Japan Household Financial Assets Grow 7 Pct in 1st Quarter
Thursday, June 25,2026,05:50
Tokyo, June 25 (Jiji Press)--Financial assets held by households in Japan as of the end of March grew 7.1 pct from a year earlier to 2,386 trillion yen partly due to higher stock prices, the Bank of Japan said Thursday. The figure was lower than the record high of 2,394 trillion yen marked at the end of December. Of the total, stocks jumped 28.6 pct to a record high of 398 trillion yen, ... .. read more..
Japan Emperor Thanks Netherlands, Belgium for Warm Welcome
Thursday, June 25,2026,04:32
Namur, Belgium, June 24 (Jiji Press)--Japan's Emperor Naruhito on Wednesday expressed gratitude for the warm welcome he and his wife, Empress Masako, received from the Netherlands and Belgium during their state visits to the two European countries. "I am really happy and truly grateful that we were cordially welcomed," the Emperor told reporters in the Belgian city of Namur. He said that... .. read more..
Japan to Review Elderly Driving Test after Higher Accident Rate
Thursday, June 25,2026,04:20
Tokyo, June 25 (Jiji Press)--Japan's National Police Agency said Thursday it will begin reviewing a mandatory driving skills test for drivers aged 75 or older with a history of traffic violations after a follow-up study found them more prone to accidents. The rate of accidents caused by drivers who took the test was 2.8 times the level recorded for those who were not subject to it, accordin... .. read more..
Powerful Quake Hits Northeastern Japan
Thursday, June 25,2026,02:02
Tokyo, June 25 (Jiji Press)--A powerful earthquake hit the Tohoku region of northeastern Japan on Thursday morning, measuring upper 6, the second-highest level on the country's seismic intensity scale, in Aomori Prefecture. The temblor, with an estimated magnitude of 6.9, occurred around 7:30 a.m. at a depth of about 50 kilometers off Iwate Prefecture, south of Aomori, according to the Japa... .. read more..
3 Japan Megabanks Eligible to Use Google's Advanced AI Tool
Thursday, June 25,2026,01:20
Tokyo, June 25 (Jiji Press)--Japan's three megabanks have become eligible to use a cutting-edge artificial intelligence tool of U.S. technology giant Google LLC, Japanese financial services minister Satsuki Katayama said. She revealed this at a press conference after a meeting with senior officials of Alphabet Inc., the parent of Google, in Tokyo on Wednesday. The three megabanks are MUFG B... .. read more..
Interim Draft on 2-Year Food Tax Cut Presented
Thursday, June 25,2026,00:10
Tokyo, June 25 (Jiji Press)--The head of a Japanese suprapartisan council on social security on Wednesday presented an interim draft on a proposed cut in the consumption tax rate for food as a measure to help cushion the impact of inflation as well sa related measures. The draft, unveiled by Itsunori Onodera, chief of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's Research Commission on the Tax Syst... .. read more..
Ruling Bloc Submits Bill to Cut Lower House Seats
Wednesday, June 24,2026,14:55
Tokyo, June 24 (Jiji Press)--Japan's ruling coalition submitted a bill on Wednesday to reduce the number of seats in the House of Representatives by 10 pct, which is included in the coalition agreement between the Liberal Democratic Party and the Japan Innovation Party. The bill calls for a panel of ruling and opposition parties to discuss reducing the number of Lower House seats. It would ... .. read more..
Samurai Blue Arrives in Dallas ahead of Final Group Stage Match
Wednesday, June 24,2026,14:01
Dallas, Texas, June 24 (Jiji Press)--The Japanese men's national soccer team, nicknamed Samurai Blue, arrived in Dallas, Texas, on Tuesday night local time, just before its final group stage match at the 2026 FIFA World Cup against Sweden. The team trained in Nashville, Tennessee, earlier in the day, before heading to Dallas. Following its 4-0 victory against Tunisia in its second Group ... .. read more..
Masayoshi Son Vows to Lead SoftBank Group for Another Decade
Wednesday, June 24,2026,13:15
Tokyo, June 24 (Jiji Press)--SoftBank Group Corp. Chairman and CEO Masayoshi Son said Wednesday he will continue to lead the company for the next 10 or 15 years. Son, 68, had previously indicated his intention to pass the torch to the next generation before turning 70. At a general shareholders' meeting on Wednesday, Son said that, in his 70s, he will aim to achieve "artificial superintel... .. read more..
