August 20, 2019
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif is expected to visit Japan later this month at the earliest for talks with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Foreign Minister Taro Kono, it was learned. Zar...
LONDON (AFP-Jiji) — Boris Johnson will visit European capitals this week on his first overseas trip as British leader, as his government said Sunday it had ordered the repeal of the decades-old law ...
GIBRALTAR (AP) — An Iranian supertanker hauling $130 million worth of light crude oil that the U.S. suspects to be tied to a sanctioned organization lifted its anchor and begun moving away from Gibr...
The government is considering launching a satellite to intercept foreign countries’ military satellites in the event of an emergency, as part of efforts to strengthen deterrence amid a rapidly incre...
TOKYO (Jiji Press) — The Japanese, Chinese and South Korean foreign ministers will hold a meeting in China on Wednesday, the Foreign Ministry announced on Friday. They are expected to discuss mai...
The government has tightened the criteria on bidding for security-related research and study projects and other contracts that handle confidential information in order to screen out companies that co...
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe met with top officials at the Prime Minister’s Office on Thursday to discuss Japan’s response to a U.S.-led maritime security mission aimed at ensuring security mainly i...
SEOUL — South Korean President Moon Jae-in indicated his willingness to pursue dialogue and cooperation with Japan during his speech Thursday to mark Liberation Day, in an apparent bid to avoid furt...
TOKYO (Jiji Press) —Prime Minister Shinzo Abe made a tamagushi ritual offering at his own expense to Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo on Thursday, the 74th anniversary of Japan’s surrender in World War...
SEOUL (AP) — South Korean President Moon Jae-in offered an olive branch to Japan to end an ongoing trade dispute Thursday, saying Seoul will “gladly join hands” if Tokyo wants to talk.
Moon in...
SEOUL — South Korean President Moon Jae-in indicated his willingness to pursue dialogue and cooperation with Japan during his speech Thursday to mark Liberation Day, in an apparent bid to avoid furt...
The U.S. government has shown its understanding of Japan’s position that the issue of South Korean former requisitioned workers had been “resolved under a 1965 agreement between Japan and South Ko...
SEOUL (AP) — South Korea said Monday that it has decided to remove Japan from a list of nations receiving preferential treatment in trade in what was seen as a tit-for-tat move following Tokyo’s r...
NAGATO, Yamaguchi (Jiji Press) — Prime Minister Shinzo Abe vowed Tuesday to launch full-fledged parliamentary discussions on constitutional amendment. “I reported [to my father] that now is the ...
The infrastructure ministry will send Japanese engineers to Southeast Asian countries in a bid to increase the number of foreign construction workers with specified skills needed to qualify for the n...
The Foreign Ministry will launch a project to invite African high school students to study in Japan, aiming to deepen young Africans’ understanding of Japan and foster human resources who can play a...
Arrangements have started for Chinese Vice President Wang Qishan to attend the Sokuirei-Seiden-no-gi ceremony related to the enthronement of the Emperor with a visit to Japan in the latter half of Oct...
PARIS (AFP-Jiji) — Vladimir Putin has held power for 20 years but he is still well behind the record terms of Cuba’s late Fidel Castro and North Korea’s founder Kim Il Sung. He is also far from...
SEOUL (Jiji Press) — South Korean President Moon Jae-in and U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper on Friday agreed on the importance of trilateral cooperation among their countries plus Japan amid tens...
TOKYO (Jiji Press) — Young ruling party politician Shinjiro Koizumi is ready to become a Cabinet minister and is qualified to run as a successor to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretar...
Workplace support for people with disabilities has become a major topic following the House of Councillor’s decision to provisionally cover the costs of care for two lawmakers with severe disabilit...
Japan has clearly showed that its stricter controls on exports to South Korea are not an “embargo” as claimed by Seoul, by granting approval for the shipment of some of the three items subject to...
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. is still hoping to hold another round of nuclear talks with North Korea despite the country’s recent missile tests, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Wednesday.
Tho...
APIA, Samoa (Reuters) — In a large church hall near the Samoan parliament, 175-kilogram judoka Derek Sua is being thrown to the mat by his Japanese coach, who is just a third his size.
Sua welcom...
WASHINGTON (Reuters) — A senior U.S. official said on Wednesday that Japan and South Korea needed to do some “soul searching” about political decisions that have damaged relations between the t...
At Wednesday’s Japan-U.S. defense ministerial meeting, the United States asked Japan to cooperate in a U.S.-led maritime security initiative aimed at ensuring safety in waterways including the Strai...
TOKYO (Jiji Press) — Two major opposition parties — the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan and the Democratic Party for the People — are seen working together in the House of Representati...
HIROSHIMA (Jiji Press) — Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Tuesday sounded negative about holding talks with South Korean President Moon Jae-in amid heightened tensions between the two Asian neighbors o...
The government is making final arrangements to create a space unit in the Self-Defense Forces — the first SDF unit of this kind — in fiscal 2020, according to several government sources.
The uni...
