Japan's Fuji Media Holdings Inc. on Friday reported a consolidated net loss of 20.1 billion yen for fiscal 2024, its first red ink since becoming a holding company in 2008.

Fuji Media, which had logged 37 billion yen in profit a year earlier, saw many sponsors leave scandal-embattled core unit Fuji Television Network Inc. over its handling of a sex scandal involving now-retired TV personality Masahiro Nakai.

Due to falling advertising revenue, the holding company's overall revenue dropped 2.8 pct and operating profit dived 45.4 pct.

 

For fiscal 2025 through March 2026, Fuji Media expects to secure a net profit of 10 billion yen thanks to the strength of its real estate business and the sale of shareholdings.

However, operating profit is expected to dive 86.3 pct to 2.5 billion yen, hurt by a prolonged impact of slumping ad revenue caused by suspensions and cancellations of TV commercials.
 

 

Japan and South Korea plan to set up dedicated entry lanes for tourists visiting each other's countries at four airports in June to speed up the immigration process, as the month marks the 60th anniversary of the normalization of their diplomatic ties, government sources said Friday.

The lanes will be introduced for one month at Haneda airport in Tokyo, Fukuoka airport in southwestern Japan, as well as Gimpo in Seoul and Gimhae in Busan, according to the sources.

The system can be used by tourists and other visitors who meet certain conditions such as having recently made trips between the two nations. They will need to take some procedures in advance.

Japan and South Korea, although often fraught with historical and territorial disputes, have become popular mutual tourist destinations in recent years, with many people attracted to each other's culture such as pop music, drama and food.

A record high of over 12 million people travelled between the two neighbors last year, according to the Japanese Foreign Ministry.

Tokyo and Seoul signed on June 22, 1965, a basic treaty that led to the normalization of their diplomatic relations.
 
 

The Indonesian Forestry Entrepreneurs Association (APHI) is intensifying efforts to mitigate the impacts of climate change by introducing Indonesia’s huge potential for tropical forest-based carbon trading at this year’s World Expo Osaka, Japan.

In a business forum attended by stakeholders from the public and private sectors from both countries, APHI presented the government’s flagship program—the Food and Land Use Coalition (FOLU) Net Sink 2030—which targets the forestry and land use sectors to become net emission absorbers by 2030.

"This program is Indonesia's main framework in achieving its climate commitments and encouraging the establishment of a credible and sustainable international carbon market," the association’s general chairperson, Indroyono Soesilo, said in his statement on Sunday.

He explained that the launch of the Indonesian Carbon Exchange (IDX Carbon) marked a new chapter in the national green economic transformation.

Indroyono stated that Indonesia not only protects forests but also monetizes the protection into a global asset.

On that occasion, the implementation of the Mutual Recognition Arrangement (MRA) between Indonesia and Japan was also discussed, which allows cross-country recognition of carbon certification.

This is a great opportunity for nature-based carbon projects such as peat restoration and mangrove rehabilitation to attract Japanese investors.

"This collaboration is not just a technical mechanism but a real trust and shared leadership in the global climate agenda. We invite the world, especially Japan, to invest in climate solutions based on Indonesia's tropical forests," FOLU Net Sink 2030 advisor Agus Justianto noted.

In the forum, a memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed between Indonesian business actors and Japanese partners, including projects based on nature solutions and biodiversity protection.

Indonesia emphasized that the potential of the mangrove ecosystem to absorb carbon is five times greater than the land ecosystem.

With stronger regulations, more transparent measurement, reporting and verification infrastructure, and policy support from the government, director of the Indonesian Pavilion Didik Darmanto said that Indonesia is ready to become the world's main provider of tropical forest-based carbon credits.

"This business forum is the starting point for the new partnerships towards an inclusive and equitable low-carbon economy," he said.

On January 20, 2025, Indonesia officially launched its international carbon market. Its domestic carbon exchange platform, IDX Carbon, allows the trading of carbon credits between the country’s electric power plants.

With the market open to foreign investors, Indonesia hopes to draw greater investment into its climate mitigation efforts.

Carbon trading will involve several potential strategic energy projects, such as the operation of the Gunung Wugul Mini-Hydro Power Plant (PLTM), which is projected to reduce five thousand tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO₂ eq).

It will also involve operating the New Natural Gas Power Plant, the Priok Block 4 Gas and Steam Power Plant (PLTGU), converting single-cycle power plants to combined cycles at the Grati Block 2 PLTGU and Block 2 power plant units in Muara Tawar, and constructing the New Natural Gas Power Plant, PLTGU Block 3 PJB Muara Karang.

According to the Ministry of Environment, these large projects are estimated to be able to reduce emissions by up to 750 thousand tons of CO2 eq, making a significant contribution to efforts to decarbonize the energy sector.
 

Japan and the European Union will expand their mutual recognition arrangement for organic food so that a wider range of products can be labeled as organic food for trade between the economies.

The new list will include alcoholic beverages such as sake, livestock products and processed livestock products, while the current coverage is limited mainly to nonlivestock agricultural products.

The EU has a huge organic food market. The expanded arrangement will eliminate the need to gain additional approvals for newly added items at the time of import and export, facilitating trade in such products.

The new system will be applied to exports from Japan from Sunday and imports from the EU from Friday.

Under the Organic Japanese Agricultural Standards system, authorities judge whether agricultural and livestock products are produced in a sustainable way with reduced burdens on the environment and without reliance on pesticide or chemical fertilizer.
 
 

Week-long trip beginning on May 26 will also include a trip to South Korea
The Catalan president Salvador Illa will travel to Japan on May 26 for a week-long trip to "strengthen and expand" relations between Catalonia and the Asian country.  

Illa praised the "good relationship" Catalonia has with Japan, saying that "it goes way back." 

"Not only in economic or business sectors, but also culturally," he said during the inauguration of an innovation center of the Japanese company NTT Data in Barcelona on Thursday.  

The president also highlighted "the significant volume of investments" from Catalan companies in Japan and Japanese companies in Catalonia. 

“Catalonia wants to be a friendly place for foreign companies to invest, especially in the fields of attracting new talent and technology,” Illa said during his visit to the company’s offices at 22@, where he was accompanied by the Catalan minister of business and labor, Miquel Sàmper.  

The president is also scheduled to visit South Korea during his Japan trip.
During his speech, he also mentioned the use of artificial intelligence and noted that it is “essential” for the tool to work “for the common good.” 

“As a government, we support innovation, progress, and new technologies,” he added.


Inauguration of NTT Data Living Lab

On Thursday, Salvador Illa attended the official opening of NTT’s Data Living Lab. Víctor López-Barrantes, the company’s general manager in Spain, described the lab as a “living laboratory.”

“It’s the strategic meeting point between experts and professionals, where technology and innovation merge to promote the economic and social development of the entire region,” he said.

Before their move to 22@ to centralize all the company operations, the lab was located at the upper part of Avinguda Diagonal in the Catalan capital.

NTT Data Living Lab has been in Barcelona since 1997. It’s a technology consulting company that employs 4,000 people in the city, and is “expected to grow in the coming years,” according to Manel Martorana, the company’s head of Digital Technology in Spain.
 
 

According to a senior government official, the United States has stated that the U.S.-China agreement will not set a precedent for other countries.

The government is concerned about the potential impact the agreement between the United States and China, which includes lowering their recently imposed additional tariffs on each other, will have on the Japan-U.S. negotiations.

Japan and the United States are aiming for a June agreement through intensive ministerial talks to be held as early as this month. But there are concerns that Washington will prioritize negotiations with Beijing, sidelining Tokyo.

“We’re analyzing the details [of the U.S.-China deal],” Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba told reporters at the Prime Minister’s Office on Monday.

The easing of the U.S.-China clash has been welcomed within the government, as there had been concerns that the intensifying trade friction between the United States and China would have a negative impact on the global economy.

Since many Japanese companies export to the United States via China, a senior Japanese Foreign Ministry official had said, “It would also be bad for Japanese companies if the United States and China impose high tariffs on each other without grounds,” expressing hope for the end of the retaliatory tariff battle between the two countries.

However, the impact of the U.S.-China agreement on Japan-U.S. negotiations is expected to be limited. According to a senior government official, the United States has stated that the U.S.-China agreement will not set a precedent for other countries.

One government official familiar with the issue pointed out, “China, which has been fighting with the U.S. through raising tariffs on each other, and Japan, which is aiming for a win-win agreement, are in different positions.”

 

China is seen as the biggest target of the U.S. administration’s tariff measures. The senior government official voiced concern that, if the U.S.-China talks make progress, “The U.S. side may place Japan lower in its order of priorities.”

The Japan-U.S. negotiations are scheduled to resume in earnest soon.
“The U.S.-China agreement is the result of the U.S. side making a compromise to China,” said an executive of a major Japanese automobile manufacturer. “The Japanese government does not need to rush to play its cards.”

He added, “I hope that the Japanese government will determine the stance of the U.S. side and negotiate for the best possible outcome.”
 
 

Japanese Ambassador to the United States Shigeo Yamada has expressed confidence in strengthening economic cooperation with Washington while showing concern about President Donald Trump's tariff measures against Japan.

The U.S. tariff measures "risk slowing the momentum" of bilateral cooperation, Yamada said Monday at a reception in his official residence linked to an event for promoting investment to the United States.

Tokyo and Washington "are now in close consultation regarding the tariff measures as well as the ways to further strengthen our economic partnership," he also said. "I'm sure that we can soon reach a conclusion that is mutually acceptable to both countries."

