日文新聞平台

The ruling coalition came close to agreement Friday on three new standards under which the Self-Defense Forces could use force in circumstances other than when Japan is under direct attack.

Amid heated debate on whether the government, rather than the people, should reinterpret the pacifist Constitution, Japan is now a step closer to overhauling its defense-focused posture, with the Liberal Democratic Party and coalition partner New Komeito set to approve a draft statement that incorporates the three points, thus allowing Japan to enact collective self-defense. The concept has been taboo since Japan lost the war.

Japanese women are giving their husbands larger monthly allowances to offset the sales tax hike that kicked off the start of the financial year.

Spending money, often set by wives who control the family budget, rose 2.9 percent to ¥39,572 from last year, said Shinsei Bank Ltd., a Tokyo-based lender whose data go back to 1979. Salarymen spent more on drinking sessions, spending ¥3,483 an average of 2.4 times a month.

Iraq’s top Shiite cleric ratcheted up the pressure Friday on lawmakers to agree on a prime minister before the newly elected parliament meets next week, trying to avert months of wrangling in the face of a Sunni insurgent blitz over huge tracts in the country’s north and west.

The United States, meanwhile, started flying armed drones over Baghdad to protect American civilians and newly deployed U.S. military forces in the capital.

Eccentric inventor Yoshiro Nakamatsu, popularly known as Dr. NakaMats, has revealed that he has terminal cancer and is expected to live a year and a half.

Nakamatsu said at a news conference Thursday that he was diagnosed with ductal prostate cancer in December and was told by doctors that he was expected to live no longer than until the end of 2015.

Bobby Womack, a colorful and highly influential R&B singer-songwriter who influenced artists from the Rolling Stones to Damon Albarn, has died. He was 70.

Womack’s publicist, Sonya Kolowrat, said Friday that the singer had died, but she could provide no other details.

The European Union signed a historic free trade pact with Ukraine on Friday and warned it could impose more sanctions on Moscow unless pro-Russian rebels act to wind down the crisis in the east of the country by Monday.

Shortly after returning to Kiev from Brussels where he signed the pact, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko announced on his website that Ukraine had extended a cease-fire by government forces against pro-Russian separatist rebels by 72 hours until 10 p.m. on Monday.

MANAUS, BRAZIL – Xherdan Shaqiri’s hat trick put Switzerland into the second round of the World Cup, and kept coach Ottmar Hitzfeld gainfully employed for at least a few more days.

Shaqiri scored a pair of first-half goals and added another in the second Wednesday to give Switzerland a 3-0 victory over Honduras, a result that put the Swiss in second place in Group E behind France.

Jeers, sneers, and even discriminatory remarks in the assembly hall aren’t rare in the world of Japanese politics.

But the recent sexist slurs by a ruling Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker that made headlines around the world offer Japan a chance to end this shameful tradition, an expert says.

Groggy fans reacted with sadness early Wednesday after watching the national team exit soccer’s World Cup, some deciding to numb the pain after the horror show with one more drink.

Having watched Samurai Blue get crushed 4-1 by a rampant Colombia, it was little wonder that blue-clad fans who had been drinking all night opted to have another for the road.

Japan’s population as of Jan. 1 was down 0.19 percent from a year before at 126.4 million, falling for the fifth straight year, the internal affairs ministry said Wednesday in a report.

The figure uses data from Japan’s resident registry system and does not include foreign residents.