Japan's parliament Wednesday enacted a bill aimed at bolstering measures to tackle the country's declining birthrate.Von 時事通信社

A Japanese court Wednesday turned down a request for a retrial for the 1992 murder of two girls in the southwestern prefecture of Fukuoka, for which a death row convict had been executed.Von 時事通信社

The number of applications for public welfare benefits in Japan rose 2.3pctfrom the previous year to 251,364 in fiscal 2023, which ended in March, marking the fourth straight annual increase, according to preliminary survey results released by the welfare ministry survey on Wednesday.Von 時事通信社

Japan's parliament Wednesday approved an international treaty to set up an intergovernmental organization managing the joint development of the next-generation fighter jet by Japan, Britain and Italy.Von 時事通信社

Law enforcement authorities of Paraguay have announced that two elderly Japanese men were found dead in their house in Pirapo, southern Paraguay.Von 時事通信社

A senior local official of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party has urged Prime Minister and LDP President Fumio Kishida to step down to change "the party's face" at a time when it is struggling amid low public support due to a high-profile slush fund scandal.Von 時事通信社

Japan logged a marked slowdown in inflation-adjusted wage declines in April following pay hikes agreed in this year's "shunto" spring wage negotiations, labor ministry data showed Wednesday.Von 時事通信社

Ippei Mizuhara, a former interpreter for Major League Baseball star Shohei Ohtani, pleaded guilty to bank and tax fraud in a federal court in Santa Ana, California, on Tuesday.Von 時事通信社

Efforts are underway in Japan to develop artificial intelligence-based tools that will help detect dementia at an early stage, including one that analyzes how people walk.Von 時事通信社

Japan expressed concerns to China over video footage of vandalism to Tokyo's Yasukuni Shrine circulating on Chinese social media, Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa said at a press conference Tuesday.Von 時事通信社

A group of Japanese companies said Tuesday that it will launch a campaign to help address congestion in tourist destinations in the Kyushu and Okinawa southwestern region.Von 時事通信社

The mother of a 30-year-old woman charged with killing and beheading a man in Sapporo last July denied Tuesday that she provided assistance to the daughter.Von 時事通信社

The Japanese government said Tuesday that it will develop a comprehensive strategy as early as spring 2025 to help the country play a greater role in making international intellectual property rules.Von 時事通信社

The Japanese government on Tuesday designated four areas as special zones to promote new entry and expansion of domestic and foreign financial and asset management businesses and attract inflows of foreign investment to the country.Von 時事通信社

Hitachi Ltd. said Tuesday that it has signed an agreement with Microsoft Corp. to collaborate in expanding the use of generative artificial intelligence to improve business productivity and efficiency.Von 時事通信社

Private-sector members of Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's key economic policy panel Tuesday urged the government to draw up a new fiscal reform program through fiscal 2030, when the country's population is projected to start declining in full swing.Von 時事通信社

Japanese police have arrested a 17-year-old boy for allegedly stealing IDs and passwords of people attempting to buy his fictitious online game account by guiding them to a fraudulent website.Von 時事通信社

Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc. said Tuesday that it has completed as planned the second round of the fiscal 2024 release of treated water from its crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant into the ocean.Von 時事通信社

The Japan Fair Trade Commission on Tuesday conducted an on-site inspection of medical equipment maker Sysmex Corp. in the western Japan city of Kobe on suspicion of illegal tie-in sales of hemostasis analyzers and test reagents.Von 時事通信社

The Japanese government Tuesday adopted a plan for Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako to make an official visit to Britain from June 22 to 29.Von 時事通信社

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Tuesday he is "now focusing on issues that cannot be put off, such as political reforms," in response to a media report that he does not plan to dissolve the House of Representatives during the current regular Diet session for a general election.Von 時事通信社

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Monday that his country is considering upgrading the rank of the commander of U.S. forces in Japan.Von 時事通信社

The Japanese government said in an annual report on Tuesday that it aims to halve the amount of cedar pollen in the country in 30 years by reducing the area of artificial cedar forests by about 20pctover the next 10 years.Von 時事通信社

A Japanese government white paper Tuesday warned that fuel prices may rise further given the unstable international situations, putting an obstacle to stable energy supplies to Japan.Von 時事通信社

Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party canceled a plan to pass its bill to revise the political funds control law through the House of Representatives on Tuesday.Von 時事通信社

