Japan Department Stores Association Aug. 25 Yr/Yr Change Total 488,901 M. Yen Up 5.1 pct Clothing 118,823 Up 3.9 Personal Articles 83,155 Up 10.1 Sundry Goods 111,451 Up 10.7 Household Goods 15,856 Up 3.0 Foodstuffs 131,042 Up 0.2 Note: Year-on-year changes are

Japan Department Stores Association Aug. 25 Yr/Yr Change Total 148,875 M. Yen Up 9.0 pct Clothing 36,314 Up 9.0 Personal Articles 27,190 Up 11.4 Sundry Goods 38,536 Up 16.9 Household Goods 5,602 Up 5.0 Foodstuffs 34,368 Up 2.2 Note: Year-on-year changes are

Tokyo, Aug. 25 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s National Police Agency on Tuesday published an annual report highlighting the performances of its National Cyber Department and the department’s efforts to implement active cyberdefense measures. The white paper on police listed the development of a recovery

Tokyo, Aug. 25 (Jiji Press)–The Japanese government on Tuesday adopted guiding principles on intellectual property protection for generative artificial intelligence operators, calling on such businesses to disclose an outline of data and methods used to train their AI tools. The Principles Code,

Japan Chain Stores Association Aug. 25 Yr/Yr Change Total 1,091,952 M. Yen Up 0.1 pct Foodstuffs 788,875 Up 0.1 Clothing 47,306 Down 1.8 Sundries 104,563 Up 3.3 Furniture and Interior Goods 58,879 Up 3.0 Home Electric Appliances 3,919 Up 23.5 Note: Year-on-year

Tokyo, Aug. 25 (Jiji Press)–Companies are turning to artificial intelligence and sensor technology to improve the efficiency of indoor farming in Japan as the country faces a growing shortage of farmers. Oishii Farm Corp., which runs a strawberry factory in the United

Tokyo, Aug. 25 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s government adopted an ordinance Tuesday to raise fees for foreigners to renew and change their residency status to up to 75,000 yen from a uniform 6,000 yen at present, effective in October. New fees for people who

Tokyo, Aug. 25 (Jiji Press)–Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has pledged to steadily continue its sanctions on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine. Attending online a leaders meeting of the Coalition of the Willing on Ukraine on Monday, Takaichi said that “we

Tokyo, Aug. 25 (Jiji Press)–Major Japanese convenience store operators Lawson Inc. and Seven-Eleven Japan Co. have announced price cuts for their “onigiri” rice ball products. Lawson said Monday that it will cut the prices of 20 onigiri products, including six items on

Tokyo, Aug. 25 (Jiji Press)–A cross-party group of Japanese lawmakers has criticized the government of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi for its weak response to U.S. sanctions on International Criminal Court President Tomoko Akane of Japan. “Japan’s response to the sanctions is far

Tokyo, Aug. 25 (Jiji Press)–The Japan Meteorological Agency plans to extend daily weather forecasts from seven days to two weeks by 2030. The agency hopes the extended information will help people prepare earlier for disasters as concerns over more frequent extreme heat

Tokyo, Aug. 25 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party is increasingly concerned over a possible impact of a money scandal at the Fukuoka prefectural assembly on its campaign for next spring’s unified local elections. Isao Kurauchi, head of the assembly of the

Tokyo, Aug. 25 (Jiji Press)–Tracking with a GPS device has revealed that a northern boobook, an owl species, flew more than 1,800 kilometers nonstop over the sea from Japan to the Philippines, according to a study by a research team including Japan’s

(Adnkronos) – While Republicans and moderate Democrats increasingly portray the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) as an expression of an extreme left far removed from “mainstream” America, various polls tell a decidedly more nuanced story and also help explain the recent successes

(Adnkronos) – The Finnish Prime Minister, Petteri Orpo, has invited several European Union leaders to Rovaniemi on September 13 and 14 for a summit dedicated to the Arctic, with the aim of strengthening a common EU strategy towards a region increasingly relevant

(Adnkronos) – Singapore is focusing on new economic incentives to counteract the collapse of the birth rate, offering families almost 70,000 Singapore dollars, approximately 47,000 euros, in direct support for each child up to 17 years old. The new package was announced

(Adnkronos) – Nearly 90,000 people have been told to evacuate or prepare to leave their homes as a large fire approaches the outskirts of Reno, Nevada. US media report that about 42,000 residents have received immediate evacuation orders, while another 45,000 have

(Adnkronos) – Chinese President Xi Jinping received King Abdullah of Jordan in Beijing, with whom he discussed the Palestinian issue ”which is at the heart of the Middle East question”. An official account of the meeting transmitted by state media reported this. 

(Adnkronos) – The Iranian rial collapses to a new historic low on the free market, exceeding the threshold of two million rials for one dollar for the first time. This is reported by CNN, citing sites that monitor the performance of the

(Adnkronos) – Serbia has activated the European Civil Protection Mechanism. This was announced by the European Commission in a statement released via social media, explaining that it had mobilized “within a few hours” of receiving the request for RescEU helicopters from the

(Adnkronos) – The Senate race in Alaska, an event that promises to be decisive in the November midterm elections, will also be remembered as the story of the “three Dan Sullivans”. After the curious case of homonymy that had already inflamed last

Tokyo, Aug. 24 (Jiji Press)–An experimental project started in Japan on Monday to improve cabbage sales by predicting future supplies and prices using satellite data. Under the project, major advertising firm Dentsu Inc., the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, or JAXA, and a

Tokyo, Aug. 24 (Jiji Press)–The Japanese government on Monday compiled an action plan to address terrorism involving chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and explosive, or CBRNE, materials. Under the plan, the government will establish an expert panel to improve initial responses to CBRNE

(Adnkronos) – In a summer marked by extreme heat, torrential rains, and other crises caused by climate change, Tokyo – with over 14 million inhabitants – is working on multiple fronts to protect its citizens, with an approach focused on resilience. For

Tokyo, Aug. 24 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s industry ministry will include in its fiscal 2027 budget request 150 billion yen for an additional investment in Rapidus Corp., which aims to start mass-producing cutting-edge semiconductors, it was learned Monday. The ministry will invest in the

Tokyo, Aug. 24 (Jiji Press)–About 170,000 tons of treated water has been released from Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc.’s meltdown-hit Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant in northeastern Japan, TEPCO said Monday, three years after the releases began. According to TEPCO, some

(Adnkronos) – The United States has canceled a major joint amphibious landing exercise with South Korea, scheduled for next month, due to reduced force availability related to the war with Iran. Seoul announced this, specifying that the two countries are still considering

Kumamoto, Aug. 24 (Jiji Press)–A security camera in Kumamoto Prefecture has filmed the moment an earthquake in the southwestern Japan prefecture caused the ground to rupture and rise, marking only the second time in the world the phenomenon has been confirmed on

Beijing, Aug. 24 (Jiji Press)–A cross-party group of Japanese lawmakers arrived in China on Monday for a possible meeting with senior officials from the Chinese Communist Party’s International Department. The lawmakers–Gaku Hashimoto of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, Shinichi Isa of the

(Adnkronos) – The New Zealand government will introduce a law banning social media use for children under 16, joining several countries that have taken the same path. New Zealand has been considering a social media ban for over a year, after neighboring