The reception was attended by Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker and Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, both viewed as potential Democratic candidates for the U.S. presidency, as well as high-ranking officials from the U.S. Commerce Department and executives of Japanese companies.

Pritzker, who opposes Trump's tariff measures, told reporters that "there are many challenges posed by the imposition of tariffs."
 

 

It's a cold, wet morning and frigid air is seeping through the open doors of a college gymnasium in Tokyo. But that doesn't seem to worry Soichiro Kakimoto and 30 other young businessmen as they gear up for their weekend routine: cheerleading.

"Smile when times are tough!" shouts a tall man with an eager smile. The others -- all dressed in dark suits and ties --pump their fists and jam to the upbeat music that fills the space.

 

Their chants echo through the gymnasium.

"Yes you can! You can definitely do it! Go, Japan! Go Japan!"
The young men are all about spreading cheer through their eye-popping acrobatic performances, volunteering their weekends at shopping malls and other venues to entertain crowds.

Calling themselves "Cheer Re-Man's" -- a mash-up of "cheerleading" and "salaryman" -- the group, formed in 2023, is made up of alumni from the elite Waseda University's male cheerleading squad.

 

Their day-jobs range from real estate sales to marketing, and they balance their professional lives with their passion for cheerleading. For practice, the squad often borrows half the gym from a female college cheerleading team in exchange for biscuits.

From Monday to Friday, Kakimoto is the quintessential Japanese salaryman, commuting in crowded trains, working late and going out drinking with colleagues, wearing the stretchy navy Uniqlo suit that doubles as his cheerleading uniform.

"On weekdays, I use my brain and on weekends, I use my body. Even if one isn't well, the other might be, and that's contributing to my overall mental health," said the 23-year-old, who works at a software development company.

"If we, Japanese salarymen, can do what we're passionate about, then everyone else can keep chasing their dreams too."

The unusual sight of Japanese corporate warriors being launched 7 meters into the air in synchronized routines won them an online commercial spot to advertise the stretchy Uniqlo suits they wear for their performances.

The group also competed in "Britain's Got Talent", where they came third in their semi-final.

On a recent weekend, the suited men performed in front of a huge crowd at a shopping mall with gravity-defying stunts, human towers and infectious energy.

 

Yasuko Yamaki, a 61-year-old housewife who learned about the group three months ago through social media, was there to see the spectacle.

"In Japan, we're all going through a lot. Watching these salarymen putting in so much without giving up makes me cry," she said. "It's so inspirational."
 


 

 
Banjarmasin, S Kalimatan (ANTARA) - Futoshi Ishiguri, associate professor researcher from Utsunomiya University, Japan, together with his team, Ikumi Nezu and Hikari Yokoyama, studied conservation efforts at Bekantan Research Station on Curiak Island, Barito Kuala District, South Kalimantan.

"Japanese researchers were very impressed to the Bekantan Research Station, both in facilities and its well-maintaied wetland ecosystem. They want to learn a lot about conservation on Curiak Island," said the founder of Sahabat Bekantan Indonesia (SBI) Foundation Dr Amalia Rezeki here on Sunday.

Futoshi Ishiguri had a chance to see the life of a herd of proboscis monkeys or bekantans (Nasalis larvatus), a large, long-nosed primate from old world that is an icon of South Kalimantan Province.

Amel, Amalia Rezeki's nickname, also a lecturer in Biology at University of Lambung Mangkurat (ULM), hopes there will be a further cooperation with the state university in northern Japan, especially in wetland research and climate change mitigation efforts.

Head of ULM's Research and Community Development Institute (LPPM) Professor Sunardi, who accompanied Japan delegation, said he was grateful that SBI and ULM had the Bekantan Research Station as a research facility in wetland.

"This island is very important to maintain our environment both flora and fauna, most of which are almost extinct, and it is our obligation to protect them," he said.

Sunardi promised ULM and Utsunomiya University will realizeresearch collaboration and develop what alrady exists on Curiak Island.

"This is an effort to continue to echo conservation as initiated and pioneered by Amel and SBI team together with ULM," he said.

On the other hand, Futoshi Ishiguri acknowledged that he was interested in Bekantan Research Station and the efforts to restore the wetland ecosystem counducted by Amalia Rezeki and her team.

He saw Curiak Island was very interesting because there were so many trees planted to create a habitat and invite wild animals to live freely.
Ishiguri believes that humans contribute to maintain the ecological condition in this place which amazed him.
 
 

The Japanese government has said that Paraguay's President Santiago Pena and his wife will visit Japan for five days from next Monday.

The president will hold talks with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba.

During their stay in Japan, Pena and his wife will meet with Crown Prince Akishino and Crown Princess Kiko and attend Paraguay's "national day" event at the ongoing World Exposition in the western Japan city of Osaka.
 
 

With a month having passed since the opening of the Osaka-Kansai Expo on April 13, ticket sales, sluggish during advance sales, have turned around, showing signs of hope for achieving a profit in operating revenue.

However, the number of visitors is currently at 60% of the projected figure, and so a surge in visitors is expected during the latter half of the event. Going forward, it will be crucial to encourage visitors to come early to prevent congestion.


500,000 tickets a week

“It’s an amazing pace,” an official of the Japan Association for the 2025 World Exposition said about the increase in ticket sales.

After corporate purchases settled down last autumn, sales had been around 20,000 tickets per week at one point but then surged in April. After the April 13 opening, sales reached 290,000 in the first week, 430,000 in the second week and 500,000 in the third week.

Many pavilions had not yet revealed the contents of their exhibitions prior to opening, but now visitors are sharing must-see spots on social media, causing word-of-mouth buzz. The association’s prediction that “the real battle begins after opening” appears to have proven accurate.

According to the association, 10.9 million tickets had been sold as of May 2, which climbs to 13 million when projected sales from school trips are included.

Ticket revenue is supposed to cover 80% of the ¥116 billion operational budget, and the break-even point is set at 18 million tickets. With five months remaining, selling 5 million more tickets seems an achievable goal.

However, attendance figures are not increasing. The association had estimated that 28.2 million people would visit over the six month period, with an average of 150,000 visitors per day, based on the attendance of the 2005 Aichi Expo and the population surrounding the Osaka venue.

However, the number of visitors over the 27 days until Friday was 2.28 million, which is 490,000 more than the same period during the Aichi Expo, but only 60% of the projected figure.

Aiming for an “Expo without lines,” the Osaka-Kansai Expo introduced a reservation system for visitors to book their arrival time. Reservations for the popular morning slots are often full, and visitors, even with tickets, have no choice but to find less crowded times.

Osaka Gov. Hirofumi Yoshimura said Thursday that reservation slots should be expanded to prevent the event from becoming “an Expo that people can’t enter.”

 

Improvements to lines

The congestion that occurred immediately after opening has been greatly improved over the past month.

Initially, long lines formed at the East Gate, one of the two gates that are directly connected to the subway, and it took more than 90 minutes to enter.

However, thanks to staff getting used to the baggage inspection process, visitors who reserve to enter starting at 9 a.m. are now able to enter as scheduled.

While queues still form at each pavilion, efforts are being made to increase reservation slots and some pavilions are handing out their own numbered tickets.


Come early

The challenge for the future is to even out the number of visitors.
At the Aichi Expo, attendance ranged from 40,000 to 90,000 people per day immediately after opening but increased to a maximum of 280,000 people during the latter half of the event, resulting in admission being intermittently suspended over five hour periods. Congestion may worsen at the Osaka Expo if visitors who have not yet used their tickets all attend during the latter half.

To encourage early attendance, the association is offering a discount on season passes that allow multiple entries to those who visit in May.

Also, the association has expanded morning reservation slots for weekends at the East Gate until June 8 and will further increase the slots in stages. However, this could lead to longer waiting times at pavilions, making it challenging to balance comfort with capacity.
 
 

Although Japan's sake industry faces a crisis with falling domestic consumption, the country's oldest brand, Kenbishi, is unbending in its commitment to the old ways, seeing it as the best guarantor of quality.

In the staff dining room at the brewing facility of Kenbishi Sake Brewing Co, in the city of Kobe, a bottle of sake is set on the table ready for the evening meal. In the kitchen, more sake is warmed in kettles.

"It's all-you-can drink at dinner," said Kenbishi President Masataka Shirakashi, who hopes the recent UNESCO heritage listing of traditional sake-brewing techniques will encourage a revival of the beverage among drinkers in Japan.

Tradition is everything. Brewing always takes place during the winter season. Starting in October, 60 brewers stay onsite for six months, eating together in the dining room. By season's end, they will have consumed around 1,500 bottles of sake, according to Shirakashi.

 

Across Japan, however, consumption of sake is in decline. Drinking habits are changing, particularly among the young. In 2022, consumption had dropped to less than a third of its peak in the early 1970s, according to data from the National Tax Agency.

"There's no doubt that the sake industry itself is facing a crisis," Shirakashi, 48, told Kyodo News in February.

When the traditional knowledge and skills used in sake-brewing were added to UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage list in December, it offered the industry a moment in the spotlight -- with many now looking to capitalize on the growing interest in sake overseas.

 

But with only around 2 percent of Kenbishi's sales coming from exports, Shirakashi sees the listing as an opportunity for people in Japan to take another look at sake.

In a workshop at Kenbishi's brewing facility, the muffled boom of wood hitting wood echoes off the walls as a craftsman circles a barrel made of cedar and uses a wooden block and mallet to hammer into place a bamboo hoop around it.
 

The craftsman is making a dakidaru, which will be filled with boiling water and plunged into a tank to control the temperature of the yeast starter mix contained within by allowing heat to be released slowly.

