Tokyo, Feb. 16 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s transport ministry said Monday that it has launched a certification system to simplify the import process for passenger cars produced in the United States. This initiative was agreed with the United States in July last year, in

Tokyo, Feb. 16 (Jiji Press)–Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc. on Monday began sending electricity from its Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear plant in Niigata Prefecture, central Japan, to the Tokyo metropolitan area for the first time in about 14 years. The No. 6 reactor

(Adnkronos) – In 2025, civilian casualties in Ukraine caused by bombings increased by 26%, a figure that reflects the rise in Russian attacks against the country’s cities and infrastructure. According to the Guardian, citing Action on Armed Violence (AOAV), 2,248 civilians were

(Adnkronos) – The Kremlin has rejected as “unfounded” the assessment by five European countries that Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny died of poisoning while in an Arctic penal colony two years ago. “Of course, we do not accept such accusations. We do

(Adnkronos) – Charges have been dropped against the Venezuelan immigrants who, according to the reconstruction provided by federal prosecutors, had assaulted an ICE agent last January in Minneapolis, who then opened fire, wounding one of the two men in the leg. In

(Adnkronos) – North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has inaugurated housing for the families of North Korean soldiers who were killed alongside Russian troops in the war against Ukraine. Kim participated with his daughter Kim Ju-ae in the inauguration of a new residential

(Adnkronos) – The Bondi Beach attacker, in Australia, appeared in court this morning for the first time via video link. This was reported by the broadcaster Abc. Naveed Akram is accused of having carried out, together with his father Sajid, who was

Tokyo, Feb. 16 (Jiji Press)–Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Monday reiterated her willingness to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to resolve the issue of Japanese nationals abducted to the reclusive country decades ago. “I want to achieve a

Tokyo, Feb. 16 (Jiji Press)–Japanese film “Kokuho” had earned 20,008.51 million yen at the box office in Japan as of Sunday, film distributor Toho Co. said Monday. Released in June last year, the film continued to extend its own all-tine record for

Tokyo, Feb. 16 (Jiji Press)–Tokyo District Court on Monday handed down a life sentence to a senior member of a Japanese crime ring that was led by individuals called “Luffy” in the Philippines and behind a series of high-profile robbery and other

Fukuoka, Feb. 16 (Jiji Press)–Fukuoka High Court rejected an appeal on Monday for a retrial for the 1992 murder of two 7-year-old girls in the city of Iizuka in the southwestern Japan prefecture of Fukuoka, for which a death row convict had

(3rd para should have read “… minister-BOJ …,” instead of as sent) Tokyo, Feb. 16 (Jiji Press)–Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi met with Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda at the prime minister’s office in Tokyo on Monday. Emerging from his first meeting

Tokyo, Feb. 16 (Jiji Press)–The Japanese and Indian governments will sign a memorandum of understanding on their cooperation in the domestic development of artificial intelligence, Jiji Press learned Monday. The signing will take place at an AI event hosted by the Indian

Yokohama, Feb. 16 (Jiji Press)–Japanese home electronics retailer Nojima Corp. is eager to boost its merger and acquisition activities, ready to spend up to 300 billion yen per deal, Jiji Press has learned. “There is a possibility of spending 200 billion to

Tokyo, Feb. 16 (Jiji Press)–Junya Ogawa, leader of the Centrist Reform Alliance, plans to appoint Takeshi Shina as secretary-general of the main Japanese opposition party, people familiar with the matter said Monday. Shina, 59, is a former member of the Constitutional Democratic

Tokyo, Feb. 16 (Jiji Press)–Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi will not send any cabinet minister to an annual ceremony for the Takeshima Islands, now under effective control of South Korea, in Shimane Prefecture, it was learned Monday. As usual, the Cabinet Office’s

Tokyo, Feb. 16 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission conducted a compulsory search at the main office of Mizuho Securities Co. last month on suspicion that an employee had been involved in insider trading, informed sources said Monday. The commission is

Natuna, Indonesia, Feb. 16 (Jiji Press)–Japan has been beefing up its fishery-related aid to Indonesia’s remote Natuna Islands in the southern part of the South China Sea, likely in hopes of curbing China’s influence in the area. Indonesia’s exclusive economic zone around

Tokyo, Feb. 16 (Jiji Press)–Retail rice prices in Japan are still above 4,000 yen per 5 kilograms on average, almost double the level before supply shortages hit consumers, even after the government’s releases of stockpiled rice to keep prices low. In February

Tokyo, Feb. 16 (Jiji Press)–Tokyo District Court on Monday handed down a life sentence to a senior member of a Japanese crime ring that was led by individuals called “Luffy” in the Philippines and behind a series of high-profile robbery and other

Tokyo, Feb. 16 (Jiji Press)–Following her ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s landslide victory in the Feb. 8 House of Representatives election, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is poised to use the firm base of her administration to support her diplomacy. Next month, she

Saitama, Feb. 16 (Jiji Press)–A 43-year-old man accused of murder and other charges Monday pleaded not guilty to killing three members of a family at a house in Hanno, Saitama Prefecture, north of Tokyo, in December 2022. In the first hearing of

Tokyo, Feb. 16 (Jiji Press)–Junya Ogawa, leader of the Centrist Reform Alliance, plans to appoint Takeshi Shina as secretary-general of the main Japanese opposition party, people familiar with the matter said Monday. Shina, 59, is a former member of the Constitutional Democratic

Tokyo, Feb. 16 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s real gross domestic product in October-December last year rose 0.1 pct from the previous quarter, posting an annualized gain of 0.2 pct, the government said Monday. The result, which marked the first rise in two quarters after

(5th para should have read “… several …,” instead of as sent) Tokyo, Feb. 16 (Jiji Press)–Families of Japanese citizens abducted by North Korea have decided to soften their hardline stance on the authoritarian state on condition that the Japanese government brings

Tokyo, Feb. 16 (Jiji Press)–The Japanese government is working to update its vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific, Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said Monday. The vision “needs to be evolved in the most appropriate way to adapt to changing times”

Osaka, Feb. 16 (Jiji Press)–A dispute stemming from alleged harassment of a woman may have triggered an incident in the western Japan city of Osaka at the weekend, in which a teenage male was stabbed to death and two others were injured,

Tokyo, Feb. 16 (Jiji Press)–Lotteria Co. changed its name to Burger One Co. on Monday, the Japanese hamburger chain owned by restaurant operator Zensho Holdings Co., said. Starting in April, the company will change the name of all its stores to “Zetteria.”

Tokyo, Feb. 16 (Jiji Press)–A decade has passed since Tokyo’s Shibuya and Setagaya wards introduced Japan’s first “partnership system” in November 2015, offering public recognition to LGBTQ+ and other sexual-minority couples. Since then, the system has spread across the country. Such systems

Tokyo, Feb. 16 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s seasonally adjusted gross domestic product in October-December last year rose 0.1 pct from the previous quarter in price-adjusted real terms, up for the first time in two quarters, the government said Monday. At an annual rate, the