Amid the accelerating deterioration of Japan-South Korea relations, the Japanese government is intensifying its arguments against the South Korean Supreme Court ruling involving former requisitioned w...
BANGKOK — Friday’s decision by the Japanese government to take further export control measures against South Korea has prompted fierce opposition from the South Korean government.
The trade dis...
BANGKOK — U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo urged his Japanese and South Korean counterparts to find ways to ease heightened tensions between Tokyo and Seoul during a three-way meeting held in Ba...
TOKYO/SEOUL (Reuters) — South Korea fired back at Japan over a deepening trade dispute on Friday, pledging it would not be “defeated again” by its neighbor, laying bare decades-old animosity at...
MOSCOW (Jiji Press) — Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev on Friday visited one of the four northern territories, Russian news agency Tass reported. The visit to the island, Etorofu, came in sp...
The first attendance at the Diet by two newly elected House of Councillors lawmakers with severe disabilities has shone a spotlight on the plodding efforts by political assemblies across Japan to mak...
Efforts to make the House of Councillors barrier-free are speeding up for the sake of lawmakers with disabilities who won seats in the recent upper house election, ahead of an extraordinary Diet sessi...
The government plans to introduce about 20 large, unmanned helicopters to Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyers and other ships, several government sources said.
In response to China’s maritime ...
The government is not expecting there to be a change in the current order of succession to the Imperial throne in upcoming discussions on the issue. The government believes that if discussing the pos...
The government will prioritize lobbying Tehran to ease tensions over the Iranian situation, while taking time to coordinate with Washington over a U.S.-proposed international coalition to safeguard w...
SYDNEY (AFP-Jiji) — Australian universities are being investigated over their contracts with Chinese-state run Confucius Institutes, officials said Thursday, amid fresh revelations over the scope of...
Regarding U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s request for Japan to join an international coalition to protect the Strait of Hormuz, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told a news conference o...
TAMPA, Fla. — The United States has asked Japan and other countries to take part in an international coalition to ensure security in waterways including the Strait of Hormuz, U.S. Secretary of State...
The Defense Ministry has confirmed that a Russian military aircraft violated the airspace over Takeshima, Shimane Prefecture, on Tuesday morning.
South Korea, which illegally occupies the islets it ...
Upper house members who favor amending the Constitution, including those in the ruling bloc and Nippon Ishin no Kai, fell four short of a two-thirds majority, or 164 seats, in the recent House of Coun...
Following the results of the upper house election on Sunday in which the ruling coalition of the Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito won more than a majority of the contested seats, Prime Minister S...
The Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito won 71 of the 124 seats contested in Sunday’s House of Councillors election with all winners finalized Monday morning.
While the two ruling coalition part...
Voter turnout for Sunday’s House of Councillors election was 48.8 percent, according to the Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry. The figure is far below the 54.7 percent mark in the previo...
The ruling coalition of the Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito steadily gained seats in the House of Councillors, winning more than 63 seats, or a majority of the 124 seats up for grabs, in the uppe...
Leaders of the seven major political parties in total traveled more than 100,000 kilometers — enough to circle the globe two and a half times — seeking support around the country during the 17-day...
Foreign Minister Taro Kono said Friday the government will take countermeasures against South Korea for failing to meet a deadline to accept arbitration over a ruling ordering Japanese companies to p...
The traditional zodiac character for this year is the boar, and in past such years voter turnout tends to fall and the Liberal Democratic Party struggles.
These “Year of the Boar elections” come...
The ruling coalition of the Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito is expected to win at least 63 seats in the House of Councillors election next Sunday, more than half of the 124 seats up for grabs, a...
Ruling and opposition party candidates are taking opposing stances on two main points of contention in the upcoming House of Councillors election — the economy and social security system — accord...
The Japanese government takes seriously South Korea’s repeated illegal export of strategic goods with potential military applications, as these goods have been delivered to Iran, Syria and other co...
The Japanese government intends to gather information from U.S. authorities and carefully consider its response to a U.S. plan to form a coalition to protect waters in the Middle East, including the ...
The Japanese and South Korean governments have started to plan for talks to be held as early as this week among related officials over Tokyo’s tightening export controls against Seoul on materials ...
Why hasn’t Japan been able to eliminate the perception that politics is a man’s world? Gender equality, women’s active participation in the workplace and female empowerment have taken root in so...
BEIJING — China held a ceremony Sunday to mark the 82nd anniversary of the Marco Polo Bridge Incident, a prelude to the Sino-Japanese War, but its highest leadership is believed to have skipped the ...
ATHENS (AFP-Jiji) — Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras on Friday warned that the country risks a return to the “dark days” of austerity if his party loses a snap election on Sunday. As a trio...
The Liberal Democratic Party maintained a sizable lead over the largest opposition party, the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (CDPJ), ahead of the July 21 upper house election, according to a...
A total of 104 women are running in the House of Councillors election, for which campaigning officially kicked off Thursday, eight more than in the previous upper house election in 2016.
