Chiba, Sept. 26 (Jiji Press)–Japanese regional lenders Chiba Bank and Chiba Kogyo Bank are planning to reach a basic agreement on their business integration by the end of this month at the earliest, people familiar with the matter have said. The two

Tokyo, Sept. 26 (Jiji Press)–The core consumer price index for Tokyo’s densely populated 23 special wards climbed 2.5 pct in September from a year earlier, marking the 49th consecutive month of increase, government data showed Friday. The pace of increase, which had

Kuala Lumpur, Sept. 26 (Jiji Press)–The 15 member states of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership free trade bloc have agreed to consider expanding its membership. The agreement was reached at the fourth RCEP ministerial meeting in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Thursday. The

Tokyo, Sept. 26 (Jiji Press)–U.S. tech giant Apple Inc. on Friday reopened its Apple Ginza store at its original location in the posh Ginza district of Tokyo’s Chuo Ward after three years. The store initially opened in November 2003 as Apple’s first

Tokyo, Sept. 26 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s government debt has reached a critical level after years of rising expenditures, while efforts to restore fiscal discipline are facing growing headwinds. The combined balance of outstanding national and local government debt now exceeds 200 percent of

Osaka, Sept. 26 (Jiji Press)–Kansai Electric Power Co. is preparing to decommission the No. 1 and No. 2 units at its Gobo oil-fired thermal power station in Wakayama Prefecture, western Japan, informed sources have said. The two units, which have a combined

Tokyo, Sept. 26 (Jiji Press)–The Japanese upstart political party Sanseito is seeking to shore up its organizational structure ahead of an extraordinary session of the Diet, or parliament, expected to be convened next month. But power remains concentrated in its leader, Sohei

Tokyo, Sept. 26 (Jiji Press)–Japanese agriculture minister Shinjiro Koizumi is leading in support from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s lawmakers in the party leadership race, a Jiji Press survey has suggested. Koizumi has secured votes from more than 20 pct of the

Sendai, Miyagi Pref., Sept. 26 (Jiji Press)–A northeastern Japan facility that has provided mental care for about 14 years to people affected by the March 2011 powerful earthquake and tsunami is set to finish its services at the end of this month.

(Adnkronos) – Another handshake between Ahmed al-Sharaa and Donald Trump. The self-proclaimed Syrian president, leader of post-Assad Syria, had a ‘flash’ meeting with the US president shortly after his speech to the UN General Assembly. The Syrian presidency announced the news, posting

(Adnkronos) – North Korea could possess up to two tons of highly enriched uranium. This was stated by South Korean Unification Minister Chung Dong-young. “Intelligence agencies estimate that Pyongyang’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium, with a purity greater than 90%, amounts to

Beijing, Sept. 25 (Jiji Press)–A delegation of former Japanese war orphans who were abandoned in China after the end of World War II and later came back to Japan visited Harbin, Heilongjiang Province, northeastern China, on Sept. 10-14. The trip was organized

(Adnkronos) – In a clear attempt to ridicule and delegitimize his predecessor, Donald Trump replaces Joe Biden’s portrait with a photo of the infamous autopen that signs his name in the “Presidential Walk of Fame” that he himself established in the outer

(Adnkronos) – A restaurant in Bavaria, Germany, has banned Israeli tourists due to the war in the Gaza Strip. “We believe that children should not be mistreated, regardless of the circumstances. We will not remain silent like the rest of the world,”

(Adnkronos) – Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy has been sentenced to five years in prison for criminal association in the trial for illegal financing by Libya of his 2007 presidential campaign.  The court ordered that Sarkozy be placed in pre-trial detention soon,

(Adnkronos) – The Parliament of Kyrgyzstan has voted overwhelmingly, with 84 votes in favor out of 90, for its dissolution and the calling of early elections next November 30, an initiative that, according to independent observers, is necessary for President Sadyr Japarov

Tokyo, Sept. 25 (Jiji Press)–Shares of Orion Breweries Ltd. made a strong stock market debut in Tokyo trading on Thursday, with the company’s closing price more than double its initial public offering price. Orion Breweries fetched an initial price of 1,863 yen

Tokyo, Sept. 25 (Jiji Press)–The Japan International Cooperation Agency on Thursday announced the withdrawal of its “hometown” initiative, which aimed to promote people-to-people exchanges between African countries and their partner Japanese cities. The decision came after the Japanese cities were flooded with

Osaka, Sept. 25 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s Prince Hisahito inspected the Grand Ring, a huge wooden structure that is a symbol of the ongoing World Exposition in Osaka, on Thursday, the second day of his two-day visit to the western Japan city. The 19-year-old

Susono, Shizuoka Pref., Sept. 25 (Jiji Press)–Toyota Motor Corp. opened the first part of its Woven City in Susono, Shizuoka Prefecture, central Japan, on Thursday, five years after the automaker announced the experimental city’s concept. Toyota and 18 other companies are involved

Tokyo, Sept. 25 (Jiji Press)–Fujifilm Corp. said Thursday that it has completed construction of a 3.2-billion-dollar biopharmaceutical plant in North Carolina. The Japanese company said that the plant is one of the largest contract development and manufacturing facilities for biopharmaceuticals in North

Osaka, Sept. 25 (Jiji Press)–Osaka High Court on Thursday upheld a 10-year prison sentence for a man who threw an explosive at then Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida during a campaign event in 2023. The defense for Ryuji Kimura, 26, immediately appealed

Tokyo, Sept. 25 (Jiji Press)–Tokyo District Court on Thursday sentenced Yoshitaka Suzuki, a 44-year-old former Fuji Television Network Inc. employee to one year in prison, suspended for three years, for habitual gambling. Suzuki was found to have repeatedly engaged in illegal gambling

Tokyo, Sept. 25 (Jiji Press)–The Japanese and U.S. governments are arranging a trip by U.S. President Donald Trump to Japan in late October, Japanese government sources said Thursday. With Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba slated to leave office next month, Trump would

Nagoya, Sept. 25 (Jiji Press)–Nagoya High Court ruled Thursday that the Japanese government is not obligated to recognize a Syrian man as a refugee after the collapse of the regime of former President Bashar al-Assad in 2024. The court overturned a lower

(Adnkronos) – A few days before the opening of the polls for the legislative elections, the oligarch Vladimir Plahotniuc was extradited to Moldova from Greece on charges formalized some time ago. Plahotniuc, involved in what has been called the “theft of the

(Adnkronos) – Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy has been found guilty of criminal association and acquitted of corruption charges at the end of his trial for illegal financing, by Libya, of his 2007 presidential campaign. Judge Nathalie Gavarino, justified the conviction for

Tokyo, Sept. 25 (Jiji Press)–Nippon Steel Corp. said Thursday that it will invest some 300 million dollars in two United States Steel Corp. plants as part of the Japanese company’s 11-billion-dollar commitment to the U.S. steelmaker. This represented Nippon Steel’s first detailed

Tokyo, Sept. 25 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 stock average hit an all-time closing high for the third consecutive trading day on Thursday, partly thanks to a yen’s weakening. The Nikkei gained 124.62 points, or 0.27 pct, from Wednesday to end at

Tokyo, Sept. 25 (Jiji Press)–A Bank of Japan official called on the central bank to continue to raise interest rates at a monetary policy meeting in July, according to the minutes of the meeting released on Thursday. A member of the BOJ’s