Tokyo, April 20 (Jiji Press)–The Bank of Japan will consider skipping an additional interest rate hike at its next policy-setting meeting on April 27-28, Jiji Press learned Monday. The anticipated decision reflects persistent uncertainties over prolonged tensions in the Middle East, informed

Tokyo, April 20 (Jiji Press)–Japanese food makers are actively launching easy-to-prepare food products for children aged 1 to 6, although the population in the age bracket keeps decreasing. With their frozen side dishes for lunch boxes and food sales services including at

Tokyo, April 20 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s National Police Agency has come up with a package of emergency plans to cope with the ongoing recruitment crisis, including relaxing stringent rules for students at police academies across the country. The NPA is now asking all

Tokyo, April 20 (Jiji Press)–Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways said Monday that they will nearly double their fuel surcharges for international flights booked in May and June, due to soaring aviation fuel prices amid tensions in the Middle East. The major

Tokyo, April 20 (Jiji Press)–A unit of Japanese food and beverage giant Kirin Holdings Co. said Monday that it will expand its program to support Japanese wineries. Mercian Corp. announced the launch of operations linked to the selection and procurement of saplings,

Taipei, April 20 (Jiji Press)–Higo Bank, the Kumamoto-based unit of Kyushu Financial Group Inc., on Monday held an opening ceremony for a new branch set up by its consulting subsidiary in Taipei. The Taipei branch of the bank’s Regional Economic Research Institute

Tokyo, April 20 (Jiji Press)–Tokyo police searched a rental office in the Japanese capital Monday over a body abandonment case allegedly committed by the president of an information technology company, investigative sources said. The 49-year-old suspect, Katsuya Mizuguchi, is believed to have

Tokyo, April 20 (Jiji Press)–A strong earthquake struck northeastern Japan on Monday, measuring up to upper 5, the fourth-highest level on the Japanese seismic intensity scale, and triggering tsunami warnings. According to the Japan Meteorological Agency, the tremor occurred at around 4:53

Tokyo, April 20 (Jiji Press)–The Japan Newspaper Publishers and Editors Association released a statement Monday urging the government to establish rules over artificial intelligence-powered online search services. The association, also known as Nihon Shinbun Kyokai, claimed in a statement on its website

Tokyo, April 20 (Jiji Press)–Panasonic Holdings Corp. said Monday that it has developed an automated system for producing induced pluripotent stem cells, or iPS cells. The company collaborated with Kyoto University-affiliated CiRA Foundation to develop the new system. It plans to commercialize

Tokyo, April 20 (Jiji Press)–Japanese opposition parties are seeking to bolster their presence in local assemblies, raising the possibility that unified local elections in spring next year will be highly competitive. The Democratic Party for the People and Sanseito in particular plan

(Adnkronos) – British police have announced the arrest of two people in connection with an attempted arson attack on a synagogue in north London, which occurred over the weekend. The fire caused minor damage, but no injuries. A 17-year-old boy and a

Tokyo, April 20 (Jiji Press)–Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc. said Monday that it has completed the first round of releasing treated water containing small amounts of radioactive tritium from its disaster-crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant for fiscal 2026. In

Tokyo, April 20 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s revised heatstroke special alert system will be introduced Wednesday, in response to potential dangerous heat conditions, with operations set to continue until Oct. 21. A heatstroke special alert, never issued since the original system was put in

Seoul, April 20 (Jiji Press)–North Korea test-fired tactical ballistic missiles Sunday to evaluate the power of warheads carrying cluster bombs, the country’s state-run Korean Central News Agency reported Monday. The test-firing by North Korea’s Missile Administration was supervised by North Korean leader

Tokyo, April 20 (Jiji Press)–A knife-carrying man was arrested Monday at the office building for the members of the House of Councillors, the upper chamber of the Diet, Japan’s parliament, in Tokyo. The Metropolitan Police Department arrested the man, who claims to

Tokyo, April 20 (Jiji Press)–An international team, including four Japanese researchers, has won the 2026 Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics for precisely measuring the magnetic moment of muons, tiny subatomic particles. The announcement was made on Sunday, Japan time. Among the Japanese

Tokyo, April 20 (Jiji Press)–In Japan, demand for cement, a key component of concrete, shows little sign of bottoming out. According to the Japan Cement Association, domestic demand in fiscal 2026, which runs through March next year, is projected to fall to

Sendai, Miyagi Pref., April 19 (Jiji Press)–An adult bear that appeared in a residential area in Sendai, a major city in northeastern Japan, was destroyed under the country’s emergency culling system Sunday. The bear, which was as tall as about 1.5 meters,

Sendai, Miyagi Pref., April 19 (Jiji Press)–A bear was spotted in a residential area in Sendai, a major city in northeastern Japan, on Sunday, prompting local authorities to issue a warning to nearby residents. A resident saw the bear near the residential

Tokyo, April 19 (Jiji Press)–Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi and his Australian counterpart, Richard Marles, on Sunday urged all parties concerned to observe the ceasefire over the fighting between Israel and Lebanon. In a joint statement released on the day to sum

Tokyo, April 19 (Jiji Press)–Relatives of a woman and her daughter who were killed in a runaway car crash in Tokyo’s busy Ikebukuro district in April 2019 remembered their loved ones on Sunday, exactly seven years after the tragedy. After offering a

Tokyo, April 19 (Jiji Press)–The president of a Tokyo information technology company who has been arrested for allegedly abandoning the body of a male executive of the firm may have wiped up bloodstains of the official left in its office, Jiji Press

Nantan, Kyoto Pref., April 19 (Jiji Press)–The smartphone of the arrested father of an 11-year-old Kyoto Prefecture boy who has been found dead had a history of searching for ways to abandon a body, investigative source said Sunday. The police department of

Tokyo, April 19 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition partner, the Japan Innovation Party, are slated to resume later this month working-level talks on cutting the number of the House of Representatives seats by 10 pct. Last month, the

Seoul/Tokyo, April 19 (Jiji Press)–North Korea fired several short-range ballistic missiles toward the Sea of Japan from an area around Sinpo in the east of the country around 6:10 a.m. Sunday, the South Korean military said. The missiles are believed to have

Tokyo, April 19 (Jiji Press)–Competition is intensifying in the Japanese market for electric minivehicles and compact electric vehicles, with Chinese automaker BYD Co. set to join the race this summer. Some industry officials expect greater competition will help revitalize the domestic EV

Tokyo, April 19 (Jiji Press)–Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is actively engaging in summit diplomacy with leaders of other Asian nations and countries in Europe and the Middle East amid the prolonged crisis over Iran. She apparently aims to demonstrate Japan’s presence