Kumamoto, Aug. 3 (Jiji Press)–Temperatures reached 40.3 degrees Celsius in the city of Kumamoto on Monday, topping 40 degrees for the first time on record in the namesake southwestern Japan prefecture, adding to the plight of local residents hit by a powerful

Tokyo, Aug. 3 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s education ministry is asking municipalities and education boards across the country to consider providing supplementary learning materials for elementary and junior high school students that are currently purchased by parents, to reduce household financial burdens. In a

Tokyo, Aug. 3 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s education ministry is asking municipalities and education boards across the country to consider providing supplementary learning materials for elementary and junior high school students that are currently purchased by parents, to reduce household financial burdens. In a

Tokyo, Aug. 3 (Jiji Press)–Liberal Democratic Party members are concerned that Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s plan to cut the consumption tax rate on food could negatively affect the ruling party’s performance in the 2028 House of Councillors election. Under the plan,

Tokyo, Aug. 3 (Jiji Press)–Liberal Democratic Party members are concerned that Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s plan to cut the consumption tax rate on food could negatively affect the ruling party’s performance in the 2028 House of Councillors election. Under the plan,

Hiroshima, Aug. 3 (Jiji Press)–A tour offering views of reconstruction in Hiroshima, a city in western Japan, following the U.S. atomic bombing 81 years ago aboard a streetcar that survived the blast started on Sunday. The tour uses Hiroshima Electric Railway Co.’s

Hiroshima, Aug. 3 (Jiji Press)–A tour offering views of reconstruction in Hiroshima, a city in western Japan, following the U.S. atomic bombing 81 years ago aboard a streetcar that survived the blast started on Sunday. The tour uses Hiroshima Electric Railway Co.’s

Tokyo, Aug. 3 (Jiji Press)–BYD Co.’s entry is set to intensify competition into Japan’s electric minivehicle market, still a niche in the country’s passenger-vehicle segment. The Chinese electric vehicle giant last week launched the Racco in Japan, becoming the latest entrant in

Saitama, Aug. 3 (Jiji Press)–A Vietnamese national in his 30s has made a statement suggesting he killed a 91-year-old woman of Iruma, Saitama Prefecture, near Tokyo, according to investigative sources. Acting on the man’s statement, the Saitama prefectural police searched a forested

Japan Automobile Dealers Association Aug. 3 Yr/Yr Change Total 276,679 units Up 9.7 pct Over-2,000-c.c. Cars 155,822 Up 6.3 Smaller Cars 86,756 Up 17.4 Trucks 32,881 Up 6.0 Buses 1,220 Up 94.0 -Brand- Daihatsu 2,953 Up 44.3 Honda 34,144 Up 15.5 Lexus

Japan Light Motor Vehicle and Motorcycle Association Aug. 3 Yr/Yr Change Total 140,484 units Up 1.6 pct Passenger Cars 108,884 Up 2.9 Trucks 31,600 Down 2.9 -Brand- Suzuki 46,522 Down 2.1 Daihatsu 40,673 Down 2.7 Mitsubishi 6,240 Up 2.0 Subaru 1,035 Down

Tokyo, Aug. 3 (Jiji Press)–Local chapter members of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan expressed opposition on Sunday to a proposed three-way merger with two other opposition parties, the Centrist Reform Alliance and Komeito. Sunday’s meeting brought together senior members of the

Uki, Kumamoto Pref., Aug. 3 (Jiji Press)–Temperatures in Kumamoto Prefecture are forecast to reach 40 degrees Celsius or higher for the first time on record Monday, adding to the plight of people in the southwestern Japan prefecture hit by a powerful earthquake

Tokyo, Aug. 3 (Jiji Press)–Plant suspension at automakers caused by last week’s major earthquake in Kumamoto Prefecture is being prolonged, with the impact spreading beyond the Kyushu region, which includes the southwestern Japan prefecture. Toyota Motor Corp., Nissan Motor Co. and Daihatsu

Tokyo, Aug. 3 (Jiji Press)–The dollar plummeted to briefly fall below 155.50 yen for the first time in roughly three months in Tokyo trading Monday, after Japanese and U.S. authorities intervened in the market to buy the Japanese currency in concerted action

