Nomura to Acquire Macquarie's U.S., European Asset Management Biz
Tuesday, April 22,2025,00:26
Tokyo, April 22 (Jiji Press)--Nomura Holdings Inc. said Tuesday that it will acquire Australian financial conglomerate Macquarie's U.S. and European public asset management business for 1.8 billion dollars. The transaction is expected to close by the end of this year, the Japanese securities house said. "Through this transaction, Nomura will significantly expand the global capabilities an... .. read more..
China Executes Man for 2024 Fatal Stabbing of Japanese Boy
Monday, April 21,2025,13:19
Hong Kong, April 21 (Jiji Press)--China has executed a man for the fatal stabbing of a Japanese schoolboy in Shenzhen, southern China, in September last year, it was learned Monday. The Chinese Foreign Ministry informed the Japanese Embassy in Beijing the same day of the execution of Zhong Changchun, but did not provide details, such as when and where the punishment was carried out, diploma... .. read more..
Pope Francis, Who Called for Nuke Abolition from Japan, Dies
Monday, April 21,2025,12:56
Paris/Hiroshima/Nagasaki, April 21 (Jiji Press)--Pope Francis, who called for the abolition of nuclear weapons during his 2019 visit to Hiroshima and Nagasaki, died Monday at the age of 88, the Vatican said. Hailing from Argentina, Pope Francis was picked in 2013 to become the first leader of the Catholic Church from Latin America. In 2019, he became the first pope in 38 years to visit J... .. read more..
Central Tokyo Condo Price Tops 100 M. Yen for 2nd Year
Monday, April 21,2025,12:35
Tokyo, April 21 (Jiji Press)--The average unit price of new condominiums put up for sale in Tokyo's densely populated 23 wards exceeded 100 million yen for the second straight year in fiscal 2024, Real Estate Economic Institute Co. said Monday. In the year ended March, the average price rose 11.2 pct from the previous year to 116.32 million yen, hitting a record high for the fourth consecuti... .. read more..
Japan Panel Agrees on Need to Revise Retrial System
Monday, April 21,2025,12:18
Tokyo, April 21 (Jiji Press)--A Japanese government advisory panel held its first meeting Monday to review the country's retrial system, following the acquittal of Iwao Hakamata after decades on death row. Members of a subcommittee under the Legislative Council agreed on the need for law revisions and decided to hear opinions from former prosecutors and judges, as well as lawyers who have h... .. read more..
Rice Prices at Supermarkets Hit Another Record High
Monday, April 21,2025,11:39
Tokyo, April 21 (Jiji Press)--The average price of rice at supermarkets across Japan hit another record high in the week through April 13, the agriculture ministry said Monday. The average price stood at 4,217 yen per 5 kilograms, up 3 yen from the previous week, the 15th consecutive weekly increase. While government-stockpiled rice has started to hit supermarket shelves, retail prices r... .. read more..
Miffy Wonder Square to Open at Huis Ten Bosch
Monday, April 21,2025,11:37
(The first paragraph should have read "...its operator announced Monday." instead of as sent.) Miffy Wonder Square to Open at Huis Ten Bosch Tokyo, April 21 (Jiji Press)--Huis Ten Bosch, a theme park in Sasebo, Nagasaki Prefecture, will launch the new "Miffy Wonder Square" area featuring Miffy, the popular Dutch character, on June 21, its operator announced Monday. Miffy Wonder Square wi... .. read more..
Court Orders Tokyo to Find Birth Parents of Man Switched as Newborn
Monday, April 21,2025,11:09
Tokyo, April 21 (Jiji Press)--Tokyo District Court on Monday ordered the Tokyo metropolitan government to track down the birth parents of a 67-year-old man who was accidentally switched as a baby at a now-closed maternity hospital run by the metropolitan government. Presiding judge Naoya Hirai said that the metropolitan government has a "duty to investigate the biological parents" of the pl... .. read more..
Japan, Dutch Leaders Agree to Strengthen Cooperation
Monday, April 21,2025,10:16
Tokyo, April 21 (Jiji Press)--Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and his Dutch counterpart, Dick Schoof, agreed Monday to strengthen cooperation between their countries amid challenges such as Russia's invasion of Ukraine and China's maritime ambitions. The two leaders also announced an action plan calling for cooperation in a wide range of fields, including diplomacy, security, economy... .. read more..
