Tokyo, Jan. 20 (Jiji Press)–Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s announcement of an abrupt House of Representatives dissolution for a snap election reflects her hopes of consolidating political power to achieve her own policies. In the Feb. 8 election for the lower chamber

Tokyo, Jan. 20 (Jiji Press)–Heavy snow is expected mainly along the Sea of Japan coast, due to a strong winter pressure pattern from Wednesday through Sunday, the Japan Meteorological Agency said Tuesday. The agency warned of possible traffic disruptions and avalanches, as

Tokyo, Jan. 20 (Jiji Press)–Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Tuesday declared her ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s resolve to unite for the Feb. 8 House of Representatives election. Noting that the election, whose official campaign period will begin Jan. 27, will be

Tokyo, Jan. 20 (Jiji Press)–Japanese police have arrested 30-year-old Kabuki actor Nakamura Tsurumatsu on suspicion of breaking a Tokyo restaurant’s door by kicking on Sunday, people familiar with the matter said Monday. Nakamura, whose real name is Daiki Shimizu, was apparently under

Tokyo, Jan. 20 (Jiji Press)–The annual number of foreign visitors to Japan came to some 42.7 million in 2025, up from 36,870,148 in the previous year, exceeding 40 million for the first time, tourism minister Yasushi Kaneko said at a press conference

Tokyo, Jan. 20 (Jiji Press)–The Japanese government has decided to appoint Hiroki Tsutsui, head of the security bureau of the National Police Agency, to replace Yuji Sakoda as chief of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department. The appointment, which will take effect on

Tokyo, Jan. 20 (Jiji Press)–Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara has met with Sakie Yokota, the mother of Megumi, who was abducted by North Korea in 1977. In the meeting held at the prime minister’s office on Monday, Sakie said she hopes

Tokyo, Jan. 20 (Jiji Press)–The yield on the most recent issue of 10-year Japanese government bonds, regarded as the country’s benchmark long-term interest rate, temporarily rose to 2.33 pct in Tokyo trading Tuesday, hitting a new 27-year high. The yield increase came

Tokyo, Jan. 20 (Jiji Press)–The only remaining giant pandas in Japan, Xiao Xiao and Lei Lei of Tokyo’s Ueno Zoo, will leave for China on Jan. 27, according to the Tokyo metropolitan government. They are scheduled to be transported by aircraft from

Tokyo, Jan. 20 (Jiji Press)–With Tuesday marking one year since U.S. President Donald Trump began his second term, Japan faces a challenge of consolidating its relationship with the United States amid concerns over Trump’s diplomatic approach. Before the inauguration of his first

Tokyo, Jan. 19 (Jiji Press)–A Bank of Japan quarterly survey for December 2025 showed Monday that consumer sentiment in the country rose for two quarters in a row while views on living conditions deteriorated for the first time in two quarters. The

Tokyo, Jan. 19 (Jiji Press)–The Centrist Reform Alliance, a new political party launched by the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan and Komeito, a former ruling party, said in its basic policies released Monday that it is constitutional for Japan to

(Adnkronos) – More than 160 faithful were kidnapped during an attack launched on Sunday by armed groups against two Christian churches in Kurmin Wali, an isolated village in the Kajuru district, in Nigeria’s Kaduna State, in the north of the country, AFP

(Adnkronos) – Afghan police have confirmed that seven people were killed in an explosion in Kabul, which targeted a Chinese restaurant. Police spokesman Khalid Zadran specified that among the victims were one Chinese national and six Afghans, while “several other people were

Niigata, Jan. 19 (Jiji Press)–Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc. said Monday that it has decided to put off the restart scheduled for Tuesday of the No. 6 reactor at its Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear plant in Niigata Prefecture, central Japan. The postponement comes

(Adnkronos) – It is ”an unprecedented catastrophe” that of the train accident in Andalusia in which at least 39 people lost their lives. The president of Andalusia, Juanma Moreno, declared this, explaining that work is underway to identify the victims and that

(Adnkronos) – A surfer was seriously injured in a shark attack, the third in just two days in Sydney Bay. The 20-year-old man was hospitalized in critical condition after sustaining serious leg injuries, Australian city police said. “The man was pulled from

(Adnkronos) – Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has declared three days of national mourning, starting from midnight today, for the train accident in Andalusia that cost the lives of at least 39 people. Sanchez himself announced this during a visit to Adamuz,

(Adnkronos) – 20 injured people have been received so far at Emergency’s Surgical Centre for War Victims in Kabul following an explosion today in the Shahr-e-Naw area, a central zone near the hospital. The toll is still evolving, according to a note

(Adnkronos) – The green light for China’s mega embassy in London is expected between today and tomorrow. The Guardian reports that the decision on the project for the large diplomatic headquarters in the Royal Mint Court district is now imminent, after years

Washington, Jan. 19 (Jiji Press)–The International Monetary Fund said Monday that the global economy is estimated to grow 3.3 pct in 2026, up 0.2 percentage point from its previous projection last October. The fading impact of high U.S. tariffs and surging artificial

Tokyo, Jan. 19 (Jiji Press)–Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi unveiled a plan Monday to reduce the consumption tax rate for food items to zero for two years as part of her ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s policy pledges for the upcoming general election.

Sendai, Miyagi Pref., Jan. 19 (Jiji Press)–A Japanese court on Monday sentenced a man, 29, to three years in prison, suspended for five years, for transporting a then high school student to Myanmar last year to get him to engage in fraud

Tokyo, Jan. 19 (Jiji Press)–Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi announced Monday that she will dissolve the House of Representatives at the start of this year’s ordinary session of the Diet, the country’s parliament, to be convened Friday, to call a snap general

Tokyo, Jan. 19 (Jiji Press)–The Japanese government is unlikely to secure the passage of its fiscal 2026 draft budget by the March 31 end of the current fiscal 2025, after Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi announced on Monday her decision to dissolve the

Tokyo, Jan. 19 (Jiji Press)–Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi announced Monday that she will dissolve the House of Representatives at the start of this year’s ordinary session of the Diet, the country’s parliament, to be convened Friday, to call a snap general

Tokyo, Jan. 19 (Jiji Press)–Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and Yoshinobu Tsutsui, chairman of the Japan Business Federation, or Keidanren, on Monday affirmed that the public and private sectors will cooperate to strengthen the supply chains for critical materials. At a meeting

Tokyo, Jan. 19 (Jiji Press)–Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. said Monday it launched the same day a service to allow individual customers to make fixed-amount monthly deposits in foreign currency accounts using credit cards. In the first-ever service in Japan, users of

Tokyo, Jan. 19 (Jiji Press)–Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi announced Monday that she will dissolve the House of Representatives at the start of the ordinary parliamentary session, which is to be convened on Friday, to call a snap general election. The prime

Tokyo, Jan. 19 (Jiji Press)–The yield on the newest issue of 10-year Japanese government bonds, the country’s key long-term interest rate, briefly rose to 2.275 pct in Tokyo interdealer bond trading Monday, reaching its highest level since mid-February 1999. The rise came