Tokyo, Feb. 5 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s restaurant industry is worried about major political parties’ pledges of a zero consumption tax rate on food products ahead of Sunday’s House of Representatives election. These parties include the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition partner,

Tokyo, Feb. 5 (Jiji Press)–Japanese political party leaders are visiting key constituencies in the campaigning for Sunday’s election for the House of Representatives, the lower chamber of the Diet, the country’s parliament. Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi gave a street speech in Kurashiki,

Tokyo, Feb. 5 (Jiji Press)–Tokyo High Court on Thursday upheld a lower court ruling ordering the Japanese government to hand over the remains of Chizuo Matsumoto, former leader of now-defunct religious cult Aum Shinrikyo, to his second daughter. The government cremated the

Tokyo, Feb. 5 (Jiji Press)–Japanese prosecutors Thursday sought a life sentence for Toshiya Fujita, a senior member of a crime ring behind a series of robbery and fraud cases across the country. The lay-judge trial for 41-year-old Fujita at Tokyo District Court,

Saitama, Feb. 5 (Jiji Press)–So-called care beauty, which involves providing older adults with makeup, hand care and light aesthetic treatments at nursing homes and other facilities, is spreading across Japan, aiming to improve seniors’ quality of life and encourage their social engagement.

Tokyo, Feb. 5 (Jiji Press)–PokePark Kanto, the first permanent theme park based on the popular Japanese video game series Pocket Monster, or Pokemon, opened inside the Yomiuriland amusement park straddling Tokyo and Kanagawa Prefecture on Thursday. The new facility comprises two areas–a

Tokyo, Feb. 5 (Jiji Press)–Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., the world’s largest chip foundry, said Thursday that it will start mass-production of cutting-edge semiconductors with a circuit line width of 3 nanometers at its second plant in the town of Kikuyo in Kumamoto

Tokyo, Feb. 5 (Jiji Press)–Japanese prosecutors Thursday sought a life sentence for Toshiya Fujita, a senior member of a crime ring behind a series of robbery and fraud cases across the country. The lay-judge trial for 41-year-old Fujita at Tokyo District Court,

Tokyo, Feb. 5 (Jiji Press)–Renesas Electronics Corp. said Thursday that it will sell its timing device business for 3 billion dollars to focus on its chipmaking operations. The Japanese company plans to sell the timing device business to SiTime Corp., a U.S.

New York, Feb. 4 (Jiji Press)–Yutaka Matsuo, professor of the University of Tokyo’s graduate school of engineering, is among the 40 experts who have been recommended by the United Nations’ head to sit on the new Independent International Scientific Panel on Artificial

Tokyo, Feb. 5 (Jiji Press)–Sony Group Corp. said on Thursday that it expects to post record sales and profits for the fiscal year ending next month thanks to strong performance of its music, game and semiconductor businesses. The Japanese company raised its

New York, Feb. 4 (Jiji Press)–University of Tokyo professor Yutaka Matsuo is among the 40 experts who have been recommended by the United Nations’ head to sit on the new Independent International Scientific Panel on Artificial Intelligence. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres announced

Tokyo, Feb. 5 (Jiji Press)–A total of 337 police officers and personnel were disciplined across Japan in 2025, according to a National Police Agency tally released Thursday. The figure grew by 98 from the previous year for its first rise in three

Tokyo, Feb. 5 (Jiji Press)–Japanese party Team Mirai has revoked its endorsement of Takeyoshi Yamamoto as an official candidate in the Kinki proportional representation bloc for Sunday’s House of Representatives election. At a press conference Wednesday, party leader Takahiro Anno explained that

Osaka, Feb. 5 (Jiji Press)–Former Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso, vice president of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, on Wednesday dismissed the party’s past electoral cooperation with its former coalition partner, Komeito, as “nonsense.” In a street speech in the western city

Washington, Feb. 4 (Jiji Press)–The United States said Wednesday that it will work with Japan and European countries to develop an action plan to secure the supply of critical minerals. The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump will seek to establish a

Hyuga, Miyazaki Pref., Feb. 5 (Jiji Press)–Former Japanese agriculture minister Taku Eto is facing an uphill battle to retain his House of Representatives seat in Sunday’s general election after resigning from the cabinet last year over insensitive remarks about rice amid a

London, Feb. 4 (Jiji Press)–The British foreign ministry said Wednesday that diplomat Corin Robertson has been appointed as the country’s next ambassador to Japan, succeeding Julia Longbottom. Robertson is scheduled to take up her new post in August. After joining the foreign

Yokohama, Feb. 5 (Jiji Press)–Kanagawa Governor Yuji Kuroiwa was hospitalized Tuesday and underwent surgery the following day for chronic subdural hematoma, the prefectural government has said. Kuroiwa, 71, is expected to remain hospitalized for about two weeks. The prefecture to the south

Tokyo, Feb. 5 (Jiji Press)–Team Mirai leader Takahiro Anno has said the small party prioritizes lowering social security premiums over cutting the consumption tax rate, in order to ease the burden on future generations. Regarding Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s decision to dissolve

Osaka, Feb. 4 (Jiji Press)–Panasonic Holdings Corp. said Wednesday that it has lowered its consolidated operating and net profit estimates for the year ending in March, due to rising restructuring costs. The Japanese company’s operating profit is now projected at 290 billion

Tokyo, Feb. 4 (Jiji Press)–A video message from Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, posted on YouTube by the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, has garnered over 100 million views as of Wednesday, a rarity for a political video. Some have questioned how much

Tokyo, Feb. 4 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s Fisheries Agency plans to increase the catch quota for Japanese common squid in the next fishing season, starting in April, by 3.6-fold from the previous season’s initial level to 68,400 tons, it was learned Wednesday. The increase

(Adnkronos) – Two Chinese investigative journalists, Liu Hu and Wu Yingjiao, have been detained by police after publishing an investigation that allegedly revealed corruption cases linked to an official in Sichuan province. Human rights organizations denounce this, stating that Liu was detained

(Adnkronos) – Lebanese President Joseph Aoun has denounced the spraying of “toxic substances” by Israeli planes on fields and orchards in several border villages in southern Lebanon, describing it as “a blatant violation of Lebanese sovereignty, as well as an environmental and

Tokyo, Feb. 4 (Jiji Press)–Five major Japanese banking groups saw their combined consolidated net profits in April-December 2025 rise 14.1 pct from a year before to 4,716.9 billion yen, according to their earnings reports released by Wednesday. The profit growth reflected interest

(Adnkronos) – “Congratulations on taking office as prime minister… you have managed to defeat some extraordinary men… My wife and daughters fully support you.” On October 26 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, whose country chairs ASEAN this year, greeted

Tokyo, Feb. 4 (Jiji Press)–The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, or JAXA, aims to launch the improved Epsilon S rocket in fiscal 2026, which starts in April, using an existing second-stage engine, officials said Wednesday. The agency submitted the plan to the day’s

Tokyo, Feb. 4 (Jiji Press)–Tokyo High Court will decide on March 4 whether to back a lower court’s order for the Unification Church to disband itself, informed sources said Wednesday. If the high court upholds the dissolution order, it will take effect

Tokyo, Feb. 4 (Jiji Press)–The Japan Federation of Basic Industry Workers’ Unions decided Wednesday to demand a monthly pay scale increase of 15,000 yen in this year’s “shunto” spring wage negotiations. The unified demand is at the same level as the previous