Tokyo, March 19 (Jiji Press)–The Bank of Japan decided to keep its monetary policy unchanged Thursday. At its two-day policy-setting meeting through the day, the BOJ’s Policy Board voted eight to one to maintain the policy of guiding the unsecured overnight call

Washington, March 18 (Jiji Press)–Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi arrived in the United States on Wednesday night, ahead of her meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump the following day. The prime minister flew to the U.S. Air Force’s Joint Base Andrews near

Tokyo, March 19 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 stock average gave up over 1,600 points briefly in Tokyo trading Thursday morning, following overnight falls in key U.S. stock indexes. At 10:13 a.m., the index of 225 selected issues listed on the Tokyo

By Nobutoshi Kobayashi Commentary Writer Tokyo, March 19 (Jiji Press)–Asked where she considers home, 32-year-old Juri Afuso paused for a moment. “Japan,” she said firmly. “That’s where I come back to.” Afuso was born and raised in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, to Brazilian

Tokyo, March 19 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s Foreign Ministry has raised its travel alert to the highest Level 4 for the whole of Iraq, urging Japanese nationals in the country to leave it immediately. The move reflects the deteriorating situation in Iraq, where pro-Iran

Tokyo, March 19 (Jiji Press)–Escalating tensions over Iran following U.S. and Israeli strikes on the country are beginning to affect foreigners’ travel to Japan. A number of flights have been canceled as airports in Middle East countries and airspace over the region

Washington, March 18 (Jiji Press)–Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s parliamentary remarks last year on a potential Taiwan contingency marked a “significant shift,” a U.S. government report said Wednesday. The 2026 annual threat assessment of the U.S. intelligence community, released by the Office

Tokyo, March 19 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 stock average gave up over 1,500 points in early trading in Tokyo on Thursday, following overnight falls in key U.S. stock indexes. At 9:06 a.m., the index of 225 selected issues listed on the

Berlin, March 18 (Jiji Press)–The German government said Wednesday that Defense Minister Boris Pistorius will visit Asia-Pacific countries including Japan, Singapore and Australia for nine days from Friday. The security of Europe and that of the Indo-Pacific region are closely interconnected, a

Cairo, March 19 (Jiji Press)–The Israeli Foreign Ministry has announced the appointment of foreign policy expert Emmanuel Navon, 55, as ambassador to Japan to succeed Gilad Cohen, 58. International order and geopolitics are the main research themes of Navon, who teaches international

(Adnkronos) – Regulating and limiting the use of artificial intelligence by the Pentagon. This is the objective of the bill introduced by Michigan Democratic Senator Elissa Slotkin, a member of the Armed Services Committee. This is reported by the Nbc broadcaster, emphasizing

(Adnkronos) – “Facing the worst-case scenario, Cuba is supported by one certainty: any internal aggressor will have to clash with an impregnable resistance.” This is the warning Miguel Diaz Canel addresses to Donald Trump, who continues to repeat that he can freely

(Adnkronos) – Most of the players of the women’s national football team have returned to Iran, after being at the center of a case in recent weeks after some of them had sought asylum in Australia. According to what an Afp agency

(Adnkronos) – The Oslo prosecutor’s office has requested a sentence of seven years and seven months in prison for Marius Borg Høiby, son of Norway’s Crown Princess Mette-Marit, who appears in hundreds of the so-called ‘Epstein files’, and of businessman Morten Borg,

(Adnkronos) – “I wonder if someone who applauds violence against political opponents is the right person to lead an agency that has trouble accepting limits on the proper use of force.” At the opening of the confirmation hearing for his appointment as

(Adnkronos) – The Nidwalden police confirmed in a press conference that one person died after a cable car crashed due to strong winds in Engelberg, in the canton of Obwalden in Switzerland. The victim was alone on board the cable car, so

(Adnkronos) – Donald Trump suspends the Jones Act for 60 days, the law that requires only American ships to transport cargo between ports in the country, in an attempt to stabilize the surge in oil prices caused by the war with Iran.

(Adnkronos) – Pakistan today announced a truce in the conflict with Afghanistan – the day after Kabul reported 400 deaths in a raid on a drug rehabilitation hospital – on the occasion of Eid al Fitr, the celebration for the end of

Tokyo, March 18 (Jiji Press)–Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Wednesday night departed for Washington to hold talks with U.S. President Donald Trump on her first visit to the United States since taking office in October last year. Ensuring the safety of

Naha, Okinawa Pref., March 18 (Jiji Press)–Four Chinese Coast Guard ships entered Japanese territorial waters off the Senkaku Islands in the southernmost prefecture of Okinawa on Wednesday. According to the Japan Coast Guard’s 11th regional headquarters in Naha, the capital of Okinawa,

Tokyo, March 18 (Jiji Press)–Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and her Singaporean counterpart, Lawrence Wong, agreed Wednesday to deepen their countries’ strategic cooperation in various fields, including the economy, national security and digitalization. During their meeting at the prime minister’s office in

Tokyo, March 18 (Jiji Press)–Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said Wednesday that the establishment of a ceasefire is a prerequisite for the dispatch of Self-Defense Forces troops to the Strait of Hormuz, a key oil transportation waterway that has been effectively blocked

Tokyo, March 18 (Jiji Press)–An international research team including Japan’s Yamashina Institute for Ornithology said Wednesday that it has discovered a new bird species in the Tokara Islands of Kagoshima Prefecture, southwestern Japan. The new bird, named the Tokara Leaf Warbler, or

Tokyo, March 18 (Jiji Press)–The average retail price of regular gasoline in Japan surged by 29 yen from a week earlier to a record high of 190.8 yen per liter as of Monday, the industry ministry said Wednesday. The pace of increase

Tokyo, March 18 (Jiji Press)–Many major Japanese companies fully accepted their unions’ pay hike demands Wednesday, when this year’s “shunto” spring labor-management negotiations reached a climax. Despite an uncertain business environment due partly to U.S. President Donald Trump’s high tariff policy and

Tokyo, March 18 (Jiji Press)–The second round of Japanese investments and loans for U.S. projects under the two countries’ tariff agreement is expected to total about 10 trillion yen, informed sources said Wednesday. With Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and U.S. President

Tokyo, March 18 (Jiji Press)–The Centrist Reform Alliance, the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan and Komeito agreed Wednesday to join the National Council for Social Security for suprapartisan talks on a proposed consumption tax reduction and a refundable tax credit system. The

Matsuyama, Ehime Pref., March 18 (Jiji Press)–Local residents living in the lower reaches of the Hiji River in the western Japan prefecture of Ehime lost a damages lawsuit against the central and local governments on Wednesday over emergency dam discharges during a

Tokyo, March 18 (Jiji Press)–The estimated number of Chinese visitors to Japan in February fell 45.2 pct from a year earlier to 396,400, marking a decline for the third consecutive month, the Japan National Tourism Organization said Wednesday. Meanwhile, the overall number

Tokyo, March 18 (Jiji Press)–The average unit price of new condominiums in Chiba Prefecture, east of Tokyo, came to 130.01 million yen in February, topping 100 million yen for the first time, a think tank report showed Wednesday. In Tokyo and the