Teacher Explains about Drying Laundry over Elementary School Fire
Wednesday, June 24,2026,13:01
Tokyo, June 24 (Jiji Press)--A teacher has said she was drying laundry in the music preparation room where a fire started last week in an elementary school in Tokyo's Kita Ward, police sources said Wednesday. Tokyo's Metropolitan Police Department is investigating a possible causal link between the teacher's explanation and the fire at Takinogawa Daisan Elementary School, which left 11 peop... .. read more..
Japan Eyes 370 T. Yen in Strategic Investments by FY 2040
Wednesday, June 24,2026,12:48
Tokyo, June 24 (Jiji Press)--The Japanese government on Wednesday projected that public-private investments in 17 strategic fields under Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's "responsible and proactive" fiscal policy will exceed 370 trillion yen by fiscal 2040. The projection was presented at the day's joint meeting of the Council on Economic and Fiscal Policy and the Council for Japan's Growth S... .. read more..
Ruling Bloc Submits Second Capital Bill
Wednesday, June 24,2026,11:42
Tokyo, June 24 (Jiji Press)--Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party-Japan Innovation Party coalition on Wednesday submitted a second capital establishment bill to the House of Representatives. The bill had initially included a provision enabling a prefecture-wide referendum on the JIP's so-called Osaka metropolis plan, but it was deleted due to opposition from the LDP. JIP leader Hirofu... .. read more..
China Detained 2 Japanese on Suspicion of Smuggling
Wednesday, June 24,2026,11:32
The Japanese nationals were detained in May in the northeastern Chinese city of Dalian, Japan’s government said, amid tensions between the two countries. .. read more..
Ruling, Opposition Parties Submit Bills on Social Media Use
Wednesday, June 24,2026,11:16
Tokyo, June 24 (Jiji Press)--Six Japanese ruling and opposition parties jointly submitted bills on Wednesday to regulate the use of social media during elections, including obliging social media operators to take measures to reduce disinformation and other negative implications. The parties include the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition partner, the Japan Innovation Party, as... .. read more..
Prosecutor Sent to Trial over Inappropriate Interrogation
Wednesday, June 24,2026,10:48
Tokyo, June 24 (Jiji Press)--Tokyo District Court on Wednesday decided to put a prosecutor on criminal trial for alleged inappropriate interrogation methods used against a company president. Hiroshi Horiki, a prosecutor formerly with the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office's special investigation squad, will be tried on a charge of assault and cruelty by a specialized public employee. ... .. read more..
2 Japanese Detained in China in May
Wednesday, June 24,2026,10:30
Tokyo, June 24 (Jiji Press)--Chinese authorities took two Japanese nationals into custody in May on suspicion of violating the country's law against the smuggling of banned items, Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said Wednesday. One of them was detained on May 18 and the other on May 25, the top Japanese government spokesman told a press conference, adding that neither of them ... .. read more..
Japan Govt Official Held for Allegedly Defaming Acquaintance
Wednesday, June 24,2026,10:16
Tokyo, June 24 (Jiji Press)--Tokyo police arrested a career official of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry on Wednesday for allegedly sending defamatory messages about a female acquaintance via online dating sites, investigative sources said. Masao Ito, the 53-year-old suspect from Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, near Tokyo, is suspected of pretending to be the woman in her 30s and ... .. read more..
Shizuoka Governor to Approve Maglev Line Construction
Wednesday, June 24,2026,09:54
Shizuoka, June 24 (Jiji Press)--Shizuoka Governor Yasutomo Suzuki plans to approve the construction of a local section of the planned Chuo Shinkansen high-speed magnetic levitation train line, people familiar with the matter said Wednesday. Suzuki plans to announce the approval at a prefectural assembly meeting on July 7, the people said. Prior to his announcement, the governor will meet... .. read more..
Imperial Family Adoptions from Former Branches Eyed as Exception
Wednesday, June 24,2026,09:10
Tokyo, June 24 (Jiji Press)--The Japanese government plans to allow the Imperial Family to adopt male, paternal-line descendants of former Imperial Family branches as an exception to Article 9 of the Imperial House Law, which bans the Emperor and other Imperial Family members from adopting children, it was learned Wednesday. This plan, included in a government-drafted outline of a bill to r... .. read more..
LDP, JIP Submit Proposals on National Security Paper Revision
Wednesday, June 24,2026,09:10
Tokyo, June 24 (Jiji Press)--The ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition partner, the Japan Innovation Party, each submitted proposals Wednesday on a revision of the government's three key national security documents planned for this year. Both parties proposed increases in the defense budget. The JIP proposals featured a call for a realistic review of the three nonnuclear princip... .. read more..
