from the high tariff policy of U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration proved to be limited, the Bank of Japan’s “tankan” survey

Beijing, Dec. 15 (Jiji Press)–The Chinese Foreign Ministry on Monday announced sanctions against Shigeru Iwasaki, a former chief of the Japanese Self Defense Force’s Joint Staff who currently serves as a political adviser to the executive branch of Taiwan’s government. The sanctions,

Tokyo, Dec. 15 (Jiji Press)–Business sentiment among large manufacturers in Japan improved for the third straight quarter, apparently because the impacts from the high tariff policy of U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration proved to be limited, the Bank of Japan’s “tankan” survey

Fukuoka, Dec. 15 (Jiji Press)–A 30-year-old man was arrested Monday on suspicion of attempted murder in an incident in which a man and a woman were attacked near the Mizuho PayPay Dome stadium in the southwestern Japan city of Fukuoka. The Fukuoka

Tokyo, Dec. 15 (Jiji Press)–The only two giant pandas remaining in Japan will be returned to China in late January, it was learned Monday. Xiao Xiao, male, and Lei Lei, female, are twins born at Tokyo’s Ueno Zoo in 2021. But they

Tokyo, Dec. 15 (Jiji Press)–Rocket Lab Corp. of the United States successfully launched a technology demonstration satellite for the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency on Sunday, according to JAXA. The rapid innovative payload demonstration satellite-4, or RAISE-4, was launched aboard Rocket Lab’s Electron

Tokyo, Dec. 15 (Jiji Press)–Business sentiment among large manufacturers in Japan improved for the third straight quarter, the Bank of Japan’s “tankan” survey for December showed Monday. The headline diffusion index for large manufacturers’ current business conditions rose to plus 15 from

Tokyo, Dec. 15 (Jiji Press)–Data from Japan’s next-generation electronic toll collection system, known as ETC 2.0, are coming into broader use across the country. Unlike the conventional ETC system, which is limited to automatic toll payments, ETC 2.0 records and visualizes detailed

Ito, Shizuoka Pref., Dec. 14 (Jiji Press)–Sunday’s mayoral election in the city of Ito, Shizuoka Prefecture, central Japan, held due to the ouster of former Mayor Maki Takubo resulted in the first-time election of former city council member Kazuya Sugimoto, with Takubo’s

Tokyo, Dec. 14 (Jiji Press)–The Tsukiji Outer Market in Tokyo’s Chuo Ward, a popular tourist spot crowded with food shoppers and inbound visitors, has issued an unusual request this month asking tour operators to refrain from guiding tourists there toward the end

Fukuoka, Dec. 14 (Jiji Press)–A woman in her 20s and a man in his 40s were stabbed with a knife-like object at a commercial facility in the southwestern Japan city of Fukuoka on Sunday afternoon, the Fukuoka prefectural police said. They are

Tokyo, Dec. 14 (Jiji Press)–The Tsukiji Outer Market in Tokyo’s Chuo Ward, a popular tourist spot crowded with food shoppers and inbound visitors, has issued an unusual request this month asking tour operators to refrain from guiding tourists there toward the end

Washington, Dec. 14 (Jiji Press)–The United States needs to express solidarity with Japan including through a Congress resolution amid growing Tokyo-Beijing tensions following Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s remarks regarding a possible Taiwan contingency, Ami Bera, a Democrat in the U.S. House

Tokyo, Dec. 14 (Jiji Press)–Japanese Princess Aiko on Sunday attended a ceremony commemorating the 50th anniversary of the founding of Chiba University’s School of Nursing. “I hope that you will continue to thrive while supporting people, and that you will dedicate your

Washington, Dec. 13 (Jiji Press)–It is necessary for Japan, the United States, Australia and the Philippines to conclude a “collective defense pact” to contain China and ensure regional peace and stability, Ely Ratner, former U.S. assistant secretary of defense for Indo-Pacific security

Tokyo, Dec. 14 (Jiji Press)–Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko’s administration released 123 prisoners on Saturday, including former Japanese language teacher Masatoshi Nakanishi and Nobel Peace Prize winner Ales Bialiatski, according to local and other media reports. The Japanese Embassy in Belarus confirmed that

Tokyo, Dec. 14 (Jiji Press)–The number of Japanese workers at U.N. agencies as of the end of 2024 was 979, the highest since records began in 1990. While the figure is close to the Japanese government’s target of 1,000 workers in 2025,

Sendai, Miyagi Pref., Dec. 13 (Jiji Press)–Japanese Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama on Saturday effectively signaled acceptance of an anticipated interest rate hike by the Bank of Japan. “There is no major disagreement between us and the BOJ,” Katayama said in a speech

Tokyo, Dec. 13 (Jiji Press)–The Japanese government on Saturday reaffirmed its commitment to resolving the long-standing issue of Japanese citizens abducted by North Korea decades ago, with Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara stressing its urgency. “The abduction issue is not history, but

Tokyo, Dec. 13 (Jiji Press)–Japanese film director Masato Harada, known for socially conscious works including “Climber’s High,” died on Monday at the age of 76, Tsubasa Project, a talent agency that had a business partnership with him, said Saturday. Born in Shizuoka

Tokyo, Dec. 13 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s land ministry is considering giving prefectures the authority to coordinate efforts to preserve beautiful landscapes that span municipal boundaries, informed sources told Jiji Press. Regarding scenic spots involving multiple municipalities, such as large mountains, for which regulations

Tokyo, Dec. 13 (Jiji Press)–A court in Moscow handed down guilty rulings to nine people including Tomoko Akane, president of the International Criminal Court, which issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to the Investigative Committee of the Russian

Tokyo, Dec. 13 (Jiji Press)–Japanese office supplies retailer Askul Corp. said that a ransomware cyberattack discovered in October led to the leakage of about 740,000 sets of data concerning its individual customers, corporate clients and employees. Of the total, about 590,000 sets

Nanjing, China, Dec. 13 (Jiji Press)–A state memorial ceremony marking the 88th anniversary of the Nanjing incident perpetrated by the former Imperial Japanese Army was held in Nanjing in the eastern China province of Jiangsu on Saturday. “We will never tolerate any

Tokyo, Dec. 13 (Jiji Press)–A clinical trial by a Tokyo-based venture company originating from Keio University has confirmed that transplanting cardiac muscle cell clusters called cardiomyocyte spheroids created from induced pluripotent stem, or iPS, cells into patients with severe heart failure improved