Tokyo, Sept. 16 (Jiji Press)–Shoko Kawata, the 36-year-old mayor of the city of Yawata in Kyoto Prefecture, who is believed to be the first sitting female local government chief in Japan to take maternity leave, gave birth to her first child, a

Beijing, Sept. 16 (Jiji Press)–Fifty relatives of former Chinese wartime laborers raised a lawsuit against six Japanese companies in China on Wednesday, seeking about 8.5 million yen per person in damages. The lawsuit, filed with a high court in Shijiazhuang, Hebei Province,

Tokyo, Sept. 16 (Jiji Press)–Kansai Electric Power Co. and Tohoku Electric Power Co. have expressed an intention to use an interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel in Mutsu, Aomori Prefecture, northeastern Japan, people familiar with the matter said Wednesday. The facility

Tokyo, Sept. 16 (Jiji Press)–A new Japanese political party to be formed by some departing members of the opposition Centrist Reform Alliance is set to be named “Minshu Kaikaku no Kai,” which roughly means “association for democratic reform,” CRA leader Junya Ogawa

Tokyo, Sept. 16 (Jiji Press)–A Japanese government panel began discussions Wednesday to revise the money lending business law to make it easier for foreign financial institutions to meet financing needs that cannot be met solely by Japanese banks. The Financial System Council,

Tokyo, Sept. 16 (Jiji Press)–The estimated number of foreign visitors to Japan in August fell 9.6 pct from a year earlier to 3,098,900, down for the first time in two months, the Japan National Tourism Organization said Wednesday. The decrease appears to

Tokyo, Sept. 16 (Jiji Press)–Masaji Matsuyama, leader of lawmakers in Japan’s Senate from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, on Wednesday denied views that Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has interfered in personnel decisions for party members in the upper chamber of parliament. “I

Tokyo, Sept. 16 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s Air Self-Defense Force concluded on Wednesday that the Global Hawk reconnaissance drone that lost communication and went missing crashed off the western prefecture of Tottori. The ASDF will set up an accident investigation committee and continue searching

Tokyo, Sept. 16 (Jiji Press)–Almost all reposts of an online post containing false information about Okinawa Governor Denny Tamaki, who failed to secure re-election in Sunday’s gubernatorial race, were made by social media users outside the southernmost Japan prefecture, an analysis showed

Tokyo, Sept. 16 (Jiji Press)–Japanese newspaper publisher Nikkei Inc. said its sales employees had overcharged two companies for advertising fees by inflating circulation numbers for an advertising booklet and fraudulently received several tens of millions of yen from each company. The advertising

(Adnkronos) – The Republican-majority U.S. House of Representatives has approved a resolution to limit President Donald Trump’s powers regarding the war in Iran, with 220 votes in favor and 204 against. Seven Republicans – Representatives Thomas Massie of Kentucky, Brian Fitzpatrick of

Tokyo, Sept. 16 (Jiji Press)–Hitachi Energy Ltd. said Wednesday that it will invest 528 million dollars to build a transformer manufacturing plant in Mississippi to meet surging U.S. power demand amid wider use of artificial intelligence. The Swiss unit of Hitachi Ltd.

(Adnkronos) – Health officials in the Gaza Strip reported that at least five people, including children, have died and another 13 were injured in the collapse of a residential building in the al-Sana’a area, in the southwestern part of Gaza City. More

(Adnkronos) – At least three people have died and another was seriously injured in the crash of an NBC News helicopter in Los Angeles, according to local fire officials. The helicopter crashed near the scene of another fatal accident involving a bus

Tokyo, Sept. 16 (Jiji Press)–Kansai Electric Power Co. and Tohoku Electric Power Co. have expressed an intention to join an interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel in Mutsu, Aomori Prefecture, northeastern Japan, people familiar with the matter said Wednesday. The facility

Tokyo, Sept. 16 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s prosecution recorded or videotaped about 13,500 interrogations during the half year through March in at-home cases involving suspects not arrested or held in custody, the Supreme Public Prosecutors Office said Wednesday. About 9,000 of the cases resulted

Tokyo, Sept. 16 (Jiji Press)–Tokyo District Court sentenced a former president of event management company Same Two Inc. to 18 months in prison, suspended for three years, on Wednesday for bid-rigging related to the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2021. The

Tokyo, Sept. 16 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s seasonally adjusted core machinery orders in July fell 3.7 pct from the previous month, following a 9.7 pct increase in June, the Cabinet Office said Wednesday. Machinery orders are showing signs of picking up, the government agency

Tokyo, Sept. 16 (Jiji Press)–Japan logged a customs-cleared trade deficit of 1,105.6 billion yen in August, marking the fourth consecutive month of red ink, the Finance Ministry said in a preliminary report Wednesday. The figure was nearly four times larger than the

Washington, Sept. 15 (Jiji Press)–Japanese and U.S. lawmakers Tuesday agreed that deterring China is important to prevent a contingency involving Taiwan. The view was shared at a meeting in Washington between a pro-Taiwan group of lawmakers from Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party

Brussels, Sept. 15 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s Toyota Motor Corp. and seven other major automobile and energy companies said Tuesday that they will work together to help spread large trucks that run on hydrogen in Europe. The eight will collaborate in a wide range

Tokyo, Sept. 16 (Jiji Press)–Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, also president of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, launched a reshuffled leadership team of the party on Wednesday. She kept key officials, including LDP Vice President Taro Aso, 85, and Secretary-General Shunichi Suzuki,

Washington, Sept. 15 (Jiji Press)–U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Tuesday that the U.S. side spent a “nominal amount” in its joint currency market intervention with Japan in July to rectify the yen’s rapid weakening against the dollar. In a testimony before

Tokyo, Sept. 16 (Jiji Press)–The average retail price of pork loin in Japan in September came to 293 yen per 100 grams, hitting the highest level since the survey started in August 2003, the agriculture ministry has said. Prices of a pack

Tokyo, Sept. 16 (Jiji Press)–The Japanese government in July set a target of replacing up to five nuclear reactors by the 2040s and as many as 14 by the 2050s. In revising its nuclear energy policy guidelines, the government presented specific numerical

Tokyo, Sept. 16 (Jiji Press)–Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, also president of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, launched a reshuffled leadership team of the party on Wednesday. She kept key officials, including LDP Vice President Taro Aso, 85, and Secretary-General Shunichi Suzuki,

Tokyo, Sept. 16 (Jiji Press)–Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Eisuke Mori, speaker of Japan’s House of Representatives, the lower chamber of parliament, discussed energy support for Ukraine at their meeting in Kyiv on Tuesday, the presidential office said. Zelenskyy expressed gratitude for

Tokyo, Sept. 16 (Jiji Press)–Growth in the prices of residential and commercial land around semiconductor plants in Japan as of July 1 decelerated from a year before, data from the land ministry have shown. Apparently behind the slower growth are factors such

(Adnkronos) – The number of centenarians in Japan has exceeded 100,000 for the first time in the country’s history. The Ministry of Health in Tokyo announced this, explaining that 107,677 centenarians currently live in Japan, the highest number in the world, 88%

(Adnkronos) – “The Supreme Court has truly disappointed our country, some judges are paralyzed in front of the crazy and depraved Democrats and are absolutely incapable of showing the courage necessary to save America.” Thus Donald Trump lashes out against the Supreme