The ratio ...
SEOUL — South Korea’s foundation to support former comfort women, which was set up on the basis of a Japan-South Korea accord at the end of 2015, has officially been dissolved, a source close to t...
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s 6½-year-long administration will be put to the test in the House of Councillors election, with voting on July 21. Whether the Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition ...
The official House of Councillors election campaign will start Thursday, with the future of the social security system, including the pension system, likely becoming the largest point of contention. ...
Japan’s decision to impose a de facto embargo on exports to South Korea of chemicals crucial to semiconductor production is a firm hand against the country, which has shown no attitude to resolve a ...
The Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry announced Monday that the government will more tightly control exports to South Korea of chemicals used in producing semiconductors and other devices. The me...
OSAKA (AFP-Jiji) — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Saturday he was confident there would be no U.S. sanctions against Turkey over a controversial Russian missile deal, following reassur...
OSAKA — The Group of 20 summit closed its two-day meeting on Saturday, adopting the G20 Osaka Leaders’ Declaration. Amid mounting trade friction between the United States and China, the joint stat...
OSAKA — Reporters and media representatives covering the Group of 20 summit meeting in Osaka tasted some local delicacies served at the International Media Center.
Kushikatsu deep-fried meat and ...
The launch of the “Osaka Track” declared Friday by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at an event on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit meeting opened a new chapter in diplomatic bargaining over rule-...
OSAKA — Leaders of Group of 20 major economies addressed the issue of gender equality and called for empowering women during the second day of the summit in Osaka on Saturday.
A special event was h...
OSAKA — Japan has served as the chair of the Group of 20 summit at a critical time, when trade and geopolitical tensions are rising. To steer possibly volatile discussions among G20 leaders, Prime ...
OSAKA — A Japan-U.S. summit meeting was held on Friday amid concern over the bilateral relationship caused by a media report that U.S. President Donald Trump had considered withdrawing from a securi...
MIAMI (AFP-Jiji) — Frontrunner Joe Biden came under withering criticism Thursday from his Democratic rivals for the 2020 presidential nomination, including calls to leave the fight against Donald Tr...
OSAKA — Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and visiting Chinese President Xi Jinping both emphasized that they will keep improving bilateral relations during their meeting in Osaka on Thursday, although some...
OSAKA — Prime Minister Shinzo Abe called for the world’s leading economies to find common ground to mitigate downward risks to the global economy, during the first session of the Group of 20 summi...
OSAKA — Prime Minister Shinzo Abe sustained his handshake with South Korean President Moon Jae-in for eight seconds while welcoming him as chair of the summit of the leaders of the Group of 20 major...
OSAKA — Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and U.S. President Donald Trump agreed to strengthen the Japan-U.S. alliance and cooperate on issues related to North Korea and Iran during a meeting in Osaka on Fr...
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said he wants “to start a new Japan-China era” during bilateral talks with China’s President Xi Jinping in Osaka on Thursday.
The two leaders met at a hotel in the ...
OSAKA — The first summit of the Group of 20 major economies to be held in Japan opens on Friday in Osaka. In the two-day meeting, leaders from around the world are set to discuss issues including th...
OSAKA — Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his Indian counterpart, Narendra Modi, reaffirmed their position to work together to realize a “free and open Indo-Pacific” during their bilateral talks in ...
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and China’s President Xi Jinping are expected to state their intention to build a new relationship between Japan and China both at home and abroad during their bilateral su...
This is the second installment of a four-part series on the summit of the Group of 20 major economies in Osaka.
Cross-border data transactions have become a widespread international business and ar...
This is the first installment of a four-part series on the summit of the Group of 20 major economies in Osaka.
The first summit of the Group of 20 major economies to be held in Japan is just a few...
In a Cabinet meeting Friday, the government approved four plans that address how to develop future national policies, with an extra emphasis on expanding the workforce.
The four plans include the B...
The number of women planning to stand in this summer’s upper house elections makes it likely that a record-high ratio of female candidates will be fielded, possibly exceeding 30 percent. A law to p...
A flying object was likely used to attack a tanker operated by Kokuka Sangyo Co., the shipping company said at a press conference at its head office in Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo, on Friday.
The tanker was...
The Japan Coast Guard plans to establish one of the nation’s largest bases at Kagoshima Port, to support security operations that would strengthen the JCG’s ability to counter repeated incursions...
TEHRAN — Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani confirmed Wednesday that the Middle East country and the United States should avoid a military clash and strive to ease growin...
The government and ruling parties are struggling to calm the furor over a report stating that an elderly couple will need savings of ¥20 million ($184,000) in addition to their pension benefits in o...
The government will accelerate efforts to launch a website and a framework to help consumers resolve problems related to online shopping and other forms of e-commerce. Called online dispute resoluti...
KAWASAKI — The man who went on a stabbing spree in Tama Ward, Kawasaki, on Tuesday used two thin knives about 30 centimeters in length, according to investigative sources. Ryuichi Iwasaki, 51, a r...