New Method Developed to Make Cultured Meat Thicker
Monday, April 21,2025,09:25
Tokyo, April 21 (Jiji Press)--A team led by University of Tokyo professor Shoji Takeuchi has developed a new method to make cultured meat as thick as about 1 centimeter. Cultured meat is produced by multiplying livestock cells. Conventional methods resulted in thin pieces of such meat because efforts to make the meat thicker caused the cells to die from lack of nutrients. By incorporatin... .. read more..
Iris Ohyama to Boost Production Capacity in U.S.
Monday, April 21,2025,09:16
Tokyo, April 21 (Jiji Press)--Iris Ohyama Inc. on Monday announced that it will increase its production capacity in the United States to cushion the impact of high tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump on products made in China. The move by the Japanese household goods supplier reflects its concerns about increasing costs for exports of its products to the United States from China, ... .. read more..
No Decision to Resume Kickabaks by Abe Faction Execs: Seko
Monday, April 21,2025,08:27
Tokyo, April 21 (Jiji Press)--The then executives of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's intraparty faction led by former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe did not decide to resume cash kickbacks to faction members at their meeting in August 2022, Hiroshige Seko, one of the four former executives, testified Monday. "I don't understand that (the kickback resumption) was decided (at the meeting)," ... .. read more..
Trump Raps "Nontariff Cheating" before Japan-U.S. Talks
Monday, April 21,2025,08:07
Washington, April 20 (Jiji Press)--U.S. President Donald Trump listed currency manipulation, value-added tax and automobile safety standards among what he called "nontariff cheating" practices in a social media post Sunday, ahead of high-level financial discussions with Japan. Trump, who has long expressed frustration with the weaker yen, apparently tried to put pressure on Japan before Jap... .. read more..
Aichi Man Rearrested, Newly Charged with Murder
Monday, April 21,2025,07:17
Nagoya, April 21 (Jiji Press)--Police served a fresh arrest warrant to a 21-year-old man on Monday on the charge of killing a high school girl from Tokyo whose body was found at the suspect's home in Aichi Prefecture late last month. Masaki Eguchi was initially arrested on March 31 on suspicion of abandoning the body of Waka Kato, 16, at the house in the city of Ichinomiya in the central Ja... .. read more..
Japanese Mother Partially Acquitted over Abuse of Daughter
Monday, April 21,2025,06:08
Osaka, April 21 (Jiji Press)--A Japanese district court on Monday acquitted a 35-year-old mother of charges of habitual assault and fraud after she was accused of hospitalizing her daughter, then 8, by not feeding her properly for mutual aid money. Kunitaka Iwasaki, presiding judge at Osaka District Court, found Kasumi Nawata, the mother, guilty of attempted coercion, sentencing her to six ... .. read more..
Japan PM Ishiba Vows Aid for Small Biz over U.S. Tariffs
Monday, April 21,2025,04:52
Tokyo, April 21 (Jiji Press)--Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on Monday pledged to provide government financing aid to small businesses affected by U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs. Ishiba told a meeting of the Budget Committee in the House of Councillors, the upper chamber of Japan's parliament, that he would "responsibly promise" to provide such support, indicating that his ad... .. read more..
Trump Raps “Nontariff Cheating” before Japan-U.S. Talks
Monday, April 21,2025,04:40
Washington, April 20 (Jiji Press)--U.S. President Donald Trump listed currency manipulation, value-added tax and automobile safety standards among what he called "nontariff cheating" practices in a social media post Sunday. Trump, who has long expressed frustration with the weaker yen, apparently tried to put pressure on Japan before Japanese Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato and U.S. Treasury... .. read more..
INTERVIEW: Norinchukin Bank to Diversify Investment Portfolio
Monday, April 21,2025,03:10
Tokyo, April 21 (Jiji Press)--Norinchukin Bank will diversify its investment portfolio after suffering huge losses from foreign bonds, President and CEO Taro Kitabayashi said in a recent interview. The Japanese bank for agricultural cooperatives expects to post a net loss of some 1.9 trillion yen for the year that ended last month after selling a large amount of U.S. and European bonds with ... .. read more..
Ishiba Makes Ritual Offering at Yasukuni Shrine
Monday, April 21,2025,02:53
Tokyo, April 21 (Jiji Press)--Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba made a ritual "masakaki" tree offering to Yasukuni Shrine at the start of the war-related Tokyo shrine's spring festival on Monday. Ishiba has no plans to visit the Shinto shrine during the three-day festival, according to people familiar with the matter. The shrine is regarded by neighboring countries as a symbol of Ja... .. read more..
