Tokyo, April 17 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s Financial Services Agency outlined plans last December to strengthen the management base of regional financial institutions, with the aim of helping regional lenders, including “shinkin” banks, play a bigger role in revitalizing local economies. The measures include

Tokyo, April 17 (Jiji Press)–Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi met with visiting representatives of some 30 NATO member countries permanently stationed at NATO headquarters in Brussels. Meeting at the Foreign Ministry in Tokyo on Thursday, Motegi and the NATO permanent representatives discussed

Tokyo, April 16 (Jiji Press)–The Japanese government on Thursday released a draft road map on public-private investment that features a goal of acquiring some 25 pct share of the global market in self-driving vehicle sales in the 2030s. The draft was shown

London, April 15 (Jiji Press)–Finance ministers from 11 countries, including Japan, Britain and Australia, issued a joint statement Wednesday, calling on the United States, Israel and Iran to fully implement their ceasefire. “We welcome the recent announcement of a ceasefire between the

(In the second paragraph, the company name has been corrected.) Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Plant Restarts Commercial Operations after 14 Yrs Tokyo, April 16 (Jiji Press)–The No. 6 reactor at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant in Niigata Prefecture, central Japan, on Thursday restarted commercial operations

Tokyo, April 16 (Jiji Press)–Japanese police on Thursday arrested 13 Japanese men in their 20s to 50s on suspicion of involvement in a crypto asset fraud scheme after being transferred from Indonesia. The men were suspected of convincing a woman in her

Tokyo, April 16 (Jiji Press)–The crews of Japan-linked ships stuck in the Persian Gulf are keeping a close eye on U.S.-Iran talks, a Japanese shipping-sector labor union official has said. “Right now, there’s no prospect (of the crews) getting out of the

Kushiro, Hokkaido, April 16 (Jiji Press)–Japanese public prosecutors on Thursday sought a five-year prison sentence for Seiichi Katsurada, president of the operator of a tour boat that sank off Hokkaido in 2022, killing 26 people aboard. In his trial at Kushiro District

Tokyo, April 16 (Jiji Press)–Nearly 40 pct of people in Japan support the government’s bill to enhance the country’s intelligence capabilities, a Jiji Press opinion poll showed. The survey found that 39.1 pct of respondents support the bill while 19 pct oppose

Tokyo, April 16 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 stock average hit a new record closing high above 59,000 on Thursday, amid hopes for progress in U.S.-Iran negotiations to end their conflict. The index of 225 selected issues listed on the Tokyo Stock

Minamiaso, Kumamoto Pref., April 16 (Jiji Press)–A mother returned on Thursday to the site of a bridge collapse in a landslide that happened after an April 2016 massive earthquake in Kumamoto Prefecture, southwestern Japan, leaving one of her sons dead. “There isn’t

Tokyo, April 16 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition partner, the Japan Innovation Party, on Thursday called for holding discussions focused on a proposed emergency clause for constitutional revision. The two parties made the proposal at the day’s meeting

Kariwa, Niigata Pref., April 16 (Jiji Press)–The No. 6 reactor at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant in Niigata Prefecture, central Japan, on Thursday restarted commercial operations after a hiatus of about 14 years. Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Co. switched the reactor

Tokyo, April 16 (Jiji Press)–A Jiji Press opinion poll for April showed Thursday that 72.6 pct of respondents believe that it is necessary to save electricity and other forms of energy in response to the de facto blockade of the Strait of

Nantan, Kyoto Pref., April 16 (Jiji Press)–Police on Thursday arrested the father of an 11-year-old boy who was found dead in Kyoto Prefecture, western Japan, on suspicion of abandoning his son’s body. The suspect, 37-year-old company employee Yuki Adachi, admitted the charges,

Tokyo, April 16 (Jiji Press)–Japanese opposition party Team Mirai will consider whether to join the ruling coalition if requested to do so by the Liberal Democratic Party, leader Takahiro Anno said in a recent interview with Jiji Press. “A model in which

Tokyo, April 16 (Jiji Press)–Public support for Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s cabinet dipped 0.2 percentage point from the previous month to 59.1 pct in April, a monthly survey by Jiji Press showed Thursday. Takaichi, who took office last October, saw her

Nagoya, April 16 (Jiji Press)–A Japanese district court sentenced a 42-year-old former elementary school teacher in the central prefecture of Aichi to 30 months in prison on Thursday for sharing child pornography through a social media group chat he created. During his

Tokyo, April 16 (Jiji Press)–More than four years after the Tokyo Summer Olympics and Paralympics in 2021, efforts are underway to rescue the new Japan National Stadium from its potential fate of becoming a white elephant. The stadium, built at the heart

Fukuoka, April 16 (Jiji Press)–The Fukuoka prefectural police on Thursday sent to public prosecutors papers on former Suntory Holdings Ltd. Chairman Takeshi Niinami for allegedly violating the narcotics control law. The police are believed to have attached an opinion of “appropriate disposition”

Tokyo, April 16 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 stock average hit a new record closing high above 59,000 on Thursday, amid hopes for progress in U.S.-Iran negotiations to end their conflict. The index of 225 selected issues listed on the Tokyo Stock

Tokyo, April 16 (Jiji Press)–Public support for Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s cabinet fell 0.2 percentage point from the previous month to 59.1 pct in April, a monthly survey by Jiji Press showed Thursday. Takaichi, who took office last October, saw her

Kumamoto, April 16 (Jiji Press)–A memorial ceremony was held in Kumamoto Prefecture on Thursday for the victims in huge earthquakes that hit the southwestern Japan prefecture particularly hard 10 years ago. The April 2016 quakes claimed the lives of a total of

Washington, April 15 (Jiji Press)–Finance ministers and central bank governors from the Group of Seven major industrialized countries Wednesday sought to de-escalate tensions in the Middle East at an early date. “There was a common understanding that the situation should be calmed

New York, April 15 (Jiji Press)–Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi joined Time magazine’s 2026 list of the 100 most influential people, released on Wednesday. In an article introducing Takaichi, Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike wrote that the Japanese people “witnessed a transformative and

Tokyo, April 16 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s Honda Motor Co. said Thursday it will release the all-new Insight on Friday, reviving the model, which was the company’s first hybrid vehicle, as an electric vehicle after three and a half years. The new Insight, priced

Nantan, Kyoto Pref., April 16 (Jiji Press)–Police on Thursday arrested the father of an 11-year-old boy who was found dead in Kyoto Prefecture, western Japan, on suspicion of abandoning his son’s body. The suspect, 37-year-old company employee Yuki Adachi, admitted the charges,

Tokyo, April 16 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 stock average reached a new all-time intra-day high near 60,000 on Thursday morning, surpassing the previous peak marked just before the United States and Israel began attacking Iran. The index of 225 selected issues

Washington, April 15 (Jiji Press)–U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Wednesday expressed his intention to visit Japan in May, Japanese Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama said. Bessent expressed a willingness to visit Japan before a trip by U.S. President Donald Trump to China

Tokyo, April 16 (Jiji Press)–Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said his country strongly hopes that the United States and Iran will reach a final agreement at an early date to end their ongoing military conflict in the Middle East. Motegi conveyed the