(Adnkronos) – Career diplomat Nicola Lener is Italy’s new envoy to Australia, the foreign ministry wrote Wednesday on X, congratulating Lener on his posting.   “Congratulations to Nicola Lener, new Ambassador of Italy to Australia,” read the post, which contained emojis of

Tokyo, Jan. 7 (Jiji Press)–The market for so-called “social gifts,” which allow people to send presents through social media or email, is expanding rapidly in Japan, with its size estimated at 600 billion yen this year, 3.8 times larger than six years

Nagoya, Jan. 7 (Jiji Press)–Shunsuke Niwa, president of Central Japan Railway Co., or JR Tokai, has stressed that the company will continue promoting the construction of the Chuo Shinkansen high-speed magnetic levitation train line. “We will steadily work (on the construction),” he

(Adnkronos) – Italy has urged Switzerland to safeguard journalists covering investigations into the deadly fire at a bar in the upscale ski resort of Crans-Montanta, which killed 40 people, including six Italian teenagers and injured over 100 people on New Year’s Eve. 

Tokyo, Jan. 7 (Jiji Press)–The average retail price of regular gasoline in Japan as of Monday fell 2.3 yen from a week before to 155.7 yen per liter, down for the eighth straight week, the industry ministry said Wednesday. The average price

Tokyo, Jan. 7 (Jiji Press)–Shinsuke Yamanaka, chief of Japan’s Nuclear Regulation Authority, said Wednesday that he expects the NRA’s screening of Chubu Electric Power Co.’s Hamaoka nuclear power plant in Shizuoka Prefecture, central Japan, for a possible restart will be scrapped. “I

(Adnkronos) – Amsterdam Schiphol Airport, one of Europe’s largest, has announced the cancellation of at least 800 flights due to snow and wind. More than a thousand people spent the night at Schiphol, airport authorities reported, adding that they had set up

(Adnkronos) – US President Donald Trump announced that Venezuela’s interim authorities will deliver between 30 and 50 million barrels of authorized and “high-quality” oil to the United States, which will be sold at market price and whose proceeds will be under his

(Adnkronos) – The summit of the Coalition of the Willing in Paris is a fundamental step for the creation of the multinational force that will be active in Ukraine after the end of the war with Russia. Europe will send soldiers to

(Adnkronos) – A white smoke between Ukraine and the United States for the peace plan. Or almost. The summit of the Coalition of the Willing in Paris allows Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to obtain fundamental guarantees from the US in case of

Fukui, Jan. 7 (Jiji Press)–The Fukui prefectural government, in a report released Wednesday, confirmed former Governor Tatsuji Sugimoto’s sexual harassment against a female worker and other victims. “It is evident that Sugimoto’s words and actions in question were acts of sexual harassment,”

Tokyo, Jan. 7 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s program to effectively eliminate high school tuition from fiscal 2026 is heightening concerns among public high schools that a shift toward private education will increase further. Under the government’s draft budget for the fiscal year starting in

Tokyo, Jan. 7 (Jiji Press)–Shinsuke Yamanaka, chief of Japan’s Nuclear Regulation Authority, on Wednesday denounced Chubu Electric Power Co. for cherry-picking earthquake risk data for its Hamaoka nuclear power plant in Shizuoka Prefecture, central Japan. “It is a fabrication of screening data

Tokyo, Jan. 7 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara on Wednesday warned the public about a fake video that misused footage from his own press conference and had appeared on YouTube. Referring to the fake video, which solicited investments for a

Tokyo, Jan. 7 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s Foreign Ministry said Wednesday that it has urged China to withdraw its ban on exports of dual-use goods to Japan. Masaaki Kanai, director-general of the ministry’s Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, lodged a strong protest over the

Tokyo, Jan. 7 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s Hisamitsu Pharmaceutical Co. has said it will go private through a management buyout scheme worth about 390 billion yen. According to Hisamitsu’s announcement Tuesday, an asset management company controlled by its president and CEO, Kazuhide Nakatomi, who

Tokyo, Jan. 7 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s Hisamitsu Pharmaceutical Co. has said it will go private through a management buyout scheme worth about 390 billion yen. According to Hisamitsu’s announcement Tuesday, an asset management company controlled by its president and CEO, Kazuhide Nakatomi, who

Tokyo, Jan. 7 (Jiji Press)–The foreign ministers of the Group of Seven major democracies on Wednesday agreed that they will maintain close communication and cooperation regarding the situation in Venezuela, following the U.S. attack on the country. In a phone meeting among

New York, Jan. 6 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s Nagasaki and Okinawa have been selected for The New York Times’ list of “52 places to go in 2026.” The U.S. daily placed the southwestern Japan city of Nagasaki 17th on the list. The newspaper said

Tokyo, Jan. 7 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s Foreign Ministry said Wednesday that it has urged China to withdraw its ban on exports of dual-use goods to Japan. Masaaki Kanai, director-general of the ministry’s Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, lodged a protest over the matter

Taipei, Jan. 7 (Jiji Press)–Former Taiwan Premier Frank Hsieh has been appointed chairman of Taiwan’s liaison organization with Japan. Hsieh, former head of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in Japan, the post equivalent to ambassador, said on Facebook that he

Tokyo, Jan. 6 (Jiji Press)–A series of powerful earthquakes struck western Japan on Tuesday, measuring up to upper 5, the fourth-highest level on the country’s seismic intensity scale, in the western prefectures of Tottori and Shimane. So far, nine people have been

Tokyo, Jan. 6 (Jiji Press)–Business leaders in Japan made positive statements about continuing wage increases during a New Year event in Tokyo on Tuesday, with many hoping to achieve wage hikes at or above last year’s results in this year’s “shunto” spring

Beijing, Jan. 6 (Jiji Press)–The Chinese Commerce Ministry on Tuesday announced an immediate ban on the exports to Japan of dual-use goods, which can be used for both commercial and military purposes. The move followed Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s parliamentary remark

Tokyo, Jan. 6 (Jiji Press)–A series of powerful earthquakes struck western Japan on Tuesday, measuring up to upper 5, the fourth-highest level on the country’s seismic intensity scale, in the western prefectures of Tottori and Shimane. According to the Japan Meteorological Agency,

Tokyo, Jan. 6 (Jiji Press)–Shunichi Suzuki, secretary-general of Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party, expressed hope Tuesday that the Democratic Party for the People will join the ruling coalition of his party and the Japan Innovation Party. “It is my hope that a

Tokyo, Jan. 6 (Jiji Press)–Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi pledged to drive the country’s economic growth during a New Year’s event hosted mainly by Jiji Press on Tuesday. “We will bring back a strong economy,” Takaichi said, expressing eagerness to “push all

Tokyo, Jan. 6 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s Nuclear Regulation Authority said Tuesday that it learned of fraudulent data selection on earthquake risk by Chubu Electric Power Co. in February 2025 as a result of whistleblowing. The company had cherry-picked data underestimating earthquake risk for

Tokyo, Jan. 6 (Jiji Press)–Investigative sources said on Tuesday that a 39-year-old man, his wife and common-law wife who were arrested over posting secretly filmed sexual videos shared nearly 1,000 such videos and photos online. The man, Yohei Ono, 39, his wife,

Tokyo, Jan. 6 (Jiji Press)–Nearly 60 pct of people in Japan do not know how to properly dispose of mobile batteries, while fires involving batteries are on the rise, a survey has shown. Some batteries discarded as garbage have started fire in