The Latest Breaking News from The Japan News/Yomiuri

It's a bird! It's a plane! Maybe it's a UFO!

HACHINOHE, Aomori -- A box of high-end cherries harvested in Aomori Prefecture brought in 600,000 yen in the first auction of the season for the Junoheart variety at the Hachinohe Central Wholesale Market on Saturday.

Concerns are growing that supply cannot keep up with demand for home appliances such as air conditioners and washing machines, due to the global shortage of semiconductors and Shanghai's COVID-19 lockdowns, which have hampered manufacturers' production.

BEIJING -- The standing committee of China's National People's Congress has passed a bill to amend the anti-monopoly law that includes stiffer penalties for companies that violate the merger review process and tighter regulations on tech giants.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida plans to declare, at the Group of Seven summit to be held in Germany from Sunday to Tuesday, that Japan will provide food assistance to developing countries facing a food crisis due to the impact of Russia's armed aggression in Ukraine. Coordination is underway to extend…

Visitors look up at a Siamese crocodile in an overhead tank at Okinawa Zoo and Museum in Okinawa City. The tank is the centerpiece of a recently renovated facility that features 35 species of reptiles and other animals. "I could see the crocodile from below. It was so cool," said…

BEIJING -- An incident this month where a woman was violently attacked and injured by men in a restaurant in Tangshan, Hebei Province, China, has sparked widespread condemnation.

KOBE -- Many households can't do without onions, but the rising retail price of the produce -- more than double that in an average year since late April -- has not only hit shoppers, but also cast a shadow over school lunches and the restaurant business.

As election day for the House of Councillors draws near, party leaders have been rushing around battleground prefectures and campaigning energetically. This includes Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, the president of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party. He has made such pledges as "Protecting the livelihoods of the people," "Making an economic…

The Japan Coast Guard confirmed Thursday that two China Coast Guard vessels intruded into Japanese territorial waters off the Senkaku Islands and stayed in the waters for 64 hours, the longest single intrusion since Japan nationalized the islands in 2012.

Thirty-six percent of respondents in a Yomiuri Shimbun survey said they will vote for the ruling Liberal Democratic Party in the proportional representation section of the upcoming House of Councillors election, with 10% selecting Nippon Ishin no Kai and 8% picking the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan.