Uber Japan said Wednesday that it has launched a new service to allow children aged 13 to 17 to safely use taxis, including on their way to extracurricular activities.Av 時事通信社

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said Friday he will visit Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc.'s disaster-crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant in the northeastern Japan prefecture of Fukushima on Saturday.Av 時事通信社

The Shizuoka prefectural government Friday unveiled the outline of a draft ordinance calling for collecting 4,000 yen per person from those climbing Mount Fuji from the central Japan prefecture, starting next summer.Av 時事通信社

Naha District Court on Friday sentenced a 25-year-old U.S. airman to five years in prison for kidnapping and sexually assaulting an underage girl in Okinawa Prefecture, southernmost Japan, in December last year.Av 時事通信社

Fukuoka High Court ruled Friday that Japan's Civil Code and other provisions that do not recognize same-sex marriage are unconstitutional as they violate the right to pursue happiness, among other reasons.Av 時事通信社

Hiroshima High Court turned down second-generation hibakusha's appeal for state compensation on Friday, upholding a ruling by Hiroshima District Court.Av 時事通信社

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said Friday that holding hearings of a parliamentary political ethics panel in a way that is open to the media is "one method" of allaying public suspicions about a slush funds scandal involving his ruling Liberal Democratic Party.Av 時事通信社

Kyushu Railway Co., or JR Kyushu, is considering withdrawing from a ship route between Japan and South Korea, over a scandal in which a subsidiary covered up a water leak incident on a high-speed passenger ship, it was learned Friday.Av 時事通信社

The number of "kodomo shokudo" cafeterias providing meals mainly to needy children for free or at low prices in Japan surpassed 10,000 for the first time, a survey by a nonprofit organization has shown.Av 時事通信社

Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its junior coalition partner, Komeito, have agreed to postpone deciding when to raise income tax to secure funding for higher defense expenditures, Yoichi Miyazawa, chair of the LDP's tax panel, said Friday.Av 時事通信社

Japanese Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako are set to visit the city of Wajima on the Noto Peninsula on Tuesday to meet people affected by massive rain in September.Av 時事通信社

The United Nations on Thursday designated Aug. 27 as World Lake Day to promote environmental conservation and sustainable development of lakes and reservoirs.Av 時事通信社

Business sentiment among large manufacturers in Japan improved for the first time in two quarters, the Bank of Japan's "tankan" survey for December showed Friday.Av 時事通信社

Around 20 members of the Liberal Democratic Party in the Tokyo metropolitan assembly were found to have omitted some revenues from fundraising parties in their political funds reports.Av 時事通信社

All Nippon Airways on Thursday launched an airplane with a special livery to commemorate the 2025 World Exposition to be held in the western Japan city of Osaka.Av 時事通信社

Seibu Holdings Inc. said Thursday that it will sell Tokyo Garden Terrace Kioicho, a large commercial building built on a former hotel site in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward, to U.S. investment firm Blackstone Inc.Av 時事通信社

The Sake Stakeholder Summit was held in Washington on Wednesday, bringing together people involved in the brewing, distribution and retail of Japanese sake in North America.Av 時事通信社

The Japan Fair Trade Commission on Thursday approved a business improvement plan submitted by Tokyo-based housing equipment seller Hashimoto Sogyo Ltd.Av 時事通信社

"Kin," meaning gold or money, was picked Thursday as the kanji character to represent events in Japan in 2024.Av 時事通信社

The Japanese public is divided over whether Democratic Party for the People chief Yuichiro Tamaki should resign after the opposition party suspended him over his extramarital affair, according to a Jiji Press poll conducted earlier this month.Av 時事通信社

Japan's House of Representatives on Thursday passed the government's supplementary budget bill for fiscal 2024, which will finance the first comprehensive economic policy package compiled under the administration of Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba.Av 時事通信社

Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party and opposition parties were widely divided Thursday over whether to ban donations from companies and organizations to political parties, a key issue in revising the political funds control law again.Av 時事通信社

A Japanese district court on Thursday ruled a 28-year-old woman not guilty of murdering in 2018 her then husband, a wealthy businessman nicknamed the "Don Juan of Kishu."Av 時事通信社

Public support for Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's cabinet in December dipped 1.9 percentage points from the previous month to 26.8 pct, a Jiji Press opinion poll showed Thursday.Av 時事通信社

Japan is considering raising the annual income cap for dependent children with part-time jobs, including university students, under a special tax deduction program from 1.03 million yen to 1.5 million yen, it was learned Thursday.Av 時事通信社

The policy chiefs of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party, its coalition partner, Komeito, and opposition Nippon Ishin no Kai ()削除 on Thursday agreed to start discussions on free education, which is Nippon Ishin's flagship policy.Av 時事通信社