While stainless steel and aluminum materials have become the industry norm, Shirakashi argues only wood can maintain the temperature essential to the production of Kenbishi's sake.

A team of three craftsmen makes around 30 dakidaru a year. After each use the barrel's six taga, or bamboo hoops, need replacing. There are 300 dakidaru in circulation at the brewery.
 

"Maintenance is a hassle so fewer sake makers are using them," said Shirakashi, who has no qualms bucking this trend. "It's something you'd usually see in a museum."

The dakidaru is just one of the traditional wooden sake-brewing tools and pieces of equipment which Shirakashi said are needed to ensure the taste of Kenbishi's sake remains unchanged.

Kenbishi began making its own traditional wooden equipment in 2009, after dwindling demand made it hard to come by. The brewer now supplies equipment and tools for soy sauce and vinegar makers and for the upkeep of temples and shrines.

 

In December, the brewer announced the latest addition to its lineup of traditional equipment with the production of komodaru. The wooden barrels wrapped in straw are a feature of traditional ceremonies and festivals across Japan.

Kenbishi took over two local komodaru makers after the COVID-19 pandemic, during which events were canceled and local businesses were left short of demand and successors.

The manufacturing and use of traditional equipment comes at greater financial cost for Kenbishi. But given its status as Japan's oldest sake brand, Shirakashi said, he feels a greater responsibility to protect it and maintain the taste of Kenbishi sake.

"If we give up on the taste, the brewing methods, and the tools and equipment, Japan will lose all of these things," he said.

Kenbishi says it was founded sometime before 1505 in Itami, Hyogo Prefecture. During the Edo period (1603-1868), the brewery's sake was favored by samurai. According to the brewer, in 1740, it became an official supplier of sake to the shogun.

The Shirakashi family is the fifth to have headed Kenbishi. The current president's great-grandfather moved the company to its present location in Kobe's famous Nada brewing district in 1928.

Despite changes in name and location, the company logo has remained unchanged for over 500 years.

 

Shirakashi is his family's fourth-generation head of Kenbishi. The family has experience of steering the company through a crisis, while doing what it takes to maintain the taste of its sake.

When post-World War II rice shortages forced brewers into the production of low-quality sanzo-shu -- sake diluted with brewing alcohol or sugar to increase volume -- Shirakashi's grandfather refused to sell it under the Kenbishi name.

Kenbishi was also one of the many breweries in Nada ravaged by the Great Hanshin Earthquake on Jan. 17, 1995, losing all but one of its eight brewing facilities. When it was able to resume brewing, it returned to the same equipment and brewing methods.

Shirakashi follows the policy of his great-grandfather who believed that chasing after trends would always leave the company one step behind. Instead, Kenbishi should be like a stopped clock, always giving the right time twice a day.

"The trends will come back around, so we believe in the sake that our customers have said is delicious," Shirakashi said.
 
 

Services of a Kodama train were disrupted on Sunday after a suspicious object was found onboard.

A passenger on the train, which was bound for Nagoya on the Tokaido Shinkansen Line, found the suspicious object on a seat at around 0:30 p.m. and reported it to a conductor.

The train stopped at Mikawa-Anjo Station in Anjo, Aichi Prefecture, and its services were suspended.

According to Aichi prefectural police, the object was a plastic bottle containing black liquid.

Central Japan Railway Co. evacuated passengers aboard car No. 11, where the object was found, and the fire brigade removed the object.

Police are working to identify the liquid, which is believed to be non-toxic.
 
 

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba expressed caution about a consumption tax cut as an inflation relief step on Sunday, suggesting such a reduction in tax revenue would cause a serious drain on state coffers.

Senior officials of his administration and ruling Liberal Democratic Party have been dismissive of a cut in the consumption tax -- at 8 percent for food and beverages and 10 percent for other items -- as the coalition government looks to put together an economic package ahead of the House of Councillors election this summer.

"We need thorough discussions on whether there are other ways to support people truly in need of help," Ishiba said while appearing on a Fuji Television program.

Cutting the consumption tax rate "would raise a question about the impact on the country's finances," he said.

With opposition parties converging in support of a consumption tax cut ahead of the election, there has been debate between senior government officials and pro-tax cut members of the LDP and its coalition partner Komeito party.

The major opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan has proposed a pause on the consumption tax on food for one year.

As for tariff negotiations with the United States, Ishiba said his government will continue to seek a complete abolition of additional duties on Japanese exports.

Commenting on the U.S.-British agreement that set tariffs on most British exports, including cars, entering the U.S. market at 10 percent, Ishiba said, "It could serve as a model (for other countries), but we are looking for (tariffs) to be abolished."

Their agreement "doesn't mean a 10 percent rate would be acceptable for us," he added.

U.S. President Donald Trump, who has raised the tariff on imported cars to 27.5 percent from 2.5 percent, agreed to lower it to 10 percent for a maximum of 100,000 British cars per year, while the average British import duty on U.S. goods will fall to 1.8 percent from 5.1 percent.

In addition to the higher tariff on Japanese cars and a 25 percent levy on steel and aluminum, the United States has imposed a 14 percent tariff on other Japanese products on top of the baseline 10 percent duty.

While the 90-day suspension on the 14 percent country-specific tariff is expected to end in early July, "The fact that we have a deadline coming up would not necessarily be a reason for us to make compromises and accept disadvantages," Ishiba said.

The Trump administration has pushed Japan to buy more American cars and agricultural products.

Among American crops Japan buys, Ishiba said there is room for an increase in corn imports to boost biofuel production.

"We will not sacrifice farm products for cars," he said.
 

 

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has sent a congratulatory message on the election of Pope Leo XIV as the new leader of the Roman Catholic Church, saying he hopes to foster Japan-Vatican ties and work together for global peace.

Survivors of the 1945 U.S. atomic bombings also welcomed the first American-born pope and urged him to visit Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

The Japanese government, meanwhile, is considering sending former Prime Minister Taro Aso, a Catholic, to the new pope's inaugural Mass, scheduled to be held on May 18, a source familiar with the matter said.

Aso currently serves as top adviser to the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, headed by Ishiba.

The new pontiff's predecessor Pope Francis called for the abolition of nuclear weapons during his trips to the two cities in 2019.

"I hope the new pope will visit us soon, as the atomic bomb survivors are aging," said Toshiyuki Mimaki, who heads the Hiroshima Prefectural Confederation of A-bomb Sufferers Organizations.

Teruko Yokoyama, who leads a group of A-bomb survivors in Nagasaki, said the emergence of a pope from the United States, a nuclear state, marks a "big step forward for the abolition of nuclear weapons."
 

 

 
An investigation committee set up by Japan Airport Terminal Co. said Friday that a subsidiary engaged in inappropriate transactions that benefited a consultant firm headed by the 52-year-old son of Makoto Koga, former secretary-general of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party.

The panel found that the transactions were led by Japan Airport Terminal President Nobuaki Yokota and tolerated by Chairman Isao Takashiro. Both Yokota and Takashiro resigned on the day.

The panel's investigation found that the Tokyo-based subsidiary, Big Wing Co., paid a total of some 400 million yen to the consultant firm over 10 years through 2016 in the guise of commission fees for a massage chair business at Tokyo's Haneda Airport, although actual work was performed by another company.

The payments continued even after the Tokyo Regional Taxation Bureau warned that they amounted to concealment of income totaling about 100 million yen.

The panel found no evidence that the company sought favors from Koga or his son.
 
 

 

Farmers and volunteers started planting rice on Saturday at terraced paddies on the coast of the Noto Peninsula, central Japan, which were hit by a powerful earthquake and torrential downpours last year.

The picturesque Shiroyone Senmaida in Wajima City, Ishikawa Prefecture, which consists of small paddies along a slope overlooking the Sea of Japan, was heavily damaged by the quake and rain.

A group of farmers managing the paddies has been working to restore them.
About 100 volunteers from around Japan carefully planted seedlings of the Koshihikari variety with the farmers.

Wajima officials say rice will be planted this year on about 250 of the 1,000 paddies that have been restored.

A 44-year-old woman from Nara Prefecture said she took part because she wanted to help people in disaster-affected areas.

Shirao Tomokazu, who heads a group that manages the paddies, said he is grateful that so many volunteers came to help.

He said his group will continue to work to restore the paddies, so that people will get to see them in their original form.

The rice planting will continue till Sunday with harvesting planned for September.
 
 

The government on Friday urged caution after a small Japanese civilian plane was spotted near uninhabited islets in the East China Sea, around the same time a Chinese helicopter violated Japanese airspace in the vicinity last week.

While Japanese aircraft operating in the country's airspace pose no legal issue, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said contingencies stemming from such flights should be avoided amid tensions with China over the Senkaku Islands.

The Senkakus are administered by Japan but claimed by China. Tokyo has already lodged a protest with Beijing over Saturday's airspace intrusion by a helicopter that took off from one of four Chinese coast guard vessels sailing in Japanese territorial waters around the islets. China has rejected Japan's claim.

"Given that the purpose of the flight by the small aircraft in question was leisure, we have conveyed to the operator that it should ensure safety and avoid unexpected consequences," Hayashi said at a press conference.

As China continues to send patrol ships to waters around the Senkaku Islands, the latest incident marked the fourth airspace intrusion by Beijing, according to Japan.
 
 

Princess Kako will make an official visit to Brazil for two weeks from June 4, according to a plan approved by the Japanese government at a Cabinet meeting on Friday.

During her stay in Brazil, the second daughter of Crown Prince Akishino and Crown Princess Kiko will attend a ceremony commemorating the 130th anniversary this year of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Japan and Brazil. She will meet with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, as well as local Nikkei people of Japanese descent.

