Shirahama, Wakayama Pref., Sept. 4 (Jiji Press)–Two robotic penguins that move realistically are gaining popularity at the Adventure World theme park in the town of Shirahama, Wakayama Prefecture, western Japan. The robots–one modeled after a rockhopper penguin and the other after a

Kanazawa, Ishikawa Pref., Sept. 4 (Jiji Press)–The Confederation of Japan Automobile Workers’ Unions, or JAW, has affirmed its plan to seek large-scale pay hikes outpacing inflation in next year’s “shunto” spring labor-management negotiations. The policy was confirmed at the JAW’s regular meeting

Tokyo, Sept. 4 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s Self-Defense Forces will continue to limit the eligibility for joining them to Japanese nationals and not consider hiring foreigners, Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said Friday. Koizumi was speaking in response to a proposal from former Defense Ministry

Zurich, Sept. 3 (Jiji Press)–A late Japanese researcher won this year’s Ig Nobel Prize in medicine on Thursday for an aerodynamic study of how to blow one’s nose properly. It is the 20th straight year for a Japanese researcher to receive an

Tokyo, Sept. 4 (Jiji Press)–Japanese Justice Minister Hiroshi Hiraguchi said Friday that he will ask an advisory panel to consider a law revision barring the use of evidence submitted in civil trials for purposes not directly related to court proceedings. Hiraguchi told

Tokyo, Sept. 4 (Jiji Press)–General-account budget requests from Japanese government ministries and agencies for fiscal 2027 totaled a record 143,065.6 billion yen, the Finance Ministry said Friday. The total requested amount for the year starting next April rose by 16.8 pct from

Susono, Shizuoka Pref., Sept. 4 (Jiji Press)–Woven by Toyota Inc., a Japanese company that runs a demonstration area for next-generation mobility technologies, signed a partnership agreement with the Shizuoka prefectural government on Thursday. The Toyota Motor Corp. unit that operates the Woven

Tokyo, Sept. 4 (Jiji Press)–The Japan Sport Association has said that it will establish a national esports competition, spinning off a tournament held so far as a cultural program of the Japan Games national sports event. The new competition will be held

Tokyo, Sept. 4 (Jiji Press)–Spending by households in Japan declined 3.6 pct in July from a year before in inflation-adjusted real terms as they spent less on electricity and gas as well as food, the internal affairs ministry said Friday. Consumption expenditures

Tokyo, Sept. 4 (Jiji Press)–General-account budget requests from Japanese government ministries and agencies for fiscal 2027 totaled a record 143,065.6 billion yen, the Finance Ministry said Friday. The total requested amount for the year starting next April rose by 16.8 pct from

Tokyo, Sept. 4 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s Crown Prince Akishino and Crown Princess Kiko will visit Norway for three days from Tuesday to attend a funeral for the late King Harald V, according to a plan approved by the Japanese government at a cabinet

Hiroshima, Sept. 4 (Jiji Press)–Okunoshima, an island in the Seto Inland Sea in western Japan now famous as “Rabbit Island” for its estimated 500 to 600 wild rabbits, once hosted a poison gas production facility operated by the former Imperial Japanese Army.

Urasoe, Okinawa Pref., Sept. 4 (Jiji Press)–A majority of residents in Okinawa Prefecture are constantly opposed to the planned relocation of the U.S. Futenma base in the Okinawa city of Ginowan to the Henoko coastal district in Nago, another city in the

Urayasu, Chiba Pref., Sept. 4 (Jiji Press)–Tokyo DisneySea, one of the most popular theme parks in Japan, on Friday celebrated the 25th anniversary of its opening. The only ocean-themed Disney park in the world, located in the city of Urayasu, Chiba Prefecture,

Tokyo, Sept. 3 (Jiji Press)–The Council for Cultural Affairs, which advises Japan’s culture minister, on Thursday selected Hikone Castle, located in the western prefecture of Shiga, as the country’s fiscal 2026 candidate for registration as a UNESCO World Heritage site. A nomination

New York/London, Sept. 3 (Jiji Press)–The dollar tumbled to around 155.50 yen in New York foreign exchange trading Thursday morning, hitting its lowest level since Aug. 3. Yen buying for dollars grew on the back of speculation that the Bank of Japan

Tokyo, Sept. 3 (Jiji Press)–Japanese Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama indicated Thursday that there has been no request from U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent for a change in the economic policy of the administration of Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. Bessent “did not

(Adnkronos) – The death toll from the devastating landslide and flood on August 26 in Nepal has risen to 1,259. The number of missing has drastically increased in the last 24 hours, from 4,216 to 5,083. This was reported by the emergency

(Adnkronos) – Morocco has opened an investigation into the arrival of thousands of migrants in Ceuta on the night of July 30-31 and has communicated this to the Spanish authorities. This was reported by sources from the Rabat government, as written by

(Adnkronos) – A man was arrested today at Gare du Midi railway station in Brussels, as he was getting off a train and was in possession of a Kalashnikov-type weapon which he was carrying in a bag. According to what Afp learned

Kumamoto, Sept. 3 (Jiji Press)–A fire broke out Thursday afternoon at a Nippon Paper Industries Co. plant heavily damaged in a massive earthquake that rocked the southwestern Japan prefecture of Kumamoto in late July. According to the Kumamoto prefectural police department, no

Tokyo, Sept. 3 (Jiji Press)–Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that tax breaks for the four Russian-held islands that Japan calls the Northern Territories have been successful, underscoring Moscow’s intent to develop the islands as Russian territory. Putin made this remark in

London, Sept. 3 (Jiji Press)–The dollar slipped below 156 yen in London trading Thursday morning, hitting its lowest level since Aug. 3. Yen buying for dollars mounted on the back of speculation that Japan’s Government Pension Investment Fund may increase its investments

Tokyo, Sept. 3 (Jiji Press)–Japan and Mongolia agreed Thursday to cooperate on expanding Chinggis Khaan International Airport, which was constructed with Japan’s official development assistance. Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi and his Mongolian counterpart, Batmunkh Battsetseg, reached the agreement at a meeting

Tokyo, Sept. 3 (Jiji Press)–Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, who also heads the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, is considering retaining LDP Secretary-General Shunichi Suzuki in the upcoming reshuffles of her cabinet and the party’s leadership team, sources in the Takaichi administration said

(Adnkronos) – The British Foreign Office has summoned Moscow’s senior diplomat in London in connection with Russian attacks on Germany, described as ”serious and irresponsible”. Downing Street announced this. Citing in particular the attack in Leipzig, the spokesperson for the British Foreign

(Adnkronos) – Thirteen members of the Yemeni government forces were killed in clashes with Houthi fighters. A military source told AFP, accusing the group of launching an offensive to conquer areas located on the borders of the strategic Bab al-Mandab Strait. “According

Tokyo, Sept. 3 (Jiji Press)–The Japanese government is planning to do without a second supplementary budget for fiscal 2026, government and ruling party sources said Thursday. While the government and ruling parties are considering convening an extraordinary session of the Diet in

(Adnkronos) – An investigation has been opened against former Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu for allegedly insulting Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in the latest move against a former political ally turned rival and founder of his own party. In a statement, prosecutors

Tokyo, Sept. 3 (Jiji Press)–A Japanese court on Thursday sentenced former taxi driver Kiyotaka Zanami, 79, to three years in prison, suspended for five years, for his role in a hit-and-run in Tokyo that resulted in the death of a corporate worker