Tokyo, Oct. 27 (Jiji Press)–Tetsuya Yamagami is expected to plead guilty to murdering former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in the first hearing of his trial at Nara District Court on Tuesday, more than three years after the fatal shooting in the

Tokyo, Oct. 27 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s services producer prices in September rose 3.0 pct from a year earlier, the 55th consecutive month of growth, the Bank of Japan said Monday. The services producer price index stood at 111.3 against the 2020 base of

Tokyo, Oct. 27 (Jiji Press)–Akita Prefecture is considering asking for the deployment of Self-Defense Forces troops following a spate of bear attacks across the northeastern Japan prefecture, Governor Kenta Suzuki said on Sunday. In a social media post, Suzuki also said he

Nagoya, Oct. 27 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s Toyota Motor Corp. said Monday that its parent-only global vehicle sales in April-September rose 4.7 pct from a year before to 5,267,216 units, hitting a record high for a fiscal first half. The increase was led by

Tokyo, Oct. 27 (Jiji Press)–Tokyo is under tight security for U.S. President Donald Trump’s visit to Japan from Monday, with up to some 18,000 police officers mobilized at key locations, including his accommodations and the U.S. Embassy. In response to a series

Sydney, Oct. 27 (Jiji Press)–Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has clarified his intention to work with his new Japanese counterpart, Sanae Takaichi, in promoting free trade, amid concerns about the impact of higher U.S. tariffs on the world economy. In a social

Tokyo, Oct. 27 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 stock average reached 50,000 for the first time ever on Monday morning, amid hopes for new Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s policies. The Nikkei index ended the morning session at 50,337.36, up 1,037.71 points,

Washington/Tokyo, Oct. 27 (Jiji Press)–U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth will visit the Indo-Pacific region from early this week, including Japan, Malaysia, Vietnam and South Korea, according to the U.S. Department of Defense. In relation to this, Japan’s Defense Ministry said Monday that

Sendai, Oct. 27 (Jiji Press)–Yoshihiro Murai held off four other candidates to clinch his sixth term as governor of the northeastern Japan prefecture of Miyagi in Sunday’s gubernatorial election. Murai, an independent candidate who had support from prefectural assembly members of the

Tokyo, Oct. 27 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 stock average surged over 1,000 points to exceed 50,000 for the first time ever on Monday morning. At 9:25 a.m., the Nikkei average stood at 50,312.42, up 1,012.77 points, or 2.05 pct, from Friday.

Tokyo, Oct. 27 (Jiji Press)–Most private think tanks and research institutes in Japan expect the Japanese economy to avoid a recession, despite an anticipated contraction in the July-September quarter of 2025. The improved outlook reflects waning concerns over the tariff policy of

Kuala Lumpur, Oct. 26 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s new Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi made a relatively smooth diplomatic debut during a visit to Malaysia, demonstrating her resolve to uphold former leader Shinzo Abe’s free and open Indo-Pacific (FOIP) initiative. At a summit with Association

Kuala Lumpur, Oct. 26 (Jiji Press)–Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Sunday agreed to strengthen the two countries’ cooperation including in the security field. The Philippines has territorial disputes with China in the South China Sea.

Kuala Lumpur, Oct. 26 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s new Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi vowed Sunday to beef up cooperation with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in the fields of security, cybersecurity and artificial intelligence. At a meeting with leaders of ASEAN member states

Kuala Lumpur, Oct. 26 (Jiji Press)–U.S. President Donald Trump will arrive in Japan on Monday for a three-day visit, with his first in-person meeting with the country’s new prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, set for Tuesday. This will be Trump’s first visit to

Kuala Lumpur, Oct. 26 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s new Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi vowed Sunday to beef up cooperation with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in the fields of security, cybersecurity and artificial intelligence. At a meeting with leaders of ASEAN member states

Kuala Lumpur, Oct. 26 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s new Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi vowed Sunday to beef up maritime security cooperation with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Also at a meeting with leaders of ASEAN member states in Kuala Lumpur, Takaichi promised that

Kuala Lumpur, Oct. 26 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s new Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi held a meeting with leaders of Association of Southeast Asian Nations member countries in the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur on Sunday. This is Takaichi’s first foreign trip since she took

Kuala Lumpur, Oct. 26 (Jiji Press)–Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Sunday agreed to strengthen the two countries’ cooperation including in the security field. The Philippines has territorial disputes with China in the South China Sea.

Tanegashima, Kagoshima Pref., Oct. 26 (Jiji Press)–The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, or JAXA, successfully launched an H3 rocket carrying the first unit of the newly developed HTV-X resupply vehicle on Sunday. The seventh H3 rocket was launched from the Tanegashima Space Center

Tokyo, Oct. 26 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s new Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama on Sunday vowed to “do everything possible” to secure funds to raise the share of the country’s defense spending to its gross domestic product to 2 pct in the current fiscal year.

Tokyo, Oct. 26 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s new Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said Sunday that he may meet with U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth during U.S. President Donald Trump’s three-day visit to Japan from Monday. “I will tell (Hegseth) that Japan will strengthen its

Tokyo, Oct. 26 (Jiji Press)–A Komeito executive said that the Japanese party may give its backing to candidates of the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan in future parliamentary elections. “It could be possible” for Komeito, the former coalition partner of

Tokyo, Oct. 26 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s health ministry has started considering ways to promote the use of follow-on products of very expensive original biological drugs. Options include increasing out-of-pocket costs of patients who choose original drugs even though the original and follow-on products

Tanegashima, Kagoshima Pref., Oct. 26 (Jiji Press)–The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, or JAXA, successfully launched an H3 rocket carrying the first unit of the newly developed HTV-X resupply vehicle on Sunday. The seventh H3 rocket was launched from the Tanegashima Space Center

Tanegashima, Kagoshima Pref., Oct. 26 (Jiji Press)–The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, or JAXA, successfully launched an H3 rocket carrying the first unit of the HTV-X resupply vehicle on Sunday. The seventh H3 rocket was launched from the Tanegashima Space Center in Kagoshima

Paris, Oct. 25 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s Rino Yoshimoto, 22, won the second prize at the 58th Premio Paganini, an international violin competition in Genoa, Italy, on Saturday. The first round of the competition started Oct. 15 with 20 participants including four Japanese violinists.

Tokyo, Oct. 25 (Jiji Press)–Japanese opposition parties are wary of a plan by the ruling coalition of the Liberal Democratic Party and Nippon Ishin no Kai (Japan Innovation Party) to reduce the number of House of Representatives seats by 10 pct from

Tokyo, Oct. 26 (Jiji Press)–Administrative authorities in Japan are calling for exercising a high level of caution against bears as the autumn foliage season is starting in earnest. The number of deaths from bear attacks in the country in fiscal 2025, which

Washington, Oct. 25 (Jiji Press)–A U.S. House committee chair has urged Japan to increase its defense spending in a bid to deter coercive actions by China, which has been intensifying pressure on Japan and other U.S. allies. “I believe it’s important that