Osaka World Expo Recalls a Faded Dynamism From Japan in 1970
Sunday, April 20,2025,19:20
The event is stirring memories of an exhibition in 1970, when the postwar Japanese economy was taking off and “you could have dreams about the future.” .. read more..
Japanese Retailers Trying to Overcome Soaring Rice Prices
Sunday, April 20,2025,11:30
Tokyo, April 20 (Jiji Press)--The historic surge in rice prices in Japan has led retailers to seek alternatives, using less expensive ingredients like barley and noodles in bento meal boxes to curb prices and retain customers. Some retailers are expanding the sale of lower-priced foreign rice. In March, convenience store chain Lawson Inc. started selling the "Okazudon!" series of bento p... .. read more..
No Concession over Food Safety in Japan-U.S. Talks: Ishiba
Sunday, April 20,2025,06:54
Tokyo, April 20 (Jiji Press)--Japan will make no concession that could affect food safety in its tariff negotiations with the United States, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said Sunday. "We will not concede over food safety. We must protect the safety of Japanese citizens," he said in a television program of public broadcaster NHK, or Japan Broadcasting Corp., showing a careful approach to th... .. read more..
Politician Ishimaru's Party to Field 10 Upper House Candidates
Sunday, April 20,2025,05:43
Tokyo, April 20 (Jiji Press)--The regional political party led by Shinji Ishimaru, the runner-up in last year's Tokyo governor race, is preparing to field 10 candidates in this summer's election for the House of Councillors, sources said. Ishimaru himself, however, does not plan to run in the election for the upper chamber of Japan's parliament, the sources added. The party, called the P... .. read more..
L.A. Dodgers Star Ohtani, Wife Welcome 1st Child
Sunday, April 20,2025,02:11
Arlington, Texas, April 19 (Jiji Press)--Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani, 30, said in an Instagram post Saturday that his wife, Mamiko, 28, has given birth to their first child, a baby girl. In the post, he said, "I am so grateful to my loving wife who gave birth to our healthy beautiful daughter." He attached a photograph of the baby's feet and thanked those around him. Ohtani wa... .. read more..
An Age of Extinction Is Coming. Here’s How to Survive.
Saturday, April 19,2025,18:06
Everything is under threat. What you care about can make it to the other side. .. read more..
Protesters March in Tokyo for WWII Relief for Civilians, Others
Saturday, April 19,2025,11:40
Tokyo, April 19 (Jiji Press)--Protesters marched in Tokyo's upscale Ginza district Saturday, demanding a legislative measure to provide relief for those who suffered damage in World War II, including civilians killed in air raids. People who experienced U.S. air raids during the war and bereaved family members of war victims walked the streets with placards and banners, saying, "War-related... .. read more..
Come With Me if You Want to Survive an Age of Extinction
Saturday, April 19,2025,11:04
Everything is under threat. What you care about can make it to the other side. .. read more..
2 MSDF Ships Visit China-Linked Cambodian Naval Base
Saturday, April 19,2025,10:42
Ream, Cambodia, April 19 (Jiji Press)--Two Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force ships made a port call at Cambodia's Ream naval base Saturday, marking the first time any foreign military vessel stops at the base since it underwent expansion work with support from China. The two are the MSDF minesweeper tender Bungo and minesweeper Etajima with a combined crew of about 500. During their stay... .. read more..
INTERVIEW: Ex-Negotiator Expects Some Tariff Deal by June
Saturday, April 19,2025,09:57
Tokyo, April 19 (Jiji Press)--Japan-U.S. tariff negotiations may reach some form of agreement by June, when a Group of Seven summit will take place in Canada, former Japanese trade negotiator Kazuhisa Shibuya said in a recent interview. Negotiators "may be wanting to have Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and U.S. President Donald Trump make some kind of confirmation around the G-7 sum... .. read more..
Tokyo Car Crash Victims Remembered 6 Years On
Saturday, April 19,2025,08:54
Tokyo, April 19 (Jiji Press)--Bereaved relatives of a mother and a daughter killed by a runaway car in Tokyo's busy Ikebukuro district commemorated the sixth anniversary of their deaths Saturday. Takuya Matsunaga, 38, who lost his wife, Mana, 31, and daughter, Riko, 3, in the crash, and Mana's father, Yoshinori Uehara, 67, laid flowers and offered silent prayers at a monument near the crash... .. read more..
