The number of food items whose prices are set to be raised in February is up 1.8pctfrom a year before at 1,656, a survey by Japanese corporate research company Teikoku Databank Ltd. showed Friday.時事通信社

The average ratio of effective job openings to job seekers in Japan in 2024 declined from the previous year for the first time in three years as businesses suffering from higher material costs curbed hiring, labor ministry data showed Friday.時事通信社

The Tokyo metropolitan area's net population inflow in 2024 rose by 9,328 from the previous year to 135,843, close to the 148,783 marked in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic, the Japanese internal affairs ministry said Friday.時事通信社

Japan's industrial production in December rose 0.3pctfrom the previous month after seasonal adjustment, due to robust output of chemical machinery and semiconductor memory chips, the industry ministry said in a preliminary report Friday.時事通信社

Hino Motors Ltd. said Thursday that it expects to post a consolidated net loss of 265 billion yen for the year ending in March, larger than a previously estimated loss of 220 billion yen.時事通信社

Oriental Land Co., the operator of Tokyo Disney Resort, said Thursday that its consolidated net profit dropped 4.1pctin the April-December period from a year before to 95.7 billion yen.時事通信社

The number of foreign workers in Japan has hit a record high for the 12th straight year, reflecting severe labor shortages in the country, labor ministry data showed Friday.時事通信社

Fuji Television Network Inc. said Thursday that it expects advertising revenues in fiscal 2024 to be 23.3 billion yen lower than its previous forecast, after many companies suspended their commercials following a scandal involving former pop star Masahiro Nakai.時事通信社

Tokyo High Court on Thursday ruled that the government's decision to deny a passport to freelance journalist Junpei Yasuda is illegal.時事通信社

Japan's Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. said Thursday that its president and CEO, Christophe Weber, will step down at its general shareholders meeting in June 2026.時事通信社

Eight of Japan's 10 major power utilities said Thursday that they will raise their electricity rates for an average household by 21 yen to 54 yen in February, in response to soaring prices for liquefied natural gas and coal, which are used as fuel for thermal power.時事通信社

Suzuki Motor Corp. said Thursday that it will release the Jimny Nomade, the first five-door model in its Jimny four-wheel-drive vehicle series in Japan, on April 3.時事通信社

The Japanese government is considering establishing a new joint hub for the police and the Self-Defense Forces as part of the country's planned adoption of active cyber defense, or pre-emptive action to prevent cyberattacks, it was learned Thursday.時事通信社

Osaka High Court on Thursday revoked the Japanese Finance Ministry's decision not to disclose documents related to a document-tampering scandal that led to the suicide of a ministry official.時事通信社

Tokyo District Court on Thursday ordered advertising giant Dentsu Group Inc. to pay 300 million yen in fines as sought by prosecutors over bid-rigging related to the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics in 2021.時事通信社

Sea turtle nesting has declined on Amami-Oshima Island in Kagoshima Prefecture, likely due in part to a drop in their population.時事通信社

Japan Exchange Group Inc., which operates the Tokyo Stock Exchange, said Thursday that Group CEO Hiromi Yamaji will take a 50pctcut in monthly compensation for two months over an insider trading case involving a former TSE employee.時事通信社

Japan will collaborate with other countries over the suspected improper data use by Chinese generative artificial intelligence developer DeepSeek, Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said Thursday.時事通信社

Toyota Motor Corp. said Thursday that its global vehicle sales dipped 1.4pctin 2024 from the previous year to 10,159,336 units due to the fallout of a test fraud scandal and a pause in the production of its Prius hybrid.時事通信社

Japan's Ministry of Finance in its quarterly report released Thursday raised its economic assessment for Hokkaido, the country's northernmost prefecture, citing steady personal consumption.時事通信社

The Japanese government has suspended its advertisements on Fuji Television Network Inc. amid controversy over the broadcaster's handling of a sex scandal involving former TV personality Masahiro Nakai, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said Thursday.時事通信社

Japanese Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako are likely to visit Mongolia in July, the first trip to the country by a reigning Imperial couple, people familiar with the matter said Thursday.時事通信社

Daihatsu Motor Co. said Wednesday that it plans to launch a light commercial electric van, under joint development with Toyota Motor Corp. and Suzuki Motor Corp., in Japan in fiscal 2025, which starts in April.時事通信社

A Japanese House of Representatives committee on Thursday voted to summon a former accountant for the ruling Liberal Democratic Party convicted over a slush funds scandal for unsworn testimony.時事通信社

An Israeli law banning the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, or UNRWA, from operating in the country may render the agency incapable of continuing activities, UNRWA health department leader Akihiro Seita has said.時事通信社