Japan Lower House Begins Discussions on Flag Vandalism Bill
Wednesday, June 24,2026,06:21
Tokyo, June 24 (Jiji Press)--Substantive discussions started on a bill to criminalize the act of damaging the national flag, at Japan's House of Representatives on Wednesday. The Cabinet Committee of the lower chamber of the Diet, the country's parliament, heard an explanation about the bill's purpose and held a question and answer session. Criminalizing national flag vandalism could vio... .. read more..
16-Year-Old Girl in Nashville Aspires to Join Nadeshiko Japan
Wednesday, June 24,2026,05:41
Nashville, Tennessee, June 23 (Jiji Press)--A 16-year-old Japanese girl living in Nashville, Tennessee, which hosts the training base of the Japanese men's national soccer team for the ongoing FIFA World Cup, aspires to join the women's national team, dubbed Nadeshiko Japan. "I want to stand on a stage like the World Cup in the future," Izumi Wakatsuki, who attends a high school in Nashvill... .. read more..
Japan Protests Chinese Gas Drilling in East China Sea
Wednesday, June 24,2026,05:32
Tokyo, June 24 (Jiji Press)--Japan protested to China over Beijing's gas-field drilling activity near the median line in the East China Sea, Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said Wednesday. Kihara said at a press conference that Japan found a mobile drilling vessel fixed in waters on the Chinese side of the line separating the two countries' claimed exclusive economic zones. Tokyo c... .. read more..
U.N. Backs Accountability for Attacks on Peacekeepers
Wednesday, June 24,2026,03:47
New York, June 23 (Jiji Press)--The U.N. Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution Tuesday requiring host states to prosecute perpetrators of attacks on U.N. peacekeepers, after seven peacekeepers had been killed in Lebanon since March. The resolution, presented by Denmark and Pakistan, attracted 151 co-sponsors including Japan. Condemning in the strongest terms attacks on U.N. p... .. read more..
BOJ "Tankan" Likely to Show Weaker Manufacturer Sentiment
Wednesday, June 24,2026,03:43
Tokyo, June 24 (Jiji Press)--The Bank of Japan's "tankan" quarterly survey for June is expected to show slight deterioration in business sentiment among major Japanese manufacturers, according to estimates by 13 private think tanks and securities companies. The think tanks and securities firms forecast on average that the diffusion index for current sentiment among large manufacturers will ... .. read more..
Japan Emperor Wishes for Lasting Friendship at Belgian Banquet
Wednesday, June 24,2026,03:16
Brussels, June 23 (Jiji Press)--Japan's Emperor Naruhito wished for lasting friendship and cooperation between his country and Belgium in a speech at a banquet hosted by Belgian King Philippe and Queen Mathilde at the Castle of Laeken in Brussels on Tuesday. Noting that the Japanese Imperial Family's exchanges with the Belgian Royal Family have spanned three generations of Emperors--himself... .. read more..
Venue of Japan-India Summit May Be Changed to New Delhi
Wednesday, June 24,2026,01:05
New Delhi, June 24 (Jiji Press)--The venue of the envisaged Japan-India summit next month may be changed from Guwahati in the northeastern Indian state of Assam to New Delhi, the capital of the South Asian country, diplomatic sources have said. The Japanese and Indian governments are in talks to arrange a visit to India by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi for early July, as part of so... .. read more..
Japan, IAEA Team Up to Promote Small Modular Reactors
Wednesday, June 24,2026,00:31
Tokyo, June 24 (Jiji Press)--Japan's industry ministry and the International Atomic Energy Agency have agreed to cooperate on the development of small modular reactors. Industry minister Ryosei Akazawa and IAEA Director-General Rafael Grossi signed a memorandum to that effect at their meeting in Tokyo on Tuesday. Under the agreement, Japan will share safety expertise accumulated by its n... .. read more..
9 Japanese Detained in Laos over Special Fraud
Wednesday, June 24,2026,00:25
Bangkok, June 24 (Jiji Press)--Law-enforcement authorities in Xiengkhouang Province, northeastern Laos, have detained nine Japanese people for their alleged involvement in special fraud. According to local media reports, police took a total of 17 suspects, including the Japanese nationals, into custody June 17. Also among the suspects are Chinese and Taiwanese nationals, the reports said... .. read more..
Japan Official Vows to Support Ukraine during Visit to Kyiv
Tuesday, June 23,2026,23:35
Tokyo, June 24 (Jiji Press)--A senior Japanese official has underscored the country's pledge to continue supporting Ukraine and implementing sanctions on Russia in cooperation with the international community. Ayano Kunimitsu, state minister for foreign affairs, showed this stance of the administration of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi at a meeting with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybi... .. read more..
