2025-02-20 22:21:00
The G20 foreign ministers' meeting has begun in South Africa. Foreign Minister Iwasaki stressed Japan's intention to continue supporting Ukraine and called for unity among the G20 countries in realizing a free and open international order.
2025-02-20 22:20:00
An earthquake occurred at around 10:13 pm on the 20th. There is no need to worry about a tsunami caused by this earthquake. The epicenter was in eastern Yamanashi Prefecture, Fuji Five Lakes, and the depth of the epicenter was estimated to be 20 km, with a magnitude of 4.6 on the Richter scale. The seismic intensity in each city and town is as follows: ▼Seismic intensity 3: Odawara City, Kanagawa Prefecture; Atsugi City, Kanagawa Prefecture; Matsuda Town, Kanagawa Prefecture; Yamakita Town, Kanagawa Prefecture; Fujiyoshida City, Yamanashi Prefecture; Tsuru City, Yamanashi Prefecture; Otsuki City, Yamanashi Prefecture; Uenohara City, Yamanashi Prefecture; Doshi Village, Yamanashi Prefecture; Nishikatsura Town, Yamanashi Prefecture; Oshino Village, Yamanashi Prefecture; Yamanakako Village, Yamanashi Prefecture; Fujikawaguchiko Town, Yamanashi Prefecture; Fujinomiya City, Shizuoka Prefecture; and Oyama Town, Shizuoka Prefecture.
2025-02-20 20:15:00
In a retrial to determine whether a 38-year-old former high school teacher accused of murdering a female partner in Obihiro, Hokkaido, three years ago could be charged with murder, the Kushiro District Court ruled that the man was guilty of murder and sentenced him to 12 years in prison.
2025-02-20 20:12:00
In response to the large-scale road collapse in Yashio City, Saitama Prefecture, Prime Minister Ishiba has instructed relevant cabinet ministers to introduce digital technologies, such as the use of satellites and drones to detect water and sewer leaks, nationwide within around three years.
2025-02-20 19:44:00
Sakie Yokota, the mother of Megumi Yokota, who was abducted by North Korea when she was in the first year of junior high school, attended a rally of supporters held in Tokyo and mentioned the death of Akihiro Arimoto, the father of abduction victim Keiko Arimoto, on February 15, and once again called for the immediate rescue of all victims.
2025-02-20 19:35:00
In light of Nakai Masahiro's trouble with the woman, TV Tokyo has conducted an investigation into employees to see if there had been any inappropriate behavior within the company, among people involved in programming, or among business partners, and has revealed that no problems have been reported so far.
2025-02-20 19:20:00
On the 20th, two prefectural assembly members from the Japan Restoration Party resigned from their positions as members of the 100-Article Committee, which was investigating documents of unknown authenticity that were posted on social media during the Hyogo Prefectural Gubernatorial election, as well as audio recordings of closed-door meetings of the 100-Article Committee investigating the governor's whistleblower documents, to political group leader Takashi Tachibana.
2025-02-20 19:07:00
Amid rising rice prices, 150 kilograms of Koshihikari brown rice, worth about 50,000 yen, that was stored in a farm shed in Tainai City, Niigata Prefecture, has gone missing, and police are investigating the case as a theft.
2025-02-20 19:05:00
About 200 Chinese nationals who are believed to have been forced to take part in specialized fraud in Myanmar were transferred to neighboring Thailand on the 20th. About 1,200 foreign nationals have been released from the base of specialized fraud, and the Thai authorities plan to gradually protect them in Thailand.
2025-02-20 18:48:00
In a case where the former director of a hospital in Hachinohe City, Aomori Prefecture, and others were arrested for attempting to cover up a murder case within the hospital, it was revealed through interviews with the police that more than 200 medical certificates were found under the same name as the doctor who issued the false death certificate stating that the cause of death of the victim was "pneumonia," and that in more than 70% of the cases, the cause of death was pneumonia. The doctor was hospitalized with suspected dementia at the time of the murder, and the police are investigating in detail.
2025-02-20 18:26:00
In response to criticism that the documentary film directed by Shiori Ito, which is nominated for an Academy Award this year, contains multiple pieces of footage that have not been approved for use, Ito has apologized and stated her intention to take measures such as replacing the footage so that individuals cannot be identified.
