Japanese police on Wednesday searched four sites allegedly used as bases for goods shoplifted by a group of Vietnamese thieves.Von 時事通信社

Sumitomo Corp. is considering investing in an intermediate holding company that controls supermarket chain Ito-Yokado Co., people familiar with the matter said Wednesday.Von 時事通信社

Japanese police on Wednesday served a fresh arrest warrant to a 45-year-old suspect in the 2006 case of attempted murder of a girl in Tatsuno, Hyogo Prefecture, western Japan, for allegedly stabbing another girl to death in Kakogawa in the same prefecture in 2007.Von 時事通信社

The head of a public prosecutors' office in Shizuoka Prefecture, central Japan, on Wednesday apologized directly to Iwao Hakamata, who was recently acquitted in a retrial decades after he was convicted over the 1966 murder of four people.Von 時事通信社

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's plan to raise tariffs on products from Mexico, China and other countries is feared to affect Japanese firms with plants in those countries.Von 時事通信社

More than two years have passed since Japan previously conducted an execution, as calls for the abolition of capital punishment in the country grow again, following the acquittal of former death row inmate Iwao Hakamata in a retrial.Von 時事通信社

The foreign ministers of the Group of Seven major democracies Tuesday criticized Russia and North Korea for expanding their military cooperation, including Pyongyang's dispatch of its troops to Russia over its war against Ukraine.Von 時事通信社

A major earthquake rocked the Noto Peninsula in Ishikawa Prefecture, central Japan, on Tuesday night.Von 時事通信社

Many House of Councillors lawmakers embroiled in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's slush funds scandal have shown their intent to face a parliamentary ethics panel, it was learned Tuesday.Von 時事通信社

Japan's Defense Ministry presented a plan Tuesday to abolish the current system of Self-Defense Forces personnel candidates and create a new recruitment system with a higher salary level, in order to secure enough fixed-term SDF personnel.Von 時事通信社

Kyushu Railway Co., or JR Kyushu, said Tuesday that it will cut President Yoji Furumiya's pay by 30pctfor two months over a scandal in which a subsidiary covered up a water leak incident on a high-speed ferry.Von 時事通信社

Japanese ruling and opposition parties broadly agreed on a plan Tuesday to abolish so-called policy activity funds provided by political parties to member lawmakers, amid criticisms over the lack of transparency regarding their use.Von 時事通信社

Many Japanese municipalities that could be heavily damaged by a possible Nankai Trough megaquake lack enough knowledge of the government's advisory system to warn that such a disaster may strike soon, a government survey showed Tuesday.Von 時事通信社

Japan has launched a government-led panel to commercialize carbon capture and storage, or CCS, projects by 2030, including by creating a common standard for ships carrying liquefied carbon dioxide and developing tanks to store liquefied CO2.Von 時事通信社

Japan's top government spokesperson, at a press conference on Tuesday, called it "extremely regrettable" that Kyodo News erroneously reported that Akiko Ikuina, parliamentary vice foreign minister, had visited Tokyo's Yasukuni Shrine.Von 時事通信社

Japanese trading house Itochu Corp. said Tuesday it has started selling Google LLC-certified used Pixel smartphones in Japan through a subsidiary.Von 時事通信社

A Japanese government task force on Tuesday compiled a report seeking the strengthening of support for disaster-affected people, including through the introduction of cardboard beds and cooking facilities at evacuation shelters.Von 時事通信社

Yuichiro Tamaki, head of the opposition Democratic Party for the People, clarified Tuesday his stance against tax increases to boost Japan's defense spending.Von 時事通信社

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said Tuesday that his government will draw up measures by next spring to help raise the country's minimum wages.Von 時事通信社

Nissan Motor Co. plans to reduce its vehicle production in the United States by 17pctuntil the end of March 2025, people familiar with the matter said Tuesday.Von 時事通信社

A fire broke out during a ground combustion test for the second-stage engine of a Japanese Epsilon S solid-fuel rocket at Tanegashima Space Center in the southwestern prefecture of Kagoshima on Tuesday morning.Von 時事通信社

The main funeral ceremony for Japanese Princess Yuriko, great-aunt of Emperor Naruhito, was held at the Toshimagaoka cemetery in Tokyo's Bunkyo Ward on Tuesday after she died of natural causes on Nov. 15 at the age of 101.Von 時事通信社

Japan and Italy signed an agreement on Monday to allow the Japanese Self-Defense Forces and Italian forces to provide each other with fuel and ammunition.Von 時事通信社

Japan's industry ministry is considering promoting the use of perovskite solar cells to cover 20 gigawatts of electricity, the equivalent of 20 nuclear reactors, in 2040, officials said.Von 時事通信社

