Tokyo, July 27 (Jiji Press)–Several local governments in Japan are advancing efforts to be designated as the country’s secondary capital, following Friday’s enactment of a secondary capital bill. A secondary capital would supplement Tokyo’s functions in the event of a major disaster.

Tokyo, July 27 (Jiji Press)–The Bank of Japan is likely to hold interest rates steady when it meets on Thursday and Friday to see the effect of its recent increase for the time being. The central bank last month raised its policy

Tokyo, July 27 (Jiji Press)–Temperatures reached 40.0 degrees Celsius in the city of Hita, Oita Prefecture, at 3:30 p.m. Monday, marking the first time on record that the Kyushu region of southwestern Japan has seen temperatures at or above the level, according

Tokyo, July 27 (Jiji Press)–Popular Japanese novelist Keigo Higashino died of colorectal cancer in the early hours of Thursday. He was 68. Born in the western prefecture of Osaka in 1958, Higashino made his novelist debut while working as an engineer after

Taipei, July 27 (Jiji Press)–Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te on Monday awarded the Order of Brilliant Star with Grand Cordon to Japanese lawmaker Keiji Furuya, leader of a suprapartisan group of legislators seeking closer ties with Taiwan. During a visit to the presidential

Fukuoka, July 27 (Jiji Press)–Fukuoka High Court on Monday ordered the prefectural government of Kumamoto, southwestern Japan, to pay damages jointly with the Japanese government over the wrongful conviction in the 1985 Matsubase murder case in Kumamoto. Presiding Judge Takeshi Okada overturned

(Adnkronos) – The mayor of Seattle, Katie Wilson, announced the arrest of a suspect in the shooting that killed two people and injured 4 in the city in the northwestern United States, from gunfire that also caused at least four injuries. Wilson

Chiba, July 27 (Jiji Press)–The Ground-Self Defense Force’s Camp Narashino on Monday imposed two- and four-month suspensions on two sergeants, aged 35 and 37, respectively, for using violence against other GSDF members during training in 2023. The two sergeants admitted to the

Tokyo, July 27 (Jiji Press)–The dollar slipped to around 163.50 yen in Tokyo trading Monday after the United States and Iran paused attacks on each other, raising optimism over the Middle East conflict. Yen purchases became dominant as “dollar buying at a

Tokyo, July 27 (Jiji Press)–Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said Monday that she has no plans to set up a new expert panel to discuss the Imperial succession issue and the possibility of a female or maternal-line Emperor. Takaichi made the remark

Tokyo, July 27 (Jiji Press)–Concerns are mounting over the Shiokaze shortwave radio program for Japanese nationals abducted to North Korea, as the number of radio transmitters is dwindling. The Japanese support group broadcasting the program is calling for an increase in the

Tokyo, July 27 (Jiji Press)–Japanese electronics makers and retailers are enjoying strong demand for portable air conditioners, with some areas, mainly in the Tokai central region, recently experiencing “kokushobi” cruelly hot days, featuring temperatures of 40 degrees Celsius or higher. Such products

Tokyo, July 27 (Jiji Press)–Ocean cargo transport service fees remained elevated in June amid the continuing Middle East turmoil, Bank of Japan data showed Monday. The service price index for the sector in the latest reporting month jumped 52.8 pct year on

Tokyo, July 27 (Jiji Press)–Japan “strongly condemns” the growing military cooperation between North Korea and Russia, Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said at a press conference Monday. Specifically, the top Japanese government spokesman cited the dispatch of troops and supplies of weapons

(A typo in the sixth paragraph has been corrected. The seventh paragraph should have read “…on a planned tax cut. …”) No Plans to Set Up New Panel on Imperial Succession Now: Takaichi Tokyo, July 27 (Jiji Press)–Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi

Tokyo, July 27 (Jiji Press)–Discussions on a hike in Japan’s minimum wages for fiscal 2026 entered the final stage at a labor ministry panel Monday, but gaps between the labor and management sides remain wide. Members from the labor side at the

Tokyo, July 27 (Jiji Press)–Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi will hold a press conference from 6 p.m. Monday, following the end of an extended Diet session Saturday, the government announced. Takaichi is expected to speak about the planned consumption tax cut, as

Tokyo, July 27 (Jiji Press)–Japan has started this year’s services allowing former Japanese residents of Russian-controlled northwestern Pacific islands to pay tribute to their ancestors from the sea. At a ceremony held Saturday afternoon on the Etopirika ship, which arrived off Kunashiri,

Tokyo, July 27 (Jiji Press)–The Tokyo metropolitan government launched an epidural subsidy program for childbirth last October, becoming the first prefecture-level government in Japan to help cover the cost of pain-relief deliveries. In the six months through March, the metropolitan government received

Tokyo, July 27 (Jiji Press)–Japanese retail giant Seven & i Holdings Co. has announced a decision to drop a plan to invest in leading Polish convenience store operator Zabka Group. The parent of convenience store chain Seven-Eleven Japan Co. had been considering

Tokyo, July 26 (Jiji Press)–Cyberattacks are becoming faster and more sophisticated with the use of artificial intelligence, Nobuo Miwa, president of Tokyo-based information security service provider S&J Corp., has said in a recent interview. His remarks came after a series of cyberattacks

Tokyo, July 26 (Jiji Press)–Honda Motor Co. and Nissan Motor Co., which have been discussing areas of cooperation, are considering jointly developing the operating system for software-defined vehicles based on Nissan’s technology, informed sources said Sunday. SDVs can add or improve functions

Sagamihara, Kanagawa Pref., July 26 (Jiji Press)–Many people visited the Tsukui Yamayuri-en residential facility for people with disabilities in the city of Sagamihara, Kanagawa Prefecture, south of Tokyo, on Sunday, the 10th anniversary of a mass stabbing attack that left 45 residents

Tokyo, July 26 (Jiji Press)–A total of 45 local governments and regional groups across Japan had offered to host regional offices of the country’s disaster management agency, expected to be launched in November, as of Friday, Jiji Press has learned. Among them,

Tokyo, July 26 (Jiji Press)–Long lines formed from early morning at “kabayaki” grilled eel stores and restaurants across Tokyo on Sunday, this year’s Day of the Ox, with the popular delicacy attracting customers despite scorching temperatures. Japanese people traditionally eat grilled eel

Busan, South Korea, July 26 (Jiji Press)–The UNESCO World Heritage Committee on Sunday decided to inscribe the Asuka-Fujiwara archaeological sites, a collection of Asuka-period ruins in the western Japan prefecture of Nara, on the World Heritage List as a cultural property. The

Tokyo, July 26 (Jiji Press)–Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi spent significantly less time attending intensive deliberations of the budget committees of both chambers of the Diet, the country’s parliament, than her recent predecessors during the latest special Diet session that ended Saturday.

Sagamihara, Kanagawa Pref., July 25 (Jiji Press)–A memorial ceremony was held Saturday to remember the 19 victims of the 2016 mass stabbing at a care home for people with disabilities in Sagamihara, Kanagawa Prefecture, south of Tokyo, a day before the 10th

Tokyo, July 25 (Jiji Press)–Tadahito Iguchi, a former manager of the Chiba Lotte Marines, a Japanese professional baseball team, has been appointed the new manager of the Japanese national baseball team, nicknamed Samurai Japan, the country’s Nippon Professional Baseball Organization said Saturday.

Tokyo, July 25 (Jiji Press)–Temperatures in Japan reached 40 degrees Celsius or higher for the fifth consecutive day on Saturday, the longest such streak in the country, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency. Under the influence of a Pacific high-pressure system, all