Ex-Wife Arrested after Man's Body Found in Freezer at Kobe Apartment
Tuesday, June 23,2026,15:51
Kobe, June 24 (Jiji Press)--Police in Hyogo Prefecture arrested a 50-year-old woman on Tuesday on suspicion of abandoning the body of her former husband, whose body was found in a freezer in his apartment in Kobe, the western Japan prefecture's capital, on Saturday. According to investigative sources, the suspect, Aki Mochizuki, has admitted to abandoning the body and also suggested that sh... .. read more..
14 M. Sets of Email Info Possibly Leaked in Cyberattack on KDDI
Tuesday, June 23,2026,15:16
Tokyo, June 23 (Jiji Press)--KDDI Corp. said Tuesday that its email system for internet service providers has been breached, and up to 14.22 million sets of email addresses and passwords may have been leaked. The affected service providers include STNet Inc., JCOM Co., Chubu Telecommunications Co., Nifty Corp., Biglobe Inc. and KDDI Web Communications Inc. KDDI said that it confirmed the ... .. read more..
Japan's Emperor, Empress Attend Welcome Ceremony in Brussels
Tuesday, June 23,2026,14:43
Brussels, June 23 (Jiji Press)--Japan's Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako, who are on a state visit to Belgium, attended a welcome ceremony at the Royal Palace of Brussels on Tuesday. The Imperial couple alighted from a car at the square in front of the palace and were greeted by Belgian King Philippe and Queen Mathilde. They received an honor guard salute and listened as the national ... .. read more..
Japan-China Friendship Group Official Visits Beijing
Tuesday, June 23,2026,13:18
Beijing, June 23 (Jiji Press)--Japanese lawmaker Gaku Hashimoto, acting chairman of the Japanese Association for the Promotion of International Trade, a Japan-China friendship organization, said during his visit to Beijing on Tuesday that he met with Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Hua Chunying on Monday. Hashimoto told reporters that Hua offered condolences on the death of Yohei Kono, a form... .. read more..
Japan Top Court Finalizes Dissolution Order for Unification Church
Tuesday, June 23,2026,12:55
Tokyo, June 23 (Jiji Press)--Japan's Supreme Court has rejected a special appeal filed by the Unification Church against lower court rulings ordering the dissolution of the controversial religious group. In a ruling issued Monday, the court's Third Petty Bench, presided over by Justice Eriko Watanabe, said the dissolution order "does not violate the Constitution, which guarantees freedom of... .. read more..
Powerful Typhoon May Hit Japan's Main Island Sat.
Tuesday, June 23,2026,12:14
Tokyo, June 23 (Jiji Press)--Very powerful Typhoon Mekkhala slowly moved in a northerly direction over waters east of the Philippines on Tuesday and is expected to approach southern Japan as early as Thursday. According to the Japan Meteorological Agency, the seventh typhoon of this year is seen approaching the main island of the southernmost Japan prefecture of Okinawa and Amami Oshima isl... .. read more..
GSDF Member's Harassment-Caused PTSD Recognized as On-Duty Illness
Tuesday, June 23,2026,11:44
Sendai, Miyagi Pref., June 23 (Jiji Press)--A Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force member revealed Tuesday that his posttraumatic stress disorder, caused by harassment by senior colleagues at a GSDF camp in Miyagi Prefecture, has been recognized as an on-duty illness. At a press conference in Sendai, the capital of the northeastern Japan prefecture, the man, who is in his 30s, said that the d... .. read more..
Official Rejects N. Korea's Criticism of Japan as Military Power
Tuesday, June 23,2026,11:25
Tokyo, June 23 (Jiji Press)--Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara on Tuesday rejected North Korea's accusation that his country is trying to become a military power. According to North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency, the country's leader, Kim Jong Un, made the criticism at a three-day meeting of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea that ended on Monday... .. read more..
Japan White Paper Highlights Importance of Nuclear Fuel Cycle
Tuesday, June 23,2026,11:13
Tokyo, June 23 (Jiji Press)--The Japanese government released a nuclear energy white paper on Tuesday, highlighting the importance of the nuclear fuel cycle in enhancing energy security and reducing reliance on foreign resources amid concerns about the situation in the Middle East. In the white paper, the Atomic Energy Commission of the Cabinet Office said that the fuel cycle, in which spen... .. read more..
Japan to Raise Some Tourist Visa Fees More Than 400 Percent
Tuesday, June 23,2026,10:43
The hike, from around $18 to $93 for a single trip, will apply to visitors from countries including China, India and Vietnam, but not most Western travelers. .. read more..