2025-02-20 18:24:00
Due to the influence of winter atmospheric pressure patterns, snowfall has intensified locally in Tohoku and Hokuriku, and on the afternoon of the 20th, snow accumulation exceeded 5 meters in Sukayu, Hakkoda Mountains, Aomori Prefecture, the second highest on record. Heavy snow is likely to continue over the three-day weekend, so please be aware of the impact on traffic, avalanches, falling snow, snow accumulation, and power outages and fallen trees.
2025-02-20 18:01:00
A Cabinet Office panel of experts, which has been discussing safety measures for the development of nuclear fusion reactors, has approved a basic policy that states that the Nuclear Reactor Regulation Act, which regulates nuclear power plants, will not apply, and that for the time being safety will be ensured by a separate law that regulates devices that emit radiation.
2025-02-20 17:58:00
The Japan Fair Trade Commission has issued a recommendation to a major manufacturer of pumps used in water supply and sewage systems, demanding payment of expenses, etc., for violating the Subcontracting Act by having over 170 subcontractors store wooden molds and other items used in manufacturing free of charge without paying their storage costs.
2025-02-20 17:34:00
On the 19th, marking 80 years since the fierce battle that took place on Iwo Jima in the Ogasawara Islands at the end of the Pacific War, U.S. President Trump issued a statement in which he emphasized the importance of the Japan-U.S. alliance, saying, "Despite the brutality of the war, the Japan-U.S. alliance today serves as the cornerstone of peace and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific."
2025-02-20 17:31:00
As rice prices continue to rise and the trend towards using imported rice grows, it has been found that the amount of rice imported by private companies in the past month has sharply increased, exceeding the entire amount of last year.
2025-02-20 17:16:00
Fifteen people, including actress Baisho Chieko, have been selected as new members of the Japan Art Academy, which brings together people who have made outstanding achievements in the field of art.
2025-02-20 17:12:00
South Korea's Ministry of Defense announced that U.S. B-1 bombers conducted joint training with South Korean fighter jets, highlighting the alliance with the United States since the inauguration of the Trump administration.
2025-02-20 17:09:00
At the House of Representatives Budget Committee, which is deliberating on the new fiscal year budget proposal, the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan repeatedly called for a complete freeze on any increases to the upper limit of the "high-cost medical care system." In response, Health, Labor and Welfare Minister Fukuoka asked for understanding for his decision to revise his initial policy to keep the burden on patients who will continue treatment for the long term unchanged.
2025-02-20 16:46:00
The Norinchukin Bank, which recorded huge losses due to the failure of its foreign bond management, has officially announced that its chairman, Kazuto Oku, will step down at the end of March.
2025-02-20 16:40:00
A long-established bookstore in Meguro Ward, Tokyo, which was founded 102 years ago, is closing down, and on its last business day, the 20th, familiar customers came to bid it a farewell.
2025-02-20 16:39:00
The yen strengthened in the Tokyo foreign exchange market on the 20th, temporarily reaching the 149 yen to the dollar range for the first time in about two months. Speculation that the Bank of Japan may raise interest rates further at an early date and that long-term interest rates in the United States will fall in the future have led to a growing trend of selling dollars and buying yen in anticipation of a narrowing interest rate gap between Japan and the United States.
2025-02-20 15:59:00
While two Japanese high school students who were thought to have been forced to take part in a special fraud scheme at a base in Myanmar were taken into custody one after another, the National Police Agency revealed that in the past four months, there have been 10 cases in which police have taken into custody of people who were lured to "profitable jobs overseas" and traveled abroad. They are strongly warning people that if they respond to such solicitations, they will be imprisoned and unable to escape, and that it is not surprising that they will be killed.
2025-02-20 15:40:00
Atomic bomb survivors, who will be speaking at the Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons to be held next month, held a press conference and expressed their desire to convey their desire to move discussions forward toward the abolition of nuclear weapons.
2025-02-20 15:25:00
Makoto Masuyama, a member of the Hyogo Prefectural Assembly from the Japan Restoration Party, revealed on an internet program that during last year's Hyogo Prefectural gubernatorial election, he provided audio recordings of the prefectural assembly's Article 100 Committee, which were held behind closed doors, to Takashi Tachibana, the representative of a political group.
