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Japan's House of Representatives, the lower chamber of parliament, approved a bill on Thursday to ban anticompetitive practices by technology giants over smartphone app stores and operating systems.

A total of 38 Japanese nationals have fled riot-hit New Caledonia, Japanese Foreign Ministry officials said Thursday.

Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi on Thursday stressed the importance of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, after China launched a military exercise in waters surrounding Taiwan.

Panasonic Holdings Corp. expects its vehicle battery business to turn profitable in fiscal 2026-2027 even without U.S. government subsidies, President and Group CEO Yuki Kusumi said.

Japan's inflation-adjusted real wages fell 2.2pctin fiscal 2023 from the previous year, logging the sharpest decline in nine years due to rising prices, the labor ministry said Thursday.

Nissan Motor Co. has postponed the development of two electric sedan models set to be manufactured in the United States due to slowing demand for electric vehicles in North America, people familiar with the matter said Wednesday.

A Japanese government council Wednesday decided to start discussions as early as this summer on regulations mainly for generative artificial intelligence developers.

Public prosecutors Wednesday again sought the death penalty for Iwao Hakamata, 88, in his retrial over the 1966 murder of four members of a family in the central Japan prefecture of Shizuoka.

Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa and her Guatemalan counterpart, Carlos Ramiro Martinez, on Wednesday agreed to start policy consultations to further boost bilateral ties.

The Diet, Japan's parliament, began deliberations Wednesday on bills to revise the political funds control law that have been submitted by ruling and opposition parties.

The mayor of Suzu, Ishikawa Prefecture, on Wednesday stressed the need for the swift demolition of buildings damaged in the Jan. 1 Noto Peninsula earthquake in the central Japan prefecture.

Experts from around the globe ended their two-day meeting in Yokohama on Wednesday with a call for dialogue on the impact of artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies on nuclear disarmament.

Japan's Fair Trade Commission on Wednesday ordered six companies to pay 390 million yen in fines for allegedly rigging bids for lunch services for public schools in Nagoya, central Japan.

Japanese actor Akira Nakao died of heart failure on Thursday, it was learned Wednesday. He was 81.

Japan's average retail price of regular gasoline rose for the first time in four weeks, the industry ministry said Wednesday.

Norinchukin Bank has started talks with agricultural cooperatives across Japan and other investing organizations, in hopes of boosting its capital by around 1.2 trillion yen, President Kazuto Oku said Wednesday.

A government expert panel compiled Wednesday a set of strategic goals for strengthening Japan's drug discovery capabilities, which will be reflected in the government's economic and fiscal policy guidelines to be drawn up around June.

A movie about the Daigo Fukuryu Maru ()削除 was re-released on Blu-ray Disc this month to mark the 70th anniversary of the Japanese fishing boat's exposure to nuclear fallout from a U.S. hydrogen bomb test.

Four Japanese nationals left New Caledonia and arrived in Brisbane by air Tuesday with support from the Australian government amid riots in the French Pacific territory, Japanese Foreign Ministry officials said Wednesday.

Japan has lodged a strong protest against a remark by the Chinese ambassador to the country over Tokyo's possible involvement in the situation in Taiwan, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said Wednesday.

Japan's seasonally adjusted core machinery orders rose 2.9pctin March from a month earlier, marking two consecutive months of increase, the Cabinet Office said Wednesday.

The Paris Paralympics, set to kick off in under 100 days on Aug. 28, provide an important opportunity to pass on the legacy of the Tokyo Games, Japanese Paralympic Committee Chairman Junichi Kawai has said.

Japan swung to a customs-cleared trade deficit of 462.5 billion yen in April due to higher crude oil prices and a weak yen, the Finance Ministry said in a preliminary report Wednesday.

Nearly 40pctof companies in Japan are concerned about higher interest rates following the Bank of Japan's decision earlier this year to end its negative interest rate policy, a survey by Teikoku Databank Ltd. showed Tuesday.

Toyota Motor Corp. is considering over 500 million dollars in investment in its plant in San Antonio, Texas, people familiar with the matter said Tuesday.

