Tokyo, Aug. 24 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s industry ministry will include in its fiscal 2027 budget request 150 billion yen for an additional investment in Rapidus Corp., which aims to start mass-producing cutting-edge semiconductors, it was learned Monday. The ministry will invest in the

Tokyo, Aug. 24 (Jiji Press)–About 170,000 tons of treated water has been released from Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc.’s meltdown-hit Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant in northeastern Japan, TEPCO said Monday, three years after the releases began. According to TEPCO, some

(Adnkronos) – The United States has canceled a major joint amphibious landing exercise with South Korea, scheduled for next month, due to reduced force availability related to the war with Iran. Seoul announced this, specifying that the two countries are still considering

Kumamoto, Aug. 24 (Jiji Press)–A security camera in Kumamoto Prefecture has filmed the moment an earthquake in the southwestern Japan prefecture caused the ground to rupture and rise, marking only the second time in the world the phenomenon has been confirmed on

Beijing, Aug. 24 (Jiji Press)–A cross-party group of Japanese lawmakers arrived in China on Monday for a possible meeting with senior officials from the Chinese Communist Party’s International Department. The lawmakers–Gaku Hashimoto of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, Shinichi Isa of the

(Adnkronos) – The New Zealand government will introduce a law banning social media use for children under 16, joining several countries that have taken the same path. New Zealand has been considering a social media ban for over a year, after neighboring

Tokyo, Aug. 24 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s transport ministry plans to require both Japan-made and imported vehicles to be equipped with a system to detect when drivers are distracted or fall asleep behind the wheel, ministry officials said Monday. The ministry plans to revise

Tokyo, Aug. 24 (Jiji Press)–Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi emphasized the importance of the International Criminal Court, in a video message to a meeting of Asian and African officials in Tokyo on Monday. Motegi did not mention the sanctions imposed last week

Tokyo, Aug. 24 (Jiji Press)–Japanese Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama said Monday that Tokyo will make an additional contribution of 10 million dollars to a new aid framework to help countries in Central and South America and the Caribbean strengthen critical minerals development

Tokyo, Aug. 24 (Jiji Press)–Some Japanese clinics have been advertising private “sleep beauty” treatments on social media and prescribing potentially addictive psychotropic drugs and other medications. Experts are criticizing this practice, raising concerns that prescription drugs are being used inappropriately. There is

Tokyo, Aug. 24 (Jiji Press)–Former Japanese House of Representatives Speaker Tamisuke Watanuki died of old age at a Tokyo medical institution on Tuesday last week. He was 99. Born in the central prefecture of Toyama, Watanuki was elected to the Diet, Japan’s

Fukuoka, Aug. 24 (Jiji Press)–Fukuoka Mayor Soichiro Takashima has said that he would not seek a fifth term in the Nov. 15 election. “I want to pass the baton to the next generation,” Takashima, 51, who is serving his fourth term as

Edmonton, Canada, Aug. 23 (Jiji Press)–Japanese golfer Miyu Yamashita won the CPKC Women’s Open wire to wire in Edmonton, Canada, on Sunday, finishing at 23-under-par in total for her second victory in the LPGA Tour this season. Yamashita secured her fourth career

Tokyo, Aug. 24 (Jiji Press)–Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan leader Shunichi Mizuoka is set to serve a fourth term as head of the House of Councillors caucus mainly comprising lawmakers of the opposition party. On Monday, the 40-member group in the upper

Fukuoka, Aug. 24 (Jiji Press)–Fukuoka prefectural assembly head Isao Kurauchi said in a statement Monday that he will resign as a member of the assembly of the southwestern Japan prefecture. His announcement came at a time when the prefectural assembly has been

Tokyo, Aug. 24 (Jiji Press)–Members of an expert panel of Japan’s Justice Ministry have broadly shared the view that certain regulations should be introduced for acts of soliciting prostitutes, currently not subject to punishment under the antiprostitution law. This was included in

