Japan, Philippines agree to work for early conclusion of defense pact

The Japanese and Philippine defense ministers have agreed to work toward the early conclusion of a reciprocal access agreement to boost security cooperation and facilitate joint drills, amid concern over China’s increasingly assertive actions in regional waters.

During their…[Read more]

‘Monster’ Inoue, Nery prepare for Tokyo Dome world title fight

Japan’s undisputed super-bantamweight world champion Naoya “Monster” Inoue and Mexican challenger Luis Nery both made weight Sunday for their title showdown at the 45,000-plus seater Tokyo Dome.

Boxing returns to the famous venue on Monday for the first time since 42-1 underdog James…[Read more]

Kishida vows to tackle global challenges with South America

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida pledged Saturday to work together with South American countries to tackle global challenges including climate change, economic disparity and poverty.

Kishida made the remarks in a speech in Sao Paulo on Japan’s policies toward Latin America and the…[Read more]

ICJ rejects emergency measures over German arms exports to Israel

The International Court of Justice has ruled against issuing emergency measures over German arms sales to Israel as requested by Nicaragua, which had argued that there was a serious risk of genocide in Gaza amid Israel’s assault on the Palestinian territory.

Nicaragua also d…[Read more]

German court jails teen over murder of 6-year-old

A court in the German state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania on Thursday sentenced a 15-year-old to seven years and nine months in prison over the death of a 6-year-old.

What we know about the crime
The court heard that the victim, known to the German media as Joel, had been out playing in his…[Read more]

Germany’s foreign minister reaches Australia — finally

A plane carrying German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock landed in the southern Australian city of Adelaide on Thursday for a trip that had to be abandoned last August.

Baerbock made the journey on one of Berlin’s new VIP planes named Konrad Adenauer — the predecessor of which was dog…[Read more]

German police bust Europe’s ‘largest’ scam call center

Police in Germany announced on Thursday that they, along with colleagues from Albania, Bosnia, Kosovo and Lebanon, had busted what is thought to have been Europe’s largest scam call center.

In a separate statement, the European police agency Europol said that 12 call centers had been raided…[Read more]

Kishida to stress rules-based global order, support for emerging nations at OECD meeting

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Wednesday that he will stress the need for a rules-based international order in the face of global challenges and tensions when he attends a meeting of the Organizations for Economic Cooperation and Development in…[Read more]

Yen falls to lower 155 zone against dollar after suspected intervention

The yen slipped to the lower 155 range against the U.S. dollar on Thursday in Tokyo after another suspected yen-buying intervention by Japanese authorities sent the currency to as high as 153 overnight.

The yen gave up some gains as Japanese importers bought the dollar,…[Read more]

Foreign traveler caught trying to sneak into Japan by climbing down rope from cruise ship

On Monday, the MSC Bellissima started its latest Japanese voyage, departing the port of Yokohama in the evening and sailing west through the night. The ship, operated by Switzerland’s MSC Cruises, docked in Kobe at around 3 o’clock in the afternoon the fol…[Read more]

Biden blames China, Japan and India’s economic woes on ‘xenophobia’

U.S. President Joe Biden said on Wednesday that “xenophobia” from China to Japan and India is hobbling their growth, as he argued that migration has been good for the U.S. economy.

“One of the reasons why our economy’s growing is because of you and many others. Why? Because we…[Read more]

Bundesliga: Dortmund earn shock win at Bayern Munich

For the first time in 15 years Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund met in ‘Der Klassiker’ without the Bundesliga title on the line, but Germany’s most-anticipated clash still drew the attention of an international crowd.

Munich-born Karim Adeymi silenced a 75,000-strong crowd at the Allianz…[Read more]

Germany: Knife-wielding man killed by Nienburg police

German police shot dead a man armed with a knife in the city of Nienburg, in the state of Lower Saxony on Saturday.

The man had allegedly been threatening his girlfriend and then went on to attack police.

A police officer and service dog were seriously injured during the incident according…[Read more]

Police boost Bayern v Dortmund security amid terror alert

Police in the German city of Munich have deployed more officers to secure the the Allianz Arena during a Bundesliga match between Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund on Saturday.

The increased security presence comes after police received a tip on Friday that images circulated on social…[Read more]

Germany shuts 7 coal power stations after winter ends

Seven coal-fired power stations in Germany were shut down over Easter, power generators RWE and LEAG said on Sunday.

The government took five plants out of mothballs to cope with a shortfall in gas supplies through the winter as Europe’s largest economy sought to reduce its dependency on…[Read more]

Germany’s AfD on TikTok: The political battle for the youth

Maximilian Krah is not your typical TikToker. He’s a middle-aged white man, wears a suit with a handkerchief tucked into the pocket, is Catholic, has eight children and is a politician. His short video clips feature him doing nothing more than delivering short statements.

And yet he is…[Read more]

Japan raids factory making health supplements linked to deaths

Health officials in Japan have raided a factory belonging to Kobayashi Pharmaceutical after the drugmaker reported a fifth death possibly linked to its dietary supplements advertised as helping to lower cholesterol.

On Saturday, officials from the ministries of health, labour and…[Read more]

Japan to resume funding to UNRWA, following Sweden, Finland and Canada

Japan is planning to resume funding to the United Nations aid agency for Palestinian refugees after suspending assistance over Israeli claims that some of its staff participated in Hamas’s October 7 attacks.

Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa met UNRWA chief Philippe L…[Read more]

Japan, China hold ‘expert dialogue’ over Fukushima water releases

Japan and China held an “expert dialogue” on Saturday over the release of treated radioactive wastewater from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, in their latest effort to address the dispute about the issue.

During the talks in Dalian, northeastern China, the…[Read more]

Central Tokyo logs 28.1 C on Sunday; record-high temperature for March

Central Tokyo experienced a record-high temperature for March at 28.1 C on Sunday as a high-pressure system brought summer-like heat to parts of the Japanese archipelago, the country’s weather agency said.

The high was marked at 1:32 p.m. in Tokyo’s Chiyoda Ward, according to…[Read more]