JIJI English News-時事通信英語ニュース-

Mitsubishi Electric Corp. on Wednesday held a ceremony marking the completion of a new facility for producing power semiconductors at a plant in the city of Kikuchi, Kumamoto Prefecture, southwestern Japan.

All Nippon Airways plans to raise its retirement age for employees to 65, effective from April 2027, it was learned Wednesday.

A Japanese government panel on Wednesday reviewed countermeasures for inflation that were included in the government's fiscal 2024 supplementary budget and fiscal 2025 budget.

Prolonged inflation in Japan is having a serious impact on many animal shelters, prompting them to seek support from online fans amid declining donations including food and higher costs for essential goods and medical care.

Japanese agriculture minister Shinjiro Koizumi remains the frontrunner in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's leadership race, followed by former economic security minister Sanae Takaichi and Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi, a Jiji Press survey showed Wednesday.

Major household appliance retailer Nojima Corp. has been floated as a potential buyer in Nissan Motor Co.'s possible sale of the Yokohama F. Marinos professional soccer club, it was learned Wednesday.

While Wednesday marked the 20th anniversary of the privatization of four Japanese public expressway corporations, the realization of free expressways in the country is still 90 years away.

Japanese companies have been stepping up real estate development and investment in Britain, particularly in London, in recent years in an effort to expand profits overseas as they face a slowing market in Japan.

Takayuki Kobayashi, Japan's former economic security minister running in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's leadership race, emphasizes his party's need for a generational change and a shift away from factional politics.

Japanese agriculture minister Shinjiro Koizumi, a candidate in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's presidential election, on Wednesday demanded that the weekly magazine Shukan Bunshun correct a story reporting that his aide had kicked 826 rank-and-file members out of the party.

A Japanese research team has unraveled the Venus flytrap's detailed mechanism to detect insects using its touch sensor.

Japanese elementary school teacher Fumiya Kosemura pleaded guilty to charges of sharing child pornography via social media, in the first hearing on his case at Nagoya District Court on Wednesday.

Japanese police Wednesday launched special teams to reinforce their fight against "tokuryu" ad hoc crime groups made up of anonymous members.

Japanese Emperor Naruhito met with Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, who is visiting Japan for the 2025 World Exposition in the western city of Osaka, at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo.

Japanese airline ANA Holdings Inc. and U.S. startup Joby Aviation Inc. performed the first demonstration flight of their flying car for the press at the World Exposition in the western Japan city of Osaka on Tuesday.

A Chinese survey ship was spotted again within Japan's exclusive economic zone off the island of Amami Oshima in the southwestern prefecture of Kagoshima, according to the Japan Coast Guard.

Ryosuke Takashima, mayor of Ashiya, a city in Hyogo Prefecture, western Japan, is among Time's 100 most influential emerging people, according to the list released by the U.S. magazine on Tuesday.

Japanese pitcher Masahiro Tanaka has hit combined 200 career wins in the Nippon Professional Baseball Organization ()削除 and U.S. Major League Baseball, becoming the fourth Japanese professional baseball player to achieve this feat.

Japan's agriculture minister Shinjiro Koizumi, a candidate in the Liberal Democratic Party's upcoming leadership election, has said that expanding the ruling coalition, currently made up of the LDP and Komeito, is the "best option."

Next-generation E10 series Shinkansen bullet trains of East Japan Railway Co., or JR East, are expected to be delivered to India in 2029 for a planned high-speed rail link in the South Asian nation, an urban development official of the western Indian city of Mumbai said Tuesday.

Undeterred by major setbacks that recently befell the famed "Kishu ume," or plums grown in the western Japan prefecture of Wakayama, "umeboshi" pickled plum makers are working on developing new products using hail-damaged ume.

Sanae Takaichi and Shinjiro Koizumi are neck-and-neck in support among rank-and-file members of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party ahead of Saturday's party leadership election, a Jiji Press survey has found.

An elderly woman was stabbed at an apartment in Machida, Tokyo, on Tuesday evening and died shortly after being transported to hospital.

Japanese agriculture minister Shinjiro Koizumi, who is running for the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's leadership, on Tuesday called for restricting the number of foreign workers the country accepts.

Mizuho Securities Co. plans to reorganize and expand its workforce to strengthen sales efforts aimed at wealthy individuals and corporate clients, President Yoshiro Hamamoto has said.

