Beijing, June 1 (Jiji Press)–China’s coast guard said Monday that it has conducted patrols in waters east of Taiwan, in response to the decision by Japan and the Philippines last week to begin talks to delimit a maritime boundary between the two

Tokyo, June 1 (Jiji Press)–The share of pregnant women in Japan who underwent prenatal checkups mainly for fetal chromosomal abnormalities quadrupled to 11.5 pct in 2023 from 3.2 pct in 2011, a Japanese research team said. The surge followed the 2013 introduction

Tokyo, June 1 (Jiji Press)–SoftBank Group Corp. became the most valuable Japanese company on Monday, ending Toyota Motor Corp.’s 22-year reign. On the Tokyo Stock Exchange, SoftBank Group’s market capitalization reached 48,784.8 billion yen, surpassing Toyota’s 45,892.3 billion yen. The milestone comes

Tokyo, June 1 (Jiji Press)–Jun Hashimoto, who wrote many Japanese oldies songs, died of cirrhosis at a Tokyo hospital on May 21. He was 86. His works include “Blue Chateau,” sung by Jackey Yoshikawa and His Blue Comets, which won the Japan

Tokyo, June 1 (Jiji Press)–Salesforce Japan Co., a customer relationship management software company, plans to step up investments in artificial intelligence, focusing on data management, to help Japanese companies deploy AI effectively, Chairman and CEO Shinichi Koide said. “Data management is particularly

Tokyo, June 1 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s key Nikkei 225 stock average finished at a fresh closing high Monday after briefly topping 67,000 for the first time, as growing optimism over the continuation of peace talks between the United States and Iran boosted purchases

Tokyo, June 1 (Jiji Press)–Typhoon Jangmi swept north with a violent wind zone toward the main island of the southernmost Japan prefecture of Okinawa on Monday morning. The sixth typhoon of the year is expected to pass through Okinawa’s main island on

Tokyo, June 1 (Jiji Press)–Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc. on Monday started the second round of treated water discharges for fiscal 2026 from its disaster-crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant. The plant will release 7,800 tons of treated water containing

Hida, Gifu Pref., June 1 (Jiji Press)–An artificial intelligence-powered system that detects bears and automatically sprays repellent is being tested in the central Japan prefecture of Gifu in response to a rise in bear incursions into populated areas. The system, dubbed AIBeS,

(Last para should have read “… that became the first to make informal job offers …,” instead of as sent) Tokyo, June 1 (Jiji Press)–Recruitment activities, such as job interviews, for college students scheduled to graduate next spring were given the official

Japan Light Motor Vehicle and Motorcycle Association June 1 Yr/Yr Change Total 118,003 units Down 2.1 pct Passenger Cars 89,424 Down 2.3 Trucks 28,579 Down 1.6 -Brand- Suzuki 42,124 Down 3.0 Daihatsu 35,928 Down 0.7 Mitsubishi 4,143 Down 19.1 Subaru 921 Down

Japan Automobile Dealers Association June 1 Yr/Yr Change Total 214,994 units Up 5.6 pct Over-2,000-c.c. Cars 120,416 Up 3.5 Smaller Cars 67,070 Up 8.7 Trucks 26,589 Up 6.5 Buses 919 Up 56.8 -Brand- Daihatsu 2,265 Up 22.8 Honda 23,989 Up 7.7 Lexus

Tokyo, May 30 (Jiji Press)–The parliamentary affairs chiefs of Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party and the main opposition Centrist Reform Alliance have agreed on a deliberation schedule for the government’s draft fiscal 2026 supplementary budget. At a meeting Friday, Hiroshi Kajiyama of

Tokyo, June 1 (Jiji Press)–Japanese nonfinancial companies’ combined ordinary profits grew 14.6 pct from a year earlier to 32,627.1 billion yen in January-March, the Finance Ministry said Monday. The rise was driven by growing demand related to artificial intelligence data centers and