MSDF Ships Make Port Call at China-Linked Cambodian Naval Base
Saturday, April 19,2025,08:12
Ream, Cambodia, April 19 (Jiji Press)--Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force ships made a port call at Cambodia's Ream naval base Saturday, marking the first time any foreign military vessel stops at the base since it underwent expansion work with support from China. Amid concerns among the United States and others that the base may become a hub for the Chinese military, the Cambodian govern... .. read more..
Japanese Soft Doughnuts to Debut in New York
Saturday, April 19,2025,06:06
New York, April 19 (Jiji Press)--A doughnut shop originating from Fukuoka Prefecture, southwestern Japan, will open in New York on Tuesday, featuring its signature doughnut texture that is soft and moist. The "I'm donut?" shop operated by Peace Put Co., a Fukuoka bakery business, will sell doughnuts with a teriyaki chicken filling and cream fillings using "matcha" green tea powder or sake, ... .. read more..
Onishi Becomes 3rd Japanese Astronaut to Command ISS
Saturday, April 19,2025,04:56
Tokyo, April 19 (Jiji Press)--Takuya Onishi, 49, became the third Japanese astronaut to command the International Space Station on Saturday Japan time. Onishi, who is on a long-term stay at the ISS, assumed responsibility for operating the space station and ensuring safety in emergencies. His two predecessors are Koichi Wakata, 61, who took the ISS command in 2014, and Akihiko Hoshide, 56, ... .. read more..
Japan, U.S. Finance Minsters Seen Holding Meeting Thurs.
Saturday, April 19,2025,03:29
Tokyo, April 19 (Jiji Press)--Japan and the United States are arranging to hold a meeting of Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Thursday, sources have said. They are expected to talk about currency policy, which U.S. President Donald Trump's administration hopes to discuss during the Japan-U.S. tariff negotiations that have opened recently. Kato is ex... .. read more..
Japan, U.S. Finance Ministers Seen Holding Meeting Thurs.
Saturday, April 19,2025,03:29
Tokyo, April 19 (Jiji Press)--Japan and the United States are arranging to hold a meeting of Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Thursday, sources have said. They are expected to talk about currency policy, which U.S. President Donald Trump's administration hopes to discuss during the Japan-U.S. tariff negotiations that have opened recently. Kato is ex... .. read more..
U.S. in Hurry to Strike Deal: Japan's Tariff Negotiator
Friday, April 18,2025,14:56
Tokyo, April 18 (Jiji Press)--The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump is in a hurry to strike a deal in tariff negotiations with Japan, Japanese economic revitalization minister Ryosei Akazawa said Friday after returning from a U.S. trip earlier in the day. Akazawa, Japan's top tariff negotiator, traveled to the United States earlier this week to hold the first ministerial meeting... .. read more..
Russia to Hold Shooting Drill near Disputed Pacific Islands
Friday, April 18,2025,12:45
Tokyo, April 18 (Jiji Press)--Russia has said that it will conduct a shooting drill in waters including Japanese territorial waters around the Northern Territories, which are claimed by Tokyo but effectively controlled by Moscow, Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said Friday. Russian authorities issued a navigation warning over the planned exercise near the four northwester... .. read more..
Strong Earthquake Strikes Nagano in Central Japan
Friday, April 18,2025,12:15
Tokyo, April 18 (Jiji Press)--A strong earthquake jolted Nagano Prefecture in central Japan on Friday night, registering up to lower 5, the fifth-highest level on the 10-notch Japanese seismic intensity scale. The quake, with an estimated magnitude of 5.0, occurred at around 8:19 p.m. at a depth of about 10 kilometers in northern Nagano, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency. It m... .. read more..
Japan Rice Price to Wholesalers Posts 1st Fall in 8 Months
Friday, April 18,2025,12:13
Tokyo, April 18 (Jiji Press)--The average price of rice harvested in Japan in 2024 and sold to wholesalers in March fell month-on-month for the first time in eight months, the agriculture ministry said Friday. The average price for 60 kilograms of unmilled rice stood at 25,876 yen, down 2 pct from February, apparently reflecting the sale of some government-stockpiled rice released in March.... .. read more..
New U.S. Ambassador Glass Arrives in Japan
Friday, April 18,2025,12:00
Tokyo, April 18 (Jiji Press)--New U.S. Ambassador to Japan George Glass arrived at Tokyo's Haneda airport on Friday as he assumed his position as the United States' top envoy to the Asian ally. "This is the country that captured our hearts about 15 years ago," Glass told reporters at the airport. According to the ambassador's wife, Mary, who arrived in Japan with Glass, their eldest son, Go... .. read more..