Tokyo, Dec. 19 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s ruling parties agreed Friday to seek to reduce the country’s medical costs by 188 billion yen per year, by revising the eligibility of certain drugs for insurance coverage. The agreement was struck between the policy chiefs of

Tokyo, Dec. 19 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party is considering adding Japanese language proficiency as a requirement for permanent residency for foreigners, sources familiar with the matter said Friday. To obtain the status, foreigners will also be mandated to take a

Tokyo, Dec. 19 (Jiji Press)–Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. said Friday that it plans to invest some 396.2 billion Indian rupees, or about 682.3 billion yen, in major Indian nonbanking financial company Shriram Finance Ltd. The Japanese megabank group will acquire, through

Tokyo, Dec. 19 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s Emperor Naruhito held separate meetings with the visiting presidents of four Central Asian countries–Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan and Tajikistan–at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo on Friday. The Emperor and Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev talked about, among other things,

Tokyo, Dec. 19 (Jiji Press)–Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Friday instructed relevant government agencies to work to hold a summit on artificial intelligence in Japan as early as possible. The envisaged summit would bring together government officials and researchers from countries

Tokyo, Dec. 19 (Jiji Press)–Japanese opposition parties on Friday urged Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi to dismiss a senior government official who has said that the country should possess nuclear weapons. The government has emphasized that it remains committed to the three nonnuclear

Tokyo, Dec. 19 (Jiji Press)–The Fair Trade Commission on Friday recognized bid-rigging by Central Japan Railway Co., or JR Tokai, and five other firms regarding inspection work for bridges installed over railroad tracks in violation of the antimonopoly law, ordering them to

Naha, Okinawa Pref., Dec. 19 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s Defense Ministry resumed ground improvement work in Oura Bay in Nago, Okinawa Prefecture, on Friday for the construction of a replacement facility for the U.S. Marine Corps’ Futenma air base also in the southernmost prefecture,

Tokyo, Dec. 19 (Jiji Press)–Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi and his New Zealand counterpart, Judith Collins, on Friday agreed to boost bilateral cooperation in the security field amid China’s increasingly hegemonic moves in the Indo-Pacific region. Also on Friday, the Japanese and

(Adnkronos) – Protests, blocked streets in Dhaka this morning after last night’s attacks and vandalism in various areas of Bangladesh, where tension remains high after the news of the death of Sharif Osman Hadi, one of the faces of the 2024 student

Tokyo, Dec. 19 (Jiji Press)–Japan will raise the main portion of government-set medical service fees, which mainly covers labor costs for medical workers, by 3.09 pct in fiscal 2026, it was learned Friday. The hike is significantly larger than the 0.88 pct

Fukuoka, Dec. 19 (Jiji Press)–A man arrested on suspicion of attempted murder in a stabbing incident near the Mizuho PayPay Dome Fukuoka in the southwestern Japan city of Fukuoka told investigators he was targeting members of the idol group HKT48, investigative sources

Tokyo, Dec. 19 (Jiji Press)–Japan should play a key part in re-establishing order in the global trading system disrupted by U.S.-China tensions and U.S. President Donald Trump’s protectionist policies, John Denton, secretary-general of the International Chamber of Commerce, said Friday. Japan “plays

Tokyo, Dec. 19 (Jiji Press)–The ruling bloc of the Liberal Democratic Party and the Japan Innovation Party (Nippon Ishin no Kai) adopted on Friday a tax system reform package for fiscal 2026, including a rise in the taxable income threshold to 1.78

(Adnkronos) – Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese today announced a broad firearm buyback program following the attack on Bondi Beach in Sydney. Referring to the six weapons legally held by Sajid Akram – the attacker who died during the attack – Anthony

Tokyo, Dec. 19 (Jiji Press)–The Japanese government will launch a framework of strategic partnership with the Mercosur trade bloc as early as Saturday to discuss stronger economic ties, it was learned Friday. The government will work to hold the first meeting under

Tokyo, Dec. 19 (Jiji Press)–The Fair Trade Commission on Friday recognized bid-rigging by Central Japan Railway Co., or JR Tokai, and five other firms regarding inspection work for bridges installed over railroad tracks in violation of the antimonopoly law, ordering them to

Tokyo, Dec. 19 (Jiji Press)–The U.S. military has rejected Okinawa’s requests to conduct on-site inspections at U.S. bases in the southernmost Japan prefecture, after per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, were detected around the facilities, the Japanese Defense Ministry said Friday. The

Tokyo, Dec. 19 (Jiji Press)–The benchmark 10-year Japanese government bond yield, the country’s key long-term interest rate, hit a 26-year high in Tokyo trading Friday in a bond sell-off after the Bank of Japan’s decision to raise interest rates. The yield on

Tokyo, Dec. 19 (Jiji Press)–The Japanese government kept its basic view on the domestic economy unchanged for a fourth consecutive month on Friday. “The Japanese economy is recovering at a moderate pace, while the effects caused from the U.S. trade policies are

Tokyo, Dec. 19 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s Sony Group Corp. said Friday it will make Peanuts Holdings LLC, the U.S. company holding the copyright for the popular comic strip “Peanuts,” known for its beloved character, Snoopy, a consolidated subsidiary. The Japanese entertainment giant will

Tokyo, Dec. 19 (Jiji Press)–In a worst-case situation, up to around 18,000 people would be killed chiefly in Tokyo and its three neighboring prefectures if a powerful inland earthquake with a magnitude of around 7 occurs in the heart of the capital,

Tokyo, Dec. 19 (Jiji Press)–Japanese real interest rates are “very low” even after the Bank of Japan’s decision to implement its first interest rate hike since January, BOJ Governor Kazuo Ueda said Friday. At a press conference following the BOJ’s policy-setting meeting

Tokyo, Dec. 19 (Jiji Press)–Buichiro Kuroda, vice grand steward of Japan’s Imperial Household Agency, will be promoted to grand steward, effective on Wednesday, the government said Friday. Kuroda, 65, will replace Yasuhiko Nishimura, 70, who will step down after six years in

Tokyo, Dec. 19 (Jiji Press)–Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. President Eisaku Ito has expressed the company’s readiness to support the revival of Japan’s shipbuilding industry by taking the leadership in ship designing and development with its technological prowess. “We can contribute with our

Tokyo, Dec. 19 (Jiji Press)–The Bank of Japan on Friday decided to raise its policy interest rate to a level unseen in 30 years, in its first rate hike since January this year. At a two-day meeting from Thursday, the BOJ’s nine-member

Tokyo, Dec. 19 (Jiji Press)–The Institute of Science Tokyo is expected to be the second university eligible to receive aid from a Japanese government-financed 10-trillion-yen fund to support universities, according to a report by a government panel released Friday. In the report,

Tokyo, Dec. 19 (Jiji Press)–Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi and his New Zealand counterpart, Judith Collins, on Friday agreed to boost bilateral cooperation in the security field amid China’s increasingly hegemonic moves in the Indo-Pacific region. Also on Friday, the Japanese and

Tokyo, Dec. 19 (Jiji Press)–The benchmark 10-year Japanese government bond yield, the country’s key long-term interest rate, hit a 26-year high in Tokyo trading Friday in a bond sell-off after the Bank of Japan’s decision to raise interest rates. The yield on

Tokyo, Dec. 19 (Jiji Press)–Japan remains committed to the three non-nuclear principles of not possessing nuclear weapons, not producing them and not permitting their entry into the country, Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said Friday. “The government is firmly maintaining the three