Japanese supermarket chain Ito-Yokado Co. on Sunday closed its store in Kasukabe, Saitama Prefecture, that is known as the model for the "Sato-Kokonokado" store that appears in the popular anime series "Crayon Shin-chan."Από τον 時事通信社

The town of Kibichuo in Okayama Prefecture, western Japan, on Monday started blood tests for residents after PFAS, potentially carcinogenic chemicals, was detected at a local water purification plant.Από τον 時事通信社

Ichiro Hirosawa, former deputy mayor of Nagoya, the capital of Aichi Prefecture, is certain to win Sunday's mayoral election in the central Japan city, defeating his six contenders, including former House of Councillors lawmaker Kohei Otsuka.Από τον 時事通信社

Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya is coordinating a visit to China within this year at the earliest to meet with his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, Japanese government sources said Sunday.Από τον 時事通信社

A ceremony was held for the first time on Sunday to remember all those who worked at the now-defunct gold mines on Sado Island in the central Japan prefecture of Niigata, including those from the Korean Peninsula.Από τον 時事通信社

Tohoku Electric Power Co. shut down the recently restarted No. 2 reactor at its Onagawa nuclear power plant in northeastern Japan on Sunday, as scheduled for equipment checks.Από τον 時事通信社

Countries participating in the COP29 climate conference have agreed on a funding target for efforts to combat climate change in developing countries, after negotiations were extended by two days.Από τον 時事通信社

Former Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has launched a new group within the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, apparently hoping to maintain his influence as current Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba leads a minority government.Από τον 時事通信社

A group of families of Japanese citizens abducted to North Korea decades ago held a rally in Tokyo on Saturday to demand the immediate return of all abductees, with Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba in attendance.Από τον 時事通信社

The South Korean government has decided not to attend Sunday's ceremony to remember those who worked at the now-defunct gold mines on Sado Island in the central Japan prefecture of Niigata, South Korean diplomatic sources said Saturday.Από τον 時事通信社

Incoming U.S. President Donald Trump may impose tariffs on Japanese cars exported to the United States, Stefan Angrick, a senior economist at Moody's Analytics Inc., said in a recent interview with Jiji Press.Από τον 時事通信社

The support group for a failed candidate in the recent gubernatorial election in Hyogo Prefecture, western Japan, has filed a criminal complaint with Hyogo prefectural police, claiming that its X, formerly Twitter, accounts were suspended in response to false reports during the campaign.Από τον 時事通信社

The 29th Conference of the Parties to the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change, or COP29, was extended after participants failed to conclude talks by Friday's initial deadline on how much to increase financial aid for climate action in developing nations.Από τον 時事通信社

A former MUFG Bank employee who was working in over-the-counter operations stole customer assets worth a total of over 1 billion yen at two branches in Tokyo between April 2020 and last month, the Japanese bank said Friday.Από τον 時事通信社

The Japanese government will help raise wages for care workers to alleviate labor shortages in the sector, Health, Labor and Welfare Minister Takamaro Fukuoka said in a recent interview.Από τον 時事通信社

Japanese chipmaker Kioxia Holdings Corp. said Friday that it has received approval from the Tokyo Stock Exchange to list its shares on the exchange's top-tier Prime section on Dec. 18.Από τον 時事通信社

Japanese convenience store chain FamilyMart Co. said Thursday that it has reduced the number of plastic cutlery units offered to customers by some 78pctby charging fees for them.Από τον 時事通信社

The average value of assets held by 19 ministers in Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's first cabinet stood at 72.45 million yen, the government said Friday.Από τον 時事通信社

The nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS George Washington entered the U.S. Navy's Yokosuka base in Kanagawa Prefecture, south of Tokyo, on Friday.Από τον 時事通信社

The Japanese government on Friday adopted an economic package focusing on benefits for low-income households, subsidies for utility bills and aid for the disaster-hit Noto Peninsula in central Japan.Από τον 時事通信社

Tokyo police served fresh arrest warrants Friday to a couple accused of killing family members using antifreeze, this time on suspicion of murdering the husband's mother by employing the same killing method.Από τον 時事通信社

The Japanese government decided Friday to spend about 319.5 million yen out of its fiscal 2024 reserve funds to cover costs for the funeral of Princess Yuriko, who died Nov. 15 at age 101, and related expenses.Από τον 時事通信社

About 6pctof Nissan Motor Co.'s North American employees have accepted the company's voluntary buyout offers, officials at the Japanese automaker said Friday.Από τον 時事通信社

The Chinese government is considering resuming visa exemption for Japanese nationals making short-term visits to China, sources with expertise on bilateral affairs said Friday.Από τον 時事通信社

