Kishida invited by Biden for state visit in early 2024

apanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Thursday he has been invited by U.S. President Joe Biden to make a state visit early next year, an announcement made as the two countries step up cooperation bilaterally and trilaterally with South Korea in the face of increasing security challenges…[Read more]

China, Japan reaffirm strategic relationship in rare leader talks

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida committed to pursuing mutually-beneficial relations in their first face-to-face talks in a year, a sign that Asia’s two largest economies are looking to patch up strained ties.

The two leaders also discussed…[Read more]

Japan panel proposes child care plan covering 100% of income

In the hope of encouraging more fathers to take paternity leave, a health ministry panel on Monday proposed a plan to increase child care leave allowance so that it covers 100% of income — up from around 80% — if both parents each take 14 days of leave or more.
When working parents tak…[Read more]

Mass Production of Bio-Jet Fuel in Japan: Embracing the Challenge

Sanyu Plant Service is working to be the first in Japan to mass-produce bio-jet fuel, answering the aviation industry’s need for sustainable fuel alternatives.

n business for 75 years, Sanyu Plant Service (Sagamihara City, Kanagawa Prefecture) has established a reputation for…[Read more]

Turkey’s Erdogan calls Israel a ‘terror state’, criticises the West

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has called Israel a “terror state”, stepping up his condemnation of the Israeli assault on the besieged Gaza Strip ahead of a sensitive visit to Germany.

Erdogan said on Wednesday that Israel’s military campaign against the Palestinian…[Read more]

Pacific island nations express concern over Japan’s tainted water release

Leaders of Pacific island nations expressed strong concerns over the release of treated radioactive water from Japan’s wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant into the Pacific Ocean during a regional summit through Friday, according to Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark…[Read more]

Thousands sheltering at Gaza City’s hospitals flee as Israel-Hamas war closes in

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip
Thousands of Palestinians sheltering from the Israel-Hamas war at Gaza City’s main hospital fled south Friday after several reported strikes in and around the compound overnight. They joined a growing exodus of people escaping intense urb…[Read more]

Pacific island nations express concern over Japan’s tainted water release

AVARUA
Leaders of Pacific island nations expressed strong concerns over the release of treated radioactive water from Japan’s wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant into the Pacific Ocean during a regional summit through Friday, according to Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark…[Read more]

Pressuring North Korea to Resolve Abductions Has International Support

In the United Nations, an online symposium was recently held on the issue of North Korea’s abductions of Japanese and citizens of other countries. It was aimed at finding a resolution to the issue.

Japan, Australia, South Korea, and the European Union jointly hosted the…[Read more]

Japan’s Kishida vows to prioritize economic steps to fight inflation

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida sought to boost his flagging fortunes by pledging to prioritize an economic package to help combat inflation.

“What I have in my mind right now is one thing: ‘Never miss the flow of change, seize it,'” Kishida said Monday in a policy speech…[Read more]

Japan LDP heavyweight Hosoda dies after quitting as house speaker

Former Japanese House of Representatives Speaker Hiroyuki Hosoda died Friday at age 79, his office said, less than a month after he left the post due to health reasons while insisting on running in the next general election.

Hosoda, who became lower house chief in November…[Read more]

Japan SDF planes fly to Djibouti to ready for Israel’s evacuation

Three Air Self-Defense Force airplanes left Japan for Djibouti in East Africa on Saturday to prepare for the possible airlifting of Japanese nationals from Israel, where tensions are rising following Palestinian militant group Hamas’s massive attack a week ago.

The ASDF’s KC767…[Read more]

Japan firms should not ‘miss bus’ on India, commerce chief says

India’s vast economic potential has much to offer Japanese companies that move quickly to invest in the market, Indian Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal told Nikkei.

“I do hope Japanese companies will take faster decisions and not miss the bus,” Goyal said in an interview…[Read more]

Fushimi Inari Shrine (伏見稲荷大社, Fushimi Inari Taisha) is an important Shinto shrine in southern Kyoto. It is famous for its thousands of vermilion torii gates, which straddle a network of trails behind its main buildings. The trails lead into the wooded forest of the sacred Mount Inari, which stands at 233 meters and belongs to the shrine grou…[Read more]

Kyoto (京都, Kyōto) served as Japan’s capital and the emperor’s residence from 794 until 1868. It is one of the country’s ten largest cities with a population of 1.5 million people and a modern face.

Over the centuries, Kyoto was destroyed by many wars and fires, but due to its exceptional historic value, the city was dropped from the list of targ…[Read more]

Asian shares mostly rise after U.S. stocks wobble as Treasury bond yields veer

TOKYO
Shares mostly rose Tuesday in Asia after Wall Street wobbled to a mixed close as yields on U.S. Treasury bonds fell back after creeping above 5%.

Benchmarks rose in Tokyo, Sydney, Seoul, Shanghai and Taiwan, but fell in Hong Kong.

Rapidly rising yields in the…[Read more]

IMF projects Japan’s GDP to fall to world’s 4th in 2023 after Germany

WASHINGTON
Japan’s nominal gross domestic product in 2023 is expected to slip from third to fourth in the world on a U.S. dollar basis, to be overtaken by Germany, on the back of the yen’s depreciation, recent International Monetary Fund projections showed.

As the nominal GDP…[Read more]

Japan to extend gasoline, energy subsidies through April

TOKYO
The Japanese government is planning to extend subsidies aimed at curbing gasoline and other fuel prices as well as utility bills from the end of this year to the end of April, a source familiar with the matter said Tuesday.

The government will consider phasing out gasoline subsidies…[Read more]