Japanese government

Japan's Crown Prince Fumihito and Crown Princess Kiko concluded their five-day visit to Türkiye on Dec. 8, reaffirming a shared commitment to strengthening the enduring diplomatic and cultural ties between the two nations through meaningful high-level discussions.

Nearly 40,000 people died alone in their homes in Japan during the first half of 2024, according to a police report.

Japan currently has the world’s oldest population, according to the United Nations, a problem expected to worsen as more elderly people live and die alone.

The World Health Organization (WHO) on Friday called on manufacturers to increase production of mpox vaccines to address the spread of a more dangerous strain of the virus, Clade 1b.

This strain has surged in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and other regions, prompting the WHO to declare a public health emergency of international concern on Wednesday.

Uncontrollable “bleeding” in global markets, with Athens recording one of the largest percentage drops compared to other European stock exchanges. Most of this year’s gains were lost, with trading volume at high levels due to mass sell-offs.

G7 leaders meeting in Italy Friday hardened their tone against China, warning Beijing to stop sending weapons components to Russia and play by the rules on trade.

China was a key focus of the Group of Seven talks in Puglia, amid souring trade relations between Beijing and the West and concerns that its supplies of equipment to Moscow are fuelling Russia's war in Ukraine.

G7 leaders meeting in Italy turn their attention to China on Friday, from security in the Asia-Pacific to how best to protect their industries while avoiding an outright trade war with Beijing.

Meta chief Mark Zuckerberg met Prime Minister Fumio Kishida during a visit to Japan, discussing the risks of generative AI, a government spokesman said Wednesday.

Zuckerberg is on a mini-tour of Asia that includes stops in Japan, India and South Korea, where he travelled on Tuesday night.

In a concerning trend for Japan's demographic landscape, the year 2023 saw a significant decline in the number of newborns, marking a record low in the country's history. According to government data reported by Kyodo News, Japan's population shrank by its largest ever margin, with births plummeting by 5.1 percent compared to the previous year, totaling just 758,631 infants.

Japanese Defense Minister Minoru Kihara said at a press conference that Japan only accepted U.S. aid after the earthquake while rejecting aid from other countries due to difficulties in reaching an agreement on how the aid would be delivered, reports Kyodo.

Japan's top currency official said yesterday that Tokyo was "on standby" to intervene after the yen fell to a new year-low against the dollar and plunged against the euro, Bloomberg reported.

The yen dropped below 151 against the dollar overnight after the Bank of Japan further loosened its control of bond yields but stuck with sub-zero short-term interest rates.