JAPAN

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.

Just as inflation ravages the big guns of U.S. apparel retail, awash in high inventory and deep discounts to lure shoppers back to stores, Japan's Uniqlo is set for its best year ever in North America after a COVID-imposed revolution in its business model.

Japan eyes nuclear power push to combat energy crunch

Dugong, a species that inspired ancient tales about mermaids and sirens for centuries, has been declared functionally extinct in China

Tears and team spirit: high-school baseball grips Japan

Japan may lift requirements for pre-departure COVID-19 tests for travellers and raise daily caps on entrants, domestic media have reported.

A study conducted by researchers in Japan found that dogs produce tears of joy when reunited with their owners after hours of separation.

Hanae Mori, a pioneering designer who brought Japanese motifs to the global haute couture stage and created the wedding dress worn by Empress Masako, had died aged 96.