Tokyo, Sept. 3 (Jiji Press)–Minimum hourly wage hikes in 33 of Japan’s 47 prefectures for fiscal 2026 exceeded the targets set by the Central Minimum Wage Council, which advises the labor minister, it was learned Thursday. The hikes outpaced the targets by

Tokyo, Sept. 3 (Jiji Press)–University of Tsukuba professor emeritus Hideki Shirakawa, who won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2000 for developing conductive polymers, died of metastatic liver tumor and cancer of unknown primary origin at a hospital in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture,

Tokyo, Sept. 3 (Jiji Press)–The annualized growth rate of Japan’s real gross domestic product for April-June is expected to be revised up to 1.6 pct, according to the average forecast of 10 private think tanks. The figure is higher than the 1.1

Tokyo, Sept. 3 (Jiji Press)–Shinkin Central Bank, the central financial institution for shinkin banks across Japan, will help small and midsize Japanese companies branch out into other Asian markets, President and CEO Hiroshi Sudo said in an interview with Jiji Press. “It’s

Tokyo, Sept. 3 (Jiji Press)–Japanese agrisolar projects, which use land for both solar power generation and agriculture, are at a crossroads with regulations set to be tightened following a series of inappropriate cases, including failures to meet required crop yield standards. Meanwhile,

Tokyo, Sept. 3 (Jiji Press)–The dollar plunged below 156.50 yen briefly in Tokyo trading Thursday, the lowest level since Aug. 3, amid expectations that the Bank of Japan will accelerate interest rate hikes. The dollar stood at 157.03-06 yen at 5 p.m.,

Tokyo, Sept. 3 (Jiji Press)–Five Japanese oil distributors admitted forming a price cartel for gas oil sold to transport and other companies in Tokyo, at the first hearing of their trial at Tokyo District Court on Thursday. East Japan Usami Co. and

(Adnkronos) – The bodies of four people from the same family, including two children aged six and nine, have been discovered in the commune of Gy, in Haute-Saône. An official source who requested anonymity reported this. The bodies were discovered last night

Miyazaki, Sept. 3 (Jiji Press)–Three people were confirmed dead after their boat failed to return from a fishing trip in the southwestern Japan prefecture of Miyazaki on Thursday morning, according to the Japan Coast Guard and fire authorities. At around 7:50 a.m.,

Tokyo, Sept. 3 (Jiji Press)–The Japanese government plans to provide defense equipment to about 12 countries for free in fiscal 2026, an increase from eight in the previous year, people familiar with the matter said Thursday. The increase in the number of

Tokyo, Sept. 3 (Jiji Press)–Major Japanese convenience store operator FamilyMart Co. said Thursday it will introduce in stages from this month a new cash register system that can easily be switched between self-checkout and staffed modes to reduce burden on store workers.

Tokyo, Sept. 3 (Jiji Press)–The number of initial public offerings in Japan has been falling sharply, reflecting a slowing pace of new listings by software-related companies that have led IPO activity in the country. Companies are moving to postpone their IPOs amid

Tokyo, Sept. 3 (Jiji Press)–A large cruise ship will be used as an accommodation base for athletes participating in the Asian Games, scheduled to open in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture’s capital in central Japan, on Sept. 19. It is the first attempt to

Tokyo, Sept. 3 (Jiji Press)–A group of Japanese lawmakers seeking to promote friendly relations with China is considering sending a delegation of young members to Beijing this month to seek ways to improve bilateral ties, its leader, Hiroshi Moriyama, former secretary-general of

Tokyo, Sept. 3 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s National Police Agency plans to apply stricter criteria for the mandatory driving skill test for drivers aged 75 or older with a record of traffic violations, officials said Thursday. The agency will add test categories assessing their

Washington, Sept. 2 (Jiji Press)–Innovation ministers from the Group of 20 major economies ended their two-day meeting Wednesday, calling on countries to refrain from introducing regulations that would hinder corporate technological innovation, including technologies using artificial intelligence. The policy was included among

New York, Sept. 2 (Jiji Press)–Tottori Governor Shinji Hirai hosted U.S. influencers and Japanese travel industry officials at a liquor store in Brooklyn, New York, on Wednesday to promote sake from his western Japan prefecture. Hirai said that his prefecture intends to

Tokyo, Sept. 3 (Jiji Press)–Japan is advancing procedures that could lead to the full lifting of its ban on imports of fresh potatoes from the United States, even as concerns persist about quarantine issues and the impact on Japanese farmers’ livelihoods. Last

Tokyo, Sept. 3 (Jiji Press)–NEC Corp. said Wednesday that it plans to launch a cyberdefense enhancement service for corporate clients utilizing so-called frontier artificial intelligence at the end of this month. The Japanese electronics company’s BluStellar Intelligent Managed Service will help boost

Tokyo, Sept. 3 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s national sports governing bodies for soccer, basketball, handball, rugby and rubber-ball baseball and the Japan Sport Association have launched a project to promote sports participation among children. The project, unveiled Wednesday, plans to hold events where children

Tokyo, Sept. 3 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. and NEC Corp. have signed a memorandum of understanding to form a strategic alliance in the defense sector. The two companies said Wednesday that they would consider collaborating on the development of equipment

Tokyo, Sept. 2 (Jiji Press)–The Japan Business Federation, or Keidanren, is expected to call for the recent strong momentum of wage hikes to take root further across the economy during next year’s “shunto” spring labor-management negotiations, it was learned Wednesday. This policy

Tokyo, Sept. 2 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s Imperial Household Agency is considering holding a funeral rite for Emperor Emeritus Akihito on a considerably smaller scale than that of his father, Emperor Hirohito, posthumously called Emperor Showa, based on a request from the Emperor Emeritus

(Adnkronos) – Donald Trump invited a group of Republican lawmakers to the White House this evening, including several candidates involved in districts considered on the fence ahead of the November elections. Politico reports this, citing four sources familiar with the plans. The

(Adnkronos) – In Germany, two suspects have been identified in connection with what happened in early August at Leipzig airport. “According to reports from Süddeutsche Zeitung, Ndr and Wdr – reads the Süddeutsche Zeitung website, as reported by the British Guardian –

(Adnkronos) – Thousands of people gathered in Niamey to show their “support” for General Abdourahamane Tiani, who has been in power in Niger since the July 2023 coup, following last weekend’s events. Journalists on site reported this, as stated by the Afp

(Adnkronos) – Finnish authorities are investigating a “possible territorial violation” after an aerial drone was found on the coast in the south of the country. The drone was discovered yesterday on the shore of an island in the Porvoo archipelago, in the

Tokyo, Sept. 2 (Jiji Press)–Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, who also heads the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, is considering reshuffling her cabinet and the LDP’s executive lineup as early as Sept. 16-18, it has been learned. The schedule is based on the

Osaka, Sept. 2 (Jiji Press)–Osaka District Court on Wednesday ordered Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc. to pay about 90 million yen in total damages to some plaintiffs in a lawsuit over evacuations following the March 2011 accident at TEPCO’s tsunami-stricken Fukushima

Tokyo, Sept. 2 (Jiji Press)–An advisory panel of Japan’s agriculture ministry on Wednesday approved a plan for the government to buy back 210,000 tons of rice to replenish is stockpiles of the cereal grain. The ministry presented the plan at the day’s