JIJI English News-時事通信英語ニュース-

Two Japanese high courts ruled Friday that the Feb. 8 election for Japan's House of Representatives, the lower chamber of parliament, was constitutional in terms of vote-value disparities.

Japan's Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi arrived in Singapore on Friday to attend the Asia Security Summit, also known as the Shangri-La Dialogue, which will run for three days through Sunday.

Japan's Diet, or parliament, enacted a bill on Friday to oblige power plant operators to draw up and submit plans to dispose of used solar panels.

Japanese authorities spent 11,734.9 billion yen in foreign exchange market interventions from April 28 to Wednesday, with the amount hitting a record high on a monthly basis, the Finance Ministry said Friday.

Tokyo District Court on Friday found one anesthesiologist guilty and another not guilty over the death of a 2-year-old boy at Tokyo Women's Medical University Hospital in 2014.

The Philippines is set to strengthen its oil stockpiling system in response to the energy crisis caused by the tense situation in the Middle East, with support from Japan, as agreed by the leaders of the two countries at their summit in Tokyo on Thursday.

The share of Japanese households owning smartphones outnumbered that of television-owning households for the first time last year, the communications ministry said Friday.

Police on Friday placed on a public wanted list a 48-year-old man who allegedly orchestrated a fatal home-invasion robbery in the eastern Japan prefecture of Tochigi and fled the country after the crime.

Japanese Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako bid farewell to Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and his wife at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo on Friday.

Vote-value disparities between single-seat constituencies for Japan's House of Representatives, the lower chamber of parliament, reach up to 2.274 times, according to an estimate made based on preliminary results of the 2025 national census released by the internal affairs ministry Friday.

Only about 30pctof Japanese companies have taken substantive measures to ensure economic security, such as diversifying procurement sources and strengthening cybersecurity, with less profitable firms tending not to take action, a government report showed Friday.

Japanese stocks climbed in trading in Tokyo Friday on hopes for an extension of the U.S.-Iran ceasefire, driving the benchmark Nikkei 225 average to a new closing high above 66,000.

Japan's Defense Ministry said Friday that four Self-Defense Force members will take part in NATO's mission to provide security aid and training to Ukraine.

The Diet, or Japan's parliament, on Friday enacted health insurance system reform bills that call for, among others, raising patients' out-of-pocket expenses for prescribed drugs with ingredients and effects similar to those of over-the-counter drugs.

Major food makers in Japan plan to raise prices for 1,078 items in June, with the number topping the threshold of 1,000 for the first time in two months, a survey by Teikoku Databank Ltd. showed Friday.

The Japanese government expressed concern about the impact of a sharp increase in private-sector rice imports on domestic rice production in an annual white paper adopted Friday.

The Diet, Japan's parliament, enacted a bill Friday that paves the way for the creation of an investment screening body similar to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, or CFIUS.

Japan's industrial production in April grew 0.8pctfrom the previous month, the first rise in three months, thanks to strong output of general-purpose and business machinery, preliminary industry ministry data showed Friday.

The core consumer price index for central Tokyo in May advanced 1.3pctfrom a year before, up for the 57th straight month, internal affairs ministry data showed Friday.

Japan's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell 0.2 percentage point from the previous month to 2.5pctin April, the first improvement in two months, the internal affairs ministry said Friday.

Japanese Ambassador to the United Nations Kazuyuki Yamazaki brushed aside Russia's criticism against Japan's defense buildup in a resumed U.N. session in New York on Thursday.

The Diet, Japan's parliament, enacted on Friday a bill to raise the caps on fees for foreign nationals' applications related to residence status by up to 30-fold.

Japan's total population, including foreign residents, fell by a record 3,096,575 in the past five years, a national census survey conducted last year showed Friday.

Japan's three megabanks are expected to obtain access to a new artificial intelligence model of OpenAI, the U.S. company behind generative AI chatbot ChatGPT, according to informed sources.

Some Japanese companies, including Fujitsu Ltd. and Asahi Kasei Corp., are considering investing in a new firm established by SoftBank Corp. and others to develop Japanese-made artificial intelligence, it was learned Thursday.

The leaders of Japan and the Philippines agreed at their summit in Tokyo on Thursday to upgrade their countries' relations to a "quasi-alliance," aiming to counter China's increasing military activities, a common concern for both countries.

Electricity bills are expected to rise at nine of Japan's 10 major power utilities in June, driven by rising crude oil prices amid the tense situation in the Middle East.

Lawson Inc. opened a small supermarket offering fresh produce and other goods at reasonable prices in Kodaira, Tokyo, on Thursday, the first such outlet run by the major Japanese convenience store chain.

Combined global vehicle sales at eight major Japanese automakers fell 1.3pctin April from a year earlier to 1,936,042 units, according to data released by the companies on Thursday.

A regular passenger ferry service is set to be launched to connect the northern Taiwan city of Keelung and Ishigaki Island in the southernmost Japan prefecture of Okinawa.

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in a speech to the Diet, Japan's parliament, on Thursday vowed to take the initiative in maintaining a rules-based maritime order.

The Group of Seven major countries are expected to forgo issuing a joint communique at their summit in France in June, hoping to avoid exposing disagreements between the United States and European members regarding international affairs, it was learned Thursday.

The Okayama branch of Hiroshima High Court ruled Thursday that the Feb. 8 election for Japan's House of Representatives, the lower chamber of parliament, was constitutional in terms of vote-value disparities.

A panel of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party presented a draft proposal Thursday calling for the use of stopgap bonds to fund the government's investment in crisis management and growth measures.

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and visiting Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. held a bilateral summit at a state guest house in Tokyo on Thursday, aiming to upgrade their countries' relationship to a comprehensive and strategic partnership.

Osaka High Court on Thursday overturned a lower court ruling rejecting the Nuclear Regulation Authority's safety approval for two reactors at Kansai Electric Power Co.'s Oi nuclear plant in Fukui Prefecture, central Japan.

Typhoon Jangmi, the sixth typhoon of the year, may approach Okinawa's main island and Amami Oshima Island in southern Japan with strong intensity from Monday to Tuesday, possibly bringing strong winds, high waves and heavy rain.

Tokyo police arrested Shunichiro Sato, a member of Japan's national volleyball team for men, on Thursday on suspicion of cannabis possession in violation of the narcotics control law, investigative sources said.

Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party again proposed drafting a provision that would allow lawmakers' terms of office to be extended during large-scale disasters, as part of parliamentary debates on amending the Constitution on Thursday.

A man in his 40s who allegedly directed a recent robbery-murder in Tochigi Prefecture, eastern Japan, left the country from Narita International Airport near Tokyo for China following the arrest of another person involved in the incident, investigative sources said Thursday.