Tokyo, Oct. 20 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co. and retailer Aeon Co. have said they will jointly issue a new Waon e-money card that allows users to donate to food banks through shopping. The food bank support Waon card will

Tokyo, Oct. 20 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 stock average on Monday ended above 49,000 for the first time ever, reflecting waning concerns over Japan’s political situation. The Nikkei average closed at 49,185.50, up 1,603.35 points, or 3.36 pct, from Friday, hitting

Tokyo, Oct. 20 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s health ministry has approved the over-the-counter sale of emergency contraceptive pill Norlevo by Aska Pharmaceutical Co., the company said Monday. It is the first time for an emergency contraceptive pill to be approved for sale without a

Tokyo, Oct. 20 (Jiji Press)–Katsuji Ebisawa, former president of public broadcaster Japan Broadcasting Corp., or NHK, died of pneumonia at a hospital in Tokyo on Sunday. He was 91. Ebisawa joined NHK as a reporter in 1957. He promoted high-definition television and

Tokyo, Oct. 20 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 stock average on Monday ended above 49,000 for the first time, reflecting waning concerns over Japan’s political situation. The Nikkei average closed at 49,185.50, up 1,603.35 points, or 3.36 pct, from Friday, hitting an

Tokyo, Oct. 20 (Jiji Press)–The leaders of Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party and opposition Nippon Ishin no Kai (Japan Innovation Party) in phone talks Monday morning effectively agreed to form a coalition government between the two parties. LDP President Sanae Takaichi and

Tokyo, Oct. 20 (Jiji Press)–A Japanese court on Monday ordered the government to pay some 300,000 yen in damages over verbal abuse and other illegal acts by prison guards against an inmate in Aichi Prefecture. The ruling by Tokyo District Court came

(An earlier version of this article improperly described islands in the northwestern Pacific) Russia Gives Names to Uninhabited Northwestern Pacific Islands Tokyo, Oct. 20 (Jiji Press)–The Russian government has given names to two uninhabited islands, part of northwestern Pacific islands controlled by

Hiji, Oita Pref., Oct. 20 (Jiji Press)–An event that visitors with disabilities can also enjoy was held at the Sanrio Character Park Harmonyland theme park in Hiji in the southwestern Japan prefecture of Oita. At the park operated by a subsidiary of

Akiota, Hiroshima Pref., Oct. 20 (Jiji Press)–A memorial service has taken place in Hiroshima Prefecture for Chinese workers who died after being forcibly brought to the western Japan prefecture during World War II, including victims of the 1945 atomic bombing. The ceremony

Tokyo, Oct. 20 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 stock average exceeded 49,000 for the first time temporarily Monday afternoon. At 12:35 p.m., the key index of major names on the Tokyo Stock Exchange’s top-tier Prime section, stood at 49,014.88, up 1,432.73 points,

Tokyo, Oct. 20 (Jiji Press)–Japanese office equipment seller Askul Corp. has suspended order receipts on its “Askul” brand e-commerce website as well as product shipments due to a system glitch caused by a cyberattack. The company said Sunday that it is hurrying

Tokyo, Oct. 20 (Jiji Press)–Leaders of Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party and Nippon Ishin no Kai (Japan Innovation Party) will sign a coalition agreement at 6 p.m. Monday, Nippon Ishin chief Hirofumi Yoshimura said. The coalition will make it almost certain that LDP

Tokyo, Oct. 20 (Jiji Press)–Japanese stocks rebounded sharply Monday morning, with the benchmark Nikkei 225 average surging more than 1,300 points to hit a new record intraday high. At 10:45 a.m., the Nikkei stood at 48,939.83, up 1,357.68 points, or 2.85 pct,

Ito, Shizuoka Pref., Oct. 20 (Jiji Press)–Candidates opposing Ito Mayor Maki Takubo dominated the 20-seat assembly of the central Japan city in a closely watched election Sunday, raising the possibility of the mayor losing her job through a fresh no-confidence motion. Of