This will be Princess Kako's fourth official visit to a foreign country, following her visit to Greece in May 2024.

In February this year, the Brazilian government invited the princess to visit the country. The princess met with Lula when the president visited Japan as a state guest in March.

According to the Imperial Household Agency, Princess Kako will leave Japan on June 4 and arrive in Sao Paulo the following day, local time, via Chicago.

On June 10, the princess will travel to Brasilia, the capital of Brazil, where she will attend the 130th anniversary celebration hosted by the Brazilian Congress and pay a courtesy call on the president. After visiting other cities, including Rio de Janeiro, the princess will leave Sao Paulo on June 15 and return to Japan on June 17.
 
 

Whooping cough cases are continuing to surge in Japan.
The Japan Institute for Health Security says medical institutions across the country reported 2,176 cases in the week through April 27, up 292 from the previous week.

The number of patients per week was the highest since the current method of record keeping began in 2018. It broke the previous record for five weeks in a row.

The cumulative number of patients since the start of the year was 11,921, more than double the total count last year.

In a breakdown by prefecture, Tokyo and Fukuoka had 142 patients, Niigata had 132, Hyogo 110, and Osaka 105.

Whooping cough is an infectious bacterial disease characterized by intense and persistent coughing, especially among children. It can be fatal for infants up to six months old.

Amid the growing number of patients this season, cases have been reported of unvaccinated infants becoming severely ill or dying. There are also reports of cases that are resistant to conventional antibacterial drugs.

The Japan Pediatric Society is urging parents to have their infants vaccinated as soon as they turn two months old.
 
 

According to the JCG, the number of JCG personnel who quit for personal reasons has topped 300 for four consecutive years since fiscal 2021, a situation that could hinder enactment of the government’s policy on improving the nation’s maritime security.

Almost 400 Japan Coast Guard personnel left the organization for personal reasons during fiscal 2024, resulting in a drop in the JCG’s total staff size, The Yomiuri Shimbun has learned, sparking concerns about the nation’s ability to deal with security threats at sea.

Last fiscal year, voluntary resignations at the JCG totaled 389. That caused the JCG staff size to drop from the previous fiscal year for the first time since fiscal 2013.

The government managed to expand the JCG by about 100 to 400 personnel annually after fiscal 2013, in response to Chinese government vessels nearing or intruding into Japanese territorial waters around the Senkaku Islands in Okinawa Prefecture at a far faster rate.

In its policy on improving the nation’s maritime security, the government has identified six key areas to focus on, including safeguarding territorial waters around the Senkaku Islands.

According to the JCG, the number of JCG personnel who quit for personal reasons has topped 300 for four consecutive years since fiscal 2021, a situation that could hinder enactment of the government’s policy.

According to the JCG, 243 of the 389 personnel who voluntarily resigned in fiscal 2024 were in their 20s, and 93 were in their 30s. These two age brackets accounted for 86% of resignations. The JCG had 14,123 personnel as of the end of March — six fewer than in the year prior.

The JCG believes that rapid changes in working norms are one reason why more personnel are stepping away from the organization. An increasing number of Japanese households have two working spouses, and there is a growing reluctance to accept relocations as a part of one’s job.

A majority of JCG personnel are transferred every two or three years, and many work in locations far from their family. Crews on large ships can be at sea for 10 days or more at a time. Staff cannot access the internet during this period and are unable to stay in contact with their family as much as they could like.

By law, the JCG was allowed a maximum staff of 14,788 in fiscal 2024, a rise of almost 20% from fiscal 2009. The government has upped the cap on the JCG workforce by an average of 170 people each fiscal year since 2013, when China Coast Guard vessels were found to have entered the contiguous zone in waters around the Senkaku Islands on more than 200 days.

During this period, the JCG added 24 large patrol vessels to its fleet, bringing the total for its larger ships to 78. By fiscal 2029, it should have 91 of these ships, with the new additions to include a massive multipurpose patrol vessel.

The actual JCG staff size has steadily diverged from its maximum allowed size, with the gap being vacant positions. The shortage stood at 259 personnel at the end of fiscal 2013, but had soared to 665 at the end of fiscal 2024.

This was the first time the figure topped 600. The JCG had a particularly severe shortage of crew members for its large patrol vessels, with 355 open spaces and a personnel vacancy rate of 12%, as of January.

In addition to ensuring security in Japan’s territorial waters, the JCG’s wide range of duties includes rescue missions and criminal investigations at sea, ensuring safety of navigation and conducting ocean research.

If the personnel shortfall continues to worsen, it could become harder to operate the JCG’s vessels and to operate them safely.

“We’re taking this situation seriously,” Daisuke Furukawa, head of the JCG’s human resources division, told The Yomiuri Shimbun. “We will deal with these challenges by doing everything we can and by not being bound by precedent, focusing foremost on rehiring personnel.”
 
 

Germany's new government led by Chancellor Friedrich Merz is expected to deepen defense cooperation with Japan, according to a senior think tank official.

In view of disruptions to international cooperation caused by the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump, Germany is increasingly acknowledging the need to work with "partners that really do share" common values, Alexandra Sakaki, deputy head of the German Institute for International and Security Affairs' Asia Division, said in an interview with Jiji Press.

The European power has enhanced its military commitment in the Indo-Pacific region by deploying warships and fighter jets to Japan, with an aim to counter China's hegemonic moves.

Pointing out that Johann Wadephul, an experienced politician well versed in Japan-Germany affairs, was appointed foreign minister, Sakaki said the new administration will "focus very much on Japan."

Especially the defense industry and economic security will be the next target areas for bilateral cooperation, she suggested.
 
 

Petal Ads, Huawei's leading global mobile advertising platform, today successfully hosted the "Think Tank 2025" seminar in Japan.

The event convened prominent brands and domestic agencies from the travel, beauty, luxury goods and lifestyle services sectors to showcase Huawei's all-scenario intelligent advertising solutions built on the HarmonyOS ecosystem, offering Japanese enterprises fresh digital-marketing strategies for entering the Chinese and wider global markets.

As a technology company deeply rooted in Japan for nearly two decades, Huawei leverages its global ecosystem and the innovation of HarmonyOS to continuously empower partners' digital transformation.

"Through in-depth local insights, we have built an intelligent advertising platform that connects global users," said Zhou Rong, Director of Asia-Pacific Ecosystem Development and Operations at Huawei Consumer Business Group.

"Petal Ads' unique all-scenario solutions not only precisely reach segmented audiences but also help Japanese brands unlock commercial value in cross-cultural communication."

At the seminar, Yang Yang, Global Marketing Director of Huawei Ads, presented an integrated marketing strategy within the HarmonyOS ecosystem.

Syaliza Abd Aziz, Japan representative of the Malaysia Tourism Promotion Board, discussed her organization's strategic partnership with Petal Ads on Visit Malaysia 2026. Colin Duan, Chief Product Officer of third-party data firm QuestMobile, used detailed analytics to decode Chinese internet users' consumption patterns in travel, beauty and other industries, providing decision-making insights for Japanese companies' local-market campaigns.

Fukuzumi Ryo, co-founder of leading Japanese ad agency Unbot, shared multiple success stories on site, demonstrating Petal Ads' technical strengths in precise customer acquisition and performance conversion in Japan.

The upgraded "Think Tank 2025" marks a significant milestone in Petal Ads' globalization strategy. With three core advantages—intelligent ad technology, a premium global user base and customizable all-scenario solutions—the platform now delivers monetization services to 53,000 apps across more than 200 industries worldwide.

Looking ahead, Petal Ads will deepen strategic collaborations with its Japanese partners and continue to foster more high-quality brands' international growth through an innovative digital-marketing ecosystem.

Petal Ads is Huawei Terminal Cloud Services' global commercial-service platform, dedicated to providing advertisers and developers with intelligent marketing and traffic-monetization solutions.

As of March 2023, the platform spans over 200 industry verticals and operates in more than 170 countries and regions, continually empowering partners' commercial growth and brand enhancement via HarmonyOS's all-scenario intelligent distribution capabilities.
 

The governments of Indonesia and Japan are deepening their strategic cooperation in new and renewable energy (EBT) and environmentally sustainable infrastructure development through the Asia Zero Emission Community (AZEC) framework.

A key project exemplifying this collaboration is the Muara Labuh Geothermal Power Plant (PLTP) located in South Solok, West Sumatra.

The strengthening of this partnership was formalized through a signing ceremony between Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto and former Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs office in Jakarta on Monday, May 5, 2025. In this context, Kishida is serving as the Special Envoy of the Japanese Prime Minister to AZEC.

Airlangga announced that the 80-megawatt Muara Labuh PLTP project achieved financial close on April 18, 2025, and is poised to enter the construction phase.

Reflecting on the collaborative efforts at the Muara Labuh PLTP, Minister Airlangga noted the continued growth of trade and investment relations between the two nations.

"In 2024, the value of Indonesia-Japan trade reached US$35 billion, and Japanese investment increased by 52 percent from 2021 to US$3.5 billion," Airlangga stated in a written press release on Monday, May 5, 2025.

Airlangga highlighted that Japan is currently Indonesia's sixth-largest investor, with over 12,000 strategic projects. He also expressed appreciation for Japan's support in the advancement of green energy and technological innovation.

"We deeply appreciate Japan's commitment and leadership in fostering sustainable development. This reflects the shared aspiration of both countries to cultivate mutually beneficial economic cooperation," he affirmed.

