Tokyo, July 31 (Jiji Press)–Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda said Friday the powerful earthquake that struck Kumamoto Prefecture in southwestern Japan earlier this week has caused no major disruption to the financial system. “While some bank branches and automated teller machines

Tokyo, July 31 (Jiji Press)–Terumi Tanaka, co-chair of the Japan Confederation of Atomic and Hydrogen Bomb Victims’ Associations, or Nihon Hidankyo, talked with young artists at a live music club in Tokyo on Friday, discussing peace across generations. “We need to hurry

(Adnkronos) – Russian attacks have caused the death of at least nine people and the injury of 48 others across Ukraine in the last 24 hours. Search and rescue operations continued for the second consecutive day in the city of Lviv and

(Adnkronos) – Search and rescue teams have recovered four bodies near the site of an avalanche that left 10 climbers missing in northern Pakistan, local authorities said. “Preliminary reports indicate that four bodies have been recovered so far,” a police spokesman for

Tokyo, July 31 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party is divided over Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s proposal to cut the consumption tax rate for food from 8 pct to 1 pct for two years starting in April 2027 as an anti-inflation measure.

(Adnkronos) – Dozens of Israeli settlers are assaulting the western part of Nablus city under the protection of the Israeli army, according to some sources told Al Jazeera. According to the Palestinian Red Crescent, at least 10 Palestinians, including four children, were

(Adnkronos) – Thirty-four people have died in a coal mine explosion in southern Pakistan. The Afp agency reported, specifying that all victims were workers in the mine. 

Tokyo, July 31 (Jiji Press)–Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is scheduled to visit earthquake-stricken Kumamoto Prefecture on Monday, government and ruling party officials said Friday. It will be Takaichi’s first visit to the southwestern Japan prefecture since Tuesday’s earthquake, a trip aimed

Hiroshima/Nagasaki, July 31 (Jiji Press)–The mayors of Hiroshima in western Japan and Nagasaki in southwestern Japan plan to underline the importance of trust-building and action toward peace while urging the abolition of nuclear weapons in their annual peace declarations amid deepening global

Tokyo, July 31 (Jiji Press)–Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda said Friday that it is “more necessary than ever” to pay attention to the risk of higher inflation. He therefore indicated the BOJ’s stance to keep a close watch on whether prices

Tokyo, July 31 (Jiji Press)–Kioxia Holdings Corp. said Friday that its consolidated net profit in the six months to September is expected to jump about 36-fold from a year before to 2,112.1 billion yen on strong artificial intelligence-driven demand for memory chips

Kumamoto, July 31 (Jiji Press)–Searches for those still missing after Tuesday’s major earthquake in Kumamoto Prefecture, southwestern Japan, continued in extreme heat Friday even after the 72-hour window crucial for survival closed. The death toll from the quake, which recorded a seismic

Tokyo, July 31 (Jiji Press)–Tokyo District Court on Friday gave a one-year prison sentence, suspended for three years, to Shunichiro Sato, a former member of the Japanese men’s national volleyball team, for possessing cannabis. The 26-year-old defendant possessed about 0.8 gram of

Osaka, July 31 (Jiji Press)–A third-party committee on a boat accident in Okinawa Prefecture, southern Japan, in March that killed a high school girl and another person found on Friday the school responsible for the death of the student. The committee said

Tokyo, July 31 (Jiji Press)–The total amount of “furusato nozei” donations to local governments across Japan hit a record high for the sixth consecutive year in fiscal 2025, which ended in March, the internal affairs ministry said Friday. The annual amount rose

Tokyo, July 31 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party is divided over Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s proposal to cut the consumption tax rate for food from 8 pct to 1 pct for two years starting in April 2027 as a measure against

Kumamoto, July 31 (Jiji Press)–Searches for those still missing after Tuesday’s major earthquake in Kumamoto Prefecture, southwestern Japan, continued in extreme heat Friday even after the 72-hour window crucial for survival closed. The death toll from the quake, which recorded a seismic

Tokyo, July 31 (Jiji Press)–Japan on Friday launched its National Intelligence Bureau, to spearhead the government’s intelligence activities. Successor to the Cabinet Secretariat’s Cabinet Intelligence and Research Office, the bureau began operations with about 730 personnel. The government will formulate a document

Osaka, July 31 (Jiji Press)–The Osaka prefectural police have arrested two Vietnamese men for allegedly converting electric-assist bicycles into throttle-equipped electric mopeds that require a driver’s license, in violation of the road traffic law. The two suspects had accepted orders for about

Tokyo, July 31 (Jiji Press)–Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda said Friday that it is more necessary than ever to pay attention to the risk of higher inflation. Underlying inflation is expected to remain consistent with the bank’s 2 pct price stability

Tokyo, July 31 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 stock average surged on Friday as artificial intelligence-related stocks attracted renewed buying. The index of 225 major issues listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange’s Prime section briefly climbed more than 3,400 points before closing

Tokyo, July 31 (Jiji Press)–Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is scheduled to visit earthquake-stricken Kumamoto Prefecture on Monday, government and ruling party officials said Friday. It will be Takaichi’s first visit to the southwestern Japan prefecture since Tuesday’s earthquake, a trip aimed

Tokyo, July 31 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s education ministry Friday formally certified Kyoto University as the third eligible for receiving aid from a government-financed 10-trillion-yen fund aimed at supporting universities with the potential to produce world-class research results. Kyoto University will receive some 20

Tokyo, July 31 (Jiji Press)–The Japanese government on Friday announced the appointment of Hirotaka Unami, director-general of the Finance Ministry’s Budget Bureau, as vice finance minister. He will succeed Hirotsugu Shinkawa as the top bureaucrat at the ministry. The government also appointed

Tokyo, July 31 (Jiji Press)–The Japanese government and the Bank of Japan carried out a yen-buying, dollar-selling market intervention for the first time in about three months on Thursday night, during New York trading hours, informed sources said Friday. Japanese authorities likely

Tokyo, July 31 (Jiji Press)–The Japanese government on Friday unveiled a plan to form industrial clusters to attract large-scale corporate investment to rural regions. Clusters will be formed in seven regions for 13 projects to promote investment in growth areas, including semiconductors

Tokyo, July 31 (Jiji Press)–The Japanese government on Friday adopted a basic policy on measures to support public-sector organizations and critical infrastructure operators for the early detection of threats of cyberattacks. “Cyberattacks are becoming increasingly threatening and do not wait for our

Beijing, July 31 (Jiji Press)–Business sentiment among Japanese companies in China worsened in the first half of the year due mainly to strained relations between the two countries, a survey by the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry in China showed Friday.

Tokyo, July 31 (Jiji Press)–Surplus in the Japanese government’s foreign exchange special account totaled 5,056.5 billion yen at the end of fiscal 2025, a Finance Ministry report showed Friday. The account, used for foreign exchange market interventions, saw its surplus decrease by

Tokyo, July 31 (Jiji Press)–The Bank of Japan on Friday decided to keep its monetary policy unchanged while raising its gross domestic product growth outlook for fiscal 2026. At its two-day meeting through the day, the BOJ’s Policy Board decided by a