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Nine Japanese political parties from the ruling and opposition camps agreed Thursday to oblige social media platform operators to take actions to lessen the negative impact of disinformation, misinformation and slander on their platforms in elections.

Three major Japanese oil wholesalers have reported double-digit percentage increases in net profit for fiscal 2025, which ended in March, reflecting surging crude oil prices amid the deteriorating situation in the Middle East.

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said Thursday that the government is rushing to take measures against the cybersecurity threats posed by the Claude Mythos artificial intelligence model, describing such efforts as a "race against time."

Four major Japanese chemical makers have projected profit increases for fiscal 2026, thanks to structural reforms for petrochemical operations and revenue diversification into semiconductor materials.

Sharp Corp. said Thursday that it will launch 15 television models equipped with generative artificial intelligence in stages from May 23.

Hitoshi Kikawada, Japanese minister for gender equality policy, will visit Shanghai for two days from Thursday, the Japanese government said the same day.

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi met with Ben Horowitz, co-founder of Andreessen Horowitz, a major U.S. venture capital firm, at the prime minister's office in Tokyo on Thursday.

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is planning to visit Britain and Italy ahead of a Group of Seven summit in France in June, government sources said Thursday.

A Japanese parliamentary panel on Thursday discussed a draft outline of an emergency clause that may be included in the Constitution as part of a planned amendment to the country's fundamental law.

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi will visit South Korea for two days from Tuesday to hold a summit meeting with South Korean President Lee Jae-myung for better bilateral ties, the Japanese government said Thursday.

Japan's economy is projected to have grown at an annualized pace of 1.8pctin the first three months of the year in inflation-adjusted real terms to mark the second consecutive quarter of expansion, according to average estimates by 10 private think tanks.

Bank of Japan policymaker Kazuyuki Masu said Thursday that the central bank should raise its policy interest rate as soon as possible unless the economy shows signs of slowing down.

The ongoing Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, or NPT, is expected to adopt an outcome document that addresses nuclear disarmament education, as proposed by Japan, it was learned Wednesday.

A memorial ceremony was held on Thursday for the 42 people who died in a train collision in Shigaraki, currently part of Koka, in Shiga Prefecture, western Japan, 35 years ago.

Japan's Honda Motor Co. on Thursday reported a consolidated net loss of 423.9 billion yen in fiscal 2025, which ended in March this year, amid sluggish demand for electric vehicles in North America.

Tokyo police have arrested two Vietnamese construction workers for allegedly entering and trying to burglarize a house in Tokyo's Setagaya Ward, the site of a high-profile family murder case in 2000.

The Japanese government is considering providing electricity and city gas subsidies from July to September, when energy demand for cooling is expected to grow, people familiar with the matter said Thursday.

Japan's LY Corp. said Thursday it and U.S. investment fund Bain Capital have jointly proposed acquiring Kakaku.com Inc., in a move to counter Swedish investment fund EQT AB's tender offer for the operator of the Tabelog user-generated restaurant review website.

Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party officially approved on Thursday a draft criminal procedure law amendment stipulating a basic ban on public prosecutors' appeals against court orders granting retrials in the main text of the law.

An oil tanker owned by a group company of Japanese oil distributor Eneos Corp. has passed through the Strait of Hormuz, people familiar with the matter said Thursday.

Japanese police issued 2,147 "blue tickets" to fine cyclists for minor traffic violations in the first month since the blue ticket system was introduced April 1, National Police Agency preliminary data showed Thursday.

A team including Takashi Shichita, a professor at the Institute of Science Tokyo's Medical Research Laboratory, has developed a drug candidate to suppress a type of protein that causes the rehabilitation-induced partial recovery of motor functions lost from a stroke to end after only about two months.

A Japanese research group has said that it identified the scientific mechanism that explains why crows are black.

Japan's Supreme Court has requested a related parliamentary commission to file a petition with the Judge Impeachment Court to seek the dismissal of a judge indicted for alleged habitual gambling through an online casino site.

Former Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda has indicated that the effects of foreign exchange market interventions will not last long.