During the meeting, Airlangga emphasized Indonesia's pivotal role as Japan's primary partner within AZEC. He noted that 175 Memoranda of Understanding have already been signed by business entities from both countries.

Furthermore, he stated the government's commitment to accelerating the realization of these low-emission projects by addressing various challenges through cross-sector collaboration and public-private partnerships.

The Golkar Party politician added that the government is also actively promoting the advancement of other AZEC projects, including the Legok Nangka waste-to-energy plant, the development of sustainable aviation fuel, the Sarulla geothermal power plant, and the Java-Sumatra transmission network.

"These projects show the seriousness of Indonesia and Japan in expediting the transition to clean energy and green economic development. The visit of former Prime Minister Kishida reinforces our commitment to continued collaboration for a low-carbon future," he asserted.

The meeting also included a signing ceremony for a cooperation agreement between PT Supreme Energy Muara Labuh and the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC).

Airlangga explained that this agreement marks a significant step in the development of the Muara Labuh geothermal power plant project, which is targeted for commercial operation in the first quarter of 2027.
 

The defense ministers of Japan and India have agreed to deepen cooperation between their forces, including starting discussions toward establishing a senior officer-level dialogue body, as China continues to expand its military presence in the Indo-Pacific region.

Japanese Defense Minister Gen Nakatani and his Indian counterpart Rajnath Singh also affirmed that the Japanese Self-Defense Forces and the Indian military will increase their joint exercises, Nakatani told reporters after their talks in New Delhi.

The envisaged dialoguebody will be in charge of coordinating the overall collaborative work between their forces, according to Japanese government officials.

At the outset of the meeting, which was open to the media, Nakatani said stronger ties between the two countries have become "more important" with the situation surrounding them becoming "growingly complicated and uncertain" at a time U.S. President Donald Trump's commitment to the Indo-Pacific region remains unclear.

Singh told Nakatani that he hopes to continue bilateral defense equipment and technology collaboration with Japan.

Japan has been stepping up security ties with India by increasing joint drills in recent years and reinforcing defense capabilities in the space and cyber domains.

Japan and India have also been discussing a plan to transfer Unicorn communication antennas similar to those installed on a new Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyer.

The meeting came after Tokyo approached New Delhi about participating in the Global Combat Air Program, an initiative involving Japan, Britain and Italy to jointly develop a next-generation fighter jet by 2035, according to government sources.

Japan and India are members of the Quad grouping of Indo-Pacific democracies that also includes the United States and Australia. The framework is widely seen as a counterweight to China.

Nakatani is on a four-day trip from Saturday that has also taken him to Sri Lanka.
 
 

Japan was likely the fourth-largest official development assistance provider last year among members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, with Britain reclaiming third place, according to the body's preliminary data.

The United States remained the top ODA donor in 2024 among the 32 member countries of the OECD Development Assistance Committee, with $63.3 billion, down 4.4 percent from 2023 in real terms, the OECD said in a report released in April.

Following Germany's $32.4 billion, down 17.2 percent, and Britain's $18.0 billion, down 10.8 percent, Japan's aid was estimated at $16.8 billion, down 10.3 percent, with France trailing at $15.4 billion, nearly unchanged from a year earlier, the report said.

Japan had held the position of third-largest donor sincesurpassing Britain in 2021. The decline in its donations in 2024 was mainly due to the yen's depreciation, the Foreign Ministry said.

A Foreign Ministry official said the decline also came in contrast to the sharp increases seen in 2022 and 2023 when many development projects backed by Japan resumed after being suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The OECD will finalize the data, calculated by international standards under the grant equivalent system, around year-end, the official said.
 

 

Japan views ODA as one of its "most important diplomatic tools" as it pursues a "free and open" Indo-Pacific amid China's growing military and economic clout, though it faces a tight fiscal situation with its public debt more than twice the size of gross domestic product.

The report by the OECD, a Paris-based club of mostly wealthy nations, also showed that overall ODA by Development Assistance Committee members fell 7.1 percent in real terms in 2024 to $212.1 billion, marking the first decline after five consecutive years of growth.

The result was because of "a reduction in contributions to international organizations, as well as a decrease in aid for Ukraine," the organization said, referring to the support for the Eastern European nation fighting a Russian invasion since 2022.

The net ODA to Ukraine declined by 16.7 percent to $15.5 billion, accounting for 7.4 percent of the total aid, it said.

Lower levels of humanitarian aid and reduced spending on hosting refugees in donor countries were also contributing factors, the OECD added.
 

 

President Prabowo Subianto received a visit from the Japanese Prime Minister's Special Envoy, Fumio Kishida, and a delegation at his residence in Kertanegara, Jakarta, on Sunday, May 4.

Kishida, who is also a former Japanese prime minister and his entourage, arrived at Prabowo's residence at around 19:00 WIB.

During the meeting, Kishida delivered a letter from the Japanese Prime Minister, Shigeru Ishiba, to President Prabowo.

"Yes, of course, former PM Kishida conveyed a letter from the Prime Minister Ishiba which was conveyed directly to the President and one of its contents related to his special entry of the prime minister specifically for the AZEC (Asia Zero Emission Community) projects," said Coordinating Minister for the Economy Airlangga Hartarto in his statement after the meeting.

In addition to conveying an official message from the Japanese government, the two parties also discussed the development of a cooperation project within the framework of the AZEC. According to Airlangga, currently Indonesia has more than 170 MoUs with Japan.

"Tomorrow there will be a financial closing signing of the project in Muara Laboh, West Sumatra, where the project is 80 geothermal megawatts with an investment of around US$500 million," said Airlangga.

President Prabowo also expressed his appreciation for the close cooperation between Indonesia and Japan. He hopes that this collaboration can continue to be strengthened amid the challenges of global uncertainty.

"Mr. President appreciates Indonesia's cooperation with Japan and hopes that this can continue to be improved amidst uncertainty due to the tariff war," explained Airlangga.

After the meeting in the office, the agenda was continued with a banquet at night together. The atmosphere of intimacy colored President Prabowo's banquet to Kishida, confirming the close friendship between Indonesia and Japan.
 
 

Japan's estimated child population has shrunk for the 44th straight year to a new record low, government data showed Sunday, as the country struggles to reverse the declining trend of births.

The number of children under 15, including foreign residents, was 13.66 million as of April 1, down 350,000 from a year ago, according to data released by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications before the national Children's Day holiday on Monday.

The ratio of children to the overall population fell 0.2 percentage point to 11.1 percent, also the lowest since comparable data became available in 1950.

According to U.N. data, although the date of the survey differs, Japan has the second lowest ratio of children among 37 nations with a population of at least 40 million, only behind South Korea at 10.6 percent.

The Japanese government has put priority on fighting the country's rapidly declining birth rate and implemented initiatives such as providing more financial assistance to child-rearing households, expanding daycare services and allowing flexible workstyles for parents, but the initiatives have not stopped the decades-long decline.

By gender, there were 6.99 million boys and 6.66 million girls.
By age, 3.14 million children were 12 to 14, compared with 2.22 million in the 0 to 2 age group, indicating a continuing trend of fewer children being born.

Japan's child population has been falling continuously since 1982, having peaked in 1954 at 29.89 million, with a second baby boom observed between 1971 and 1974.

Government data also showed that as of Oct. 1 last year, the child population fell from a year ago in all 47 prefectures. The figure exceeded 1 million only in Tokyo and neighboring Kanagawa Prefecture.
 
 

The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump told Japan in their second ministerial meeting on Washington's tariff policy that it aims to focus mainly on reciprocal tariffs in its negotiations with Tokyo while not including duties on automobiles, steel and aluminum, it was learned Friday.

At the second round of negotiations, held in Washington on Thursday, Japanese economic revitalization minister Ryosei Akazawa met with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and others for about 130 minutes.

While the U.S. side showed its intention to discuss mainly reciprocal tariffs, Japan, with an aim to put tariffs on specific areas such as automobiles also on the agenda, urged Washington again to review a series of its additional tariff measures.

At a press conference after the meeting, Akazawa said that the two sides deepened concrete discussions on trade expansion, nontariff barriers and cooperation in economic security.

The chief Japanese tariff negotiator expressed his hope that an agreement will be reached between the leaders of the two countries in June after intensive ministerial talks in or after mid-May.
 
 

All modes of transportation experienced peak congestion Saturday, the first day of the four-day holiday in the second half of Japan's Golden Week, as the travel and return rush intensified, operators said.

Reserved seats on shinkansen bullet trains were quickly filled, while many domestic flights were at full capacity. Train stations and airports were packed with travelers, with long traffic jams expected on expressways.

Most seats on Nozomi bullet trains departing Tokyo on the Tokaido Shinkansen Line were already booked Saturday morning. Reservations for other shinkansen lines were also mostly filled from the first services of the day through early afternoon.

According to All Nippon Airways and Japan Airlines, only a few seats were available on domestic flights departing from Tokyo's Haneda airport.

Expressway operators said outbound traffic from major cities including Tokyo was set to be heaviest on Saturday, while the return rush is likely to peak on Monday.
 
 

Japan placed 66th in the 2025 freedom of press rankings announced by Reporters Without Borders on Friday, the lowest among the Group of Seven major countries.

Japan climbed four positions from last year, with the international journalist organization noting that "the principles of media freedom and pluralism are generally respected" in the country.

But RSF said, "Traditional and business interests, political pressure and gender inequalities often prevent journalists from completely fulfilling their role as watchdogs."

The government and corporations "routinely exert pressure" on the management of mainstream media, resulting in "heavy self-censorship" on topics that could be deemed sensitive, such as corruption and sexual harassment, it added.