Japanese power generation company Jera Co. said Tuesday that it has decommissioned five aging units at its thermal power plants in three prefectures.

Outgoing Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and South Korean President Lee Jae-myung met in Busan, South Korea, on Tuesday and agreed that their countries will continue "shuttle diplomacy," or reciprocal visits by leaders, to foster stable bilateral relations.

Former Japanese economic security minister Takayuki Kobayashi called for studying the launch of an external intelligence organization, at a two-day event from Tuesday co-hosted by Jiji Press.

Public hospitals across Japan ran a combined deficit of 395.2 billion yen in fiscal 2024, with 83.3pctoperating in the red, the internal affairs ministry said Tuesday.

Three major Japanese opposition parties on Tuesday found it difficult to cooperate in a parliamentary vote to select the country's new prime minister, following the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election scheduled for Saturday.

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on Tuesday visited the grave of Lee Soo-hyun, a South Korean student who died in 2001 while trying to rescue a Japanese man who had fallen onto the tracks of a Tokyo train station.

The Japanese government has decided to allow same-sex couples to be treated as being in de facto marriages under a total of nine more laws and ordinances, including the disaster condolence grant law, it was learned Tuesday.

Senior officials of Japan's ruling parties and the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan on Tuesday affirmed a plan to resume discussions on introducing a refundable tax credit program after the Liberal Democratic Party forms a new leadership team following its presidential election Saturday.

A project team of opposition force Nippon Ishin no Kai ()削除 on Tuesday drew up an outline of planned legislation to establish a secondary capital that can substitute for Tokyo.

The Japan Association of Corporate Executives, or Keizai Doyukai, said Tuesday that it has accepted the resignation of its chairman, Takeshi Niinami.

Several policymakers of the Bank of Japan at its Sept. 18-19 policy-setting meeting urged the central bank to consider implementing its first interest rate hike since January, according to a summary of opinions at the latest meeting released by the bank Tuesday.

The Japanese Imperial House Economy Council on Tuesday decided that Princess Akiko, 43, will become head of the Mikasa family, a position that had been held by her late grandmother, Princess Yuriko, who passed away in November 2024.

The Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office is expected to indict without arrest former lawmaker Akira Ishii for alleged fraud involving state-paid salaries of a secretary, sources said Tuesday.

Japan's industrial production in August fell 1.2pctfrom July, down for the second straight month, the industry ministry said in a preliminary report Tuesday.

A total of 3,024 food and beverage products from 195 major makers are set to undergo price hikes in Japan in October, Teikoku Databank Ltd. said Tuesday.

Daihatsu Motor Co. will cease production of the Copen mini convertible sports vehicle at the end of August 2026, due to reasons including a regulatory issue.

Eight major Japanese automakers' combined global production dipped 2.0pctin August from a year earlier to 1.81 million units, data from the companies have shown.

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on Wednesday will mark one year since assuming the post.

Kenichi Ino, the father of a Japanese woman who was murdered in 1999 after becoming a victim of stalking, is saddened by a recent stalking case that resulted in the death of a 20-year-old woman in Kanagawa Prefecture, south of Tokyo.

Japanese Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako have visited a school for people with visual impairment in Shiga Prefecture, western Japan.

Nissan Motor Co. is considering selling the Yokohama F. Marinos professional soccer club in the J1 top division of the Japan Professional Football League, or J.League, it was learned Monday.

The Japanese government Monday announced the resumption of economic sanctions against Iran after the United Nations reimposed sanctions on the country over its nuclear development.

The Liberal Democratic Party-led administration is considering convening an extraordinary Diet session on Oct. 14 or later to elect Japan's new prime minister, following the LDP's leadership election scheduled for Saturday, it was learned Monday.

Seiji Maehara, former co-leader of Nippon Ishin no Kai ()削除, suggested Monday that agriculture minister Shinjiro Koizumi should withdraw his candidacy for the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's leadership race after a campaign member was found to have asked supporters to post favorable comments about him online.

Japan's Justice Ministry on Monday presented a draft proposal to set numerical criteria for dangerous driving offenses, such as specific figures for speeding and drunk driving.

The cumulative number of general visitors to the World Exposition in the western Japan city of Osaka has topped 22 million, which is regarded as the break-even point, its organizers said Sunday.