By Adriana ReineckeBy 時事通信社

Japanese public prosecutors said on Monday that they will not object to the retrial of a 59-year-old man who served a prison sentence for the 1986 murder of a junior high school student in central Japan.By 時事通信社

Some observers in the United States over Japan-U.S. relations are casting vigilant eyes on Japanese politics following the defeat of the ruling coalition led by the Liberal Democratic Party in Sunday's election for the House of Representatives, the all-important lower chamber of Japan's parliament.By 時事通信社

Voter turnout for single-seat constituencies in Sunday's general election in Japan stood at 53.85 pct, the third lowest in post-World War II history, according to internal affairs ministry data released Monday.By 時事通信社

Japanese real estate developer Mitsui Fudosan Co. and others on Monday started cutting down trees as part of their redevelopment plan for the Meiji Jingu Gaien area in central Tokyo.By 時事通信社

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said Monday that he and his ruling Liberal Democratic Party received an "extremely harsh judgment" from the electorate in the country's general election Sunday.By 時事通信社

Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc. on Monday resumed experimental work to remove nuclear fuel debris from the No. 2 reactor at its meltdown-stricken Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant in northeastern Japan.By 時事通信社

The main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan at a meeting of executives Monday decided to call on other opposition parties to cooperate for the upcoming election for the prime minister, following the ruling bloc's crushing defeat in Sunday's general election.By 時事通信社

Shinjiro Koizumi, chairman of the Liberal Democratic Party's Election Strategy Committee, on Monday offered to resign to take the blame for the LDP-led ruling camp's crushing defeat in Sunday's general election.By 時事通信社

Japanese business leaders called for political reforms and efforts to regain trust from citizens Monday after the Liberal Democratic Party-led coalition lost its majority in Sunday's general election.By 時事通信社

A V-22 Osprey transport aircraft of Japan's Ground Self-Defense Force suffered damage in an accident that occurred when it took off during training Sunday, leading the GSDF to suspend flights of all of its Ospreys, it was learned Monday.By 時事通信社

A Japanese group of lawyers led by Hidetoshi Masunaga filed lawsuits with Fukuoka High Court and elsewhere Monday morning to nullify the previous day's general election for the House of Representatives.By 時事通信社

About 60pctof candidates involved in the Japanese ruling Liberal Democratic Party's "slush fund" scandal lost in Sunday's election of the House of Representatives, the all-important lower chamber of the country's parliament.By 時事通信社

Japanese medical equipment maker Olympus Corp. said Monday that President and CEO Stefan Kaufmann resigned the same day for allegedly buying illegal drugs.By 時事通信社

Eiji Kidoguchi, 61, fielded by the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, has won a by-election for the House of Councillors, the upper chamber of parliament, in Iwate Prefecture's constituency in northeastern Japan.By 時事通信社

The main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan attracted the most independent votes in Sunday's general election for the House of Representatives, the lower chamber of the Diet, a Jiji Press exit poll suggested.By 時事通信社

Voter turnout for single-seat constituencies in Japan's general election Sunday is seen to have stood around 53.11 pct, according to an estimate by Jiji Press.By 時事通信社

Two major Japanese opposition parties--Nippon Ishin no Kai ()削除 and the Democratic Party for the People--have denied the possibility that they would join the ruling Liberal Democratic Party-Komeito coalition after Sunday's general election.By 時事通信社

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has signaled his intention to remain in office even after the ruling Liberal Democratic Party-Komeito coalition struggled in Sunday's general election.By 時事通信社

"Economy, employment and wage growth" was the policy area Japanese voters were most focused on in Sunday's general election, an exit poll by Jiji Press showed.By 時事通信社

Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party is unlikely to win a majority on its own in the House of Representatives, the all-important lower chamber of the Diet, in Sunday's general election, according to exit polls by Jiji Press.By 時事通信社

The number of people who cast early votes for single-seat constituencies in Sunday's general election in Japan came to 20,955,435, the internal affairs ministry said.By 時事通信社

The foreign ministers of Japan and six other countries on Sunday expressed "grave concern" over an Israeli bill for banning activities in the country of the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, or UNRWA.By 時事通信社

A female employee at a so-called girl bar in the Shinbashi district in Tokyo's Minato Ward was stabbed to death Sunday.By 時事通信社

A nuclear power reactor in northeastern Japan is set to be reactivated Tuesday, amid mixed feelings among local residents.By 時事通信社

