Japan should aim to boost annual rice exports, including packaged rice and rice flour, to 353,000 tons in 2030, up eightfold from last year, a government panel has said.Von 時事通信社

Japan's Fair Trade Commission has warned confectionery maker Chateraise Co., alleging that the company refused to receive products from suppliers in violation of the subcontract law.Von 時事通信社

The U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Thursday approved by a majority vote a plan for nominee George Glass to become U.S. ambassador to Japan.Von 時事通信社

Japan and eight other economies agreed Thursday to reduce this year's catch quota for saury in the northern Pacific by 10pctto 202,500 tons.Von 時事通信社

The Japanese government published Thursday an evacuation plan for the roughly 120,000 people on remote southwestern islands, drawn up with a possible conflict over Taiwan in mind.Von 時事通信社

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba is planning to visit the Philippines and Vietnam during the holidays starting late next month, government officials said Thursday.Von 時事通信社

U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to impose 25pcttariffs on all automobile imports, starting next month, has shocked Japanese automakers as the United States is their key market.Von 時事通信社

Masahiro Shinoda, a film director known for his unique Japanese aesthetic style, died of pneumonia on Tuesday. He was 94.Von 時事通信社

A Japanese court on Thursday sentenced former lawmaker Megumi Hirose to 30 months in prison, suspended for five years, for defrauding the government of several million yen in salary for a secretary.Von 時事通信社

Japanese Emperor Naruhito bade farewell on Thursday to Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva at a hotel in Tokyo.Von 時事通信社

Fuji Media Holdings Inc., parent of scandal-embattled Fuji Television Network Inc., announced Thursday that Hisashi Hieda will step down as the two firms' executive managing adviser.Von 時事通信社

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba is unlikely to release a government-adopted statement to mark the 80th anniversary this year of the country's surrender in World War II, government officials said Thursday.Von 時事通信社

While Japan's Diet has enacted a bill calling for decency in election campaign posters, the country's efforts to prevent votes falling into chaos are starting to resemble a game of cat and mouse.Von 時事通信社

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said Thursday that no new budgetary measures to tackle inflation will be compiled after the expected enactment of the government's fiscal 2025 budget.Von 時事通信社

East Japan Railway Co., or JR East, launched part of its Takanawa Gateway City large-scale redevelopment area in Tokyo on Thursday.Von 時事通信社

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said Thursday that his government has "all kinds of options" on how to respond to the imposition of 25pcttariffs on automobile imports announced by U.S. President Donald Trump.Von 時事通信社

Families of high school students receiving aid from Japan's Ashinaga Foundation suffer poverty in many cases, earning disposable incomes less than half the national average, a survey has found.Von 時事通信社

Over 900 hectares have been destroyed in total in wildfires that began on Sunday in Ehime and Okayama prefectures in western Japan.Von 時事通信社

Chiba Bank is considering acquiring a stake of about 20pctin Chiba Kogyo Bank for about 20 billion yen, people familiar with the matter said Wednesday.Von 時事通信社

Nissan Motor Co. will seek a new partnership even with a firm outside the auto industry following the breakdown of merger talks with Honda Motor Co., incoming Nissan President Ivan Espinosa said in a recent interview.Von 時事通信社

The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters said Wednesday that this year's Abel Prize for mathematicians with distinguished achievements will be given to Masaki Kashiwara, making him the first Japanese to win the award.Von 時事通信社

Major Japanese agricultural and consumer cooperatives are starting shipping rice released by the government to curb soaring prices.Von 時事通信社

West Japan Railway Co., or JR West, on Wednesday built a station building that consists of parts made with 3D printer technology, in Wakayama Prefecture.Von 時事通信社

Honda Motor Co. unveiled to media Wednesday its 3.49-billion-yuan new joint venture electric vehicle plant with an output capacity of 120,000 units per year in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China.Von 時事通信社

The Diet, Japan's parliament, on Wednesday enacted a bill aimed at boosting disaster prevention measures in peninsular areas of the country.Von 時事通信社

In the wake of Tokyo District Court's order to dissolve the Unification Church, opposition parties have demanded that the ruling Liberal Democratic Party reinvestigate its members' ties with the controversial religious group, also known as the Moonies.Von 時事通信社

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba will meet Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in Tokyo on Wednesday to agree on future mutual visits by the two countries' leaders and confirm their cooperation on promoting decarbonization and expanding investments.Von 時事通信社

Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda suggested Wednesday that the central bank may raise interest rates to respond to recent increases in food and other prices.Von 時事通信社

One of the largest Mars rocks in the world, which is set to be exhibited in the 2025 World Exposition in Osaka, western Japan, was taken from the National Institute of Polar Research in Tokyo on Wednesday for transport to the event site.Von 時事通信社

Motohiko Saito, governor of Hyogo Prefecture, western Japan, apologized to prefectural government workers Wednesday, after a third-party panel last week found that his prefecture's actions to identify a whistleblower accusing him of harassment violated the whistleblower protection law.Von 時事通信社

The Japanese government has decided to accept two Palestinian women who were injured in the Gaza Strip for medical treatment, in response to the serious humanitarian situation there and at the request of the World Health Organization, the Foreign Ministry said Wednesday.Von 時事通信社

Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party on Wednesday proposed that the House of Councillors Budget Committee puts a fiscal 2025 government budget bill to a vote on Friday.Von 時事通信社

A memorial ceremony was held in an Okinawa Prefecture village Wednesday, the 80th anniversary of the U.S. military's landing on the Kerama Islands, which preceded fierce ground battles in the southwestern Japan prefecture during World War II.Von 時事通信社

Tokyo District Court on Wednesday found a former judge guilty of committing insider trading by using information obtained during his work on loan at the Financial Services Agency.Von 時事通信社

The Japanese agriculture ministry on Wednesday began to accept bids in the second round of its auction for government-stockpiled rice.Von 時事通信社

Top Japanese shipbuilder Imabari Shipbuilding Co. lost its official certification for foreign technical intern programs for violating the industrial safety and health law, the Immigration Services Agency has said.Von 時事通信社

Japan House Sao Paulo kicked off an exhibition Tuesday to display a house made of paper tubes for disaster evacuees, amid rising interest in disaster response in Brazil following a series of natural disasters.Von 時事通信社

Top leaders of Japanese heavy machinery maker Hitachi Zosen Corp., now called Kanadevia Corp., covered up its group's tampering of data on ship engines from 2015, according to an announcement.Von 時事通信社

About 30pctof major Japanese companies have introduced or plan to introduce artificial intelligence in their employee recruitment activities, according to a survey by Jiji Press.Von 時事通信社

Public prosecutors on Tuesday indicted Hajime Katayama, a former Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank official, on charges of violating the financial instruments and exchange law in an insider trading case.Von 時事通信社

The city assembly of Kyoto in western Japan passed an ordinance by a majority vote Tuesday to raise its maximum accommodation tax to 10,000 yen per guest per night.Von 時事通信社

Victims who suffered from large donations to the Unification Church expressed joy Tuesday over Tokyo District Court's decision the same day to order the dissolution of the controversial religious group.Von 時事通信社

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba is reluctant to accept a joint proposal by Komeito, the coalition partner of his Liberal Democratic Party, and the opposition Democratic Party for the People to tighten rules on political donations by companies and other organizations, it was learned Tuesday.Von 時事通信社

A court ruling on Tuesday ordering the dissolution of the Unification Church in Japan, aimed at preventing the controversial religious group from inflicting further damage on its followers, has triggered concern that it may try to hide its assets.Von 時事通信社

Japan's National Police Agency is considering setting a ceiling of 300,000 yen per day on the amount of money elderly people can withdraw or send from automated teller machines, it was learned Tuesday.Von 時事通信社

A U.S. Osprey military transport aircraft made an emergency landing at Matsumoto Airport in the central Japan prefecture of Nagano around 3 p.m. on Tuesday.Von 時事通信社

Rapidus Corp. said Tuesday that it has concluded a partnership with Singaporean engineering services firm Quest Global Services Pte. Ltd. to shorten the development period of chips for artificial intelligence technology.Von 時事通信社

Almost all textbooks to be used by first- and second-year high school students in Japan from fiscal 2026 will include quick response, or QR, codes that link to websites with video and audio learning aid materials, it was learned Tuesday.Von 時事通信社

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba told Tetsuo Saito, head of Komeito, the junior coalition partner of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, on Tuesday that his government plans to launch strong measures against soaring prices.Von 時事通信社

Japanese Defense Minister Gen Nakatani said Tuesday he will meet with U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth at the Defense Ministry in Tokyo on Sunday.Von 時事通信社