The Japanese ruling Liberal Democratic Party is poised to study a further hike in the country's security-related spending by taking account of initiatives of other nations and regional alliances, including a plan by NATO to increase such outlays to 3-5pctof gross domestic product.

Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party on Wednesday approved a government-drafted bill to basically bar prosecutors from appealing court orders granting retrials.

Nissan Motor Co. said Wednesday that it expects to return to profitability in fiscal 2026 after two years of substantial losses, thanks to its cost-cutting efforts.

SoftBank Group Corp. on Wednesday reported a consolidated net profit of 5,002.2 billion yen for fiscal 2025, up about 4.3-fold from the previous year, marking a new record high for a Japanese company.

Japan's three megabanks are working to gain access to Claude Mythos, a cutting-edge artificial intelligence model developed by U.S. startup Anthropic, aiming to use it to enhance cybersecurity measures, it was learned Wednesday.

The Japanese government will refrain from proposing a bill to legalize the post-marriage use of maiden names during the ongoing parliamentary session, it was learned Wednesday.

South Korean automaker Kia Corp. on Wednesday unveiled its first Kia PBV store in Japan to the press, planning to open it Friday to sell its PV5 midsize electric van.

Kaori Sakamoto contently recalled the days of being a top figure skater at her retirement press conference on Wednesday.

Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi on Wednesday emphasized the importance of close coordination with the United States over a multilateral effort to ensure safe navigation through the Strait of Hormuz.

Aichi Financial Group Inc. and San ju San Financial Group Inc., regional banking holding companies of central Japan, said Wednesday that they have reached a basic agreement on a business integration set for April next year.

Japan's current account surplus hit a record high for the third consecutive year in fiscal 2025 partly because the trade balance swung back to the black, preliminary data from the Finance Ministry showed Wednesday.

A Japanese health ministry council on Wednesday approved the public health insurance coverage for a regenerative medicine for Parkinson's disease produced from induced pluripotent stem, or iPS, cells, effective from May 20.

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development suggested in a report Wednesday that Japan's macroeconomic policies "be calibrated carefully."

The Diet, Japan's parliament, enacted a bill Wednesday to promote work-style reforms for truck drivers by encouraging the use of systems that allow multiple logistics firms to relay cargo.

Immune cells derived from human induced pluripotent stem, or iPS, cells that are genetically modified to produce two specific proteins simultaneously can improve the therapeutic effect against solid cancers, a Japanese group said Wednesday.

Major Japanese motor maker Nidec Corp. said Wednesday that improper activities, such as changing "materials, processes and designs without customer approval," are suspected for some of the firm's products.

A South Korean court has sentenced a man to five years in prison for drunken driving that left a Japanese tourist in her 50s dead and her daughter in her 30s seriously injured in Seoul last year.

Japanese chipmaker Rohm Co. has reported a record consolidated net loss of 158.4 billion yen for the fiscal year that ended in March, hit by slowing demand for electric vehicles.

The Legislative Bureau at Japan's House of Representatives and others have drafted an outline of an emergency clause that may be included in the Constitution as part of a planned reform of the country's fundamental law.

Major Japanese bearing makers NSK Ltd. and NTN Corp. have announced a basic agreement to integrate their operations.

Japan is expected to secure over 70pctof its crude oil procurement in June from sources other than the Middle East, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said Tuesday.

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and Mathias Cormann, secretary-general of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, on Tuesday agreed to expand Japan-OECD cooperation in the field of economic security.

Swedish investment fund EQT AB said Tuesday that it will conduct a tender offer for Japan's Kakaku.com Inc., the operator of the Tabelog user-generated restaurant review website.

The opposition Centrist Reform Alliance decided Tuesday to accept two proposals by a Japanese government expert panel to ensure a sufficient number of Imperial Family members, paving the way for full-scale parliamentary talks on revising the Imperial House Law.

Japanese snack maker Calbee Inc. said Tuesday that it plans to adopt monochrome packaging for 14 of its major products, including "Potato Chips."