2025-02-20 15:15:00
During last year's gubernatorial election, Takashi Tachibana, head of a political group, posted a document on social media claiming that the masterminds behind the plot to force Governor Saito of Hyogo Prefecture out of office were former prefectural assembly members who died in January. Tachibana claimed to have obtained the document from prefectural assembly member Minoru Kishiguchi of the Japan Restoration Party, but Iwatani, secretary-general of the Japan Restoration Party, admitted at a press conference that Kishiguchi had met with Tachibana together with private citizens, and said, "There's no way to refute the claim that I handed it over."
2025-02-20 14:59:00
On the 20th, Bank of Japan Governor Ueda met with Prime Minister Ishiba ahead of the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting next week. The two men are believed to have exchanged views on the state of the domestic economy after last month's additional interest rate hike.
2025-02-20 13:57:00
Suzuki has put together a new six-year management plan through fiscal 2030. In light of the slowdown in demand for electric vehicles (EVs), the company plans to strengthen its hybrid vehicles and other products, as well as strengthen its production system in the main Indian market.
2025-02-20 13:49:00
At Iwamotoyama Park in Fuji City, Shizuoka Prefecture, where you can see plum blossoms and Mount Fuji at the same time, early-blooming plum trees have begun to bloom, delighting the eyes of visitors.
2025-02-20 13:39:00
Prime Minister Ishiba met with Saitama Governor Ohno and conveyed his intention to support the restoration of the site following the large-scale road collapse in Yashio City, as well as to proceed with consideration of measures to address the deterioration of the entire infrastructure.
2025-02-20 13:37:00
U.S. President Donald Trump has described nuclear weapons as a threat to the world's destruction, saying, "Think of Hiroshima and Nagasaki," and has argued that other countries, such as Iran, should not be allowed to possess them.
2025-02-20 13:27:00
U.S. Secretary of Defense John Hegseth has revealed that he has instructed the Department of Defense to identify projects that can be cut, with the goal of reducing defense spending by 8%, or more than 7.5 trillion yen, in order to reallocate funds to projects such as border security, which are priorities set by President Trump.
2025-02-20 12:53:00
The president of a Tokyo-based consulting firm that had been contracted to provide financial advisory services to OKWave, the operator of an online Q&A site, was arrested by the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors' Office Special Investigation Unit on suspicion of insider trading for allegedly illegally selling stocks based on undisclosed information he learned through the course of his work.
2025-02-20 12:48:00
Japan's women's national soccer team, "Nadeshiko Japan," warmed up at the match venue ahead of their first match in an international tournament in the United States. Coach Nils Nielsen, who will be taking charge of the team for the first time in this tournament, expressed his enthusiasm, saying, "I want to make this a tournament that will give us confidence."
2025-02-20 12:16:00
In a poll conducted a month before President Trump's inauguration, the president's approval rating was 45%, the same level as the poll after his inauguration in January. While he is overwhelmingly popular among Republican supporters, his approval rating among Democratic supporters remains in the single digits, a large gap.
2025-02-20 12:13:00
According to the fire department, at around 11:10 a.m. on the 20th, the fire department received a report that "an explosion had occurred and glass was scattered" near Matsuyama City's Kukodori 1-chome. When the fire department arrived, they found glass scattered around the building, but so far there have been no reports of injuries.
2025-02-20 12:11:00
Following the large-scale road collapse in Yashio City, Saitama Prefecture, Prime Minister Ishiba has instructed Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Nakano to expedite an investigation into the cause and to proceed with consideration of measures to address the deterioration of the entire infrastructure.
2025-02-20 12:10:00
A day has passed since the forest fire that broke out in Ofunato City, Iwate Prefecture on the 19th, but the fire has not been put out, and firefighters and the Self-Defense Forces are continuing their firefighting efforts.
2025-02-20 11:32:00
Seven ruling and opposition parties have submitted a bill to amend the Public Offices Election Act to the House of Representatives to prohibit the inclusion of content that damages dignity in election posters. The supplementary provisions include provisions that state that necessary measures will be taken to ensure fairness, taking into account the situation known as "two-horsepower," in which a candidate who has no intention of winning supports another candidate.
