Tokyo, April 3 (Jiji Press)–Prices of rice sold from March 23 through Sunday in Japan averaged 3,935 yen per 5 kilograms, down 43 yen from the previous week, marking a seventh straight weekly decline, the agriculture ministry said Friday. The average price

Tokyo, April 3 (Jiji Press)–Tokyo stocks are expected to remain sensitive to news about the situation involving Iran next week, while equity indexes are likely to be also swayed by developments related to artificial intelligence and semiconductors. This week, the benchmark Nikkei

Tokyo, April 3 (Jiji Press)–The Japanese government’s fiscal 2026 budget is expected to be enacted as early as Tuesday as the House of Councillors, the upper chamber of the Diet, the country’s parliament, is now likely to pass it. The ruling Liberal

Tokyo, April 3 (Jiji Press)–Microsoft Corp. said Friday it will invest 10 billion dollars in Japan between 2026 and 2029 to beef up the country’s artificial intelligence and cloud infrastructure capacity so important data can be kept under domestic management. With its

Tokyo, April 3 (Jiji Press)–The Japanese government will use an artificial intelligence system to help draft answers to parliamentary questions to reduce the burden on government officials, digital transformation minister Hisashi Matsumoto said Friday. “The government will take the lead and use

(The first paragraph should have read, “…to a 6.63 pct pay increase…,” instead of as sent. A substitute story follows.) UA Zensen Unions Agree 6.63 Pct Pay Hike for Part-Timers Tokyo, April 3 (Jiji Press)–Member unions of UA Zensen have agreed to

(Adnkronos) – A train derails in Russia. In the Ulyanovsk region, 900 kilometers from Moscow, 22 people were reportedly injured in the derailment of a train, as announced by local authorities, who also stated that there were no fatalities in the incident. 

Hiroshima, April 3 (Jiji Press)–The Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, which documents the world’s first atomic bombing in the western Japan city of Hiroshima in August 1945, attracted 2,580,926 visitors in fiscal 2025, hitting a record high for the third straight year, its

Tokyo, April 3 (Jiji Press)–Microsoft Corp. said Friday it will invest 10 billion dollars in Japan between 2026 and 2029 to beef up artificial intelligence and cloud infrastructure capacity in the country and reinforce cybersecurity cooperation with the government. For the capacity

Tokyo, April 3 (Jiji Press)–The average value of assets of Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and her 18 ministers stood at 65.91 million yen as of Feb. 18, the government said Friday. The average for assets held by the ministers and their

Tokyo, April 3 (Jiji Press)–The Japanese Communist Party requested Friday that the government play a leading role in mediating the conflict between the United States and Iran. JCP leader Tomoko Tamura submitted the request in writing at a meeting with Chief Cabinet

Tokyo, April 3 (Jiji Press)–As the effective blockade of the Strait of Hormuz continues, efforts are underway in Japan to establish alternative routes for transporting crude oil from the Middle East. The Japanese government and oil companies are considering diversifying crude oil

Tokyo, April 3 (Jiji Press)–The Japanese government on Friday adopted a bill that requires operators of mega solar power plants to submit plans on how they will dispose of used panels. The bill is aimed at getting mega solar farm operators to

Tokyo, April 3 (Jiji Press)–Liberal Democratic Party members are forming intraparty groups in a bid to expand their sway in the Japanese ruling party, after most of the party’s factions disbanded following a slush funds scandal. On Thursday, former internal affairs minister

Sendai, Miyagi Pref., April 3 (Jiji Press)–Tohoku University’s International Research Institute of Disaster Science has started joint research with SoftBank Group Corp. to develop generative artificial intelligence technology dedicated to disaster prevention. As it has been 15 years since the March 2011

Tokyo, April 3 (Jiji Press)–Japanese health minister Kenichiro Ueno on Friday urged the public to exercise caution as measles cases are increasing. “It is highly contagious, and one in 1,000 people is said to die even in developed countries,” Ueno told a

Tokyo, April 3 (Jiji Press)–Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi and his Saudi Arabian counterpart, Faisal Al-Saud, affirmed the countries’ close cooperation to de-escalate the conflict in Iran in a call on Thursday. The two ministers shared the importance of ensuring the safety

Tokyo, April 3 (Jiji Press)–The cabinet of Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi approved Friday amendments to the criminal proceeds transfer prevention law to give police stronger ammunition to crack down on money laundering by scammers. The amendment bill, which the Takaichi administration

Tokyo, April 3 (Jiji Press)–The yield on the most recent issue of 10-year Japanese government bonds, regarded as the country’s benchmark long-term interest rate, briefly reached 2.395 pct on Friday, the highest level since February 1999. JGBs were sold on persistent inflation

Tokyo, April 3 (Jiji Press)–The Japanese government Friday adopted a bill to revise the staple food law to require rice producers to make proactive efforts to align their production with demand. The current law to ensure supply and price stability for staple

Nagoya, April 3 (Jiji Press)–Toyota Motor Corp. released two U.S.-made models in Japan on Thursday. The Highlander SUV and the Tundra pickup truck were put on sale by a dealership in Tokyo. Nationwide sales will begin as early as this summer. The

Tokyo, April 3 (Jiji Press)–The Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan and Komeito should merge with the Centrist Reform Alliance fully, including at the local level, CRA leader Junya Ogawa said in an interview with Jiji Press on Tuesday. “Prolonged stagnation…could sink them

Tokyo, April 3 (Jiji Press)–The Japanese government adopted on Friday a bill designed to overhaul Japan’s adult guardianship system for people with dementia and others, aiming to improve user convenience amid an aging society. The bill is also aimed at enabling the

Naha, Okinawa Pref., April 3 (Jiji Press)–A Chinese maritime survey vessel that had been operating without permission in Japan’s exclusive economic zone off the Senkaku Islands in Okinawa Prefecture has left the area, according to the Japan Coast Guard. The Chinese ship

Tokyo, April 3 (Jiji Press)–The administration of Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is looking at revising the unique rank titles used by the Self-Defense Forces in fiscal 2026. Under the proposal, the current titles would be replaced by more widely recognized Japanese

Seoul, April 3 (Jiji Press)–Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi and his South Korean counterpart, Cho Hyun, have reaffirmed cooperation to ensure security and safe navigation in the Strait of Hormuz. In a roughly 20-minute phone call Thursday, the two foreign ministers discussed

Tokyo, April 3 (Jiji Press)–Local authorities in Japan are warning people to watch out for bears as they emerge from hibernation. According to the Environment Ministry, the number of bear attack victims in fiscal 2025 had reached 237 by February, the highest

Tokyo, April 3 (Jiji Press)–The Imperial Household Agency on Friday released a list of 1,753 guests for an upcoming spring Imperial garden party in Tokyo, including figure skating pair Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara, who won gold at the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics

Tokyo, April 2 (Jiji Press)–The number of people in Japan who plan to travel abroad during the upcoming Golden Week holiday period is expected to rise 8.5 pct from a year earlier to 572,000, a survey by major travel agency JTB Corp.

(Adnkronos) – Moldova has decided to finalize its withdrawal from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), a Russia-dominated group that united nine of the fifteen former Soviet republics. The termination of the 1991 founding agreement, the associated protocol, and the 1993 statute