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

Hong Kong-based investment fund Oasis Management Co. said Tuesday that it plans to file a damages lawsuit against the former chairman of Kobayashi Pharmaceutical Co. and others over a high-profile health hazard scandal involving supplements containing "beni koji" red fermented rice.時事通信社

Japanese vehicle maker Honda Motor Co. said Tuesday that it will build a plant in India dedicated to manufacturing electric motorcycles.時事通信社

Shinji Aoba, who was sentenced to death over the July 2019 arson attack on Kyoto Animation Co., has withdrawn his appeal, finalizing the ruling, it was learned Tuesday.時事通信社

Tomoko Yoshino, head of Japan's biggest labor group, Rengo, has expressed hopes that smaller businesses will decide to raise wages strongly in this year's "shunto" labor-management pay talks.時事通信社

PFAS concentrations in blood samples from 87.4pctof those tested in a town in Okayama Prefecture, western Japan, exceeded a U.S. standard for the potentially carcinogenic chemicals, it was learned Tuesday.時事通信社

The accountant of the Liberal Democratic Party in the Tokyo metropolitan assembly has been fined 1 million yen over a slush funds scandal involving fundraising party revenues, it was learned Tuesday.時事通信社

Iwate Prefecture held an event to promote its foodstuffs in New York on Monday, serving specialties from the northeastern Japan prefecture to people in the food and restaurant industry.時事通信社

The Japanese government on Tuesday nominated Waseda University professor Junko Koeda as a member of the Bank of Japan's Policy Board.時事通信社

SBI Shinsei Bank said Tuesday that it will repay by the end of March 100 billion yen out of the remaining public funds totaling some 330 billion yen that were injected into the Japanese bank in the past.時事通信社

Japanese Justice Minister Keisuke Suzuki said Tuesday that he will consult the Legislative Council on Feb. 10 over law revisions aimed at clarifying the standards for recognizing the crime of dangerous driving resulting in injury or death.時事通信社

Japanese services producer prices rose 2.9pctfrom the previous year in 2024, the sharpest increase since 1991, the Bank of Japan said Tuesday.時事通信社

The western Japan city of Settsu marked the 50th anniversary this fiscal year since starting to give out its originally designed "randoseru" traditional school backpack for free to all children getting enrolled in elementary schools in the city, an initiative aimed at helping ease the financial burdens on households.…

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has toned down his stance on the proposed introduction of a selective dual surname system for married couples.時事通信社

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on Tuesday took a cautious stance about legalizing same-sex marriage.時事通信社

The Japanese government said Tuesday that it will propose that the Asuka-Fujiwara archeological sites in Nara Prefecture, western Japan, be listed as a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site.時事通信社

United States Steel Corp. on Monday reiterated that its sale to Nippon Steel Corp. is the best deal, after a U.S. activist investor urged the U.S. steelmaker to abandon the transaction.時事通信社

Three major Japanese banks said Monday that they will raise their short-term prime lending rates by 0.25 percentage point in March following Friday's decision by the Bank of Japan to increase interest rates.時事通信社

Japanese travel agency H.I.S. Co. said Monday that the company received government employment adjustment subsidies inappropriately during the COVID-19 pandemic and that it will return part of them.時事通信社

Tokyo police Monday arrested two members of Natural, one of Japan's biggest sex worker scout groups, for allegedly introducing women to sexual service establishments.時事通信社

Japan's Cosmo Energy Holdings Co. said Monday that it will start supplying domestic sustainable aviation fuel, or SAF, to All Nippon Airways and Japan Airlines in April.時事通信社

The Japan Business Federation, or Keidanren, on Monday disclosed a new target of increasing domestic corporate capital expenditures to 135 trillion yen in fiscal 2030 and 200 trillion yen in fiscal 2040.時事通信社

White goods shipments in Japan in 2024 rose 1.4pctfrom the previous year to 2,580.1 billion yen, the second highest on record, the Japan Electrical Manufacturers' Association said Monday.時事通信社

The huge earthquake that hit Kobe and other western Japan areas in 1995 has led to expectations that convenience stores will serve as a lifeline in times of disaster.時事通信社

Japan's Liberal Democratic Party approved a draft bill Monday to require the disclosure of the names and other information of companies and other organizations that donate 10 million yen or more to political parties in a year.時事通信社

Japanese logistics group Yamato Holdings Co. and system developer Fujitsu Ltd. said Monday that they will start a service in February to match shippers and transportation providers for efficient deliveries, aiming to counter truck driver shortages.時事通信社

Opposition force Nippon Ishin no Kai ()削除 urged the ruling parties Monday to start work soon to scrap the income limit for financial aid to make high school tuition effectively free in April.時事通信社

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on Monday reiterated his position of continuing to allow companies and other organizations to make donations to political parties.時事通信社

Restaurant sales in Japan in 2024 grew 8.4pctfrom the year before, up for the third straight year, the Japan Food Service Association said Monday.時事通信社

A local civic group will launch another survey later this week to locate the remains of 183 people left at an underwater coal mine that was flooded in an accident more than 80 years ago in the western Japan city of Ube.時事通信社

Fuji Media Holdings Inc. on Monday announced the resignation of Koichi Minato, president of its core subsidiary, Fuji Television Network Inc., effective the same day.時事通信社

Naito Securities Co. said Monday that it will raise its starting monthly pay for university graduates by 43,000 yen to 300,000 yen per month in April as part of broader wage increases on the back of strong earnings.時事通信社