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The Japanese government plans to require new owners to provide nationality information when registering real estate, Justice Minister Hiroshi Hiraguchi said Tuesday.

The Japanese government plans to establish a new framework for cooperation in the field of artificial intelligence with five Central Asian countries, informed sources have said.

Four years after a deadly arson attack on a psychosomatic clinic in the western Japan city of Osaka, the sister of the clinic's then 49-year-old director is helping rehabilitate inmates, as well as people suffering from drug addiction.

A man in his 70s was stabbed in the southwestern Japan city of Fukuoka on Monday evening, and his 37-year-old unemployed son was later arrested on suspicion of violating the swords and firearms control law.

Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party on Monday compiled a draft proposal calling for an end to government support for large-scale solar power plants, in light of growing concerns over environmental damage and landscape degradation.

Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition partner, the Japan Innovation Party ()削除, decided Monday to reconsider the route of the planned Hokuriku Shinkansen section between Tsuruga Station in the central prefecture of Fukui and Shin-Osaka Station in the western prefecture of Osaka.

A fire broke out at a sauna facility in the Akasaka district of Tokyo's Minato Ward on Monday, leaving two customers dead.

Tokyo police rearrested a 37-year-old man Monday on the fresh charges of dangerous driving resulting in death and a hit-and-run in the capital's Adachi Ward last month.

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said Monday that the government will consider a new minimum wage target in detail toward next summer, when it will release a new growth strategy.

The remains of a victim of the 1945 U.S. atomic bombing of Hiroshima, western Japan, have been identified using the first DNA testing of preserved hair, the city government said Monday.

The city of Kusatsu in the western Japan prefecture of Shiga, often confused for the famous "onsen" hot spring town in eastern Japan sharing the same name, is using the mix-up as a public relations opportunity.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry on Monday announced sanctions against Shigeru Iwasaki, a former chief of the Japanese Self Defense Force's Joint Staff who currently serves as a political adviser to the executive branch of Taiwan's government.

A 30-year-old man was arrested Monday on suspicion of attempted murder in an incident in which a man and a woman were attacked near the Mizuho PayPay Dome stadium in the southwestern Japan city of Fukuoka.

The only two giant pandas remaining in Japan will be returned to China in late January, it was learned Monday.

Rocket Lab Corp. of the United States successfully launched a technology demonstration satellite for the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency on Sunday, according to JAXA.

Business sentiment among large manufacturers in Japan improved for the third straight quarter, the Bank of Japan's "tankan" survey for December showed Monday.

Sunday's mayoral election in the city of Ito, Shizuoka Prefecture, central Japan, held due to the ouster of former Mayor Maki Takubo resulted in the first-time election of former city council member Kazuya Sugimoto, with Takubo's re-election bid ending in failure.

A woman in her 20s and a man in his 40s were stabbed with a knife-like object at a commercial facility in the southwestern Japan city of Fukuoka on Sunday afternoon, the Fukuoka prefectural police said.

The United States needs to express solidarity with Japan including through a Congress resolution amid growing Tokyo-Beijing tensions following Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's remarks regarding a possible Taiwan contingency, Ami Bera, a Democrat in the U.S. House of Representatives, said in a recent interview with Jiji Press.

Japanese Princess Aiko on Sunday attended a ceremony commemorating the 50th anniversary of the founding of Chiba University's School of Nursing.

It is necessary for Japan, the United States, Australia and the Philippines to conclude a "collective defense pact" to contain China and ensure regional peace and stability, Ely Ratner, former U.S. assistant secretary of defense for Indo-Pacific security affairs, said in a recent interview with Jiji Press.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko's administration released 123 prisoners on Saturday, including former Japanese language teacher Masatoshi Nakanishi and Nobel Peace Prize winner Ales Bialiatski, according to local and other media reports.

The number of Japanese workers at U.N. agencies as of the end of 2024 was 979, the highest since records began in 1990.

Japanese Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama on Saturday effectively signaled acceptance of an anticipated interest rate hike by the Bank of Japan.

The Japanese government on Saturday reaffirmed its commitment to resolving the long-standing issue of Japanese citizens abducted by North Korea decades ago, with Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara stressing its urgency.

Japanese film director Masato Harada, known for socially conscious works including "Climber's High," died on Monday at the age of 76, Tsubasa Project, a talent agency that had a business partnership with him, said Saturday.

A court in Moscow handed down guilty rulings to nine people including Tomoko Akane, president of the International Criminal Court, which issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation.

Japanese office supplies retailer Askul Corp. said that a ransomware cyberattack discovered in October led to the leakage of about 740,000 sets of data concerning its individual customers, corporate clients and employees.

A state memorial ceremony marking the 88th anniversary of the Nanjing incident perpetrated by the former Imperial Japanese Army was held in Nanjing in the eastern China province of Jiangsu on Saturday.

Chinese military ships, including the aircraft carrier Liaoning, entered the East China Sea from the Pacific on Friday by sailing north between the main island of the southernmost Japan prefecture of Okinawa and Miyako Island, part of Okinawa, the Joint Staff of Japan's Defense Ministry said.

Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party and the opposition Democratic Party for the People agreed Friday to continue discussions on raising the minimum taxable annual income level from the current 1.6 million yen to 1.78 million yen.

Kyocera Corp., Fujifilm Holdings Corp. and other Japanese firms are considering investing in Rapidus Corp., which aims to mass-produce next-generation semiconductors, it was learned Friday.

"Black Box Diaries," an Oscar-nominated film directed by Japanese journalist Shiori Ito documenting her experience after suffering sexual violence, was released in Japan on Friday.

