Uki, Kumamoto Pref., Aug. 10 (Jiji Press)–Efforts are underway in Kumamoto Prefecture to provide children with developmental and intellectual disabilities with places to stay during the day and relieve stress, after a 7.1-magnitude earthquake struck the southwestern Japan prefecture late last month.

Tokyo, Aug. 10 (Jiji Press)–Japanese Foreign Ministry officials have begun to use social media under their own names to combat misinformation, after the Japan International Cooperation Agency’s “hometown” project to promote exchanges between Japanese and African cities came under undue attack. JICA

Tokyo, Aug. 10 (Jiji Press)–Corporate bankruptcies with liabilities of at least 10 million yen in Japan in July rose 6.9 pct from a year before to 1,028, the highest level for the month in 13 years, Tokyo Shoko Research Ltd. said Monday.

Tokyo, Aug. 10 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 stock average on Monday briefly rose back above 67,000 for the first time since July 23, buoyed by robust investor appetite for artificial intelligence-related stocks. The index of 225 major issues listed on the

Yatsushiro, Kumamoto Pref., Aug. 10 (Jiji Press)–Police are increasing vigilance in Kumamoto Prefecture, following reports of scam attempts targeting local residents affected by a major earthquake that jolted the southwestern Japan prefecture last month. A special unit comprising over 300 police officers

Nagasaki, Aug. 10 (Jiji Press)–Officials of Nihon Hidankyo, or the Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations, renewed their call for a world without nuclear weapons, on the 70th anniversary of its establishment Monday. At a press conference held near the

Nagasaki, Aug. 9 (Jiji Press)–About 250 people joined a memorial mass held at Urakami Cathedral in the city of Nagasaki on Sunday, which marked the 81st anniversary of the U.S. atomic bombing of the southwestern Japan city. At the cathedral, many Christians

Tokyo, Aug. 10 (Jiji Press)–Mizuho Bank said Monday it will raise its long-term prime lending rate by 0.1 percentage point to 3.25 pct, the highest level in about 30 years, effective Wednesday. The increase in the long-term prime, a benchmark for interest

Tokyo, Aug. 10 (Jiji Press)–Bank of Japan policymakers in July expressed their views that interest rate hikes should be accelerated, given upside risks to inflation, a summary of opinions at the latest monetary policy meeting showed Monday. “It cannot be said that

Ayase, Kanagawa Pref., Aug. 10 (Jiji Press)–The Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force’s P-1 patrol aircraft has left the Atsugi air base in Kanagawa Prefecture, south of Tokyo, for Djibouti to take part in an antipiracy mission. This is the first time for the

Tokyo, Aug. 10 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s current account surplus expanded to 17,429.2 billion yen in January-June, hitting a record for the first half thanks to growing exports of semiconductors to Asia, the Finance Ministry said Monday. The surplus in the current account, the

New York, Aug. 9 (Jiji Press)–Twelve-year-old violinist Sora Iwai from earthquake-hit Kumamoto Prefecture, southwestern Japan, performed at Carnegie Hall in New York after winning the top prize in the under-18 division of an international music competition. Iwai, an elementary school sixth grader

New York, Aug. 9 (Jiji Press)–Twelve-year-old violinist Sora Iwai from earthquake-hit Kumamoto Prefecture, southwestern Japan, performed at Carnegie Hall in New York after winning the top prize in the under-18 division of an international music competition. Iwai, an elementary school sixth grader

Nagano, Aug. 10 (Jiji Press)–Shuichi Abe won a fifth term as governor of the central Japan prefecture of Nagano in an election Sunday, defeating his sole contender. Abe, 65, won support mainly from prefectural assembly members of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party

Tokyo, Aug. 10 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s public and private sectors are stepping up joint efforts to revive the nation’s struggling shipbuilding industry. Last year, the transport ministry drew up a road map for revitalizing Japan’s shipbuilding sector, setting a target of doubling shipbuilding