Akihisa Nagashima, special adviser to Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, met with U.S. Deputy State Secretary Kurt Campbell on Thursday during his trip to Washington.Από τον 時事通信社

A Japanese nuclear waste management body submitted a report Friday on the results of a survey to select a final disposal site for high-level radioactive waste from nuclear power plants to the town of Suttsu, Hokkaido.Από τον 時事通信社

Japan's core consumer prices in October climbed 2.3pctfrom a year before, the internal affairs ministry said Friday.Από τον 時事通信社

The Japanese government presented a planned 39-trillion-yen comprehensive economic package to the ruling coalition of the Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito at a meeting Friday morning.Από τον 時事通信社

Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani won his third Major League Baseball MVP award Thursday, becoming the second player named MVP in both leagues only after the legendary Frank Robinson.Από τον 時事通信社

A team including Japanese government-backed research institute Riken has developed a plastic material that is as strong and easy to process as conventional plastics but can be dissolved in seawater in just a few hours.Από τον 時事通信社

A Japanese research team led by immunologist Masahiro Yamamoto has developed a way to curb cancers by reducing certain T cells that restrain the immune system.Από τον 時事通信社

Japanese Defense Minister Gen Nakatani met with his Chinese counterpart, Dong Jun, in Vientiane, the capital of Laos, on Thursday and urged the Chinese side to take thorough measures to prevent a recurrence of the recent violation of Japanese airspace by a Chinese military plane.Από τον 時事通信社

South Korea's defense ministry said Thursday Japanese Defense Minister Gen Nakatani will visit the country by the end of this year.Από τον 時事通信社

Nippon Life Insurance Co. said Thursday it will raise its promised yields on some retail insurance products with regular premium payments for the first time in about 40 years.Από τον 時事通信社

Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party on Thursday broadly approved a plan to abolish the policy activity funds that political parties provide to member lawmakers, amid criticism of a lack of transparency in the use of the funds.Από τον 時事通信社

The Shizuoka prefectural government is considering collecting entry fees of 3,000 yen to 5,000 yen per head from people climbing Mount Fuji from the central Japan prefecture's side, beginning next summer, officials said Thursday.Από τον 時事通信社

Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda said Thursday that the outcome of the central bank's next monetary policy meeting on Dec. 18-19 is "unpredictable."Από τον 時事通信社

A U.S. Osprey military transport plane landed at Amami Airport in the southwestern Japan prefecture of Kagoshima around 4 p.m. Thursday without requesting in advance to use the airport, local authorities said.Από τον 時事通信社

Japan's agriculture ministry held an emergency online meeting with officials from prefectural governments across the country on Thursday, in response to the ongoing spread of highly pathogenic avian influenza in the country.Από τον 時事通信社

Japan's economy and education ministries have drafted a guide for companies and universities to help people with doctoral degrees find jobs, it was learned Thursday.Από τον 時事通信社

Kansai Electric Power Co. said Thursday that the No. 3 reactor at its Mihama nuclear power plant in Fukui Prefecture, central Japan, has resumed operations that had been suspended since October due to damage to a pipe.Από τον 時事通信社

The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department has obtained an arrest warrant for a Chinese youth in his 10s over graffiti at the Japanese capital's war-related Yasukuni Shrine, investigative sources said Thursday.Από τον 時事通信社

Japanese flash memory maker Kioxia Holdings Corp. will go public on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in mid-December, it was learned Thursday.Από τον 時事通信社

Of married people in their 20s in Japan, 24pctsaid they met their spouses through dating apps, a private organization survey showed Thursday.Από τον 時事通信社

Japan will convene an extraordinary session of the Diet, its parliament, on Nov. 28 for a 24-day run until Dec. 21, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said Thursday.Από τον 時事通信社

Honda Motor Co. said Thursday that it will start trial production of all-solid-state batteries at a research base in Tochigi Prefecture, eastern Japan, in January next year.Από τον 時事通信社

The head of the Shizuoka District Public Prosecutors Office in central Japan is preparing to apologize in person as early as Wednesday to Iwao Hakamata, 88, recently acquitted in a retrial, sources said Thursday.Από τον 時事通信社

Former yokozuna sumo grand champion Kitanofuji, who was popular in recent years for his witty comments in live sumo tournament broadcasts, died on Nov. 12. He was 82.Από τον 時事通信社

Tokyo police have sent public prosecutors papers on three people involved in criminal investigations into machinery maker Ohkawara Kakohki Co. on suspicion of making, using and destroying documents containing falsified information.Από τον 時事通信社

Japan is expected to compile a draft fiscal 2024 supplementary budget with general-account expenditure of around 13.9 trillion yen to fund its envisioned economic package, it was learned Thursday.Από τον 時事通信社