Latest Japan government News
The US ambassador to Japan visits southern islands at the forefront of China tension
TOKYO (AP) — The U.S. Ambassador to Japan stressed Friday the importance of increased deterrence and his country’s commitment to the alliance with its key ally as he visited two southwestern Japanese islands at the forefront of Tokyo's tension with Beijing. Japan...
Japan passes a revised law allowing joint child custody for divorced parents for the first time
TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s parliament on Friday passed a revision to the country’s civil code that will allow divorced parents the option of joint child custody, a change that brings the nation in line with many other countries. The revision, the first to custody rights in nearly 80...
A look at assassinations and assassination attempts this century
Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico was seriously wounded in an apparent assassination attempt just weeks before a Europe-wide election that has been deeply divisive. He was shot multiple times in an attack in the town of Handlova that authorities described as politically motivated, although...
USS Ronald Reagan leaves its Japan home port after nearly 9 years
YOKOSUKA, Japan (AP) — A U.S. Navy strike group's flagship aircraft carrier left its Japanese home port on Thursday, wrapping up nearly nine years of deployment in the Indo-Pacific, where it served a key role in the U.S. effort to bolster defense ties with Japan and other partners in the region. ...
Japan, US move ahead in co-developing hypersonic weapons interceptor as regional threats grow
TOKYO (AP) — Japan and the United States on Wednesday signed an arrangement to jointly develop a new type of missile defense system as the allies seek to defend against the growing threat of hypersonic weapons, which are possessed by China and Russia and being tested by North Korea. ...
Stock market today: Asian shares advance after another round of Wall St records
Asian shares advanced on Thursday after U.S. stocks rallied to records on hopes that inflation is heading back in the right direction. The optimism came from a report showing U.S. consumers had to pay prices for gasoline, car insurance and everything else in April that were 3.4%...
Japan's economy shrinks on weak consumer spending, auto woes
TOKYO (AP) — The Japanese economy shrank at an annual rate of 2% in the first quarter of this year, as consumption and exports declined, the government said Thursday. Although unemployment has stayed relatively low in the world’s fourth largest economy at about 2.6%, wage growth...
WWII soldiers posthumously receive Purple Heart medals 79 years after fatal plane crash
PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii (AP) — The families of five Hawaii men who served in a unit of Japanese-language linguists during World War II received posthumous Purple Heart medals on behalf of their loved ones on Friday, nearly eight decades after the soldiers died in a plane crash in the final days of...
South Korea stresses need for fair treatment for Line chat app operator Naver
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea vowed Friday to protect its companies operating in other markets after Japanese regulators told LY Corp., which runs the popular chat app Line, to reduce its dependence on Naver, the Korean partner in the venture. Friction over Naver’s 50%...
Japan proposes expanding commercial whaling to fin whales, a larger species than the 3 allowed now
TOKYO (AP) — Japan's Fisheries Agency has proposed expanding commercial whaling along the country’s coast to fin whales, a larger species than the three currently permitted. The proposal comes five years after Japan resumed commercial whaling within its exclusive economic zone...
