A special committee of Japan's House of Representatives on Wednesday passed a bill submitted by the ruling Liberal Democratic Party to revise the political funds control law in the wake of the LDP's high-profile "slush fund" scandal.Av 時事通信社

Nuclear Damage Compensation and Decommissioning Facilitation Corp. launched a debate Wednesday to update Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc.'s medium-term business plan, which includes how to secure compensation costs following its nuclear accident in Fukushima Prefecture in 2011.Av 時事通信社

Toyota Motor Corp. said Wednesday it plans for now to suspend production of three vehicle models involved in certification irregularities from Thursday to June 28.Av 時事通信社

Lifetime disposable income for households with wives who continue working post-childbirth is 167 million yen higher than that for those who quit their jobs and remain unemployed, a Japanese government estimate showed Wednesday.Av 時事通信社

Japan's parliament enacted on Wednesday an amended law stipulating government assistance for young people who provide daily care for family members.Av 時事通信社

Japanese chipmaker Rapidus Corp. said Wednesday that it will set up a facility at Hokkaido University to assess and analyze next-generation semiconductors.Av 時事通信社

The Japanese government decided Wednesday to draw up a new strategy by the end of this year to increase the country's infrastructure exports.Av 時事通信社

Japanese cryptocurrency exchange DMM Bitcoin Co. said Wednesday that it will raise 55 billion yen to address an unauthorized outflow of about 48.2 billion yen's worth of bitcoin.Av 時事通信社

The growth rate of monthly wages of full-time employees at small companies in Japan stood at 3.62 pct, or 9,662 yen in value terms, on weighted average in fiscal 2024, a survey by the Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry found Wednesday.Av 時事通信社

Japan's total fertility rate fell to a record low of 1.20 in 2023 from 1.26 in 2022, down for the eighth straight year, the health ministry said Wednesday.Av 時事通信社

A Japanese court Wednesday turned down a request for a retrial for the 1992 murder of two girls in the southwestern prefecture of Fukuoka, for which a death row convict had been executed.Av 時事通信社

The number of applications for public welfare benefits in Japan rose 2.3pctfrom the previous year to 251,364 in fiscal 2023, which ended in March, marking the fourth straight annual increase, according to preliminary survey results released by the welfare ministry survey on Wednesday.Av 時事通信社

Japan's parliament Wednesday enacted a bill aimed at bolstering measures to tackle the country's declining birthrate.Av 時事通信社

Japan's parliament Wednesday approved an international treaty to set up an intergovernmental organization managing the joint development of the next-generation fighter jet by Japan, Britain and Italy.Av 時事通信社

Law enforcement authorities of Paraguay have announced that two elderly Japanese men were found dead in their house in Pirapo, southern Paraguay.Av 時事通信社

A senior local official of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party has urged Prime Minister and LDP President Fumio Kishida to step down to change "the party's face" at a time when it is struggling amid low public support due to a high-profile slush fund scandal.Av 時事通信社

Japan logged a marked slowdown in inflation-adjusted wage declines in April following pay hikes agreed in this year's "shunto" spring wage negotiations, labor ministry data showed Wednesday.Av 時事通信社

Ippei Mizuhara, a former interpreter for Major League Baseball star Shohei Ohtani, pleaded guilty to bank and tax fraud in a federal court in Santa Ana, California, on Tuesday.Av 時事通信社

Efforts are underway in Japan to develop artificial intelligence-based tools that will help detect dementia at an early stage, including one that analyzes how people walk.Av 時事通信社

Japan expressed concerns to China over video footage of vandalism to Tokyo's Yasukuni Shrine circulating on Chinese social media, Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa said at a press conference Tuesday.Av 時事通信社

A group of Japanese companies said Tuesday that it will launch a campaign to help address congestion in tourist destinations in the Kyushu and Okinawa southwestern region.Av 時事通信社

The mother of a 30-year-old woman charged with killing and beheading a man in Sapporo last July denied Tuesday that she provided assistance to the daughter.Av 時事通信社

The Japanese government said Tuesday that it will develop a comprehensive strategy as early as spring 2025 to help the country play a greater role in making international intellectual property rules.Av 時事通信社

The Japanese government on Tuesday designated four areas as special zones to promote new entry and expansion of domestic and foreign financial and asset management businesses and attract inflows of foreign investment to the country.Av 時事通信社

