Japan

Suzuki Motor Corp will invest 4.5 trillion yen ($34.8 billion) through fiscal 2030 in research, development and capital spending to make battery electric vehicles (EVs), it said on Thursday.

The actions and potential implications of several countries, including Russia, North Korea, China, and Iran indicates that change is occurring in these countries and their actions have the potential to affect the global order. The US has the power and capability to assist and influence events in these countries, but should do so in a way that avoids being perceived as meddling. The US should work to deter expansionist behavior by China in the Indo-Pacific region and to calm tensions with North Korea.

World stocks rose and Japan's yen tumbled on Wednesday, after the Bank of Japan poured cold water on monetary tightening expectations and economic and earnings data proved cheery for European markets.

Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev slammed Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida for the latter's "subservience" to the United States.

U.S. President Joe Biden will welcome Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at the White House on Friday and is expected to hail what Washington sees as historic plans by Tokyo for a major military buildup in the face of shared concerns about China.

The British and Japanese prime ministers will sign a "hugely significant" new defence deal allowing UK troops to deploy in Japan when the pair meet in London on Wednesday, Downing Street said.

Uniqlo parent Fast Retailing Co Ltd on Wednesday said it would raise wages by as much as 40%, a clear sign that Japan's rock-bottom salaries may be starting to budge after decades of deflation and cost-cutting.

The two leaders will also discuss Japan's current presidency of the G7 and "the need to maintain our collective support for Ukraine"

Japan will toughen its COVID-19 border control measures for travellers from China from Sunday, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said, in response to a surge of infections.

Japanese factories slashed output for a third consecutive month in November, dragged down by weak demand for machinery products amid a deteriorating global economic outlook.

Japanese retail sales rose for a ninth straight month in November, data showed on Tuesday, as the lifting of COVID-19 border controls and the government's domestic travel subsidy helped consumer demand.

Italy must have equal treatment in a partnership with Britain and Japan to develop a new jet fighter, Rome's defence minister told Reuters, as talks proceed to define the roles each country has in the ambitious project.

The government in October pledged to spend $260 billion on a stimulus package to cushion the economy from the impact of inflation and the lower yen.

Japan is set to earmark 40 trillion to 43 trillion yen ($295 billion-$318 billion) for defence spending over five years starting in the next fiscal year, which begins in April, three sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters on Friday.

Four-time champions Germany sensationally crashed out of the World Cup despite a 4-2 victory over Costa Rica in their last Group E match on Thursday, tumbling out at the first hurdle for the second consecutive time.

The prospect of an early German exit -- four years after bowing out at the same stage at the 2018 finals in Russia -- was practically unthinkable before the tournament.

A former British envoy, an Australian economic adviser and a Japanese journalist left Myanmar Thursday as the junta released almost 6,000 prisoners, an AFP correspondent and diplomatic sources said.

Japan's justice minister stepped down on Friday after facing criticism for reportedly saying his "low-profile" position only generates media coverage when he approves the death penalty.

An 81-year-old Japanese man pushed his disabled wife into the sea because he was "tired of taking care of her."

The certificates allow LGBTQ partners to be treated as married couples for some public services in areas such as housing, medicine and welfare.

Japan's factory output fell in September for the first time in four months as manufacturers took a hit from rising costs for raw materials and the global economic slowdown.

Nuclear-armed North Korea fired a ballistic missile over Japan for the first time in five years on Tuesday, prompting a warning for residents to take cover and a temporary suspension of train operations in northern Japan.

Mikizo Ueda, who was the oldest living man in Japan, passed away at the age of 112 in the city of Nara last week.

Japan's ruling party says half its MPs had Unification Church ties

The precipitous slide in Japan's currency has run so far and fast it's spooking big investors, and some are cutting bets that it will decline further, anticipating policymakers may soon step in to try and arrest the freefall.

Japan need not intervene in the exchange-rate market to stem yen falls, as such a move would be ineffective in countering broad dollar gains, former top currency diplomat Hiroshi Watanabe told Reuters on Wednesday.

North Korea is "always welcome" at the negotiating table even though the threat of further provocation may be looming, Japan's nuclear envoy, Takehiro Funakoshi, said on Wednesday ahead of a meeting with his U.S.

Japan further relaxed its infection border controls on Wednesday, but its insistence on visitor visas means the yen's plunge won't translate to a tourism boom any time soon.

Japanese prosecutors arrested two officials at a sponsor of the Tokyo Olympics on Tuesday as part of a widening bribery investigation that media said involved a former member of the Tokyo 2020 board.

Japanese Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki said on Friday that Tokyo will take "appropriate" action as needed on the yen's slide to a fresh 24-year low against the dollar, signaling the chance of intervention to address market volatility.