The publisher of manga series "Sexy Tanaka-san" has criticized Nippon Television Network Corp. for its alleged "insincere" attitude over the television drama adaptation of the manga.Von 時事通信社

Japan's transport ministry on Tuesday conducted an on-site inspection of Toyota Motor Corp.'s headquarters in the city of Toyota, Aichi Prefecture, central Japan, over vehicle test fraud.Von 時事通信社

Charles Oppenheimer, a grandson of U.S. scientist Robert Oppenheimer, dubbed the "father of the atomic bomb," has called for peaceful use of nuclear energy at a news conference in Tokyo.Von 時事通信社

Princess Yuriko, the oldest living member of the Japanese Imperial Family, turned 101 on Tuesday.Von 時事通信社

Japan's Fisheries Agency has announced an agreement it reached with Russia on Japanese fishing quotas for salmon and trout in Russia's 200-nautical-mile zone for this year after a two-year break.Von 時事通信社

Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party aims to get its bill to revise the political funds control law through the House of Representatives, the lower chamber of parliament, on Tuesday, people familiar with the matter said Monday.Von 時事通信社

NTT Docomo Inc. said Monday that it aims to start a network service using a technology that sends radio waves from unmanned aircraft flying in the stratosphere in 2026.Von 時事通信社

Almost 45pctof Japanese nationals living abroad feel lonely, a Foreign Ministry survey showed Monday.Von 時事通信社

Japan and the European Union on Monday agreed to strengthen cooperation to expand the use of hydrogen, which is considered a promising next-generation energy source.Von 時事通信社

A Japanese-German exchange project focusing on design has begun in Dusseldorf, which hosts the largest Japanese community in Germany.Von 時事通信社

Japanese electronics maker Sharp Corp. said Monday it has agreed to start talks to construct an artificial intelligence data center with telecommunications carrier KDDI Corp. and two other companies.Von 時事通信社

A Chinese man suspected of spraying graffiti on a pillar of Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo has left Japan for his home country, Japanese police said Monday.Von 時事通信社

Japanese Empress Emerita Michiko, 89, has tested positive for COVID-19, the Imperial Household Agency said Monday.Von 時事通信社

South Korea will fully suspend the military agreement it concluded with North Korea in 2018 until trust between the two sides is restored, the South Korean presidential office said Monday.Von 時事通信社

Technical and financial problems have been identified in the year since Japan's first transportation service using so-called Level 4 autonomous driving began in the town of Eiheiji, Fukui Prefecture.Von 時事通信社

The Japan Sport Council said Monday it has selected a consortium headed by mobile phone carrier NTT Docomo Inc. as a preferred bidder for the proposed private sector-led operation of the Japan National Stadium.Von 時事通信社

A bill to revise the political funds control law submitted by Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party will likely pass the House of Representatives on Tuesday.Von 時事通信社

Luxembourg's Crown Prince Guillaume, along with an economic mission he leads, will visit Japan from June 10 to 13, the Japanese government said Monday.Von 時事通信社

Major retailer Aeon Co. on Monday launched a sale in time with the Japanese government's fixed-amount tax cuts of 40,000 yen per person that started this month.Von 時事通信社

Nippon Steel Corp.'s planned buyout of United States Steel Corp. will not affect U.S. national security, Takahiro Mori, vice chairman of the Japanese company, said in a recent interview.Von 時事通信社

Yuka Saso became the first Japanese golfer to clinch two major championship titles when she sealed her victory in the 2024 U.S. Women's Open in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, on Sunday.Von 時事通信社

An earthquake with an estimated magnitude of 5.9 hit the Noto Peninsula in Ishikawa Prefecture, central Japan, on early Monday morning.Von 時事通信社

The Japanese, U.S. and South Korean defense ministers agreed at a meeting in Singapore on Sunday to conduct the three countries' new Freedom Edge defense exercise for the first time this summer.Von 時事通信社

The total number of visitors to the Iwate Tsunami Memorial Museum in northeastern Japan, which is designed to share lessons learned from the March 2011 massive earthquake and tsunami, reached one million on Sunday.Von 時事通信社

Japanese Defense Minister Minoru Kihara and U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin had talks in Singapore on Sunday and reaffirmed the two countries' plan to strengthen command and control coordination to enhance the joint operational capability of Japan's Self-Defense Forces and the U.S. military.Von 時事通信社