The House of Representatives is expected to pass on Thursday evening the Japanese government's draft supplementary budget for fiscal 2024, which will finance the first comprehensive economic package compiled under the administration of Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba.Av 時事通信社

The holding company of Coincheck Inc. debuted on the Nasdaq Global Market on Wednesday, making it the first Japanese cryptocurrency exchange to be listed in the United States.Av 時事通信社

Nobuhiro Torii, executive vice president of Japanese beverage giant Suntory Holdings Ltd., will be promoted to its president to succeed Takeshi Niinami, it was learned Thursday.Av 時事通信社

The opening ceremony of a special exhibition commemorating the awarding of this year's Nobel Peace Prize to the Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations, or Nihon Hidankyo, was held at the Nobel Peace Center in the Norwegian capital of Oslo on Wednesday.Av 時事通信社

Hibakusha atomic bomb survivors from the Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations, or Nihon Hidankyo, visited a high school in Oslo on Wednesday to share their experiences with students.Av 時事通信社

A forum on nuclear disarmament was held Wednesday at the University of Oslo in Norway in commemoration of this year's Nobel Peace Prize won by the Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations, or Nihon Hidankyo.Av 時事通信社

Japan on Thursday put into effect revised cannabis and narcotics control laws that criminalize the use of cannabis and impose a penalty of up to seven years in prison for the crime.Av 時事通信社

Three co-chairs of the Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations, or Nihon Hidankyo, met with Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store in Oslo on Wednesday, the day after the Japanese hibakusha group received the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize.Av 時事通信社

Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya and his South Korean counterpart, Cho Tae-yul, agreed Wednesday that relations between the two countries remain important.Av 時事通信社

The Confederation of Japan Automobile Workers' Unions said Wednesday that it plans to seek monthly pay-scale hikes of 12,000 yen in next year's "shunto" spring wage negotiations.Av 時事通信社

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on Wednesday expressed his willingness to meet with members of the Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations, or Nihon Hidankyo, which received this year's Nobel Peace Prize.Av 時事通信社

Nissan Motor Co. said Wednesday that it will replace Chief Financial Officer Stephen Ma with Jeremie Papin, currently chair of the Americas, effective on Jan. 1.Av 時事通信社

Japan's Liberal Democratic Party-Komeito ruling coalition and the opposition Democratic Party for the People reached a deal Wednesday to ensure the passage of the government's supplementary budget bill for fiscal 2024 during the ongoing extraordinary Diet session.Av 時事通信社

The Japanese government and the ruling camp are considering a plan to start raising corporate and tobacco taxes in April 2026 to boost the country's defense spending, informed sources said Wednesday.Av 時事通信社

The group of Tokyo metropolitan assembly members from the Liberal Democratic Party is suspected of failing to report some of its income from sales of fundraising event tickets, it was learned Wednesday.Av 時事通信社

Japan's ruling bloc on Wednesday proposed raising the upper limit on annual income of university and other students working part-time jobs eligible for a special tax deduction program for dependent family members to 1.3 million yen from the current 1.03 million yen.Av 時事通信社

The 50 cc version of Honda Motor Co.'s "Super Cub" motorcycle has been attracting strong demand since the maker's announcement that Super Cub 50 production will end by autumn next year.Av 時事通信社

Nippon Life Insurance Co. said Wednesday that it will acquire U.S. life insurer Resolution Life Group Holdings Ltd. for roughly 8.2 billion dollars, making it the largest ever acquisition in Japan's insurance industry including nonlife insurers.Av 時事通信社

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on Wednesday denied that Tokyo had ever supported the idea of Russia returning only two of the four disputed northwestern Pacific islands to Japan.Av 時事通信社

Japanese Prince Hisahito, the only son of Crown Prince Akishino and Crown Princess Kiko, is set to enter the University of Tsukuba next April, informed sources said Wednesday.Av 時事通信社

The leading opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan submitted to parliament Wednesday an amendment to the government's draft fiscal 2024 supplementary budget.Av 時事通信社

Theme park Universal Studios Japan in the western city of Osaka opened the new "Donkey Kong Country" zone, based on Nintendo Co.'s Donkey Kong video game series Wednesday.Av 時事通信社

Citizens in Oslo celebrated Nihon Hidankyo's Nobel Peace Prize win Tuesday evening with chants of "no more hibakusha" in a march in the Norwegian capital.Av 時事通信社

East Japan Railway Co., or JR East, has announced plans to drastically expand the functions of its Suica smart transit card, including its smartphone app version.Av 時事通信社