Bank of Japan policymakers Friday voted to reduce the central bank's purchase amount of Japanese government bonds, the BOJ said.Di 時事通信社

Tokyo's Metropolitan Police Department has arrested 23 men on suspicion of brokering female workers at a call girl business for prostitution, the largest number of people apprehended at once by the MPD over prostitution-brokering allegations, it was learned Monday.Di 時事通信社

With the twin giant panda cubs at Tokyo's Ueno Zoo turning 3 years old next Sunday, the clock is ticking for their eventual transfer to China.Di 時事通信社

The opposition Democratic Party for the People will cooperate with the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan and the Japanese Trade Union Confederation, or Rengo, in the next general election, DPFP head Yuichiro Tamaki said Monday.Di 時事通信社

Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi on Monday expressed worry about what he described as China's "rapid and unclear" expansion of its nuclear arsenal.Di 時事通信社

Japan's seasonally adjusted core machinery orders fell 2.9pctfrom the previous month in April, the first drop in three months, the Cabinet Office said Monday.Di 時事通信社

The prefectural ruling camp in Okinawa, led by Governor Denny Tamaki, failed to secure a majority of seats in Sunday's election for the assembly of the southernmost Japan prefecture.Di 時事通信社

Japanese Princess Kako watched a dance event for people with disabilities held at Tokyo Gymnasium on Sunday.Di 時事通信社

A Japanese research team has succeeded in reaccelerating muons, a type of elementary particle, after artificially cooling them, in the first such breakthrough in the world.Di 時事通信社

"Totto-Chan: The Little Girl at the Window," directed by Japan's Shinnosuke Yakuwa, received an award at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival in France on Saturday.Di 時事通信社

Working-level officials of Japan and the United States discussed extended deterrence, including the U.S. nuclear umbrella, over two days until Friday.Di 時事通信社

A growing number of local governments in Japan are moving to sell some reusable oversized waste collected from households, including furniture, on popular flea market app Mercari.Di 時事通信社

A boarding system using a facial recognition technology was introduced at the Yamaman Yukarigaoka Line, a train service in a residential area in the city of Sakura, Chiba Prefecture, east of Tokyo, on Saturday.Di 時事通信社

Voting kicked off Sunday morning in an election for the prefectural assembly of Okinawa, with the relocation of the U.S. Marine Corps' Futenma air station within the southernmost Japan prefecture a major issue in the poll.Di 時事通信社

The custom of Father's Day in Japan has a unique history and has developed in its own way.Di 時事通信社

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida stressed on Saturday the need for a fair and permanent peace based on the U.N. Charter, in a speech at the Summit on Peace in Ukraine, which began the same day in Switzerland.Di 時事通信社

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who chaired this year's summit of the Group of Seven major countries, underscored on Saturday the results achieved at the conference.Di 時事通信社

The education ministers of Japan, China and South Korea agreed Saturday to work together to promote digitalization in the education field and boost exchanges among future generations.Di 時事通信社

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Saturday vowed to "sincerely address" the issue of revamping research, public relations and accommodation allowances provided to lawmakers, based on an accord reached between the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and opposition Nippon Ishin no Kai ()削除.Di 時事通信社

A corpse possibly of one of the two Japanese men who went missing while climbing a mountain in the northern part of Pakistan was discovered Saturday, local authorities said.Di 時事通信社

Japanese startup SkyDrive Inc., picked as a flying car operator for the 2025 World Exposition in Osaka, western Japan, has announced a decision to give up commercial operation of the vehicle at the event.Di 時事通信社

The Bank of Japan embarked on the long path of so-called quantitative monetary tightening, deciding at its policy-setting meeting through Friday to reduce its purchases of Japanese government bonds.Di 時事通信社

Sompo Japan Insurance Inc. inappropriately prearranged with other nonlife insurers premiums for contracts with a total of 385 corporate clients, in possible violation of the antimonopoly law, a report by an external investigation committee has shown.Di 時事通信社

New Chinese rules related to law enforcement by the country's coast guard took effect Saturday, allowing the maritime authorities to detain foreigners entering Beijing-claimed waters for up to 60 days.Di 時事通信社

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and his Indian counterpart, Narendra Modi, agreed Friday to work on setting up a visit to Japan by Modi within this year.Di 時事通信社

