JIJI English News-時事通信英語ニュース-

Italy is against Germany's participation in a three-way project to develop a next-generation fighter jet model, which also involves Japan and Britain, the Financial Times reported Saturday.

Japanese violinist Marika Konishi secured the fourth prize in the Long-Thibaud International Competition, known as a gateway to success for young musicians, in Paris on Saturday.

Japan edged Brazil 3-2 in an international friendly match for men's soccer in Singapore on Saturday.

Political jockeying over a bill to reduce the number of proportional representation seats in Japan's House of Representatives, the lower chamber of the Diet, the country's parliament, is expected to intensify.

Singaporean Ambassador to Japan Ong Eng Chuan has expressed hope that the upcoming official visit to his country by Japan's Princess Aiko will further deepen ties between the two countries.

Junya Ogawa, head of the Japanese opposition Democratic Reform Party, has stressed the need for cross-border taxation and redistribution.

A rally was held in the central Japan city of Niigata on Saturday, a day ahead of the 49th anniversary of a then 13-year-old Japanese girl being abducted to North Korea.

Police on Saturday arrested U.S. Air Force Capt. Omena C. Mushale, stationed at a base in the southernmost Japan prefecture of Okinawa, for allegedly drinking under the influence of alcohol in violation of the Japanese road traffic law.

Japan's Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako arrived in Osaka Prefecture on Saturday for the 45th National Convention for the Development of an Abundantly Productive Sea and other events.

Subaru Corp. unveiled a new model of its WRX sports sedan on Saturday.

Japan's Tama Home Co. said Saturday it has informed three major nonlife insurance companies of a plan to end its insurance agency business following fire insurance fraud involving its employees.

An operation to remove fuel from the building for the No. 2 reactor at Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc.'s disaster-stricken Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant in northeastern Japan is progressing smoothly thanks to thorough preparations, workers in charge of the mission have said.

Cumulative global shipments of Sony Group Corp.'s PlayStation 5 video game console topped 100 million units Tuesday, about six years after its launch in November 2020.

A U.S. resident who fled Lithuania during World War II on a visa issued by Japanese diplomat Chiune Sugihara received an award Friday from the Japanese consul-general in New York for her efforts to preserve the late renowned diplomat's humanitarian legacy.

The combined consolidated or unconsolidated net balance at Japan's 73 listed regional banks and banking groups came to 1,124 billion yen in profit in the April-September first half of fiscal 2026, up 34.2pctfrom a year before, according to their earnings reports released by Friday.

Japanese police have arrested a man, 33, on suspicion of abusing and killing her 3-year-old-daughter.

Japan is considering setting its total defense spending for the next five years at around 60 trillion yen, as it revises its three key national security-related documents at the end of this year.

Combined consolidated net profit at Japan's five major banking groups is projected to reach 7.06 trillion yen in fiscal 2026, surpassing the 7 trillion-yen mark for the first time, according to their earnings forecasts.

Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi and his Mexican counterpart, Roberto Velasco, agreed Friday to strengthen bilateral cooperation on economic security.

GMO Internet Group Inc. said Friday that the financial impact of an unauthorized access incident on its business so far is expected to reach approximately 3.05 billion yen.

German far-right party member Joerg Urban has shown his eagerness to learn from Japan over how to deal with an inflow of foreign nationals.

The United States is demanding that Japan provide a total of 3 trillion yen over the five years starting in fiscal 2027 for U.S. forces stationed in the country under its Host Nation Support program, about three times the current five-year total of around 1 trillion yen, informed sources said Friday.

Japan plans to help the Association of Southeast Asian Nations jointly stockpile petroleum products, people familiar with the matter said.

Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc. said Friday it has completed the seventh round of fiscal 2026 treated water release into the Pacific Ocean from its meltdown-stricken Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant in northeastern Japan.

Russia is increasing pressure on Japan while rejecting its demand for the immediate release of a Japanese journalist who was detained for alleged espionage a month ago.

Nihon Hidankyo, a Japanese atomic bomb survivor organization, and others have pledged to launch a campaign to increase the number of signatories to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said Friday that the government will design a planned income-linked benefit program so that at least 50pctof workers are eligible for benefits.

The Japanese government will provide 52 billion yen in special tax grants to a planned reconstruction fund in Kumamoto Prefecture following a major earthquake there in July, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said Friday.

Watami Co., a Japanese restaurant chain, is considering going private through a management buyout scheme, people familiar with the matter said Friday.

A Japanese team said that it has become the first in the world to create hybrid plant-animal cells, dubbed "planimal" cells, by fusing a unicellular alga called Cyanidioschyzon merolae into cultured animal cells.

Masaaki Yamazaki, former president of Japan's Senate, the upper chamber of parliament, died Friday. He was 84.

The Japanese government said Friday that Peruvian President Keiko Fujimori will pay a two-day visit to Japan starting Thursday.

No concrete progress has been made in exporting nuclear power plant equipment from Japan to India since the two countries signed a treaty of cooperation in the peaceful use of nuclear energy a decade ago.

The Japanese government has been hit by a massive Microsoft outage, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Masanao Ozaki said Friday.

The so-called Quad countries of Japan, the United States, Australia and India are arranging a summit in the Philippines for Tuesday, with Japan to be represented by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, the Japanese government said Friday.

An outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza has been confirmed at a chicken farm in Asahi, Chiba Prefecture, eastern Japan, the prefectural government said Friday.

A total of 53 countries and organizations, including Japan, on Thursday issued a joint statement urging the incoming Israeli government to allow rapid and unimpeded humanitarian access to the Palestinian territory of Gaza.

Japan Display Inc., or JDI, has reported a group net loss of 7,040 million yen for the April-September first half of fiscal 2026, improving from a loss of 11,363 million yen incurred a year earlier.

Three major Japanese oil wholesalers have posted record group net profits for the April-September period, as crude oil prices stayed high amid turmoil in the Middle East.

Many Japanese business leaders cited a shortage of cybersecurity professionals as a key challenge in combating a rapid increase in cyberattacks, a survey by the Japan Association of Corporate Executives, known as Keizai Doyukai, showed Thursday.