(Adnkronos) – Italy has urged Mediterranean, southern European, western Balkan and Arab states to collaborate and dialogue more for “peace, stability and growth” in the wider Mediterranean region, to diversify supply chains, create “reliable and predictable” transport routes, and invest in local

Seoul, May 7 (Jiji Press)–Japan and South Korea held their first vice ministerial security talks in Seoul on Thursday, reaffirming the importance of bilateral ties and trilateral cooperation with the United States, South Korea’s Foreign Ministry said. Participants also discussed North Korea’s

Tokyo, May 7 (Jiji Press)–The major Japanese opposition Centrist Reform Alliance is set to tolerate a proposal aimed at securing a sufficient number of Imperial Family members through adoption, it was learned Thursday. At the day’s meeting of a related internal panel,

Tokyo, May 7 (Jiji Press)–The total number of passengers on Shinkansen and other express trains during the Golden Week holiday period from late April to early May rose 5 pct from a year earlier to 14,766,000, data from six Japan Railways Group

(Adnkronos) – Two former Chinese Defense ministers, Wei Fenghe and Li Shangfu, have been sentenced to death, with a two-year reprieve, after being found guilty of corruption. This was reported by the Xinhua news agency. The reprieve allows for the death penalty

(Adnkronos) – Polls open in England, Scotland, and Wales for local elections, which represent the most challenging electoral test for British Labour Prime Minister Keir Starmer, to the advantage of far-right and far-left populists. Starmer has never been under such pressure since

(Adnkronos) – The American President Donald Trump’s U-turn regarding the ‘Project Freedom’ initiative would stem from the decision of a major American ally in the Gulf, Saudi Arabia, not to grant the US the use of its bases and airspace to conduct

Tokyo, May 7 (Jiji Press)–The Japanese government and the Bank of Japan likely intervened into the foreign exchange market again to buy yen for dollars earlier this month, during Japan’s Golden Week holiday period, it was learned Thursday. Market sources estimated the

Tokyo, May 7 (Jiji Press)–Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. said Thursday that it will form a strategic partnership with U.S. information technology giant Google LLC to strengthen its retail financial services. The two firms will develop a service to assist customers in

(Adnkronos) – Italy’s premier Giorgia Meloni held talks on Thursday in Rome with the prime minister of Libya’s internationally recognised Government of National Unity, Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh, Meloni’s office said in a statement.  The talks come after Libya’s rival administrations in Tripoli

Tokyo, May 7 (Jiji Press)–Japanese authorities likely carried out a yen-buying currency market intervention during the Golden Week holiday period earlier this month, it was learned Thursday. Market sources estimated that the Japanese government and the Bank of Japan spent around 4

Osaka, May 7 (Jiji Press)–Osaka Gas Co. is boosting efforts to produce and procure synthetic methane, or e-methane, regarded as a key to promoting the decarbonization of city gas. The Japanese gas supplier is preparing to procure e-methane from the United States

Tokyo, May 7 (Jiji Press)–Police arrested three people including a member of the city assembly of Yatsushiro, Kumamoto Prefecture, southwestern Japan, on Thursday on suspicion of accepting bribes from a contractor for the construction of a new city government building. A total

Gosen, Niigata Pref., May 7 (Jiji Press)–A 17-year-old male high school student was killed in a microbus crash that happened on the Ban-Etsu Expressway in the city of Koriyama, Fukushima Prefecture, northeastern Japan, on Wednesday. Hiroto Inagaki, from the city of Niigata,

Brussels, May 7 (Jiji Press)–Japan and the European Union held a ministerial economic dialogue in Brussels on Thursday to discuss enhancing cooperation on economic security and critical minerals. Trade minister Ryosei Akazawa and State Minister for Foreign Affairs Iwao Horii represented Tokyo,

Tokyo, May 7 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 stock average posted a record single-day gain to hit an all-time closing high near 63,000 on Thursday, amid hopes for an early end to the U.S.-Iran conflict. The index of 225 selected issues on

Toyota, Aichi Pref., May 7 (Jiji Press)–Toyota Motor Corp. on Thursday unveiled the Lexus TZ, the first electric three-row SUV for the Japanese automaker’s luxury marque, slated for launch in the country in winter 2026. The TZ stretches over 5 meters in

Tokyo, May 7 (Jiji Press)-A Bank of Japan policymaker called for “particular attention” to the upside risks of prices at the monetary policy meeting in March, a summary of opinions at the meeting showed Thursday. According to the summary from the meeting

Tokyo, May 7 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s Justice Ministry has drafted a bill to bar public prosecutors “in principle” from appealing court orders to start retrials, it was learned Thursday. The new draft was presented at a meeting of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party

Tokyo, May 7 (Jiji Press)–The Japanese government is taking on the challenge of mining critical minerals, including rare earths, from the seabed around Minamitorishima, a Japanese remote island in the Pacific, with an eye to realize domestic rare earth production in the

Tokyo, May 7 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 stock average posted a record single-day gain of about 3,300 points to hit an all-time closing high near 63,000 on Thursday, amid hopes for an early end to the U.S.-Iran conflict. The index of

Paris, May 7 (Jiji Press)–Paavo Jarvi, a world-renowned conductor from Estonia set to receive a Japanese government honor, has condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in a recent written interview with Jiji Press. Calling the Russian aggression “the destruction of cultural life,” Jarvi

Kyoto, May 7 (Jiji Press)–The arrested father of an 11-year-old boy who went missing in March and was found dead in Kyoto Prefecture in April may have abandoned the boy’s body near a mountain near his home soon after killing the boy,

Washington, May 6 (Jiji Press)–U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent plans to visit Japan from Monday through May 13 for talks with Japanese officials on foreign exchange rates and economic security, people familiar with the matter said Wednesday. He is likely to meet

Tokyo, May 7 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s top currency diplomat said Thursday that there is no need to comment on a suspected yen-buying market intervention by Japanese authorities during the Golden Week holiday period in the country through Wednesday. “We continue to closely monitor

Tokyo, May 7 (Jiji Press)–The risk of hantavirus spreading in Japan through person-to-person transmission is low, even if infected passengers from a cruise ship linked to a recent outbreak enter the country, the health ministry said Wednesday. The ministry called on the

Tokyo, May 7 (Jiji Press)–Over 60 pct of people in Japan plan to do something for their mother or mother-in-law for Mother’s Day on Sunday, a survey by Tokyo-based research company Intage Inc. has shown. The survey, conducted online in late March,

Paris, May 6 (Jiji Press)–Trade ministers from the Group of Seven major industrialized countries indicated their readiness to take actions against economic coercion, in a joint communique adopted at their meeting in Paris on Wednesday. “We express our grave concerns regarding economic

Tokyo, May 7 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 stock average soared past the 62,000 threshold for the first time ever on an intraday basis on Thursday morning, amid hopes for an early end to the U.S.-Iran conflict. The index of 225 selected

Tokyo, May 7 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 stock average soared more than 2,500 points to exceed the 62,000 line for the first time ever in morning trading on Thursday. Tokyo stocks tracked gains in U.S. equities driven by hopes for a