Japan's labor ministry will enhance measures against companies that make workers use their own money and buy products they sell to reach their sales quotas, it was learned Monday.Von 時事通信社

Japanese ruling and opposition parties will consider utilizing and restricting the use of social media in elections after witnessing its significant impact on voters' behavior in recent races.Von 時事通信社

Japan aims to prepare legislation that would enable it to tax domestic corporations with overseas operations until their effective corporate tax rates reach the internationally agreed minimum rate of 15 pct, sources said Monday.Von 時事通信社

The Japanese government is considering setting a target of reducing its greenhouse gas emissions in fiscal 2035 by 60pctfrom the 2013 level, officials said Monday.Von 時事通信社

Japanese travel agency H.I.S. Co. said Monday that subsidiary Number One Travel Shibuya Co. is likely to have fraudulently received government subsidies to help companies maintain employment during the COVID-19 pandemic.Von 時事通信社

Japanese prefectural governors asked the central government Monday to have consideration for regional finances in discussions between ruling and opposition parties over raising the minimum annual taxable income and lowering the gasoline tax.Von 時事通信社

Hyogo Governor Motohiko Saito on Monday denied paying a company to run his social media campaign in the Nov. 17 gubernatorial election in the western Japan prefecture.Von 時事通信社

Japan's four major life insurers have posted higher core business profits in April-September, thanks chiefly to higher investment gains reflecting the weak yen.Von 時事通信社

Japan's welfare ministry on Monday presented a proposal to boost future basic public pensions by around 30 pct.Von 時事通信社

The average daily vegetable intake of adults in Japan stood at 256 grams in 2023, hitting the lowest level on record that can date back to 2001, a health ministry survey showed Monday.Von 時事通信社

Japan's Crown Prince Akishino said Monday that he hopes his son, Prince Hisahito, will have the opportunity to study abroad in the future.Von 時事通信社

The prefectural government of Yamanashi, west of Tokyo, plans to raise the entry fee for Mount Fuji climbers from the current 2,000 yen to between 3,000 yen and 5,000 yen, informed sources said Monday.Von 時事通信社

A Japanese high court Monday upheld a lower court ruling sentencing doctor Yoshikazu Okubo to 18 years in prison for murdering an amyotrophic lateral sclerosis patient at the request of the victim in 2019.Von 時事通信社

The 93-year-old inmate over a car crash in which a mother and her young daughter were killed in Tokyo's busy Ikebukuro district in April 2019 has died of old age, it was learned Monday.Von 時事通信社

Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi on Monday denied that Parliamentary Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs Akiko Ikuina visited Tokyo's Yasukuni Shrine after becoming a lawmaker.Von 時事通信社

Former Japanese lawmaker Masatoshi Akimoto on Monday pleaded not guilty to charges of taking bribes from an offshore wind power company over a project in the northeastern prefecture of Aomori.Von 時事通信社

The South Korean government held on Monday morning its own ceremony to remember workers at the now-defunct gold mines on Sado Island in the central Japan prefecture of Niigata, which have been put on the UNESCO World Heritage list.Von 時事通信社

Governments across the world began talks in Busan, South Korea, on Monday on a proposed treaty to regulate pollution from plastic products.Von 時事通信社

Japanese supermarket chain Ito-Yokado Co. on Sunday closed its store in Kasukabe, Saitama Prefecture, that is known as the model for the "Sato-Kokonokado" store that appears in the popular anime series "Crayon Shin-chan."Von 時事通信社

The town of Kibichuo in Okayama Prefecture, western Japan, on Monday started blood tests for residents after PFAS, potentially carcinogenic chemicals, was detected at a local water purification plant.Von 時事通信社

Ichiro Hirosawa, former deputy mayor of Nagoya, the capital of Aichi Prefecture, is certain to win Sunday's mayoral election in the central Japan city, defeating his six contenders, including former House of Councillors lawmaker Kohei Otsuka.Von 時事通信社

Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya is coordinating a visit to China within this year at the earliest to meet with his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, Japanese government sources said Sunday.Von 時事通信社

A ceremony was held for the first time on Sunday to remember all those who worked at the now-defunct gold mines on Sado Island in the central Japan prefecture of Niigata, including those from the Korean Peninsula.Von 時事通信社

Tohoku Electric Power Co. shut down the recently restarted No. 2 reactor at its Onagawa nuclear power plant in northeastern Japan on Sunday, as scheduled for equipment checks.Von 時事通信社

Countries participating in the COP29 climate conference have agreed on a funding target for efforts to combat climate change in developing countries, after negotiations were extended by two days.Von 時事通信社

Former Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has launched a new group within the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, apparently hoping to maintain his influence as current Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba leads a minority government.Von 時事通信社