The United States ranked 57th, down by two positions, and was second to last among the G7 countries.

While economic constraints have led to the closures of a number of local news outlets and a decline in press freedom, "Donald Trump's return to the presidency is greatly exacerbating the situation," RSF said.

News outlets in the United States have been jeopardized as Trump banned the Associated Press from the White House and dismantled the U.S. Agency for Global Media, RSF said, adding that politicians' open disdain for the media has trickled down to the public and that journalists reporting on the ground can face harassment, intimidation and assault as a result.

Meanwhile, Norway held the top position for the ninth consecutive year.
Germany ranked 11th, the highest in the G7. Among other countries, South Korea placed 61st, Russia 171st, China 178th and North Korea 179th. Eritrea ranked 180th and was at the bottom of the 2025 rankings.
 

 

Motorist held in Osaka on suspicion of attempted murder after seven children injured, according to local media

Police in the Japanese city of Osaka have arrested a man on suspicion of attempted murder after he drove his car into seven schoolchildren, according to local media.

The children were walking home from school when the suspect appeared to deliberately drive the car at them on a quiet residential street at about 1.30pm local time, the public broadcaster NHK reported.

A seven-year-old girl suffered a broken jaw and the other children – boys and girls aged seven and eight – are reported to have relatively light injuries. All appeared to be conscious as they were taken to hospital.

Police arrested Yuki Yazawa, 28, an unemployed man from Higashimurayama city in Tokyo, at the scene. It is not clear why he was in Osaka.

“I was just sick of everything so I decided to drive my car into the elementary school students to kill them,” Yazawa told police, according to NHK.

Teachers from the primary school are reported to have pulled the suspect out of the car, where he had remained after driving into the children.

A mother in her 20s who had come to pick up her son, and who saw the attack, told NHK: “The car was being driven erratically, and it seems that it continued to move forward even after it had hit the children.

“My son was very shocked and has been crying the whole time. He only just started elementary school last month, and then something like this happened. It’s scary. I saw the man who had been driving the car. He was very quiet and appeared to be in a daze.”

Another witness told NHK that the car reversed back into the children after crashing into them.

An elementary school pupil told another news outlet, MBS News, that the man in the car had been “driving unsteadily”.

“I was walking along the side of the road and the car and suddenly it almost drove into us. The second and third graders in front of me were injured and were bleeding from their heads after being trapped between the car and the wall,” the pupil said.

A white SUV that appeared to be the one used by the suspect was being examined by police.
 
 

One of Japan's busiest bullet train lines came to a halt after a snake tangled itself in a power line, causing a power outage.

Tokaido Shinkansen trains running between Tokyo and Osaka were suspended from around 17:25 local time on Wednesday.

Services resumed at around 19:00 local time, operator Central Japan Railway Company said, according to local media.

Japan is currently in one of its busiest holiday seasons, Golden Week, which consists of four national holidays in seven days, and will see trains, airports and holiday hotspots hit their peak.

Osaka is also hosting the World Expo this year, which will see millions of foreign and domestic visitors flock to the city until it ends in October.

The snake entanglement occurred between Gifu-Hashima and Maibara stations, which suspended Tokyo-bound trains between Shin-Osaka and Nagoya, and the Osaka-bound trains between Shin-Osaka and Tokyo, according to Japanese news agency Kyodo News.

While authorities worked to get power restored, passengers reportedly gathered around staff at one station while large queues formed at ticket machines.

One frequent shinkansen traveller, who was returning to Tokyo, said it was the first time he had experienced this.

"I use the shinkansen several times a month, but this is the first time I have experienced suspensions due to a power outage," Satoshi Tagawa, 46, told Kyodo News.

But 26-year-old Kazutoshi Tachi, said he was "fed up with the troubles" to services.

"I want them to run on time," he added.

This is not the first time a snake has brought the shinkansen service to a halt.
In April 2024, there was a 17-minute hold-up while authorities removed a 16 inch (40.6cm) snake from the train between Nagoya and Tokyo, according to CBS News, BBC News's US partner.
 
 

Shouting “banzai!” or “live long,” thousands of people gathered in a Tokyo park on Thursday and marched through the streets to the banging of traditional drums, as Japan kicked off celebrations to mark May Day.

The holiday, also known as International Workers' Day or Labor Day, marks the struggles and achievements of workers and the labor movement around the world.

“For our children to be able to live with hope, the rights of workers must be recognized,” said Junko Kuramochi, a member of a mothers’ group who marched in Japan's capital.

Crowds gathered from the northernmost main island of Hokkaido to the tropical island of Amami, and in major cities like Kyoto and Hiroshima.

Their demands were wide-ranging and included higher wages, gender equality, health care, reduced military spending and disaster relief for earthquake victims. They also demanded a ceasefire in Gaza and an end to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

“Workers unite! Workers of the world! May Day!” they shouted, punctuating each exclamation with the word “banzai!”

Some said U.S. President Donald Trump’s policies hung over the day like a shadow. One truck in the Tokyo march featured a doll that looked like Trump.

Tadashi Ito, a union construction worker in Japan, said he worried about the potential for rising prices of imported raw materials in the months ahead.
“Everybody is fighting over work and so the contracts tend to go where the wages are cheapest,” he said. “We think peace comes first. And we hope Trump will eradicate conflict and inequalities.”

In Indonesia, President Prabowo Subianto took to the streets of the capital, Jakarta, to greet thousands of workers who cheered him amid tight police and military security in National Monument Park.

“The government that I lead will work as hard as possible to eliminate poverty from Indonesia,” Subianto told the crowd.

About 200,000 Indonesian workers were expected to take part in May Day marches across Southeast Asia’s largest economy, according to Said Iqbal, president of the Confederation of Indonesian Trade Unions.

They are demanding an end to outsourcing rules, wage raises, and protection for domestic workers and migrant workers abroad, Iqbal said.

U.S. organizers say their message this year is focused on fighting back against President Donald Trump’s policies targeting immigrants, federal workers and diversity initiatives.Los Angeles is expected to host one of the world's largest May Day events this year, and a banner there summarized the day’s theme: “One Struggle, One Fight – Workers Unite!”

“We’re bringing the fight to the billionaires and politicians who are trying to divide us with fear and lies.

We know the truth — an attack on immigrant workers is an attack on all workers,” April Verrett, president of the Service Employees International Union, which represents 2 million workers, said in a statement.
 
 

 

 
Mixed martial arts (MMA) will make its Asian Games debut next year when Nagoya hosts the continent's premier sporting event, organizers said on Tuesday.

Cricket was also formally approved for inclusion at the Games during a meeting in host city Nagoya on Monday —despite doubts about where exactly the sport will take place.

"MMA will feature six events in its Asian Games debut and be classed as a discipline under combat sports," the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) said.
The OCA and local organizers will hold meetings this week as they ramp up preparations for the 2026 Games, which will be in Nagoya and elsewhere in Aichi Prefecture.

As many as 15,000 athletes could compete at the Sept. 19 to Oct. 4 Games next year — more participants than the Olympics.

The OCA said that cricket will be played somewhere in Aichi but it is unclear where because there is currently no venue in the prefecture for the sport.

T20 cricket was played at the COVID-delayed Asian Games in China in 2023 and will return to the Olympic program in Los Angeles in 2028.

In December, Aichi Gov. Hideaki Omura said the build-up to the Asian Games was going smoothly.

His remarks came after Japanese media said the OCA was not happy with preparations and had accused local organizers of not sticking to the host city contract.

Reports said the OCA had demanded improvements in several areas, including accommodation and transport for athletes and teams.
Next year will be the 20th edition of the Asian Games.
 
 

Former leaders of Japan's junior ruling party Komeito held talks with a senior official of the Communist Party of China in Beijing on Wednesday.

At the meeting, Natsuo Yamaguchi and Keiichi Ishii, former heads of Komeito, the junior coalition partner of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party, exchanged views on culture and education with Liu Jianchao, head of the International Department of the CPC's Central Committee.

"It's important to build deep interactions across various fields, such as education, culture and sports, not just between political parties," Yamaguchi told the press after the meeting.

During their three-day trip to China through Wednesday, Yamaguchi and others visited Tsinghua University in Beijing and a local Japanese school in Tianjin.
 
 

 

During the meeting, LDP Secretary General Hiroshi Moriyama, who chairs the parliamentary group, said, “We would like to show concrete results and make efforts on both sides so that the people of Japan and China can feel happy about the development of Japan-China relations.”

A delegation from the Japan-China Parliamentary Friendship Association, a nonpartisan group of Japanese lawmakers, confirmed with the third-ranking official of the Chinese Communist Party the importance of expanding bilateral exchanges between China and Japan, in Beijing on Tuesday.
 
The delegation met with Zhao Leji, who is also the chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress.

During the meeting, LDP Secretary General Hiroshi Moriyama, who chairs the parliamentary group, said, “We would like to show concrete results and make efforts on both sides so that the people of Japan and China can feel happy about the development of Japan-China relations.”

Moriyama called for an early response regarding the resumption of imports of Japanese marine products. In response, Zhao said: “We are well aware of Japan’s high level of interest. There has been positive communication between the sections concerned.”

Moriyama also requested the loan of new pandas in light of the impending deadline for the return of giant pandas kept in the town of Shirahama, Wakayama Prefecture, and at the Ueno Zoo in Tokyo.

Fourteen lawmakers are participating in the visit to China, which began on Sunday. Members include Moriyama; Banri Kaieda, a Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan lawmaker, who was a former vice speaker of the House of Representatives; Motohisa Furukawa, acting representative of the Democratic Party for the People; and Kazuo Shii, chairperson of the Central Committee of the Japanese Communist Party.

