Imabari Shipbuilding, Kawasaki Heavy Industries, and Namura Shipbuilding are aiming to resume construction of liquefied natural gas carriers around 2035, as Japan’s shipbuilding industry looks for a path to recovery after losing much of the global market to lower-cost rivals in South Korea and China.

The speakers and vice speakers of both houses of the Japanese Diet approved on June 22 the government’s outline for revising the Imperial Household Law and related measures aimed at securing the number of imperial family members, following what has been described as the consensus of the legislature.

The rapid depreciation of the yen is driving up the cost of imported beef and other foods, prompting some restaurants and supermarkets to shift their focus toward domestic products as the price gap narrows.

Japan will begin a new system on June 23 to sell paint and thinner directly from manufacturers to construction firms and other businesses, aiming to ease supply bottlenecks and curb price increases as worsening conditions in the Middle East make such materials harder to obtain.

Tokyo stocks surged at the start of the week, with the Nikkei Stock Average closing above 72,000 for the first time and extending its record-setting streak to a sixth consecutive trading day.

Japan's reliance on Middle Eastern crude oil has left manufacturers exposed to rising costs for plastic containers, ink and other products that use naphtha, but JEPLAN President Masaki Takao is pushing a recycling technology that could reduce the need for petroleum-derived raw materials by turning used plastic back into material close to new.

The first trial of two men accused of killing restaurant owner Ryutaro Takarajima and his wife, Sachiko, began at the Tokyo District Court on June 22, with the 30-year-old defendant described as a directing figure admitting the charges, while the other defendant acknowledged involvement but argued that he was only an accessory.

Sugar prices are on a firmer upward trend as concerns grow over the impact of Middle East tensions and the weaker yen, raising the prospect of further cost pressure on confectionery and other food products.

JR Central said on June 22 that it will operate a special one-day-only Tokaido Shinkansen train that departs at night and arrives the following morning, as the company explores demand for overnight travel at a time of rising hotel costs.

Urakawa, a Hokkaido town of about 10,000 people known as one of Japan's leading thoroughbred breeding centers, is seeing a rapid increase in Indian residents as local farms turn to experienced overseas workers to offset a shrinking pool of Japanese horse trainers.

The Bank of Japan's decision on June 16 to raise its policy interest rate to 1%, the highest level in roughly 30 years, is expected to increase annual net burdens by more than 20,000 yen for households in their 30s with two or more members once higher interest income on deposits and increased mortgage repayment costs are both taken into account, according to estimates by an economist.

Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda has been discharged from hospital after receiving treatment for an infected liver cyst and is expected to return to work on June 23 while continuing outpatient care for about two weeks.

The KAGRA gravitational-wave research facility in Kamioka, Hida, Gifu Prefecture, was opened to the public on June 20 for the first special viewing in nine years, giving 200 visitors a rare chance to tour the underground observatory with Nobel laureate Takaaki Kajita.

Centrist Reform Alliance leader Ogawa has secured agreement from the leaders of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan and Komeito to establish a consultative body to discuss a possible merger of the three parties.

A Tokyo exhibition is offering a look at 50 possible professions that could emerge in the AI age, from skin bacteria pharmacists who analyze microbes on the skin to ad walkers who use electronic textiles to deliver advertising while moving through the city.

A cargo ship carrying vehicles from Osaka to Tokyo ran aground off Toshima in the Izu Islands before dawn on June 19, creating an unusual scene in which a large freighter appeared to have docked at a part of the island with no port.

Japan's nationwide consumer price index rose 1.4% in May from a year earlier, staying below 2% for the fourth straight month as lower rice, gasoline, utility and school tuition costs helped curb the overall increase.

A bill to revise the national referendum law, which sets procedures for constitutional amendments, was approved by the House of Representatives plenary session and is expected to enter deliberation at the House of Councillors Commission on the Constitution on June 24.

Eleven pupils and teachers were injured after a fire broke out at Takinogawa Daisan Elementary School in Tokyo's Kita Ward at around 11 a.m. on June 19, forcing more than 300 children to evacuate and briefly trapping several pupils on a narrow ledge outside a fourth-floor classroom.

A long-abandoned sightseeing boat that has sat tilted in a canal in Kawasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture, for nearly eight years is finally being removed by city authorities after officials determined the deteriorating vessel posed a serious safety risk.

Bear attacks and sightings are increasing across Japan, with multiple people injured on June 17 and experts warning that bears are becoming more accustomed to human environments, potentially leading to more dangerous and unpredictable encounters in the years ahead.

Calbee's potato chips in black-and-white packaging appeared on convenience store shelves in Tokyo on June 17, reflecting the company's response to concerns over the stability of printing ink supplies derived from naphtha as tensions in the Middle East disrupted procurement.

Japan's parliament on June 17 enacted a revised copyright law that creates a new right allowing singers, musicians, and record companies to receive royalties when their recorded music is used as background music in commercial facilities such as cafes in Japan and overseas.

The Nikkei Stock Average surged past 71000 on Thursday, closing at a record high for the fourth straight session, as easing tensions in the Middle East lifted investor sentiment while the yen weakened to a nearly two-year low against the dollar.

Nissan Motor announced that it will launch the fully redesigned Kicks compact SUV on June 18, marking the model's first full overhaul in six years as the automaker seeks to strengthen its position in Japan's highly competitive small SUV market.