Los Angeles, Jan. 22 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s box-office hit “Kokuho” made the Oscar nominee list in makeup and hairstyling, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced Thursday. Kyoko Toyokawa, Naomi Hibino and Tadashi Nishimatsu became the first makeup staff of a

Tokyo, Jan. 23 (Jiji Press)–Japan dissolved its House of Representatives, the lower chamber of the Diet, at the start of this year’s ordinary parliamentary session Friday. The government plans to hold the Lower House general election on Feb. 8, with the official

Tokyo, Jan. 23 (Jiji Press)–The Bank of Japan decided Friday to keep its policy interest rate unchanged while raising its growth outlook for Japan’s gross domestic product in fiscal 2026, which starts in April. At its two-day policy-setting meeting through the day,

Tokyo, Jan. 23 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s core consumer prices in 2025 rose 3.1 pct from the previous year on average, the fourth consecutive year of growth, the internal affairs ministry said Friday. The core consumer price index, which excludes volatile fresh food prices,

By Nobutoshi Kobayashi Commentary Writer Tokyo, Jan. 23 (Jiji Press)–Several years ago, when Yuichiro Mori, an associate professor of legal philosophy at Hokkaido University’s Graduate School of Law, was approved to conduct research in the United States, he and his partner decided

Tokyo, Jan. 23 (Jiji Press)–Japanese telecommunications company KDDI Corp. said it has started operating a large-scale data center specifically designed for generative artificial intelligence in Sakai in the western Japan prefecture of Osaka. KDDI acquired the site of Japanese electronics maker Sharp

(Adnkronos) – Tunisian authorities have announced the elimination of a “terrorist cell” composed of four people in the west of the country, not far from the border with Algeria. The operation was conducted near Majel Ben Abbes, a wooded area where security

Tokyo, Jan. 22 (Jiji Press)–The Japanese opposition Democratic Party for the People announced Thursday its pledges for the Feb. 8 House of Representatives election, vowing to increase people’s take-home pay. The pledges include lowering the consumption tax rate to 5 pct, increasing

Tokyo, Jan. 22 (Jiji Press)–With Thursday marking the fifth anniversary of the effectuation of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, hibakusha atomic bomb survivors and antinuclear advocates pledged to build momentum toward the abolition of nuclear arms. “This year, we

Tokyo, Jan. 22 (Jiji Press)–Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc. decided Thursday to halt the No. 6 reactor at its Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power station as a new problem was discovered, after the unit was brought back online only on Wednesday following a

(Adnkronos) – Two people have died and several are feared buried due to landslides on New Zealand’s North Island, the BBC reports. The deaths were reported in Welcome Bay, while rescuers are still searching through the rubble at another site, a popular

(Adnkronos) – The German Foreign Ministry summoned the Russian ambassador in Berlin, announcing the “expulsion” of an embassy diplomat for espionage activities. The decision comes the day after the arrest of a German woman of Ukrainian origin suspected in the same dossier

Tokyo, Jan. 22 (Jiji Press)–Japan is expected to post a primary budget deficit of about 800 billion yen in fiscal 2026, a government estimate showed Thursday. The estimate for the primary budget balance at the central and local governments in the year

(Adnkronos) – During Donald Trump’s speech today in Davos, photographers did not miss the large bruise the American president had on his left hand when he addressed world leaders and officials after the Board of Peace signing ceremony at the World Economic

(Adnkronos) – With a memo dated May 12, 2025, the interim head of ICE ordered anti-immigrant police agents, who have become the armed wing of Donald Trump’s deportation campaign, to enter homes even without the necessary judicial warrant. This is revealed by

Tokyo, Jan. 22 (Jiji Press)–The Centrist Reform Alliance, a new Japanese political party, was formally launched Thursday with 165 House of Representatives lawmakers from the two founding opposition forces–the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan and Komeito, a former ally of the ruling

(Adnkronos) – Security services in Russia have arrested a Russian citizen on charges of espionage for Moldova. Russia and Moldova have expelled dozens of diplomats in recent years. The alleged spy had arrived in Moscow last December to carry out a task

(Adnkronos) – Donald Trump signs the act creating the Board of Peace, along with about twenty leaders participating in the ceremony in Davos, none of whom are major allies of the United States. Among them are Viktor Orban, the only EU leader,

(Adnkronos) – The restart of the world’s largest nuclear power plant has been suspended in Japan, just hours after the process began. Its operator announced this, adding that the reactor remained “stable”. “A monitoring system alarm went off during reactor startup procedures

(Adnkronos) – Italy’s companies are keen to bolster cooperation with Iraqi Kurdistan in key sectors from energy to infrastructure and agri-food, foreign minister Antonio Tajani told former regional president Masoud Barzani at talks in Rome centred on bilateral relations, the foreign ministry

Tokyo, Jan. 22 (Jiji Press)–Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corp. announced Thursday that it will set up a bus business joint venture in Japan with Taiwan’s Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. The new entity, to be founded in the latter half of

Tokyo, Jan. 22 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s Nuclear Regulation Authority said Thursday it will begin an on-site inspection of Chubu Electric Power Co.’s headquarters Monday over earthquake risk data falsification for the firm’s Hamaoka nuclear power plant in the central prefecture of Shizuoka. In

Tokyo, Jan. 22 (Jiji Press)–The Centrist Reform Alliance, a new Japanese political party, was formally launched Thursday with some 170 House of Representatives lawmakers from the two founding opposition forces–the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan and Komeito, a former ally of the

Tokyo, Jan. 22 (Jiji Press)–Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc. will begin work to stop the No. 6 reactor at its Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power station in Niigata Prefecture, central Japan, on Thursday night, the company said. The stoppage comes after TEPCO suspended

Tokyo, Jan. 22 (Jiji Press)–Japanese supermarket sales in 2025 rose 2.2 pct from the previous year on a same-store basis, marking the sixth consecutive year of growth, the Japan Chain Stores Association said Thursday. All-store sales reached 12,867.5 billion yen. Although consumers

Tokyo, Jan. 22 (Jiji Press)–The Japan Federation of Aviation Industry Unions said Thursday that its member unions will request a pay scale hike of at least 12,000 yen, or 4 pct, per month in the 2026 “shunto” spring wage negotiations. The umbrella

Tokyo, Jan. 22 (Jiji Press)–Tokyo District Court on Thursday sentenced an 82-year-old former chairman of major publisher Kadokawa Corp. to two and a half years in prison, suspended for four years, in a high-profile bribery case related to the Tokyo Olympics and

(Adnkronos) – A “fair” settlement to end Russia’s almost four-year invasion of Ukraine “will take time” and the European Union will oppose any attempt to defeat the former Soviet Republic, Italy said ahead of talks in Moscow on Thursday between top US

Tokyo, Jan. 22 (Jiji Press)–Former Japanese shogi master Hifumi Kato died of pneumonia at a hospital in Tokyo on Thursday. He was 86. The native of Fukuoka Prefecture, southwestern Japan, was the first junior high school student to become a professional shogi

Tokyo, Jan. 22 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party will officially endorse 37 candidates involved in its high-profile slush fund scandal in the Feb. 8 general election. The individuals are included in the party’s initial list of official candidates for the House