Tokyo, Aug. 23 (Jiji Press)–Japanese skating duo Riku Miura, 24, and Ryuichi Kihara, 34, who won gold in the figure skating pairs event at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics, announced their engagement on social media Sunday. The pair, nicknamed “Riku-Ryu,” released a

Tokyo, Aug. 23 (Jiji Press)–A major earthquake occurred in Ibaraki Prefecture early Sunday morning, rocking eastern Japan areas including Tokyo. The quake with an estimated magnitude of 5.9 occurred in southern Ibaraki at a depth of some 70 kilometers around 2 a.m.,

Naha, Okinawa Pref., Aug. 22 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party is ready to devote its maximum resources to win the Sept. 13 gubernatorial election in the southernmost prefecture of Okinawa. LDP executives will visit the island prefecture one after another to rally

New Delhi, Aug. 22 (Jiji Press)–Japan and India have held the first joint event between their governments focusing on recycling of key minerals at the Japanese Embassy in New Delhi. About 130 participants, including government officials and recycling business operators, took part

Nagoya, Aug. 22 (Jiji Press)–The torch relay for the Asian Games, which are scheduled to open on Sept. 19, began Saturday at Nagoya Castle’s Ni-no-maru Square in Nagoya, the capital of Aichi Prefecture, central Japan. The relay will visit 40 municipalities across

Tokyo, Aug. 22 (Jiji Press)–Democratic Party for the People lawmakers Yuichiro Tamaki and Mikihiko Hashimoto attended a debate session in Tokyo ahead of the opposition party’s Sept. 6 leadership election, whose campaign period started on Saturday. The current DPFP leader, Tamaki, 57,

Kumamoto, Aug. 22 (Jiji Press)–The Japanese government will take measures to support tourism in the Kyushu southwestern region including Kumamoto Prefecture, hit hard by last month’s massive earthquake, Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said Saturday. The measures will be included in the

Ube, Yamaguchi Pref., Aug. 22 (Jiji Press)–A Japanese civic group leads efforts to collect the remains of those who died in the 1942 flooding accident at the Chosei undersea coal mine in Ube, Yamaguchi Prefecture, western Japan. The Japanese and South Korean

By Yuka Moriyama Tokyo, Aug. 22 (Jiji Press)–A Filipino-language speech contest for Japanese students has been held in Tokyo by the Philippine Embassy as part of its efforts to commemorate this year’s 70th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations between the

Asuncion, Aug. 21 (Jiji Press)–Visiting Japanese Crown Prince Akishino on Friday expressed his sincere respect for the Japanese community in Paraguay. The Crown Prince, who is on an official trip to the South American country together with Crown Princess Kiko, attended a

Naha, Okinawa Pref., Aug. 22 (Jiji Press)–A memorial event was held Saturday to remember more than 1,400 victims of the sinking of the Tsushima Maru, a Japanese ship torpedoed by a U.S. submarine while evacuating schoolchildren 82 years ago during World War

Brussel, Aug. 22 (Jiji Press)–International Criminal Court President Tomoko Akane from Japan has said that support from her country will be crucial following a U.S. decision to impose sanctions on her. “I am not surprised (at the decision) as I had anticipated

Tokyo, Aug. 22 (Jiji Press)–Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s administration is under fire for what critics say are weak responses to U.S. sanctions on International Criminal Court President Tomoko Akane of Japan and to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to a disputed

(Adnkronos) – Twelve European countries have reported autochthonous cases of West Nile virus since the beginning of the year. This was announced by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) in a note, urging the continent to strengthen measures to

Tokyo, Aug. 21 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s Finance Ministry is considering setting the assumed interest rate on long-term Japanese government bonds at 3.8 pct in its fiscal 2027 budget request, informed sources said Friday. The assumed interest rate, used to calculate the government’s debt-servicing

Maibara, Shiga Pref., Aug. 21 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s Princess Aiko on Friday interacted with people at a medical and welfare facility in the city of Maibara in the western prefecture of Shiga. At the facility, the princess, the only child of Emperor Naruhito

(Adnkronos) – Pakistan’s former prime minister Imran Khan has been transferred back to prison. He had been taken to a hospital in Islamabad for checks after his family expressed concerns about his health. Doctors believe his condition is compatible with imprisonment, announced

Tokyo, Aug. 21 (Jiji Press)–Democratic Party for the People head Yuichiro Tamaki vowed Friday to make his party the biggest opposition force in the House of Councillors after the 2028 election for Japan’s upper chamber of parliament. Tamaki, 57, unveiled the goal

(Adnkronos) – Two Palestinians were injured by gunfire from settlers in the Sa’ir area, north of Hebron. One of the injured is reportedly 70 years old. This is according to ‘The Times of Israel’, which cites Palestinian media. Hilltop News, a media

Tokyo, Aug. 21 (Jiji Press)–Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi plans to reshuffle her cabinet and the ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s executive lineup in mid- or late September, informed sources said Friday. This would be the first cabinet reshuffle since Takaichi took office

(Adnkronos) – In Japan, the first death sentence in over a year has been carried out, the first since Sanae Takaichi took the helm of the Tokyo government. Justice Minister Horishi Hiraguchi announced that the sentence handed down to a 58-year-old man

Nagoya, Aug. 21 (Jiji Press)–The organizing committee of the upcoming Asian Games and Asian Para Games in the central Japan city of Nagoya unveiled to the press on Friday dishes to be served at a dining hall for athletes, featuring local delicacies

Tokyo, Aug. 21 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s core consumer price index in July rose 1.8 pct from a year earlier, up for 59 months in a row, the internal affairs ministry said Friday. The core CPI, which excludes volatile fresh food prices, stood at

Asuncion, Paraguay, Aug. 20 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s Crown Prince Akishino and Crown Princess Kiko paid a courtesy call on Paraguayan President Santiago Pena at the Lopez Palace in Asuncion, the South American country’s capital, on Thursday. The Crown Prince and the Crown Princess,

Tokyo, Aug. 21 (Jiji Press)–A Japanese government advisory panel is set to start considering ways to appropriately and effectively utilize artificial intelligence in school education amid the continuing evolution of the new cutting-edge technology. At a general meeting of the Central Council

Tokyo, Aug. 21 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s Justice Ministry on Friday executed a 58-year-old man convicted of murdering five people by setting fire to a “pachinko” pinball parlor in the western Japan city of Osaka in 2009, informed sources said. The executed death-row inmate

Tokyo, Aug. 21 (Jiji Press)–Saki Kumagai, a defender for the Japanese women’s national soccer team, nicknamed Nadeshiko Japan, is working to encourage more girls to play soccer while continuing her own career as an active player in England. Through the general incorporated

Tokyo, Aug. 21 (Jiji Press)–Russia has conducted a missile drill around the northwestern Pacific islands at the center of its territorial dispute with Japan, according to the Russian Pacific Fleet. The exercise followed Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to Etorofu, one of

Hiroshima, Aug. 21 (Jiji Press)–A flame-lighting event for the torch relay for the upcoming Asian Games took place in the western Japan city of Hiroshima on Thursday. Participants at the event held in Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park included Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui

Washington, Aug. 20 (Jiji Press)–The nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS George Washington, which is based in the U.S. Navy’s Yokosuka base in Kanagawa Prefecture, south of Tokyo, has arrived in the Middle East, the U.S. Central Command revealed Thursday. The flattop will replace