Japan's upcoming fiscal 2025 tax system reform package is seen including a proposed hike in the income tax threshold from the current 1.03 million yen per year to 1.23 million yen, sources said Wednesday.Av 時事通信社

Nippon Life Insurance Co. said Wednesday that Executive Vice President Satoshi Asahi, 61, will become president April 1, 2025, announcing its first change of president in seven years.Av 時事通信社

Koichi Hagiuda, former policy leader of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party, said Wednesday that his office was instructed in 2004 by his party faction to keep unreported funds at the heart of a high-profile slush funds scandal.Av 時事通信社

Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. said Wednesday that it will promote Executive Vice President Eisaku Ito, 61, to president April 1, 2025.Av 時事通信社

West Japan Railway Co., or JR West, said Wednesday that it will introduce an automated operation system for its Hokuriku Shinkansen bullet train line.Av 時事通信社

Komeito head Tetsuo Saito called Wednesday for talks within the ruling coalition toward introducing a selective surname system for married couples in Japan.Av 時事通信社

Tokyo District Court on Wednesday ordered major Japanese event company Cerespo Co. to pay a fine of 280 million yen for violating the antimonopoly law by rigging bids linked to the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics in 2021.Av 時事通信社

The cumulative number of foreign visitors to Japan in January-November is estimated to have totaled 33,379,900, already exceeding the previous annual record high of 31.88 million in 2019, the Japan National Tourism Organization said Wednesday.Av 時事通信社

Members of Nihon Hidankyo, a group of hibakusha atomic bomb survivors, made a visit Wednesday to a cenotaph for deceased victims in Hiroshima to mark its receipt of this year's Nobel Peace Prize.Av 時事通信社

Japan's Supreme Court has rejected an appeal by former House of Representatives lawmaker Tsukasa Akimoto, 53, against his guilty sentence in a high-profile corruption case linked to a casino-featuring integrated resort, or IR, project.Av 時事通信社

Osaka High Court ruled Wednesday that the Japanese government is not liable to pay compensation for evacuations following the March 2011 accident at Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc.'s tsunami-stricken Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.Av 時事通信社

Financial assets held by households in Japan stood at 2,179 trillion yen as of the end of September, falling from a record high marked three months before in their first decline in eight quarters, the Bank of Japan said Wednesday.Av 時事通信社

Japan logged a customs-cleared trade deficit of 117.6 billion yen in November, down sharply from the year-before deficit of 813.9 billion yen, the Finance Ministry said in a preliminary report Wednesday.Av 時事通信社

The U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday adopted by consensus a resolution condemning North Korea's human rights abuses and demanding the immediate return of Japanese and other abductees in the reclusive country.Av 時事通信社

Japanese startup Space One Co. failed in the second launch of its satellite-carrying Kairos small rocket on Wednesday, following the failed first launch in March this year.Av 時事通信社

Shares of Japanese chipmaker Kioxia Holdings Corp. fetched an initial price of 1,440 yen at their stock market debut on Wednesday, lower than the initial public offering price of 1,455 yen.Av 時事通信社

Another Japanese national has been detained in Belarus, officials at the Japanese Embassy in Belarus said Tuesday.Av 時事通信社

Honda Motor Co. and Nissan Motor Co. are considering setting up a holding company to merge their operations, people familiar with their talks said Wednesday.Av 時事通信社

Japan's Honda Motor Co. released the next-generation version of its hybrid vehicle drive system e:HEV on Wednesday.Av 時事通信社

Danish authorities Tuesday decided not to extradite Paul Watson, 74, founder of antiwhaling group Sea Shepherd, despite an extradition request from Japan.Av 時事通信社

Japan is accelerating arrangements for an early visit by Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba to the United States after U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has shown eagerness to meet with him.Av 時事通信社

Ukraine's presidential adviser for sanctions policy, Vladyslav Vlasiuk, expressed concerns Tuesday over the use of Japan-made parts in weapons made in Russia.Av 時事通信社

Japan's opposition Democratic Party for the People broke off talks Tuesday with the ruling coalition over raising the nontaxable income ceiling from the current 1.03 million yen, called the "annual income barrier."Av 時事通信社

Nippon Life Insurance Co. plans to appoint Executive Vice President Satoshi Asahi, 61, as its new president April 1, 2025, it was learned Tuesday.Av 時事通信社