2025-02-20 11:07:00
Yu Darvish, a pitcher for the Padres in Major League Baseball, took part in his first pitching practice in a real game setting against a batter during training camp, throwing 31 pitches. In order to get closer to a real game, he practiced at the stadium used for exhibition games instead of the practice ground, and said, "It was fun pitching to a batter for the first time in a while."
2025-02-20 10:56:00
On the 20th, a house in Ena City, Gifu Prefecture, was completely burned down, and two bodies were found in the ruins. Police believe that the deceased were an elderly couple who lived in the house, and are investigating the cause of the fire.
2025-02-20 10:36:00
On the 20th, the Tokyo stock market continued to be on edge over US President Trump's comments that he would impose tariffs of around 25% on automobiles, and the yen continued to appreciate in the Tokyo foreign exchange market, leading to widespread sell orders for export stocks such as automobiles, causing the Nikkei average to fall by more than 500 yen at one point.
2025-02-20 10:26:00
In 2023, a high-speed boat carrying 52 passengers and crew took on water off the coast of Nagasaki Prefecture and was temporarily unable to navigate under its own power. The National Transport Safety Board compiled a report stating that when the bow of the boat plunged into a wave trough, the inspection hatch cover came off, allowing a large amount of seawater to flow in and cause flooding.
2025-02-20 10:20:00
In a 2023 accident at Oita Airport where a small training aircraft made a belly landing, the National Transport Safety Board compiled a report stating that the trainee, who was nervous during skills confirmation training, was responding to instructions from the air traffic controller and forgot to extend the landing gear.
2025-02-20 08:54:00
American IT giant Apple has announced a new smartphone that is cheaper than its current flagship model, apparently aiming to compete with rivals by selling a lower-priced model equipped with generative AI.
2025-02-20 08:13:00
After the second round of talks this week between European and other leaders on the situation in Ukraine, French President Emmanuel Macron said Europe shares the same goal as US President Donald Trump to end the fighting and that countries will decide within weeks on a plan to strengthen their security capabilities.
2025-02-20 08:11:00
As concerns grow in neighbouring countries over a series of cases in Myanmar of foreigners being coerced into participating in specialized fraud, a trial of a Myanmar-based criminal group was held in China, and prosecutors have alleged that the group was involved in gambling and fraud amounting to over 200 billion yen.
2025-02-20 07:12:00
In response to U.S. President Donald Trump's comment that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has an approval rating of 4%, President Zelensky said, "Trump lives in a space of disinformation," expressing concern that he is heavily influenced by Russia.
2025-02-20 07:00:00
The minutes of the January meeting of the Federal Reserve Board of the United States, where the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System decided not to cut interest rates for the first time in four meetings, have been released. It was revealed that participants were in agreement that they would not rush to cut interest rates, as they wanted to see a further decline in the inflation rate before deciding to adjust policy.
2025-02-20 06:49:00
The Liberal Democratic Party, the Komeito Party, and the Japan Restoration Party are finalizing their negotiations to finalize an agreement document on the revision of the new fiscal year budget. However, the Japan Restoration Party has raised objections that the content regarding the reduction of social insurance premiums is insufficient, so the three parties have decided to continue their discussions on the 20th.
2025-02-20 06:37:00
Due to the influence of strong cold air above and winter pressure patterns, snow is falling mainly on the Sea of Japan side, and the snowfall is increasing, and it is also bitterly cold over a wide area on the 20th. The snow will continue to fall with varying intensity mainly on the Sea of Japan side of Hokkaido and Honshu through next week, so please be careful of the impact on traffic and avalanches, as well as accidents during snow removal work.
2025-02-20 06:22:00
It has been one month since President Trump took office in the United States on the 20th. He has been implementing one policy after another that he set out during the presidential election, but there has been some opposition and concern over the drastic change in policy from the previous Biden administration.
2025-02-20 03:51:00
It has been learned from interviews with people involved that a high school boy who was believed to have been forced to take part in a specialized fraud in Myanmar and was later rescued had asked for help by sending his location to his family via a communications app from the fraud group's base, and that his family had contacted the embassy of neighboring Thailand, which led to his rescue.