Lytham St. Annes, England, Aug. 2 (Jiji Press)–Japanese golfer Shiho Kuwaki won the Women’s British Open, the season’s final major event for women, on Sunday. At the event held at Royal Lytham and St Annes Golf Club in Lytham St. Annes, northwestern

Tokyo, Aug. 3 (Jiji Press)–Japanese and U.S. finance chiefs have said the two countries conducted a concerted yen-buying currency market intervention Friday, U.S. Eastern time. Japanese Minister of Finance Satsuki Katayama said in a statement Monday that the intervention, carried out “in

Tokyo, Aug. 3 (Jiji Press)–The dollar plummeted to briefly fall below 156 yen for the first time in roughly three months in Tokyo trading Monday, after Japanese and U.S. authorities intervened in the market to buy the Japanese currency in concerted action

Tokyo, Aug. 3 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 stock average briefly gave up more than 1,600 points Monday morning, after a coordinated yen-buying foreign exchange market intervention by Japanese and U.S. authorities pushed up the Japanese currency. At 10:18 a.m., the index

Tokyo, Aug. 3 (Jiji Press)–The Japanese opposition Democratic Party for the People plans to refrain from joining the ruling coalition of the Liberal Democratic Party and the Japan Innovation Party for the time being. Some in the LDP sought to realize the

Washington, Aug. 2 (Jiji Press)–U.S. President Donald Trump said Sunday that U.S. authorities conducted a yen-buying intervention in the currency market at the request of Japan. “They have a weakening yen, and they wanted a little bit of help,” Trump told reporters

Tokyo, Aug. 3 (Jiji Press)–The Japanese Ministry of Finance said Monday that it conducted a yen-buying currency market intervention Friday, U.S. Eastern time, “in coordination with” the U.S. Treasury Department. Japanese Minister of Finance Satsuki Katayama said in a statement that the

Tokyo, Aug. 3 (Jiji Press)–Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi visited Andong, South Korea, in mid-May for talks with South Korean President Lee Jae-myung, underscoring the steady improvement in bilateral relations after years of strain over historical and territorial disputes. Since Lee took

New York, Aug. 2 (Jiji Press)–Japanese players appeared in a game for a new U.S. women’s professional baseball league that kicked off Saturday. Right-handed pitcher Ayami Sato, from Kagoshima Prefecture, southwestern Japan, took the mound for the Los Angeles Queens in the

Tokyo, Aug. 2 (Jiji Press)–The Japanese and U.S. governments are considering issuing a joint statement aimed at stemming the yen’s depreciation against the dollar, informed sources said Sunday. After Japanese and U.S. authorities are believed to have conducted a coordinated yen-buying intervention

Ise, Mie Pref., Aug. 2 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s Princess Aiko visited Ise Jingu, a major Shinto shrine complex in Mie Prefecture, central Japan, on Sunday. Princess Aiko, the only child of Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako, observed traditional ceremonies related to the Shikinen

Kumamoto, Aug. 2 (Jiji Press)–The death toll from Tuesday’s powerful earthquake in Kumamoto Prefecture, southwestern Japan, has risen to 38 as two more deaths have been confirmed, the prefectural disaster response headquarters said Sunday. A woman in her 70s died while sleeping

Tokyo, Aug. 2 (Jiji Press)–The House of Representatives, the lower chamber of the Diet, Japan’s parliament, will install security cameras in the Diet building starting in fiscal 2027. The plan has been considered partly in response to an incident in which a

Ise, Mie Pref., Aug. 2 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s Princess Aiko visited Ise Jingu, a major Shinto shrine complex in Mie Prefecture, central Japan, on Sunday. Princess Aiko, the only child of Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako, observed traditional ceremonies related to the Shikinen

Kumamoto, Aug. 2 (Jiji Press)–The death toll from Tuesday’s powerful earthquake in Kumamoto Prefecture, southwestern Japan, has risen to 38 as two more deaths have been confirmed, the prefectural disaster response headquarters said Sunday. A woman in her 70s died while sleeping