Tokyo, Aug. 10 (Jiji Press)–The Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations, or Nihon Hidankyo, the country’s only national organization of hibakusha atomic bomb survivors and the 2024 winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, marked on Monday 70 years since its

Nagasaki, Aug. 9 (Jiji Press)–About 250 people joined a memorial mass held at Urakami Cathedral in the city of Nagasaki on Sunday, which marked the 81st anniversary of the U.S. atomic bombing of the southwestern Japan city. At the cathedral, many Christians

Nagasaki, Aug. 9 (Jiji Press)–About 250 people joined a memorial mass held at Urakami Cathedral in the city of Nagasaki on Sunday, which marked the 81st anniversary of the U.S. atomic bombing of the southwestern Japan city. At the cathedral, many Christians

Tokyo, Aug. 9 (Jiji Press)–The U.S. Forces Japan on Sunday airlifted a total of about 33,000 bottles of drinking water for victims of a recent powerful earthquake that struck Kumamoto Prefecture, southwestern Japan. A KC-130 aircraft of the U.S. military transported the

Nagasaki, Aug. 9 (Jiji Press)–Many people gathered at a park in the southwestern Japan city of Nagasaki on Sunday to mourn the victims of the U.S. atomic bombing of the city exactly 81 years ago, wish for the abolition of nuclear weapons

Nagasaki, Aug. 9 (Jiji Press)–Nagasaki Mayor Shiro Suzuki in this year’s peace declaration on Sunday reiterated the atomic-bombed city’s call for the abolition of nuclear weapons, describing them as an absolute evil. The theory of nuclear deterrence, advocated mainly by nuclear weapons

Nagasaki, Aug. 9 (Jiji Press)–Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi was urged on Sunday to officially recognize more hibakusha survivors of the Aug. 9, 1945, U.S. atomic bombing of the southwestern Japan city of Nagasaki. Some people who were exposed to radiation from

Nagasaki, Aug. 9 (Jiji Press)–Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Sunday stopped short of commenting on possible reshuffles of her cabinet or the lineup of executives at her ruling Liberal Democratic Party. “My cabinet is now making maximum efforts in response to

Nagasaki, Aug. 9 (Jiji Press)–An 87-year-old hibakusha expressed her anger at world leaders on Sunday, the 81st anniversary of the U.S. atomic bombing of the southwestern Japan city of Nagasaki, at a time when the international situation is increasingly severe in spite

Nagasaki, Aug. 9 (Jiji Press)–Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Sunday stopped short of commenting on whether she will reshuffle her cabinet or the lineup of executives at her ruling Liberal Democratic Party. “I have nothing to say at the moment (on

Tokyo, Aug. 9 (Jiji Press)–Orix Buffaloes pitcher Yoshihisa Hirano, who has earned a total of 258 saves in Japanese and U.S. career, will retire at the end of this season, the Japanese professional baseball team said Sunday. The 42-year-old right-hander has played

Nagasaki, Aug. 9 (Jiji Press)–About 250 people gathered and offered prayers at a memorial mass held at Urakami Cathedral in the city of Nagasaki on Sunday, which marked the 81st anniversary of the U.S. atomic bombing of the southwestern Japan city. At

Nagasaki, Aug. 9 (Jiji Press)–High school students in the city of Nagasaki who serve as peace ambassadors and work on a campaign to collect signatures for nuclear abolition held a rally on Sunday, the 81st anniversary of the U.S. atomic bombing of

Nagasaki, Aug. 9 (Jiji Press)–Nagasaki Mayor Shiro Suzuki in this year’s peace declaration on Sunday reiterated the atomic-bombed city’s call for the abolition of nuclear weapons, describing them as an absolute evil. The theory of nuclear deterrence, advocated mainly by nuclear weapons

Osaka, Aug. 9 (Jiji Press)–The No. 3 reactor at Kansai Electric Power Co.’s Oi nuclear power plant in Fukui Prefecture, central Japan, has stopped automatically after an alarm went off, the company said in the small hours of Sunday. While the cause