Major League Baseball superstar Shohei Ohtani will generate 86,519.99 million yen in economic impact this year, according to an estimate from a Japanese economist.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman agreed Tuesday to cooperate in building supply chains for clean energy resources, such as hydrogen and ammonia.

Japanese parcel delivery group Yamato Holdings Co. said Tuesday that it has set up a company to realize a long-haul joint delivery system involving consignors and small logistics businesses.

Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa met with her Hungarian counterpart, Peter Szijjarto, in Tokyo on Tuesday and underscored the importance of the rule of law.

Japan's industry ministry said Tuesday that it will launch a public-private group this month with the aim of commercializing perovskite solar cells, which are thin, light and bendable.

Outflows of young people from areas battered by the Jan. 1 Noto Peninsula earthquake in Ishikawa Prefecture, central Japan, are prompting worries about a lack of people needed for reconstruction.

Japanese Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako on Tuesday visited a public kindergarten in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward in an event related to Children's Day on May 5.

Japan's Emperor Naruhito sent a video message titled "Water for Shared Prosperity" to a session of the 10th World Water Forum held on Tuesday in the island of Bali, Indonesia.

A huge light-shielding screen was erected at a photo spot in the town of Fujikawaguchiko, Yamanashi Prefecture, on Tuesday to block the view of Mount Fuji, as a consequence of overtourism.

Experts from around the globe kicked off their two-day discussions for nuclear arms reduction in Yokohama, south of Tokyo, on Tuesday, with the impact of artificial intelligence on the agenda.

Tokyo District Court on Tuesday dismissed a lawsuit by a foreign woman who claimed to have been subject to discriminatory treatment by police.

The Chinese Embassy in Tokyo has condemned the attendance of over 30 Japanese lawmakers at an inaugural ceremony for Taiwan's new leader Lai Ching-te on Monday.

Nintendo Co. said Tuesday that it has agreed to acquire U.S video game developer Shiver Entertainment Inc. for an undisclosed amount.

Japan's House of Representatives on Tuesday passed legislation to replace the existing foreign technical intern program with a new scheme to train foreign workers in a move aimed at securing human resources amid serious labor shortages in the country.

Japanese anime powerhouse Studio Ghibli Inc., known for its films by director Hayao Miyazaki including "Spirited Away" and "My Neighbor Totoro," on Monday received an Honorary Palme d'Or at the 77th Cannes Film Festival for its long-term achievements.

A Japanese government advisory panel stressed the need Tuesday to strengthen the country's fiscal resilience after the Bank of Japan ended its negative interest rate policy earlier this year.

Japanese police served fresh arrest warrants Tuesday on two men--Kang Gwang-gi and Kirato Wakayama--on suspicion of murdering a couple of Tokyo.

Japan's lay judge system marked the 15th anniversary of its introduction on Tuesday, with a total of about 124,000 citizens having been selected as lay judges or standby lay judges over the past 15 years.

Three major Japanese nonlife insurance firms posted record consolidated net profits for the year ended March thanks to lower benefit payments related to the COVID-19 pandemic and a weak yen that boosted revenue at overseas operations.

Tokyo and Seoul are seen agreeing on measures to prevent a reoccurrence of a 2018 incident in which a South Korean warship directed its fire control radar at a Japanese Self-Defense Force patrol plane, it was learned Monday.

Japan aims to win a 30pctshare of the global market for software-defined vehicles designed to improve performance by upgrading software rather than hardware, the industry and transport ministries said Monday.

Japanese beer maker Kirin Holdings Co. announced on Monday the release of Electric Salt Spoon, which uses electricity to enhance the perception of the salty taste and umami of foods.

Local government leaders of Japan and China are interacting with each other actively while state-level exchanges between the two Asian countries remain almost halted amid continuing diplomatic tensions including over Taiwan and China's ban on seafood imports from Japan.

The Ishikawa prefectural government Monday unveiled a final draft of its plan for reconstruction after the Jan. 1 earthquake in the central Japan prefecture's Noto Peninsula.