Sendai, Oct. 27 (Jiji Press)–Yoshihiro Murai held off four other candidates to clinch his sixth term as governor of the northeastern Japan prefecture of Miyagi in Sunday’s gubernatorial election. Murai, an independent candidate who had support from prefectural assembly members of the

Tokyo, Oct. 27 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 stock average surged over 1,000 points to exceed 50,000 for the first time ever on Monday morning. At 9:25 a.m., the Nikkei average stood at 50,312.42, up 1,012.77 points, or 2.05 pct, from Friday.

Tokyo, Oct. 27 (Jiji Press)–Most private think tanks and research institutes in Japan expect the Japanese economy to avoid a recession, despite an anticipated contraction in the July-September quarter of 2025. The improved outlook reflects waning concerns over the tariff policy of

Kuala Lumpur, Oct. 26 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s new Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi made a relatively smooth diplomatic debut during a visit to Malaysia, demonstrating her resolve to uphold former leader Shinzo Abe’s free and open Indo-Pacific (FOIP) initiative. At a summit with Association

Kuala Lumpur, Oct. 26 (Jiji Press)–Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Sunday agreed to strengthen the two countries’ cooperation including in the security field. The Philippines has territorial disputes with China in the South China Sea.

Kuala Lumpur, Oct. 26 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s new Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi vowed Sunday to beef up cooperation with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in the fields of security, cybersecurity and artificial intelligence. At a meeting with leaders of ASEAN member states

Kuala Lumpur, Oct. 26 (Jiji Press)–U.S. President Donald Trump will arrive in Japan on Monday for a three-day visit, with his first in-person meeting with the country’s new prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, set for Tuesday. This will be Trump’s first visit to

Kuala Lumpur, Oct. 26 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s new Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi vowed Sunday to beef up cooperation with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in the fields of security, cybersecurity and artificial intelligence. At a meeting with leaders of ASEAN member states

Kuala Lumpur, Oct. 26 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s new Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi vowed Sunday to beef up maritime security cooperation with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Also at a meeting with leaders of ASEAN member states in Kuala Lumpur, Takaichi promised that

Kuala Lumpur, Oct. 26 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s new Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi held a meeting with leaders of Association of Southeast Asian Nations member countries in the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur on Sunday. This is Takaichi’s first foreign trip since she took

Kuala Lumpur, Oct. 26 (Jiji Press)–Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Sunday agreed to strengthen the two countries’ cooperation including in the security field. The Philippines has territorial disputes with China in the South China Sea.

Tanegashima, Kagoshima Pref., Oct. 26 (Jiji Press)–The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, or JAXA, successfully launched an H3 rocket carrying the first unit of the newly developed HTV-X resupply vehicle on Sunday. The seventh H3 rocket was launched from the Tanegashima Space Center

Tokyo, Oct. 26 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s new Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama on Sunday vowed to “do everything possible” to secure funds to raise the share of the country’s defense spending to its gross domestic product to 2 pct in the current fiscal year.

Tokyo, Oct. 26 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s new Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said Sunday that he may meet with U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth during U.S. President Donald Trump’s three-day visit to Japan from Monday. “I will tell (Hegseth) that Japan will strengthen its

Tokyo, Oct. 26 (Jiji Press)–A Komeito executive said that the Japanese party may give its backing to candidates of the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan in future parliamentary elections. “It could be possible” for Komeito, the former coalition partner of

Tokyo, Oct. 26 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s health ministry has started considering ways to promote the use of follow-on products of very expensive original biological drugs. Options include increasing out-of-pocket costs of patients who choose original drugs even though the original and follow-on products

Tanegashima, Kagoshima Pref., Oct. 26 (Jiji Press)–The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, or JAXA, successfully launched an H3 rocket carrying the first unit of the newly developed HTV-X resupply vehicle on Sunday. The seventh H3 rocket was launched from the Tanegashima Space Center

Tanegashima, Kagoshima Pref., Oct. 26 (Jiji Press)–The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, or JAXA, successfully launched an H3 rocket carrying the first unit of the HTV-X resupply vehicle on Sunday. The seventh H3 rocket was launched from the Tanegashima Space Center in Kagoshima

Paris, Oct. 25 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s Rino Yoshimoto, 22, won the second prize at the 58th Premio Paganini, an international violin competition in Genoa, Italy, on Saturday. The first round of the competition started Oct. 15 with 20 participants including four Japanese violinists.

Tokyo, Oct. 25 (Jiji Press)–Japanese opposition parties are wary of a plan by the ruling coalition of the Liberal Democratic Party and Nippon Ishin no Kai (Japan Innovation Party) to reduce the number of House of Representatives seats by 10 pct from

Tokyo, Oct. 26 (Jiji Press)–Administrative authorities in Japan are calling for exercising a high level of caution against bears as the autumn foliage season is starting in earnest. The number of deaths from bear attacks in the country in fiscal 2025, which

Washington, Oct. 25 (Jiji Press)–A U.S. House committee chair has urged Japan to increase its defense spending in a bid to deter coercive actions by China, which has been intensifying pressure on Japan and other U.S. allies. “I believe it’s important that

Kuala Lumpur, Oct. 25 (Jiji Press)–Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, now on a visit to Malaysia, held phone talks Saturday night with U.S. President Donald Trump for the first time since taking office Tuesday. Takaichi told Trump that the Japan-U.S. alliance is

Hikone, Shiga Pref., Oct. 25 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s Crown Prince Akishino and Crown Princess Kiko attended the opening ceremony of this year’s national sports festival for people with disabilities, held in the city of Hikone, Shiga Prefecture, western Japan. In an address, the

Fukushima, Oct. 25 (Jiji Press)–Japanese industry minister Ryosei Akazawa on Saturday visited Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc.’s disaster-crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant for the first time since he took office Tuesday. “Important progress is being made” in the work to

Yokosuka, Kanagawa Pref., Oct. 25 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s new Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi on Saturday inspected the Kumano frigate at the Maritime Self-Defense Force’s Yokosuka base in Kanagawa Prefecture, south of Tokyo. Koizumi, who took office Tuesday under the administration of new Prime

Washington, Oct. 24 (Jiji Press)–U.S. President Donald Trump is cautious about meeting with relatives of Japanese citizens who were abducted by North Korea decades ago, during his three-day visit to Japan from Monday, Japanese and U.S. government sources told Jiji Press on

Tokyo, Oct. 25 (Jiji Press)–Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi left for Malaysia on Saturday to attend summit talks related to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Takaichi will emphasize the importance of the free and open Indo-Pacific initiative as well as free

Tokyo, Oct. 25 (Jiji Press)–The man armed with knives who was arrested near the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo on Friday for alleged obstruction of official duties also carried a foldable saw and scissors in his backpack, it was learned Saturday. On his

New York, Oct. 24 (Jiji Press)–The U.N. Security Council on Friday held a meeting to mark the 80th anniversary of the establishment of the United Nations. Vassily Nebenzia, Russia’s permanent representative to the United Nations, issued a statement as the current president