The commander of the French navy in the Pacific region expressed willingness Tuesday to boost cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region with partner nations such as Japan.Av 時事通信社

China is expanding its influence over Global South developing and emerging countries using its economic clout, based on rising discontent with the international order led by the West, a Japanese government think tank said Tuesday.Av 時事通信社

Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. will proceed with business activities while closely watching how U.S. President-elect Donald Trump acts on defense and energy, President Seiji Izumisawa said in a recent interview.Av 時事通信社

The political ethics panel of Japan's House of Representatives, the lower chamber of parliament, launched on Tuesday hearings for lawmakers from two now-defunct factions of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party over a political funds scandal.Av 時事通信社

Japan's Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako bowed to mourn flood victims in the city of Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, on Tuesday.Av 時事通信社

The House of Representatives, the lower chamber of the Diet, Japan's parliament, approved on Tuesday three political reform bills including one to abolish so-called policy activity expenses, which have been under fire for not requiring disclosure of how they were used.Av 時事通信社

The Diet, Japan's parliament, on Tuesday enacted the government's 13.9-trillion-yen supplementary budget for fiscal 2024 to finance the first comprehensive economic policy package under Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's administration.Av 時事通信社

People offered prayers Tuesday for the victims of an arson attack that killed 26 people at a clinic in a multitenant building in the western Japan city of Osaka three years ago.Av 時事通信社

Senior members of Japan's ruling and main opposition parties on Tuesday agreed on the need to extend the ongoing extraordinary session of the Diet, the country's parliament, for three days until Dec. 24.Av 時事通信社

The Japanese government plans to arrange a meeting between Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and U.S. President-elect Donald Trump at a time convenient for both sides, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said Tuesday.Av 時事通信社

The Japanese government on Tuesday unveiled a package of emergency measures aimed at cracking down on "dark" part-time jobs, following a series of robberies involving such jobs.Av 時事通信社

Japan's industry ministry on Tuesday released a draft of a new basic energy plan, vowing to use as much renewable and nuclear energy as possible to promote decarbonization.Av 時事通信社

The Japanese government decided Tuesday to set up an expert panel for the introduction in 2027 of a new system to accept foreign workers.Av 時事通信社

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on Monday announced his nomination of businessman George Glass to serve as ambassador to Japan.Av 時事通信社

SoftBank Group Corp. CEO Masayoshi Son and U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on Monday announced that the Japanese company will invest 100 billion dollars in the United States over the next four years.Av 時事通信社

A long-established Japanese sake brewery is attempting to make a foray into a potentially massive Indian market, following the recent addition of sake brewing skills to UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage list.Av 時事通信社

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump said Monday that he could meet with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba before he takes office next month.Av 時事通信社

The Japan Business Federation, or Keidanren, plans to appoint Nippon Life Insurance Co. Chairman Yoshinobu Tsutsui as the next head of the biggest business lobby in the country, people familiar with the matter said Monday.Av 時事通信社

Japan and nine other countries plus the European Union on Monday issued a joint statement by their foreign ministers condemning military cooperation between North Korea and Russia.Av 時事通信社

Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party and the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan agreed Monday to decide by next March whether to ban donations from companies and other organizations.Av 時事通信社

The agriculture and environment ministries Monday released a draft target of reducing Japan's annual food loss at food-related businesses by 60pctfrom the fiscal 2000 level by fiscal 2030.Av 時事通信社

The ruling Liberal Democratic Party decided Monday not to seek a public offices election law revision to ban inappropriate election posters during the current session of the Diet, Japan's parliament.Av 時事通信社

Japan ranked 29th for labor productivity among the 38 member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, a survey by the Japan Productivity Center showed Monday.Av 時事通信社

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said Monday it is necessary to raise the minimum annual taxable income from 1.03 million yen to 1.78 million yen as agreed on by the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, its coalition partner, Komeito, and the opposition Democratic Party for the People.Av 時事通信社

Efforts are spreading in the northeastern Japan prefecture of Miyagi to bring back seagrass beds damaged by the March 2011 huge earthquake and tsunami, driven by blue carbon hopes.Av 時事通信社

Work to erect two fences was conducted at a Mount Fuji photo spot especially popular with foreign tourists in the town of Fujikawaguchiko in Yamanashi Prefecture, central Japan, on Monday as a measure against overtourism.Av 時事通信社