On Monday, the delegation met with Yang Wanming, president of the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, an international exchange organization.

At the meeting, Moriyama stressed that “personal exchange and mutual understanding are indispensable for putting Japan-China relations on a positive track.” In response, Yang said that “the visit to China will be of great significance in improving mutual political trust.”

Natsuo Yamaguchi, former chief representative of Komeito, and others also arrived in China on Monday, following the visit of Komeito Chief Representative Tetsuo Saito, who stayed from April 22 to 24. Yamaguchi and others will engage in educational and cultural exchanges between Japan and China until Wednesday.
 
 

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said Wednesday he succeeded in building "relations of trust" with the leaderships in Vietnam and the Philippines during his trip to the two Southeast Asian nations.

Ishiba told reporters in Manila before he left for Tokyo that his four-day trip was "meaningful," saying the agreements reached on strengthening security ties will foster "peace, stability and the rule of law" in the region, in an apparent reference to concerns over China's military clout.

Ishiba agreed with Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh in Hanoi on Monday to set up a vice-ministerial-level foreign affairs and defense dialogue framework with the first meeting to take place this year in Japan.
In Manila on Tuesday, Ishiba and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

affirmed that discussions will start on an information-sharing pact and an acquisition and cross-servicing deal to facilitate joint defense drills.

"We had quite in-depth and honest discussions," Ishiba said of his meetings with four Vietnamese leaders, also including To Lam, general secretary of the ruling Vietnamese Communist Party, and with Marcos.

"It is important to establish ties that would make us want to meet again, and I think we were able to achieve that," he added.

Japan has been ramping up security cooperation with Southeast Asian countries in recent years, as China intensifies its military activities in the resource-rich South China Sea, home to one of the world's busiest maritime sea lanes, as well as the East China Sea.

It was Ishiba's third trip to Southeast Asia since he took office in October. He visited Laos that month and Malaysia and Indonesia in January.
 
 

The research aims to confirm whether the checked meat has abnormalities through AI analysis of photographs.

The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry plans to start research this fiscal year on artificial intelligence programs for checking whether meat is safe for consumption before being shipped out.

The checks will be conducted by prefectural governments. The research aims to confirm whether the checked meat has abnormalities through AI analysis of photographs.

The goal is to reduce the workload in meat inspection facilities, as there is a shortage of licensed veterinarians serving as local government officials, who are needed to conduct the checks.

If the effectiveness of the method is confirmed, the ministry plans to introduce it nationwide.

Meat is shipped out after local governments or private meat-processing facilities check whether it is safe to consume.

Laws require that local government officials with veterinarian licenses conduct the checks in most cases. The veterinarians examine livestock, dressed carcasses and organs both visually and through touch.

If the animals or meat are found to have signs of diseases or other abnormalities, they are removed from shipment lines.

However, there is a nationwide shortage of officials with veterinarian licenses. Many who have obtained a veterinarian license aim to work in animal hospitals where pets are treated.

When The Yomiuri Shimbun conducted a survey on veterinarian employment in local governments in fiscal 2023, about 90% of prefectural governments were unable to employ the expected numbers.

Japan’s export of meat, mainly of the wagyu variety of cattle, has been increasing thanks to government support.

In fiscal 2023, a total of about 2,200 local government officials with veterinarian licenses conducted checks on at least 1 million cows and about 16 million pigs, and roughly 1,100 licensed officials checked about 830 million poultry.

Many local governments have narrowly been able to conduct checks by reemploying veterinarians who had retired.

If the shortage of veterinarians worsens, local governments may be unable to assign veterinarians to other duties, such as public health sanitation work.
The ministry has therefore decided to utilize AI for the checks.

In the research, AI-assisted image analysis systems will help veterinarians visually check meat.

The research will take place in Hokkaido, Ibaraki Prefecture and Miyazaki Prefecture across three years through fiscal 2027.

Prof. Yasukazu Muramatsu of Rakuno Gakuen University, an expert of veterinary public health who heads the research team, said: “Depending on the outcome of the research, it can be expected that the workplace burden on veterinarians will be drastically reduced. Because the checks affect food safety, we aim to raise the accuracy of AI to match the level of checks by veterinarians.”
 
 

Hiroshi Moriyama, secretary-general of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party, on Tuesday called for concrete results on pending issues between Japan and China, apparently referring to Tokyo's demand that Beijing remove its restrictions on imports of Japanese fisheries products.

There are pending issues between Japan and China, said Moriyama, who was visiting China as part of a delegation from a suprapartisan group of Japanese lawmakers promoting friendship between the two countries.

It is necessary for Japan and China to build a relationship in which politicians meet face-to-face and to deepen mutual understanding and trust, Moriyama said in a meeting with Zhao Leji, chairman of the Standing Committee of China's National People's Congress and the third-ranking official of the Chinese Communist Party.

Both sides need to make efforts so that the people of the two countries will feel good about the development of Japan-China relations, said Moriyama, head of the Japanese suprapartisan lawmakers' group.

In the meeting at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Zhao said that improving and developing Japan-China relations meet the fundamental interests of both sides.
 
 

Japanese people now have more options than ever if they wish to have a funeral for, or with, their pet -- be it a dog, cat or even a bug.

Demand for joint burials with pets has grown in recent years despite religious prohibitions, with one pioneer company in Tokyo providing "with pet" graves since 2003.

Memorial Art Ohnoya Inc. offers such graves in seven cemeteries in Japan and allows the remains of the pet to be interred even if it dies before the owner. The company has been contracted for its pet services around 1,500 times.

A man who began looking for a family grave site when his father died said he applied immediately upon finding the service as his family could not "contemplate being apart" from their dog, even after death.

"We respond to requests from those wanting to rest with their irreplaceable pets," said Yasunari Hakozaki from Ohnoya. "Some cemeteries also provide basins so that when people visit the grave with their pets, the pets can wash their feet."

Fuga, operator of tombstone retailer "Ishi no Miyabi," offers joint graves for owners and pets at its cemeteries in the cities of Kobe and Akashi in Hyogo Prefecture. It allows tombstones to be designed in line with the pet owners' wishes.

One example featured two cats in the middle of a circular tombstone. The animals' pictures were transferred onto a ceramic board, which is less likely to weather when outside.

At the Ai Pet Ceremony Amagasaki in Hyogo, people can bring their beetles and other insects personally or even send them by mail to have them buried. The facility provides memorial services once a month and notes that their deaths can help children learn about mortality.
 
 

 

A "pocket park" in the central Japan prefecture of Shizuoka has been recognized by the Guinness World Records as the world's smallest, measuring only 0.24 square meter with space for just one person to sit on a wooden seat on a rock.

Located in a corner of a residential area in the town of Nagaizumi, the park consists of small square raised bricks, small plants next to the stool and two stone monuments including one with a carving of the town's symbolic flower.

The park had been dubbed by locals as the "world's smallest park" and cherished as a resting space for more than 30 years, before it was officially recognized by Guinness in December.

Approximately 300 meters away from the town hall, the park was built in 1988 using land left over from road construction work.

A former official of the town proposed the idea of creating the tiny park after being inspired by Mill Ends Park in Oregon, the previous record-holder with an area of 0.29 square meter.

With local support, the town decided to challenge the world record in 2023. For expenses related to registering for the Guinness World Records, the town secured about 2.5 million yen, through its budget, online fundraising and private sector donations.

The town then hired a surveyor to measure the land and submitted a certificate that proved the park had existed for over five years. The space was also recategorized from being a part of a road to a park.

Since earning Guinness recognition, the park has become a popular tourist attraction, drawing visitors from outside Shizuoka.

"We hope this park will serve as an opportunity to promote our town," said Shuji Koyama of the town's construction management division.
 
 

 

Shinkansen bullet train services in western Japan were halted Monday evening after a person was hit by a train in Hiroshima Prefecture, JR West said.

The incident, which occurred between Fukuyama and Shin-Onomichi stations, led to the suspension of bullet train operations between Shin-Osaka and Hakata stations around 5:50 p.m., the operator said.
Service is expected to resume around 8:30 p.m., it said.
 
 

Japan and Vietnam agreed to boost bilateral trade and uphold global rules on the free flow of goods as Japan's Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba met Vietnamese leaders in Hanoi while both countries engage in talks with Washington to avoid tariffs.

Ishiba's first trip to Vietnam, and his subsequent visit on Tuesday to the Philippines, mark the latest high-level East Asian meetings amid escalating global uncertainty triggered by the threat of crippling U.S. tariffs.

"The world economy is becoming more uncertain, and the impact on the Southeast Asian region is also becoming apparent," Ishiba told reporters on Monday after a meeting with Vietnam's Prime Minister Chinh.

In recent weeks, Vietnam has hosted China's President Xi Jinping and top South Korean ministers, while Tokyo has held a trilateral meeting with China and South Korea.

Early in April, the White House slapped "bilateral tariffs" of 46% on Vietnam and 24% on Japan. Those duties were later paused until July as bilateral talks are underway, but a 10% levy applies on all imports into the United States, which is a major market for both countries.

"We will cooperate to maintain a free and open international order based on the rule of law," Ishiba added in a joint press conference with Chinh where journalists' questions were not allowed.

Vietnam is a major assembling hub for large Japanese manufacturers, including Honda, Canon and Panasonic, with a total of $78 billion invested in the Southeast Asian country by Japanese firms, according to Vietnam's finance ministry. Japanese banks also hold strategic stakes in top Vietnamese lenders.