Beijing, Oct. 20 (Jiji Press)–Chinese President Xi Jinping has expressed his mourning for the death of Tomiichi Murayama, who served as Japan’s prime minister for about a year and a half from June 1994. Xi offered his condolences in a message sent

Tokyo, Oct. 20 (Jiji Press)–Reusing products and materials instead of discarding them is taking hold as a new consumption model in Japan. The market has been expanding steadily, supported by a growing number of local governments rolling out related initiatives. Eager to

Tokyo, Oct. 20 (Jiji Press)–Japanese Empress Emerita Michiko, wife of Emperor Emeritus Akihito and mother of Emperor Naruhito, marked her 91st birthday on Monday. The Empress Emerita broke her right thigh bone in October last year, but has recovered to almost the

Tokyo, Oct. 20 (Jiji Press)–Japanese Empress Emerita Michiko, wife of Emperor Emeritus Akihito and mother of Emperor Naruhito, marked her 91st birthday on Monday. The Empress Emerita broke her right thigh bone in October last year, but has recovered to almost the

Osaka, Oct. 19 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party and Nippon Ishin no Kai (Japan Innovation Party), which are aiming to form a coalition government, are expected to exchange policy agreement documents at a leaders’ meeting on Monday, informed sources said Sunday. This

Tokyo, Oct. 19 (Jiji Press)–Sanae Takaichi, the new leader of Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party, did not visit war-related Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo during its three-day autumn festival through Sunday. As Takaichi is expected to be nominated as the country’s new prime minister

Osaka, Oct. 19 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party and Nippon Ishin no Kai (Japan Innovation Party), which are aiming to form a coalition government, are expected to reach policy agreements at a leaders’ meeting on Monday, informed sources said Sunday. This would

Moscow, Oct. 19 (Jiji Press)–A privately organized Japanese culture festival called “Hinode” was held in Moscow for two days through Sunday. Although Japan, which imposes sanctions on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, has been designated by Moscow as an “unfriendly nation,”

Tokyo, Oct. 19 (Jiji Press)–The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, or JAXA, said Sunday it has postponed the launch of the seventh unit of its H3 liquid fuel rocket, which was scheduled for Tuesday, due to a bad weather forecast. The new launch

Tokyo, Oct. 19 (Jiji Press)–Batteries are taking center stage behind the scenes in Japan’s electric vehicle market, with domestic automakers striving to improve performance of their latest models by adopting lighter and more efficient packs as well as technologies popular among Chinese

Bellevue, Washington, Oct. 18 (Jiji Press)–Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. will consider using digital technologies including generative artificial intelligence to support its sales agents, Yukinori Takada, president of the Japanese insurer, said in a recent interview with Jiji Press. The comment followed a

Tokyo, Oct. 18 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party and Nippon Ishin no Kai (Japan Innovation Party) on Saturday advanced final negotiations toward forming a coalition government, with Nippon Ishin considering options including supporting the LDP from outside the cabinet. Even in the

Jakarta, Oct. 18 (Jiji Press)–Morinari Watanabe, president of the International Gymnastics Federation, or FIG, on Saturday expressed understanding for the International Olympic Committee’s statement that showed concern over the Indonesian government’s refusal to issue visas to the Israeli gymnastics team ahead of

Tokyo, Oct. 18 (Jiji Press)–Japanese brewers Suntory Holdings Ltd. and Sapporo Breweries Ltd. have announced a partial halt to sales of their beer sets for end-of-year gifts, as they are receiving a flood of orders amid delays in product shipments from cyberattack-hit

(The second paragraph from the last should have read, “…have helped…,” instead of as sent. A substitute story follows.) Japan to Conduct Survey on Online Hate Speech Tokyo, Oct. 18 (Jiji Press)–The Japanese Justice Ministry is considering conducting the first nationwide survey