JIJI English News-時事通信英語ニュース-

Economy ministers from Japan and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations agreed at a meeting in Manila on Sunday to begin a study on expanding the Japan-ASEAN economic partnership agreement, Japan's Ryosei Akazawa said after the meeting.

Ahead of Respect for the Aged Day in Japan on Monday, the National Institute of Technology and Evaluation warned of accidents involving nursing beds or wheelchairs and urged elderly people to review proper usage with their families and care workers.

The number of people aged 65 and older in Japan is estimated to have totaled 36.24 million as of Tuesday, up by 20,000 from a year earlier, the internal affairs ministry said Sunday, ahead of Respect for the Aged Day in Japan on Monday.

What was possibly a ballistic missile was launched from North Korea, Japanese Defense Ministry sources said Sunday.

Kumagawa Railroad Co., a public-private railway operator in the southwestern Japan prefecture of Kumamoto, fully resumed service on Sunday, about six years and two months after the railway was heavily damaged in the July 2020 Kumamoto rain disaster.

Takumi Hojo won the men's triathlon at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games on Sunday, bringing Japan its first gold medal at the 2026 Games and marking the country's fifth consecutive victory in the event.

Yohei Sasakawa, honorary chair of the Nippon Foundation, a Japanese charity group, met with senior Russian government officials, including Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko, in Moscow this month.

Japan's Foreign Ministry has drawn criticism on social media that costumes used in its antiterrorism drill this month were associated with the Middle East and the Islamic world.

The opening ceremony of the 20th Asian Games was held at Paloma Mizuho Stadium in Nagoya, the capital of Aichi Prefecture, central Japan, on Saturday evening, marking the official start of the 2026 Games.

Japanese soy sauce maker Kikkoman Corp. on Friday held an opening ceremony for its third U.S. plant in Jefferson, Wisconsin.