Kenichi Ino, father of Shiori, who was murdered 25 years ago after falling victim to stalking, is determined to continue his activities to make sure no one suffers such harassing behavior.By 時事通信社

Heads of Japanese political parties traveled a total of 84,302 kilometers across Japan, equivalent to more than two laps around the earth, for stump speeches during the 12-day official campaign period for Sunday's general election, according to data announced by the parties.By 時事通信社

Voting began Sunday morning in a closely watched general election in Japan, with keen attention paid to whether the Liberal Democratic Party and its Komeito ally will maintain or lose their combined majority in the House of Representatives at a time when the LDP has been rocked by a major political fund scandal.…

In Sunday's general election for Japan's 465-seat House of Representatives, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition partner, Komeito, aim to together win at least a simple majority of 233 seats, compared with their pre-election total of 288 seats--256 for the LDP and 32 for Komeito.By 時事通信社

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on Saturday attended a memorial service for members of the Self-Defense Forces who died in the line of duty, vowing to protect the country without wasting their deaths.By 時事通信社

Senior security officials from Japan, the United States and South Korea met in Washington on Friday and expressed "grave concern" over North Korea's troop deployment to Russia.By 時事通信社

Finance ministers and central bank governors from the Group of Seven major democracies met in Washington on Friday and agreed on a framework to provide loans worth 50 billion dollars to Ukraine.By 時事通信社

A Japanese man died Thursday following a bus accident in western Turkey on Oct. 17, officials at the Japanese Embassy in Ankara said Friday.By 時事通信社

A seven-year prison term was sought on Friday for a U.S. serviceman charged with kidnapping and raping an underage Japanese girl in Okinawa Prefecture.By 時事通信社

Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc. said Friday that it will resume experimental work to remove nuclear fuel debris from a reactor at its meltdown-stricken Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant Monday morning.By 時事通信社

Japanese trading house Marubeni Corp. said Friday that it has started full-scale sales of Atlantic salmon land-farmed domestically.By 時事通信社

The rate of workers who graduated from universities in spring 2021 and left their first jobs within three years hit a 16-year high in Japan, the labor ministry said Friday.By 時事通信社

Restaurant sales in Japan rose 8.2pctin September from a year before, the Japan Food Service Association said Friday.By 時事通信社

Kentaro Kitagawa, former head of the Osaka District Public Prosecutors Office, admitted Friday that he sexually assaulted a then female subordinate in 2018.By 時事通信社

More than 80pctof people in Japan are concerned about the behavior of foreign tourists who visit national parks in the country, a survey released by the Cabinet Office on Friday showed.By 時事通信社

The Japanese government Friday decided to designate the damage from torrential rain that struck the Noto Peninsula in central Japan in September as a disaster of extreme severity.By 時事通信社

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said on Friday that the government will compile broad plans by the end of the year to improve the treatment of Self-Defense Forces personnel.By 時事通信社

Japanese "izakaya" pub chain operator Watami Co. said Friday that it has acquired Subway Japan G.K., which operates Subway sandwich outlets in Japan.By 時事通信社

A bus carrying Japanese tourists was involved in a traffic accident in Malaysia on Thursday, leaving one tourist dead and 10 others injured.By 時事通信社

Paul Watson, founder of antiwhaling group Sea Shepherd, detained in Greenland, has applied to obtain French nationality to avoid extradition demanded by Japan, French media outlets Thursday quoted his attorney as saying.By 時事通信社

The Japanese government decided Friday to award the Order of Culture for fiscal 2024 to seven people, including manga artist Tetsuya Chiba, 85.By 時事通信社

The Bank of Japan has ample time to make a decision on whether to implement an additional interest rate hike, Governor Kazuo Ueda said Thursday.By 時事通信社

Finance ministers and central bank chiefs from the Group of 20 advanced and emerging economies ended their two-day talks in Washington on Thursday, adopting a joint statement vowing to "resist protectionism."By 時事通信社

The core consumer price index for Tokyo's densely populated 23 special wards in October rose 1.8pctfrom a year earlier, the internal affairs ministry said Friday.By 時事通信社

Additional interest rate hikes by the Bank of Japan "should proceed at a gradual pace," given balanced risks of inflation in the country, Krishna Srinivasan, director of the Asia and Pacific Department at the International Monetary Fund, said Thursday.By 時事通信社