The heads of the Group of Seven major powers said in a joint statement Friday that they will launch an action plan to deal with the positive and negative impacts of artificial intelligence on employment.Di 時事通信社

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and his Canadian counterpart, Justin Trudeau, agreed Friday to cooperate primarily on security and maritime surveillance activities to ensure stability in the Indo-Pacific region.Di 時事通信社

Leaders of the Group of Seven major countries expressed support Friday for Japan's release of treated water from the meltdown-stricken Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant into the ocean.Di 時事通信社

Pope Francis called for regulating artificial intelligence from an ethical perspective at a summit of the Group of Seven major powers Friday.Di 時事通信社

Japan and Italy on Friday agreed to begin bilateral negotiations on an acquisition and cross-servicing agreement to facilitate the exchange of fuel and ammunition between the Japanese Self-Defense Forces and the Italian military.Di 時事通信社

Leaders of the Group of Seven major powers Friday confirmed their cooperation in dealing with China, which is increasing its military coercion around Taiwan and advancing into the East and South China seas.Di 時事通信社

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and U.S. President Joe Biden on Friday confirmed their cooperation, in a chat on the sidelines of the ongoing summit of the Group of Seven major powers.Di 時事通信社

Japan's Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission on Friday recommended that the Financial Services Agency impose administrative penalties on three units of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc., including for sharing information about customers without their consent.Di 時事通信社

Japan has newly added collaboration for the sustainable development of lithium resources to a mining cooperation agreement with Chile, the industry ministry said Friday.Di 時事通信社

International Criminal Court President Tomoko Akane stressed the importance of independent judgment, defying Russia's warrant for her, at a press conference at the Japan National Press Club on Friday.Di 時事通信社

Toyota Motor Corp. said Friday that it will continue the current production halt until the end of July for three vehicle models affected by its testing irregularities.Di 時事通信社

U.N. disarmament head Izumi Nakamitsu has said that it would be difficult to establish by 2026 an international framework banning lethal autonomous weapons systems, or LAWS, which can attack targets without human involvement using artificial intelligence.Di 時事通信社

Travel agency H.I.S. Co. said Friday that it posted its first half-year net profit in five years, reflecting a recovery in travel demand after the COVID-19 crisis.Di 時事通信社

Japanese pianist Kazuya Saito has been arrested for allegedly stealing a flight attendant's apron on an airplane, police sources said Friday.Di 時事通信社

Fresh arrest warrants were served on five suspects Friday over the murder of a man whose body was found last December in a suitcase in the Tama River near Tokyo.Di 時事通信社

Jin Sato, mayor of the northeastern Japan town of Minamisanriku, Miyagi Prefecture, believed it was his responsibility to decide whether to preserve or demolish a town building ravaged by the March 2011 tsunami.Di 時事通信社

Tokyo District Court found on Friday Yayoi Kimura, former mayor of Tokyo's Koto Ward, guilty of violating the public offices election law during her own campaign.Di 時事通信社

Consumers in Japan sought advice on social media-related problems in 80,404 cases in 2023, a record high, an annual government report showed Friday.Di 時事通信社

Japanese beverage maker Kirin Holdings Co. said Friday that it will fully acquire cosmetics and dietary supplement maker Fancl Corp.Di 時事通信社

Japan's education ministry said Friday it will start the procedures to formally approve Tohoku University as the first recipient of huge grants under the government's 10-trillion-yen university fund aimed at promoting world-class research projects.Di 時事通信社

The Japanese government on Friday called for companies to consider women's health to promote their active participation in society.Di 時事通信社

The suspected mastermind in a high-profile incident in which the bodies of a Tokyo man and his wife were found in Tochigi Prefecture, eastern Japan, in April and another person believed to be involved in the case were arrested Friday for allegedly murdering the couple.Di 時事通信社

Japan's parliament enacted legislation on Friday to create a new skill development program for foreign workers to ease serious labor shortages in the country.Di 時事通信社

Japanese beverage maker Kirin Holdings Co. plans to take full control of cosmetics and dietary supplement maker Fancl Corp., people familiar with the matter said Friday.Di 時事通信社

LY Corp. said Thursday that it will end its Line Pay smartphone payment service in Japan by the end of April next year.Di 時事通信社