Tokyo, Aug. 24 (Jiji Press)–Suzuki Motor Corp. unveiled online Monday a prototype of its first electric vehicle with a reference range of 310 kilometers, among the longest for electric minivehicles. The e Sky is expected to go on sale within the current

Tokyo, Aug. 24 (Jiji Press)–Japan is stepping up diplomatic efforts to ensure free and safe navigation in the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, both critical transport waterways for Middle East crude oil. Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi visited Saudi Arabia

Tokyo, Aug. 24 (Jiji Press)–Japanese local government leaders are stepping up calls for legislation to create “special cities,” a new status that would allow ordinance-designated major cities to operate independently of prefectural governments with expanded authority. These major cities say the proposed

Tokyo, Aug. 23 (Jiji Press)–The Japanese government has drawn up draft guidelines outlining 150 measures that should be taken to enhance cybersecurity for businesses managing critical infrastructure. The draft said that even closed networks disconnected from the internet “are not necessarily safe.”

Tokyo, Aug. 23 (Jiji Press)–Japanese photojournalist Bunyo Ishikawa died of malignant lymphoma at a hospital in Chino, Nagano Prefecture, central Japan, on Sunday. He was 88. Ishikawa, a native of Naha, Okinawa Prefecture, accompanied U.S. forces as a freelance photographer and captured

Tokyo, Aug. 23 (Jiji Press)–Over 53,000 workers at Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc.’s meltdown-stricken Fukushima No. 1 power plant have received radiation doses exceeding a key level of 5 millisieverts per year, Jiji Press has learned. The level of 5 millisieverts

Tokyo, Aug. 23 (Jiji Press)–A memorial gathering was held in Tokyo on Sunday for those who died in detention in Siberia and elsewhere after being captured by the former Soviet Union following World War II. About 200 people, including former detainees and

Tokyo, Aug. 23 (Jiji Press)–The Japanese government has drawn up draft guidelines outlining 150 measures that should be taken to enhance cybersecurity for businesses managing critical infrastructure. The draft said that even closed networks disconnected from the internet “are not necessarily safe.”

Nikko, Tochigi Pref., Aug. 23 (Jiji Press)–Japanese police Sunday searched a group company of Tobu Railway Co. over Thursday’s train accident in Tochigi Prefecture that resulted in the deaths of four workers. The Tochigi prefectural police searched the general affairs department office

Tokyo, Aug. 23 (Jiji Press)–A major earthquake occurred in Ibaraki Prefecture early Sunday morning, rocking eastern Japan areas including Tokyo and leaving at least 37 injured. The quake with an estimated magnitude of 5.9 occurred in southern Ibaraki at a depth of

(The final paragraph should have read, “…the Saitama city of Kawaguchi…,” instead of as sent. A substitute story follows.) Quake Rocks Tokyo, Nearby Areas Tokyo, Aug. 23 (Jiji Press)–A major earthquake occurred in Ibaraki Prefecture early Sunday morning, rocking eastern Japan areas

Misato, Kumamoto Pref., Aug. 23 (Jiji Press)–A local painter is supporting reconstruction efforts in Kumamoto Prefecture, southwestern Japan, hit by a powerful earthquake last month, through collaborative works with the popular manga series “Kinnikuman.” Kazuyuki Takishita, 50, was born in an area

Tokyo, Aug. 23 (Jiji Press)–Japanese skating duo Riku Miura, 24, and Ryuichi Kihara, 34, who won gold in the figure skating pairs event at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics, announced their engagement on social media Sunday. The pair, nicknamed “Riku-Ryu,” released a

Tokyo, Aug. 23 (Jiji Press)–A major earthquake occurred in Ibaraki Prefecture early Sunday morning, rocking eastern Japan areas including Tokyo. The quake with an estimated magnitude of 5.9 occurred in southern Ibaraki at a depth of some 70 kilometers around 2 a.m.,