Hitachi Ltd. said Tuesday that it has signed an agreement with Microsoft Corp. to collaborate in expanding the use of generative artificial intelligence to improve business productivity and efficiency.Av 時事通信社

Private-sector members of Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's key economic policy panel Tuesday urged the government to draw up a new fiscal reform program through fiscal 2030, when the country's population is projected to start declining in full swing.Av 時事通信社

Japanese police have arrested a 17-year-old boy for allegedly stealing IDs and passwords of people attempting to buy his fictitious online game account by guiding them to a fraudulent website.Av 時事通信社

Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc. said Tuesday that it has completed as planned the second round of the fiscal 2024 release of treated water from its crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant into the ocean.Av 時事通信社

The Japan Fair Trade Commission on Tuesday conducted an on-site inspection of medical equipment maker Sysmex Corp. in the western Japan city of Kobe on suspicion of illegal tie-in sales of hemostasis analyzers and test reagents.Av 時事通信社

The Japanese government Tuesday adopted a plan for Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako to make an official visit to Britain from June 22 to 29.Av 時事通信社

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Tuesday he is "now focusing on issues that cannot be put off, such as political reforms," in response to a media report that he does not plan to dissolve the House of Representatives during the current regular Diet session for a general election.Av 時事通信社

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Monday that his country is considering upgrading the rank of the commander of U.S. forces in Japan.Av 時事通信社

The Japanese government said in an annual report on Tuesday that it aims to halve the amount of cedar pollen in the country in 30 years by reducing the area of artificial cedar forests by about 20pctover the next 10 years.Av 時事通信社

A Japanese government white paper Tuesday warned that fuel prices may rise further given the unstable international situations, putting an obstacle to stable energy supplies to Japan.Av 時事通信社

Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party canceled a plan to pass its bill to revise the political funds control law through the House of Representatives on Tuesday.Av 時事通信社

The publisher of manga series "Sexy Tanaka-san" has criticized Nippon Television Network Corp. for its alleged "insincere" attitude over the television drama adaptation of the manga.Av 時事通信社

Japan's transport ministry on Tuesday conducted an on-site inspection of Toyota Motor Corp.'s headquarters in the city of Toyota, Aichi Prefecture, central Japan, over vehicle test fraud.Av 時事通信社

Charles Oppenheimer, a grandson of U.S. scientist Robert Oppenheimer, dubbed the "father of the atomic bomb," has called for peaceful use of nuclear energy at a news conference in Tokyo.Av 時事通信社

Princess Yuriko, the oldest living member of the Japanese Imperial Family, turned 101 on Tuesday.Av 時事通信社

Japan's Fisheries Agency has announced an agreement it reached with Russia on Japanese fishing quotas for salmon and trout in Russia's 200-nautical-mile zone for this year after a two-year break.Av 時事通信社

Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party aims to get its bill to revise the political funds control law through the House of Representatives, the lower chamber of parliament, on Tuesday, people familiar with the matter said Monday.Av 時事通信社

NTT Docomo Inc. said Monday that it aims to start a network service using a technology that sends radio waves from unmanned aircraft flying in the stratosphere in 2026.Av 時事通信社

Almost 45pctof Japanese nationals living abroad feel lonely, a Foreign Ministry survey showed Monday.Av 時事通信社

Japan and the European Union on Monday agreed to strengthen cooperation to expand the use of hydrogen, which is considered a promising next-generation energy source.Av 時事通信社

A Japanese-German exchange project focusing on design has begun in Dusseldorf, which hosts the largest Japanese community in Germany.Av 時事通信社

Japanese electronics maker Sharp Corp. said Monday it has agreed to start talks to construct an artificial intelligence data center with telecommunications carrier KDDI Corp. and two other companies.Av 時事通信社

A Chinese man suspected of spraying graffiti on a pillar of Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo has left Japan for his home country, Japanese police said Monday.Av 時事通信社

Japanese Empress Emerita Michiko, 89, has tested positive for COVID-19, the Imperial Household Agency said Monday.Av 時事通信社

South Korea will fully suspend the military agreement it concluded with North Korea in 2018 until trust between the two sides is restored, the South Korean presidential office said Monday.Av 時事通信社

Technical and financial problems have been identified in the year since Japan's first transportation service using so-called Level 4 autonomous driving began in the town of Eiheiji, Fukui Prefecture.Av 時事通信社