"The two countries agreed to uphold the global order of free trade based on international rules," Chinh said, after the two leaders signed four cooperation agreements, including on boosting trade in energy transition products and on research and development on semiconductors.

The content of the agreements was not disclosed and Reuters could not establish whether they entailed any binding or financial commitment.
Vietnam's top leader To Lam urged Japan to increase investment in infrastructure projects after he met Ishiba on Sunday, according to a report on Vietnam government's portal.

Japan has been involved in preliminary studies for the future construction of a high-speed railway connecting Hanoi to the southern business hub of Ho Chi Minh City, which with an estimated cost of $67 billion is Vietnam's most ambitious infrastructure project.

Leaders, however, did not explicitly mention railways among fields of cooperation. Vietnam has said it plans to finance the project largely on its own.
 
 

The Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI) confirmed the participation of the Japan Self-Defense Forces (JSDF) in the upcoming 2025 Super Garuda Shield joint military exercise that will take place in Indonesia.

Head of the TNI Information Center, Brig. Gen. Kristomei Sianturi shared this information following a meeting between TNI Commander General Agus Subiyanto and Chief of Staff, Joint Staff of the JSDF, General Yoshida Yoshihide at the TNI Headquarters in East Jakarta on Friday.

"The JSDF will take part in the 2025 Super Garuda Shield exercise, which will provide a platform for Indonesian and Japanese forces to enhance their interoperability and capacity," Sianturi told the media at the headquarters.

Sianturi emphasized that Japan's inclusion in the list of participating countries in the military exercise would benefit Indonesia significantly.

He said that hosting defense forces from various countries during the planned drill will give Indonesia valuable opportunities to exchange war strategies and defense technologies.

He affirmed that the 2025 Super Garuda Shield is also expected to pave the way for even stronger bilateral ties between Indonesia and Japan.

In addition to synergizing in the forthcoming event, Sianturi noted that the TNI would collaborate with Japan for non-war military operations, especially those concerning disaster mitigation.

The TNI officer explained that such collaboration could be implemented through joint disaster evacuation simulations and the exchange of personnel for capacity-building activities related to search and rescue operations.

"Since we regard the JSDF as a seasoned institution in delivering humanitarian assistance and mitigating disasters, we aim to explore potential future cooperation in this area," he stated.

The Super Garuda Shield is an annual multinational military exercise organized by the TNI, with participants from countries across the Indo-Pacific region.

This event is designed to facilitate the participating military forces to strengthen their capabilities and synergy among them.
 

Bereaved families and others on Friday mourned more than 100 people who died in a train derailment accident that occurred in Amagasaki, Hyogo Prefecture, western Japan, 20 years ago.

Kazuaki Hasegawa, president of West Japan Railway Co., reiterated the company's apology in a memorial ceremony for the accident that happened on its Fukuchiyama Line in 2005 and left 106 passengers and the driver dead and 562 others injured.

 

"On that day, we took away precious and irreplaceable lives," Hasegawa said in the ceremony at a memorial facility built at the site of the accident.

The company is firmly aware of the importance of not letting the memories of the accident fade away, Hasegawa said, while noting that many JR West employees are those who joined the firm after the accident.

 

"We will carve the tragedy of the accident and the preciousness of lives in our hearts and will do our best to pass on the facts, remorse and lessons of the accident to future generations," he said. The ceremony was joined by 343 people.
 
 

A 22-year-old Chinese exchange student has been awarded the top prize in the 20th annual Japanese language essay contest for Chinese nationals with her candid reflections on her initial struggles in Japan. 

Lin Fangfei impressed the judges with her writing about her journey toward making a meaningful human connection.

When Lin arrived in Japan last spring to study at Ritsumeikan University in Osaka, her closest companion was not a classmate or local friend, but “Yume-chan” (“Miss Dream”)—the name she gave to an artificial intelligence chatbot she used to practice Japanese.

She found comfort in chatting with the AI, especially when real conversations with Japanese students felt daunting.

However, Lin gradually realized that she was missing a crucial element in communication: empathy.

“I got used to talking to the AI and stopped thinking about how real people feel,” she wrote in her award-winning essay.

At the award ceremony held in Tokyo, Lin spoke about timeless human values.

“Even as times change, the importance of people meeting, helping one another and connecting heart-to-heart remains the same,” she said.
Born in Jining, Shandong province, in eastern China, Lin was inspired to study Japanese after watching Studio Ghibli films, captivated by the beauty of the landscapes they depicted.

She majored in Japanese at her Chinese university before coming to Japan to study business management.

Her favorite Japanese word is “mamoru,” meaning “to protect.” To Lin, it represents the responsibility of passing on what has been inherited from the past to future generations.

This belief was reflected in her undergraduate thesis, which compared silk textile cultures in China and Japan. She praised Japanese museums that let visitors try traditional weaving, seeing such interactive methods as a model for cultural preservation in China.

Looking ahead, Lin hopes to work for a Japanese manufacturer, developing products and services that blend Chinese technological innovations with Japan’s renowned spirit of hospitality.

Despite the challenges posed by political tensions in Sino-Japanese relations, she dreams of fostering collaboration between the two nations.

This spring, Lin begins her graduate studies at Ritsumeikan University. With more Japanese friends around her now, her days with Yume-chan are behind her.
 

 

Nintendo shares surged Thursday after the gaming giant boasted of higher than expected demand in Japan for pre-orders of its hotly anticipated Switch 2 console.

The successor to the Switch -- the third best-selling console ever behind Sony's PlayStation 2 and the Nintendo DS -- is set to hit shelves worldwide on June 5.

And the stakes are high: Although Nintendo is diversifying into theme parks and hit movies, analysts say around 90 percent of its revenue comes from the Switch business.

An X post attributed to company president Shuntaro Furukawa published Wednesday said there had been 2.2 million pre-order applications for the new console in Japan.

This is an "extremely high" number which "greatly exceeds our initial expectations", the post said.

"It also significantly exceeds the quantity of Switch 2 consoles" that can be delivered on the release date.

"Therefore, it is expected that a considerable number of customers will not win the lottery when the winners are announced" on Thursday, for which "we deeply apologize".

Shares in the Kyoto-based company gained as much as 5.5 percent on Thursday following the bullish announcement.

Nintendo in early April revealed details about the Switch 2, which like its predecessor is a hybrid console that can be used on the go or connected to a TV screen.

However, the price has raised eyebrows at over a third more than the original Switch in major markets including the United States, where it will cost $449.99.

A Japanese-only version for domestic consumers will be cheaper at 49,980 yen ($350).

"Uncertainty around reciprocal tariffs, global trade and higher component costs" mean a price drop is unlikely within the next five years, industry research firm Niko Partners said earlier this month.

Nintendo delayed pre-orders for the Switch 2 in the United States by several weeks as it assessed the fallout from US President Donald Trump's trade levies.
 
 

Tokyo and Manila are also likely to agree to start negotiations to sign an agreement, under which the Self-Defence Forces and the Philippine military will be able to provide food, fuel and other supplies to each other.

The Japanese and Philippine governments have entered the final phase in coordinating the early signing of a bilateral general security of military information agreement (GSOMIA) at a summit scheduled for later this month, according to Japanese government sources.

GSOMIA is necessary for exchanging highly confidential military information between signatory nations.

Japan and Manila are also likely to agree to start negotiations to sign an agreement, under which the Self-Defense Forces and the Philippine military will be able to provide food, fuel and other supplies to each other.

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba is scheduled to visit Vietnam and the Philippines from April 27 to 30. Ishiba aims to use the trip to strengthen security cooperation with the two countries while keeping China, which has been increasing its hegemonic activities, in mind.

Ishiba will meet with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr in Manila, and they will confirm strengthening cooperation between the SDF and the Philippine military while also working to make progress regarding Japan’s Official Security Assistance (OSA) programs.

Through the OSA, Japan provides defense equipment for free to countries that share the same values.

The leaders are also likely to discuss such issues as conducting joint drills with the countries’ coast guards.

Ahead of his visit to the Philippines, Ishiba will visit Hanoi and meet with Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh.

To boost communication between Japan and Vietnam, Ishiba and Pham are expected to agree to hold two-plus-two meetings between the countries’ vice foreign and defense ministers. Their first two-plus-two meeting will likely be held in Japan by the end of the year.

Ishiba and Pham are also expected to agree to proactively use the OSA programs. As Japan has never implemented an OSA program in Vietnam, it will be the first if realized.

They will also likely agree on fostering personnel in the semiconductor industry.

In addition, Ishiba is expected to have discussions with the two leaders on how to respond to the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs.

The Japanese side hopes to have close communication with the two countries.
 
 

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba is set to make a four-day trip from Sunday to Vietnam and the Philippines as part of Japan's summit diplomacy to maintain a rules-based order in the Indo-Pacific region, the government said Wednesday.

Japan has been focusing on building stronger ties with Southeast Asian nations, as U.S. President Donald Trump has sparked uncertainty over the global economic and security situation. Ishiba's visit follows Chinese President Xi Jinping's recent trip to the region.

By holding talks with To Lam, general secretary of Vietnam's ruling Communist Party, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., Ishiba seeks to deepen "personal" relations with them, said Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi.

"It is one of the top diplomatic priorities for Japan to strengthen ties with Southeast Asia, a major global growth driver and a strategically important area," Hayashi said, adding that Ishiba aims to bolster economic and security cooperation with the region.

"We will actively pursue summit diplomacy to realize a free and open Indo-Pacific based on the rule of law," Hayashi, the top government spokesman, said at a regular press conference.