Tokyo, Jan. 30 (Jiji Press)–The likelihood of Japan adopting a consumption tax reduction following the upcoming general election is high, with most major parties proposing related measures, but discussions on how to foot the massive bill are lacking. With some even doubting

Tokyo, Jan. 30 (Jiji Press)–Housing starts in Japan fell 6.5 pct from the previous year to 740,667 units in 2025, down for the third straight year and hitting a 62-year low, the land ministry said Friday. The drop reflected deterioration in consumer

Tokyo, Jan. 30 (Jiji Press)–Private rice stocks in Japan surged 34 pct from a year earlier to 3.38 million tons at the end of December, reflecting slow rice sales due to elevated prices, an agriculture ministry report showed Friday. This is the

Tokyo, Jan. 30 (Jiji Press)–A labor-management forum hosted by the Japan Business Federation, or Keidanren, was held in Tokyo on Friday, kicking off full-fledged “shunto” spring wage negotiations. The focal point of this year’s shunto is whether pay increases exceeding 5 pct

Tokyo, Jan. 30 (Jiji Press)–Japan is facing the challenge of becoming less dependent on rare earth imports from China amid souring ties between Tokyo and Beijing. In its harsh response to Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s “Taiwan contingency” remarks, the Chinese government

Tokyo, Jan. 30 (Jiji Press)–Akira Iriye, a renowned scholar of international politics and professor emeritus at Harvard University, died in the United States on Tuesday at the age of 91, according to informed sources. An expert in U.S. diplomatic history, Iriye was

Tokyo, Jan. 30 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s Children and Families Agency has set up a working group to discuss possible regulation of social media services to prevent juveniles from being caught up in problems via the internet. The group will mull measures while taking

Tokyo, Jan. 30 (Jiji Press)–The politics of Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party have deteriorated step by step over the past three decades, Kazuo Shii, chairman of the Japanese Communist Party’s Central Committee, said in a recent interview. Recalling his tenure of more

Tokyo, Jan. 30 (Jiji Press)–The number of foreigners entering Japan rose 15.4 pct from the previous year to 42.43 million in 2025, marking a record high for the second straight year, preliminary government data showed Friday. The annual tally exceeded 40 million

Tokyo, Jan. 30 (Jiji Press)–Train services on East Japan Railway Co.’s Joban Line were partially suspended for about seven hours Friday after an overhead power line snapped at Tokyo’s Ueno Station. The power outage occurred around 7 a.m. near Ueno Station in

Osaka, Jan. 30 (Jiji Press)–Hirofumi Yoshimura, leader of the Japan Innovation Party, said that his party will take the role of the “accelerator” in propelling its coalition with Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party forward. Asked in a recent interview about his party

Tokyo, Jan. 30 (Jiji Press)–Train services on East Japan Railway Co.’s Joban Line were partially suspended for about seven hours Friday after an overhead power line snapped at Tokyo’s Ueno Station. The power outage occurred around 7 a.m. near Ueno Station in

Tokyo, Jan. 30 (Jiji Press)–A labor-management forum hosted by the Japan Business Federation, or Keidanren, was held in Tokyo on Friday, kicking off full-fledged “shunto” spring wage negotiations. In Japan, pay hikes have yet to catch up with inflation, with real wages

Tokyo, Jan. 30 (Jiji Press)–Japanese police have arrested a 27-year-old male host on suspicion of violating the amusement business law by using a dating app to solicit female customers to a “host club” in Tokyo. The arrest marked the first crackdown in

Tokyo, Jan. 30 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s average ratio of effective job openings to seekers in 2025 fell 0.03 point from the previous year to 1.22, declining for the second straight year, the labor ministry said Friday. The drop came as many companies moved

Tokyo, Jan. 30 (Jiji Press)–A group of Japanese and Chinese people were robbed of an estimated 423 million yen in Tokyo on Thursday night, quickly followed by an assault on a different group also carrying a lot of cash. Both groups said

Tokyo, Jan. 30 (Jiji Press)–The number of foreign workers in Japan as of the end of October 2025 jumped 11.7 pct from a year before to 2,571,037, hitting a record high for 13 years in a row amid the country’s labor shortages,

Tokyo, Jan. 30 (Jiji Press)–The number of child abuse cases handled by child consultation centers across Japan in fiscal 2024 came to 223,691, falling by 1,818 cases, or 0.8 pct, from the previous year, the government said Friday. “The situation remains unchanged,

Tokyo, Jan. 30 (Jiji Press)–The number of food and beverage price hikes in Japan will drop nearly 60 pct from a year earlier next month, showing a sign of food inflation calming down, a private research firm survey showed Friday. The country’s

Tokyo, Jan. 30 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s industrial production in December 2025 edged down 0.1 pct from the previous month, as output of semiconductor manufacturing equipment and some other goods decreased, the industry ministry said Friday. The production index for the manufacturing and mining

Tokyo, Jan. 30 (Jiji Press)–Inflation in central Tokyo slowed to 2 pct year-on-year in January from 2.3 pct in the previous month, hitting the lowest level since October 2024, mainly due to a smaller rise in food prices excluding perishables, Japanese government

Washington, Jan. 29 (Jiji Press)–The U.S. Treasury Department removed its call for the Bank of Japan to raise interest rates in a semiannual report released Thursday. In the previous report, released in June last year, the department said, “BOJ policy tightening should

Washington, Jan. 29 (Jiji Press)–The U.S. Treasury Department removed its call for the Bank of Japan to raise interest rates in a semiannual report released Thursday. In the previous report, released in June last year, the department said, “BOJ policy tightening should

Tokyo, Jan. 30 (Jiji Press)–Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s remarks on diplomacy and security are causing repercussions ahead of the Feb. 8 general election in the country. In a television debate on Monday, Takaichi mentioned a Taiwan contingency once again. “If something

(Adnkronos) – Italy can send paramilitary Carabinieri police officers to Jordan to train the war-razed Gaza Strip’s future force and will keep training police in the occupied West Bank, foreign minister Antonio Tajani said on Thursday  “We will continue to work so

(Adnkronos) – “There are currently no large-scale operations underway or planned by ICE in Maine.” Republican Senator Susan Collins announced this, explaining that “I have asked Secretary Noem and others in the administration to urge ICE to reconsider their approach to immigration

(Adnkronos) – “Tell the president that I want to return to Venezuela as soon as possible.” This is the message Maria Corina Machado asked to convey to Donald Trump to the deputies she met last week in Congress, according to what was

(Adnkronos) – In recent days, Iranian officials have asked for help from diplomats in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Egypt in an attempt to reopen talks with the United States and avoid the military action threatened by US President Donald Trump. The New

(Adnkronos) – Italy wants to help Ireland speed up European Union enlargement, boost Europe’s competitiveness, defence and industrial growth and the green transition – key priorities for the Irish rotating EU Council presidency from July-December – foreign minister Antonio Tajani stated on

(Adnkronos) – Italy and the Czech Republic want to boost bolster bilateral cooperation, extending this to defence and infrastructure, foreign minister Antonio Tajani wrote on Thursday after talks in Brussels with counterpart Petr Macinka  “In #Brussels I met with the new Czech