While America retains a gold standard for airline safety, there are stresses on the US air travel system that have been apparent in a series of near tragedies in recent years. Aviation experts have warned that some safety margins have been squeezed by a shortage of air traffic controllers and congestion in the airspace over many major cities.

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba will hold talks with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and SoftBank Group CEO Masayoshi Son on Monday, the Japanese government said on Friday.

China said on Friday Japan's plans for export controls on chips, among other things, could damage business relations.

Japan is expected to report its first year-on-year increase in household spending in five months, a Reuters poll showed on Friday, although the rise appears to be marginal, indicating that consumers remain reluctant to loosen their purse strings.

Wales will play Test matches against Japan in Kitakyushu and Kobe this summer. The first Test, at Kitakyushu's Mikuni World Stadium, will take place on 5 July. The second Test will be played at Kobe's Noevir Stadium – which features a retractable roof – seven days later.

A sinkhole that suddenly opened up on a road just northeast of Tokyo and swallowed a truck has captured national attention as the rescue operation of the driver has dragged on for days.

The driver was able to talk with rescuers but they retreated after the area around the hole became unstable, a spokesperson said.

A labor-management forum meeting hosted by the Japan Business Federation, or Keidanren, was held in Tokyo on Friday to effectively kick off this year's shuntō spring wage negotiations, with the focus on whether the previous year's strong pay hike momentum seen among large firms will spread to smaller businesses.

The Japanese network Fuji Television and its parent company say its president and chairperson are resigning immediately to take responsibility for a widening sex assault scandal linked to one of Japan’s top TV celebrities.

The defense chiefs of Japan and the United States have agreed to strengthen the bilateral alliance under the administration of US President Donald Trump.

In the Philippines, Toyota accounts for 46.66 percent of new vehicles sold in 2024—up 9 percent versus 2023. It has managed to corner a 52.08 percent of the Passenger Car (PC) segment with 63,007 vehicles sold and 44.81 percent of the Commercial Vehicle (CV) segment with 155,012 vehicles sold.