The Latest Breaking News from The Japan News/Yomiuri

Defense spending is planned to be set at more than 40 trillion yen in the next five-year defense program from fiscal 2023, according to sources.

Japan's small lunar probe Equuleus has entered its scheduled orbit, according to the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency.

The government plans to use drones on a full-scale basis from next fiscal year to detect illegal activities and dangerous spots on rivers.

A road inside the Imperial Palace in Tokyo for viewing autumn foliage opened Saturday to the public for the first time in three years.

DOHA -- Japanese soccer fans have received an award from FIFA for picking up trash in stadiums, following the Samurai Blue's stunning victory against Germany in their World Cup opener in Doha on Wednesday.

The Tokyo Yakult Swallows' record-setting slugger Munetaka Murakami was unanimously voted 2022 Central League MVP on Friday, while Orix Buffaloes hurler Yoshinobu Yamamoto earned the Pacific League honor, both men reaping their respective awards for the second straight year.

Prosecutors and the Japan Fair Trade Commission searched the head office of major advertising company Dentsu Inc. in Minato Ward, Tokyo, and other locations on suspicion of violation of the Antimonopoly Law on Friday in connection with alleged bid-rigging involving test events for the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will likely visit Washington in early January for the first time since taking office and meet with U.S. President Joe Biden, it has been learned.

Japanese soccer legend Kazuyoshi Miura was among the spectators in the stadium during Japan's stunning victory over Germany at the World Cup on Wednesday -- his first time back in Qatar since playing in the 1993 game known in Japan as the "Agony of Doha."