Tokyo, Nov. 10 (Jiji Press)–Public hospitals operated by local governments across Japan are facing increasingly severe financial pressure. Fiscal 2024 results compiled by the internal affairs ministry show a record combined ordinary loss of 395.2 billion yen, squeezed by higher personnel costs

Takarazuka, Hyogo Pref., Nov. 10 (Jiji Press)–West Japan Railway Co., or JR West, has said a facility to preserve its train that crashed in 2005 and killed more than 100 passengers will be completed in mid-December. The company informed bereaved relatives and

Hiroshima, Nov. 9 (Jiji Press)–Mika Yokota, a former deputy governor of Hiroshima Prefecture, won Sunday’s gubernatorial election, becoming the first female governor of the western Japan prefecture. Yokota, 54, ran in the election as an independent candidate endorsed by the Liberal Democratic

Tokyo, Nov. 9 (Jiji Press)–Tsunami waves up to 20 centimeters high reached the Pacific coast of Iwate Prefecture in northeastern Japan on Sunday afternoon following an earthquake with an estimated magnitude of 6.9. The earthquake occurred at a depth of about 10

Shima/Minamiise, Mie Pref., Nov. 9 (Jiji Press)–Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako attended the 44th National Convention for the Development of an Abundantly Productive Sea in the city of Shima, Mie Prefecture, western Japan, on Sunday. In his speech, the Emperor reminisced about

Tokyo, Nov. 9 (Jiji Press)–The Japan Meteorological Agency issued a tsunami advisory for the Pacific coast of Iwate Prefecture in the Tohoku northeastern region following an earthquake with an estimated magnitude of 6.7 on Sunday afternoon. The earthquake occurred at a depth

Niigata, Nov. 9 (Jiji Press)–The Niigata prefectural government said Sunday that an outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza has been confirmed at a poultry farm in the city of Tainai. This is the fourth outbreak of avian influenza at a poultry farm

Kobe, Nov. 9 (Jiji Press)–Police in Hyogo Prefecture, western Japan, on Sunday arrested Takashi Tachibana, head of a political group that criticizes NHK, also known as Japan Broadcasting Corp., in a libel case in which the victim, a former Hyogo prefectural assembly

Tokyo, Nov. 9 (Jiji Press)–Shunichi Suzuki, secretary-general of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, said Sunday that it seems difficult to reach an agreement among all parties on a cut in the number of House of Representatives seats by the Dec. 17 end

Taipei/Bangkok, Nov. 9 (Jiji Press)–The mother of a Thai girl believed to have been forced into sex work at a massage parlor in Tokyo has been detained in Taiwan, it has been learned. According to Taiwan’s immigration authorities, the mother arrived in

Kobe, Nov. 9 (Jiji Press)–Police in Hyogo Prefecture, western Japan, on Sunday arrested Takashi Tachibana, head of a political group that criticizes NHK, also known as Japan Broadcasting Corp., in a libel case in which the victim, a former Hyogo prefectural assembly

Akita, Nov. 9 (Jiji Press)–Amid the unusually frequent occurrence of bear attacks on humans in Akita Prefecture, northeastern Japan, local officials and hunting association members tasked with responding to the crisis are showing signs of fatigue. Bears appear day and night, sometimes

Tokyo, Nov. 8 (Jiji Press)–Fumitake Fujita, co-leader of Nippon Ishin no Kai (Japan Innovation Party) in the ruling coalition, said Saturday that dissolving the House of Representatives for a snap election could be an option if the opposition camp blocks the policies

Tokyo, Nov. 8 (Jiji Press)–The Japan Tourism Agency is considering introducing a system in fiscal 2026 to partially subsidize the demolition of abandoned “ryokan” Japanese-style inns in “onsen” hot spring resorts and other locations. The demolition support system would be available to

Toba, Mie Pref., Nov. 8 (Jiji Press)–Japanese Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako arrived in Mie Prefecture, western Japan, on Saturday to attend the 44th National Convention for the Development of an Abundantly Productive Sea. After traveling by Shinkansen bullet train and local

Tokyo, Nov. 8 (Jiji Press)–Fuji Media Holdings Inc. has announced that Executive Managing Director Michiyo Yasuda resigned over her inappropriate expense claims. Yasuda has made inappropriate claims for expenses totaling about 1 million yen in some 60 cases since 2020, including falsifying

Tokyo, Nov. 8 (Jiji Press)–Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi plans to revise the public servant remuneration law to cut the salaries of cabinet members including herself during the ongoing extraordinary Diet session. The government will hold a meeting of related ministers as

New York, Nov. 7 (Jiji Press)–Japan and other countries said Friday that they will work to quadruple the use of sustainable fuels, such as biofuels and low-carbon hydrogen, by 2035. The countries released a joint declaration ahead of the 30th Conference of

Los Angeles, Nov. 7 (Jiji Press)–Japanese jazz composer Miho Hazama has been nominated for the 68th Grammy Award in the Best Instrumental Composition category for her piece, “Live Life This Day: Movement I,” according to the full list of nominations released on

Paris, Nov. 7 (Jiji Press)–Louis Schweitzer, former chairman of French auto giant Renault SA, who worked to forge its alliance with Japan’s Nissan Motor Co., has died at the age of 83, according to French media reports. Schweitzer was born in Geneva,

(Adnkronos) – Dozens of people are accused of “treason” in Tanzania in connection with their alleged participation in protests triggered by the general elections on October 29. This is according to judicial sources cited by the AFP agency, which states that more

(Adnkronos) – France urges its nationals to leave Mali. “For several weeks, the security situation in Mali, including Bamako, has been deteriorating,” reads the update published on the French Foreign Ministry’s website, with the recommendation “to French citizens to plan a temporary

(Adnkronos) – Dozens were injured in an explosion that occurred during Friday prayers in a mosque within a high school complex in Jakarta. Fifty-four people were transported to the hospital, said the head of the Indonesian capital’s police, Asep Edi Suheri, at

(Adnkronos) – Federal judge John McConnell has ordered the Trump administration to fully restore the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program food subsidies, the so-called ‘food stamps’, which help 42 million low-income Americans, starting today. “People have been doing without for too long, not

(Adnkronos) – The Senate is voting again today to end the shutdown, which has reached its 38th day, but Democrats do not seem willing to accept the offer from Republican leader John Thune, who has combined the stopgap, the bridge measure to

(Adnkronos) – The decision to remove the Ukrainian flag from the Parliament building, made by the new ‘speaker’, far-right exponent Tomio Okamura, has sparked considerable controversy in the Czech Republic. Founder of the Freedom and Direct Democracy (Spd) party, and critical of

(Adnkronos) – The United States refused to participate in the Universal Periodic Review of the United Nations Human Rights Council, becoming the second country – after Israel – to boycott the process of evaluating its performance. In Geneva, the seats of the

(Adnkronos) – Italy’s president Sergio Mattarella on Friday called for humanitarian aid for Gaza and the rebuilding of the war-shattered coastal enclave with international efforts involving Arab states and a two-state solution to the long-running conflict between Israel and the Palestinians.  “We

Tokyo, Nov. 7 (Jiji Press)–Vice foreign ministers of Japan and South Korea on Friday agreed that they will communicate repeatedly to develop their countries’ future-oriented relationship in a stable way, in line with last week’s summit meeting between Japanese Prime Minister Sanae

Tokyo, Nov. 7 (Jiji Press)–Honda Motor Co. on Friday lowered its full-year consolidated net profit forecast for the fiscal year ending in March 2026 to 300 billion yen from the previous projection of 420 billion yen. The impact of high tariff measures