Tokyo, Dec. 16 (Jiji Press)–Two people who were found dead after a fire at a sauna facility in the Akasaka district of Tokyo’s Minato Ward on Monday may have been trapped inside a sauna unit due to a broken door, investigative sources

Tokyo, Dec. 16 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s ruling parties have given up on enacting a bill to reduce the number of House of Representatives seats before the current extraordinary session of the Diet ends on Wednesday. On Tuesday, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, president of

Tokyo, Dec. 16 (Jiji Press)–Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. announced Tuesday that Junichi Hanzawa, currently president of MUFG Bank, will succeed Hironori Kamezawa as president of the group next spring. The appointment will take effect on April 1, marking the first leadership

Tokyo, Dec. 16 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s Foreign Ministry will set up by the end of March next year a new office tasked with mediating peace between third countries, it was learned Tuesday. The move comes in line with a coalition agreement between the

Tokyo, Dec. 16 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s ruling parties have given up on enacting a bill to reduce the number of House of Representatives seats by the end of the current extraordinary session of the Diet on Wednesday. On Tuesday, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi,

(Adnkronos) – Today in Brussels “we will close another 5 chapters for Montenegro. In total there are 12”, which means that Podgorica “is at the top of the ranking” among the candidate countries to join the EU. This was stated by the

(Adnkronos) – The M23 rebel group, supported by Rwanda, announced in recent hours that it will withdraw its forces from Uvira, in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo. But it also set conditions. Radio France Internationale reports this. On

(Adnkronos) – American military forces conducted three more raids against suspected drug trafficker vessels in international waters in the Eastern Pacific, killing eight people. The United States Southern Command reported on X that the targeted vessels were transporting drugs along known drug

Tokyo, Dec. 16 (Jiji Press)–The Japan Shogi Association announced Tuesday a review of its professional tournament rules for pregnant female players. The association will abolish its rule stipulating that if the date of a scheduled title match falls within a 14-week window

Tokyo, Dec. 16 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s government and ruling coalition plan to suspend the tax levied on automobiles in accordance with their fuel efficiency for two years from fiscal 2026, it was learned Tuesday. The government and the coalition of the ruling Liberal

Tokyo, Dec. 16 (Jiji Press)–The Japanese government is planning to dispatch civilian personnel by the end of this year at the earliest to the U.S.-led Civil-Military Coordination Center overseeing a ceasefire and humanitarian assistance in the Palestinian territory of Gaza. The government

Tokyo, Dec. 16 (Jiji Press)–The Japan Association of Corporate Executives, or Keizai Doyukai, decided Tuesday to appoint IBM Japan Ltd. General Manager and President Akio Yamaguchi as its new chairman. Yamaguchi, 61, will assume the post, which has been vacant since Takeshi

Tokyo, Dec. 16 (Jiji Press)–The Diet, Japan’s parliament, on Tuesday enacted the government’s 18.3-trillion-yen supplementary budget for fiscal 2025, which will finance the first comprehensive economic package under the leadership of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. General-account spending under the extra budget totals

Tokyo, Dec. 16 (Jiji Press)–Japanese startup Space One Co. will launch a Kairos small rocket carrying artificial satellites on Feb. 25 next year after two failed attempts. The Tokyo-based company aims to be Japan’s first to put a satellite into orbit using

Tokyo, Dec. 16 (Jiji Press)–Fuji Media Holdings Inc. said Monday that its top shareholder, Aya Nomura, has told the company that she aims to raise her stake in the parent of Fuji Television Network Inc. to up to 33.3 pct. Nomura, the

Tokyo, Dec. 16 (Jiji Press)–The Japanese government on Tuesday called on people to remain prepared for a possible major earthquake and tsunami although the Japan Meteorological Agency’s week-long advisory for a potential megaquake in northern and northeastern Japan expired at the end

Tokyo, Dec. 16 (Jiji Press)–The Diet, Japan’s parliament, on Tuesday enacted the government’s 18.3-trillion-yen supplementary budget for fiscal 2025, which will finance the first comprehensive economic package under the leadership of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. General-account spending under the extra budget totals

Tokyo, Dec. 16 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s Justice Ministry presented a draft plan to revise the retrial system at a meeting of a subgroup of the Legislative Council on Tuesday. The ministry included two options on each of the major topics where there are

Tokyo, Dec. 16 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s government and ruling coalition plan to suspend the tax levied on automobiles in accordance with their fuel efficiency for two years from fiscal 2026, it was learned Tuesday. The government and the coalition of the ruling Liberal

Tokyo, Dec. 16 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s ruling parties started discussions on Monday to ease the country’s restrictions on exports of defense equipment. The Liberal Democratic Party and the Japan Innovation Party, also known as Nippon Ishin no Kai, agreed to abolish existing rules

Tokyo, Dec. 16 (Jiji Press)–The Japan Association of Corporate Executives, or Keizai Doyukai, decided Tuesday to appoint IBM Japan Ltd. General Manager and President Akio Yamaguchi as its new chairman. Yamaguchi, 61, will assume the post, which has been vacant since Takeshi

Tokyo, Dec. 16 (Jiji Press)–Tokyo police arrested a 39-year-old man, his wife and his common-law wife Tuesday over allegedly secretly filming his sexual intercourse with another woman in her 20s and posting the footage on a video-sharing site. The man, Yohei Ono,

Tokyo, Dec. 16 (Jiji Press)–The current session of the Diet, Japan’s parliament, is expected to end on Wednesday as scheduled, as the ruling Liberal Democratic Party is now negative about an extension. The LDP thinks that even if the Diet session is

Tokyo, Dec. 16 (Jiji Press)–The number of cases of groundwater use apparently by foreign individuals or entities totaled 49 in one prefecture and 11 municipalities in Japan as of October, a government survey showed Tuesday. The total included two planned cases. The

Tokyo, Dec. 16 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s industry ministry plans to establish a system under which municipalities certify businesses in depopulated areas that provide essential services vital to daily life, such as medical and nursing care, and retail, it was learned Tuesday. With the

Tokyo, Dec. 16 (Jiji Press)–Japan will improve its weather advisory and warning system by creating a new category applied in the event of Level 4 emergencies for which municipalities issue evacuation orders, the government said Tuesday. The Japan Meteorological Agency and the

(The fifth paragraph should have read, “…were confirmed…,” instead of as sent. A substitute story follows.) China Largest Foreign Buyers of Land near Japan Security Areas Tokyo, Dec. 16 (Jiji Press)–Chinese individuals and entities accounted for the largest share of non-Japanese buyers

Tokyo, Dec. 16 (Jiji Press)–The Japanese government plans to require new owners to provide nationality information when registering real estate, Justice Minister Hiroshi Hiraguchi said Tuesday. The nationality information will be used to analyze foreign acquisitions of land and buildings in Japan.

Osaka, Dec. 16 (Jiji Press)–Four years after a deadly arson attack on a psychosomatic clinic in the western Japan city of Osaka, the sister of the clinic’s then 49-year-old director is helping rehabilitate inmates, as well as people suffering from drug addiction.

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