Japan has hit back at a U.N. panel over its recommendation to revise the Imperial House Law by denying it access to the country's voluntary contributions to the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights.時事通信社

Japanese Defense Minister Gen Nakatani and his Estonian counterpart, Hanno Pevkur, agreed Wednesday to strengthen cooperation in the field of cyberdefense.時事通信社

Iwao Hakamata, acquitted last year in his retrial for the 1966 murder of four people in Shizuoka Prefecture, central Japan, demanded Wednesday that the government pay him compensation of 217 million yen for being unjustly detained for over 47 years.時事通信社

The Bank of Japan missed a key opportunity to reverse its aggressive monetary easing at a policy-setting meeting in October 2014, former BOJ policymaker Takahide Kiuchi said in a recent interview.時事通信社

The Japanese government's draft legislation on proactive cyber defense stipulates an independent committee's surveillance and supervision of authorities' actions including those to be taken before attacks happen, it was learned Wednesday.時事通信社

The iconic "Doctor Yellow" Shinkansen train of Central Japan Railway Co., or JR Tokai, arrived at Tokyo Station on Wednesday, completing its final inspection of tracks on the Tokaido Shinkansen line before its retirement.時事通信社

Japan on Wednesday started work to set piles into the seabed on the Oura Bay side of the Henoko coastal area in the southernmost prefecture of Okinawa, as part of a U.S. base relocation project.時事通信社

Japanese megabank group Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. said Wednesday that it has named Makoto Takashima, chairman of core unit Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp., as its next chairman.時事通信社

Rescuers were struggling Wednesday afternoon to save a male truck driver trapped inside a hole that appeared due to a road collapse in Saitama Prefecture, near Tokyo, on Tuesday.時事通信社

Japan's average retail price of regular gasoline was unchanged from a week before, standing at 185.1 yen per liter as of Monday, the industry ministry said Wednesday.時事通信社

The Budget Committee of Japan's House of Representatives, the lower chamber of parliament, will vote Thursday on whether to summon the former chief accountant of a Liberal Democratic Party faction over a slush funds scandal.時事通信社

Fuji Television Network Inc. Vice Chairman Ryunosuke Endo will resign to take the blame for losing sponsors for the Japanese broadcaster, which is under fire for improperly handling now-retired entertainer and TV host Masahiro Nakai's sex scandal, it was learned Wednesday.時事通信社

Akihisa Nagashima, special adviser to Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, will visit five Central Asian countries as Ishiba's special envoy from Wednesday to Feb. 8, the Japanese government said Wednesday.時事通信社

Sony Group Corp. said Wednesday that President Hiroki Totoki will double as the Japanese electronics and entertainment company's CEO, effective April 1.時事通信社

Guidelines issued by Japan's industry ministry in 2023 have opened the door for companies to launch takeover bids without the consent of the companies being acquired, which was widely considered taboo in the country.時事通信社

Many Bank of Japan policymakers last month agreed to wait to see economic policies by U.S. President Donald Trump before raising interest rates, minutes of their December meeting released on Wednesday showed.時事通信社

A survey by a Japanese research team found that male runners aged 60 or older were the most likely of any age group to suffer cardiac arrest during citizens' marathons in Japan, showing some six times greater frequency compared with those aged 49 or younger.時事通信社

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said Wednesday that his country will facilitate communication with China, including at a leaders' level.時事通信社

Bank of Japan policymakers were divided over a proposal by then Governor Haruhiko Kuroda to take an additional monetary easing step at a meeting in October 2014, according to a transcript of the meeting released on Wednesday.時事通信社

The number of people who committed suicide in Japan fell to 20,268 in 2024, marking the second consecutive year of decline and the second-lowest level after 20,169 in 2019, the health ministry said Wednesday.時事通信社

The Japan Sumo Association on Wednesday promoted Hoshoryu to yokozuna, the highest rank in the makuuchi top division of professional sumo from the second-highest rank of ozeki.時事通信社

Popular Japanese economist Takuro Morinaga, a professor at Dokkyo University in Soka, Saitama Prefecture, near Tokyo, died of cancer of unknown primary at his home on Tuesday, his office said. He was 67.時事通信社

A Japanese weekly has corrected its recent story about a Fuji Television Network Inc. employee's alleged role in a dinner at the center of a scandal involving former TV star Masahiro Nakai, its editorial department said Tuesday.時事通信社

Junglia Okinawa, a new theme park in northern Okinawa Prefecture, southernmost Japan, is set to open July 25, marketing company Katana Inc. and others said Tuesday.時事通信社

Japan's Fuji Television Network Inc. is expected to suffer a revenue plunge as many advertisers have suspended their commercials on Fuji TV amid turmoil caused by a scandal involving former pop star Masahiro Nakai.時事通信社