Tokyo, June 12 (Jiji Press)–A multifunctional robot designed to help with automated cultivation of Shine Muscat grapes, a luxury variety, was demonstrated at an experimental fruit farm in the city of Yamanashi in the namesake prefecture in central Japan on Friday. The

Tokyo, June 12 (Jiji Press)–The Japanese government adopted an intellectual property promotion program on Friday, including a plan to draw up rules to protect intellectual property rights amid the rapid spread of generative artificial intelligence. At a meeting of the Intellectual Property

Tokyo, June 12 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s “furusato nozei” hometown donation program offering tax incentives resulted in aggregate net losses for local governments nationwide in most of the eight years from fiscal 2017 to fiscal 2024, a Board of Audit of Japan survey showed

(Adnkronos) – Italy’s foreign minister Antonio Tajani on Friday defended his and other European countries’ non-involvement in the three-month-old United States-Israel war on Iran which has escalated in the Middle East region, denying reported remarks by US president Donald Trump that Italy,

Tokyo, June 12 (Jiji Press)–Seedlings of Beni Princess, a premium citrus variety developed by the western Japan prefecture of Ehime, may have been leaked to China, Japanese agriculture minister Norikazu Suzuki said Friday. The agriculture ministry learned last year that seedlings with

Tokyo, June 12 (Jiji Press)–Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways said Friday that they will raise the fuel surcharges they add to airfares to a record 65,000 yen for tickets to be issued in July and August for flights from Japan to

Tokyo, June 12 (Jiji Press)–An expert panel of Japan’s communications ministry on Friday called for cooperation between the public and private sectors to strengthen the protection of international submarine cables. In a draft report, the panel also urged the government to boost

Tokyo, June 12 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako sent a message of sympathy to Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Friday, following Monday’s major earthquake in the Southeast Asian country, according to the Imperial Household Agency. The president visited Japan

Tokyo, June 12 (Jiji Press)–Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi and his Thai counterpart, Sihasak Phuangketkeow, agreed Friday to deepen the two countries’ comprehensive and strategic partnership, ahead of the 140th anniversary of their diplomatic relations next year. At their meeting in Tokyo,

Tokyo, June 12 (Jiji Press)–Semiconductor memory manufacturer Kioxia Holdings Corp. rose to the top spot in market capitalization in Japan on Friday, backed by growing chip demand from data centers amid the spread of artificial intelligence. On the Tokyo Stock Exchange, Kioxia

Osaka, June 12 (Jiji Press)–The Osaka prefectural and city governments, at the first meeting of a statutory council on the so-called Osaka metropolis plan on Friday, agreed to conclude its discussions in early December, looking to a third referendum on the local

Tokyo, June 12 (Jiji Press)–Space Exploration Technologies Corp., or SpaceX, led by U.S. business mogul Elon Musk, said Friday Japan time that it will raise 2,185 million dollars, equivalent to some 347 billion yen, in Japan in connection with its initial public

Kanazawa, Ishikawa Pref., June 12 (Jiji Press)–A 150-meter-long industrial hose weighing an estimated 300 tons has washed ashore in the coastal town of Shika, Ishikawa Prefecture, local authorities said Friday. The hose, believed to have been used in seabed dredging, bore the

Tokyo, June 12 (Jiji Press)–Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways said Friday that they will raise the fuel surcharges they add to airfares to a record 65,000 yen for tickets to be issued in July and August for flights from Japan to

Tokyo, June 12 (Jiji Press)–Tokyo High Court and the Miyazaki branch of Fukuoka High Court in southwestern Japan ruled Friday that the last House of Representatives election, held in February, was constitutional in terms of vote-value disparities. The rulings came in response

(Adnkronos) – An American citizen, an analyst at a think tank specializing in Myanmar politics, has been arrested in China on espionage charges. Min Zin, founder of the Institute for Strategy and Policy – Myanmar, “has been subjected to criminal coercive measures

(Adnkronos) – At least 55 people have died, 38 are missing, and 1,120 are injured following the magnitude 7.8 earthquake that struck the southern coast of Mindanao, in the Philippines. According to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC), the

(Adnkronos) – NATO announced today that it will reduce the number of soldiers, currently 4600, in the peacekeeping mission in Kosovo, as the security situation has improved. “The current conditions provide an opportunity to further optimize the size and position of Kfor,”

(Adnkronos) – The United States plans to significantly reduce the number of aircraft and warships made available for NATO operations in Europe. This is reported by the ‘New York Times’, citing two senior European officials. The plan includes the reduction of the

(Adnkronos) – The foreign and interior ministries have teamed up to bolster Italy’s network of security experts at its embasssies and consulates around the world in order to protect Italians and safeguard the country’s “operational interests”, interior minister Matteo Piantedosi said on

Tokyo, June 12 (Jiji Press)–The Japanese government updated its cybersecurity guidelines for its organizations on Friday to prepare for attacks using advanced artificial intelligence models, such as Claude Mythos. The revised guidelines call for a study on suspending systems when vulnerabilities are

Tokyo, June 12 (Jiji Press)–The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, or JAXA, successfully launched an H3 rocket on Friday morning, after an unsuccessful launch attempt last December. The H3 rocket lifted off from the Tanegashima Space Center in Kagoshima Prefecture, southwestern Japan, at

Tokyo, June 12 (Jiji Press)–Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways will raise their fuel surcharges added to airfares to record levels of about 65,000 yen for tickets to be issued in July and August for flights from Japan to North America and

Tokyo, June 12 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 stock average surged to recover 66,000 at Friday’s close, buoyed by broad-based buying on renewed anticipation for an end to the ongoing armed conflict between the United States and Iran. The index of 225

Tokyo, June 12 (Jiji Press)–Japanese actress Tamao Nakamura, known for her roles in historical movies and her unique character in television variety shows, died of pneumonia Tuesday. She was 86. Born to a family of kabuki actors in 1939, Nakamura, whose real

Tokyo, June 12 (Jiji Press)–The annual number of consultation requests made to consumer affairs centers across Japan regarding social media topped 100,000 for the first time in 2025, a government report showed Friday. Such consultations totaled 101,045 last year, nearly double the

Osaka, June 12 (Jiji Press)–The Osaka prefectural and city governments Friday held the first meeting of a statutory council discussing a system for the so-called Osaka metropolis plan, with an eye toward an envisioned third referendum on the plan. Osaka Governor Hirofumi

Tokyo, June 12 (Jiji Press)–Drunken driving accounted for some 10 pct of accidents involving specified small motorized two-wheel vehicles, including electric kick scooters, in Japan in 2025, a government white paper on traffic safety said Friday. Drunken driving was blamed for 43

By Hiroki Shimoo Tokyo, June 9 (Jiji Press)–Japan and Canada can work more closely together to accelerate the real-world adoption of artificial intelligence, an expert at a Toronto-based, cutting-edge research institute says. “AI will be the technology that will power the future,”