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. plans to appoint Junichi Hanzawa, 60, president of its key operating subsidiary MUFG Bank, to succeed Hironori Kamezawa as president of the parent holding company, it was learned Friday.

A bill related to a cut in the number of seats in Japan's House of Representatives is unlikely to be enacted during the ongoing extraordinary session of the Diet, or parliament, which ends Wednesday.

The Confederation of Japan Automobile Workers' Unions compiled a draft proposal on Friday to seek a monthly pay scale hike of at least 12,000 yen in next year's "shunto" spring wage negotiations.

Early cancer genomic panel testing aimed at detecting genetic changes in cancer cells significantly increases patients' chances of receiving effective therapies and reduces mortality risk, according to a study released recently by Kyoto University Hospital.

"Kuma," meaning bear, was picked Friday as the kanji character of the year in Japan, amid a series of wild bear attacks across the country.

Japan's Fair Trade Commission on Friday urged Osaka-based logistics business Senko Co. to prevent any recurrence of its practices that allegedly violated the subcontract law.

The Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force's Akizuki destroyer conducted a joint exercise with the U.S. Navy's aircraft carrier George Washington and its Dewey destroyer in the Pacific off the southern coast of Japan's Kanto region this week, the MSDF said Friday.

Almost half of Japanese nationals feel familiar with loneliness and isolation, a government survey showed Friday.

The United States will launch a coalition with Japan and other countries to strengthen supply chains for critical minerals and artificial intelligence, the State Department said Thursday.

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said Friday that she is considering revising the country's ministerial code of conduct as it lacks concrete standards to stop ministers from holding large fundraising parties.

Japan's government and ruling parties are considering extending tax breaks regarding life insurance premiums for child-rearing households by one year, people familiar with the matter said Friday.

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's parliamentary comment in question stating that a Taiwan contingency could constitute a so-called survival-threatening situation for Japan was not included in documents prepared in advance by bureaucrats for the prime minister, it has been learned.

Japan's industry ministry said Friday that its affiliated National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, or AIST, will establish a research and development base for advanced semiconductors in Chitose, Hokkaido, northernmost Japan.

Petroleum Association of Japan President Shunichi Kito has warned against a misconception that gasoline prices will plummet due to the year-end abolition of the provisional gasoline tax surcharge.

The price of a limited-time rice coupon to be sold to municipalities in Japan will go down from the usual 500 yen to a uniform 477 yen, the national federation of rice wholesalers' mutual aid cooperative associations said Friday.

Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi and U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth agreed in their phone talks on Friday that their countries will maintain close communication and coordination following China's use of military radar on Japanese Air Self-Defense Force fighters.

The Japanese government and ruling parties are considering finalizing details of a plan to address tax revenue gaps between Tokyo and other local governments at the end of next year, people familiar with the matter said Thursday.

The two Japanese winners of this year's Nobel prizes expressed deep emotions as they recalled Wednesday's award ceremony at a press conference in Stockholm the following day.

Japan issued tsunami advisories for the Pacific coast of Hokkaido and Aomori, Iwate and Miyagi prefectures from northern to northeastern Japan after another offshore earthquake shook the regions late Friday morning.

The number of "kodomo shokudo" community cafeterias that provide free or low-cost meals mainly to needy children in Japan has reached a record 12,601 this fiscal year, according to a survey by a nonprofit organization.

A Japan Meteorological Agency advisory on possible future earthquakes, issued in the wake of Monday's powerful quake off Aomori Prefecture, northeastern Japan, has led to cancellations of hotel bookings and suspensions of fishing operations.

Over 1,000 municipalities in Japan have ordinances in place calling for measures to support crime victims, the central government said Friday.

The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday avoided taking sides over rising tensions between Japan and China over Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's remarks on a possible Taiwan contingency.

The Bank of Japan's "tankan" quarterly survey for December, due out Monday, is expected to show narrow improvements in business sentiment among both major Japanese manufacturers and nonmanufacturers, estimates by 11 private think tanks have shown.

Japan Innovation Party ()削除 leader Hirofumi Yoshimura on Thursday sounded negative about ending his party's coalition with the ruling Liberal Democratic Party even if a bill regarding a reduction in House of Representatives seats is not put to a vote during the current parliamentary session.

Japan's government and ruling parties are in the final stages of discussions on introducing a new tax relief system to promote companies' research and development activities for cutting-edge technologies, it was learned Thursday.

Taiwanese police plan to send back to Thailand the mother of a Thai girl who was forced to engage in illegal work at a massage parlor in Tokyo, it was learned Thursday.

Japan's policy toward China lacks strategy, University of Tokyo professor Tomoko Ako said Thursday, at a time when tensions between the two countries are rising due in part to Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's remark over a possible Taiwan contingency.

A 70-meter-high steel tower of NTT East Inc. in Hachinohe, Aomori Prefecture, has been found damaged after a powerful earthquake that struck Monday night, prompting the government of the city to order 48 nearby households to evacuate Thursday.

A series of earthquakes with magnitudes of 7 or 8 may occur after a 7.5-magnitude quake struck off the east coast of Aomori Prefecture, part of Japan's Tohoku northeastern region, on Monday, a research institute has said.

Nearly 40pctof people in Japan support Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's recent remarks on a Taiwan contingency, which angered China, a Jiji Press survey showed Thursday.

Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi is considering visiting the Middle East, including Israel and the Palestinian region, in mid-January 2026, informed sources said Thursday.

The powerful earthquake that struck off Aomori Prefecture, northeastern Japan, on Monday night has highlighted problems nursing homes there face in coping with disasters.