Tokyo, June 1 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 stock average briefly gained more than 900 points to top 67,000 for the first time on Monday morning, supported by expectations for continued U.S.-Iran negotiations over the Middle East situation. At 10:27 a.m., the

Seoul, June 1 (Jiji Press)–South Korean Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back on Sunday told reporters that he and his Japanese counterpart, Shinjiro Koizumi, discussed a possible bilateral acquisition and cross-servicing agreement, or ACSA, during their meeting in Singapore on Saturday, South Korea’s Yonhap

Tokyo, June 1 (Jiji Press)–Cannabis abuse is becoming widespread among young people in Japan, especially in Tokyo. In 2025, people in their 20s and younger accounted for more than 70 pct of all those taken into police custody or otherwise processed in

Singapore, June 1 (Jiji Press)–Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi paid attention to wording over China during his latest three-day visit to Singapore for participation in the Asia Security Summit, better known as the Shangri-La Dialogue. In his address at the Shangri-La Dialogue

Niigata, May 31 (Jiji Press)–Niigata Governor Hideyo Hanazumi won his third four-year term in Sunday’s gubernatorial election in the central Japan prefecture. The 68-year-old governor was backed by Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party and the prefectural chapter of the LDP’s coalition partner,

Kagoshima, May 31 (Jiji Press)–Japanese industry minister Ryosei Akazawa inspected Eneos Corp.’s Kiire oil storage base in the southwestern Japan city of Kagoshima on Sunday. Kiire is one of the facilities from which state oil reserves were released earlier this year following

Hakui, Ishikawa Pref., May 31 (Jiji Press)–Crested ibises, a Japanese natural monument, were released into the wild in the city of Hakui, Ishikawa Prefecture, central Japan, Sunday, marking the first time that such an event was held in the country’s Honshu main

Tokyo, May 31 (Jiji Press)–Japanese Emperor Naruhito and his daughter, Princess Aiko, watched a university baseball game at the Meiji Jingu Stadium in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward on Sunday. They watched a game between Waseda University and Keio University in the spring tournament

Singapore, May 31 (Jiji Press)–Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi and Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro affirmed Sunday that talks will be launched on the export of surface-to-ship missiles from Japan to the Southeast Asian nation. Koizumi revealed this in talks with reporters

Tokyo, May 31 (Jiji Press)–Japanese Emperor Naruhito and his daughter, Princess Aiko, watched a university baseball game at the Meiji Jingu Stadium in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward on Sunday. They watched a game between Waseda University and Keio University in the spring tournament

Silicon Valley, May 30 (Jiji Press)–The death toll from a chemical tank rupture at a plant of a U.S. unit of Japan’s Nippon Paper Industries Co. has totaled 11. Fire authorities in Longview in the western U.S. state of Washington said Saturday

Singapore, May 31 (Jiji Press)–Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said Sunday the recent revisions of the country’s three principles on defense equipment transfers and their implementation guidelines, which have basically made its arms exports possible, are designed to “tangibly strengthen deterrence and

Tokyo, May 31 (Jiji Press)–Moves to launch a new party have emerged among three opposition parties in Japan, Jiji Press learned Sunday. The moves came in the course of talks on the possible integration of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan and

Singapore, May 31 (Jiji Press)–Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said Sunday the recent revisions of the country’s three principles on defense equipment transfers and their implementation guidelines, which have basically made its arms exports possible, will help boost deterrence in the region.

Tokyo, May 31 (Jiji Press)–SoftBank Group Corp. said Sunday that it will develop 5-gigawatt artificial intelligence data center capacity in France at an investment of up to 75 billion euros. This will mark one of the largest AI infrastructure investments in Europe

Tokyo, May 31 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s health ministry is set to ban the production, sale, possession and use of cannabinol, or CBN, an ingredient derived from cannabis, from June. An animal experiment conducted following reports of apparent health hazards associated with CBN has