Japan PM Takaichi in parliament

Japan PM Takaichi in parliament

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi speaks during a session of the House of Councillors Budget Committee in Tokyo on Dec. 16, 2025.

Japan PM Takaichi in parliament

Japan PM Takaichi in parliament

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi speaks during a session of the House of Councillors Budget Committee in Tokyo on Dec. 16, 2025.

Parliamentary session in Japan

Parliamentary session in Japan

A House of Councillors Budget Committee session is held in the parliament in Tokyo on Dec. 16, 2025.

Japan PM Takaichi in parliament

Japan PM Takaichi in parliament

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi answers a question at a House of Councillors Budget Committee session in Tokyo on Dec. 15, 2025.

Japan PM Takaichi in parliament

Japan PM Takaichi in parliament

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi answers a question at a House of Councillors Budget Committee session in Tokyo on Dec. 15, 2025.

Japan PM Takaichi in parliament

Japan PM Takaichi in parliament

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi (front) attends a House of Councillors Budget Committee session in Tokyo on Dec. 15, 2025.

Japan PM Takaichi in parliament

Japan PM Takaichi in parliament

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi attends a House of Councillors Budget Committee session in Tokyo on Dec. 15, 2025.

Japan Finance Minister Katayama

Japan Finance Minister Katayama

Japanese Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama speaks during a plenary session of the House of Councillors in Tokyo on Dec. 3, 2025.

Japan PM Takaichi in parliament

Japan PM Takaichi in parliament

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi speaks during a plenary session of the House of Councillors in Tokyo on Dec. 3, 2025.

Japan PM Takaichi in parliament

Japan PM Takaichi in parliament

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi heads to the chamber for a plenary session of the House of Councillors in Tokyo on Dec. 3, 2025.

Japan parliament enacts law to scrap gasoline tax surcharge

Japan parliament enacts law to scrap gasoline tax surcharge

Japanese Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama reacts at a House of Councillors plenary session in Tokyo on Nov. 28, 2025, as the parliament enacts a law to end the provisional gasoline tax surcharge.

Japan parliament enacts law to scrap gasoline tax surcharge

Japan parliament enacts law to scrap gasoline tax surcharge

Japanese Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama reacts at a House of Councillors plenary session in Tokyo on Nov. 28, 2025, as the parliament enacts a law to end the provisional gasoline tax surcharge.

Japan parliament enacts law to scrap gasoline tax surcharge

Japan parliament enacts law to scrap gasoline tax surcharge

The House of Councillors approves legislation to end the provisional gasoline tax surcharge in Tokyo on Nov. 28, 2025.

Japan parliament enacts law to scrap gasoline tax surcharge

Japan parliament enacts law to scrap gasoline tax surcharge

The House of Councillors approves legislation to end the provisional gasoline tax surcharge in Tokyo on Nov. 28, 2025.

Japan PM Takaichi in parliament

Japan PM Takaichi in parliament

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi speaks during a House of Councillors Budget Committee session in Tokyo on Nov. 14, 2025.

Japan PM Takaichi in parliament

Japan PM Takaichi in parliament

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi speaks during a House of Councillors Budget Committee session in Tokyo on Nov. 14, 2025.

Japan PM Takaichi in parliament

Japan PM Takaichi in parliament

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi speaks during a House of Councillors Budget Committee session in Tokyo on Nov. 14, 2025.

Japan Finance Minister Katayama in parliament

Japan Finance Minister Katayama in parliament

Japanese Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama attends a House of Councillors Budget Committee session in Tokyo on Nov. 13, 2025.

Japan PM Takaichi in parliament

Japan PM Takaichi in parliament

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi listens to a question during a House of Councillors Budget Committee session in Tokyo on Nov. 12, 2025.

Japan PM Takaichi in parliament

Japan PM Takaichi in parliament

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi listens to a question during a House of Councillors Budget Committee session in Tokyo on Nov. 12, 2025.

Japan PM Takaichi in parliament

Japan PM Takaichi in parliament

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi listens to a question during a House of Councillors Budget Committee session in Tokyo on Nov. 12, 2025.

Japan PM Takaichi in parliament

Japan PM Takaichi in parliament

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi listens to a question during a House of Councillors Budget Committee session in Tokyo on Nov. 12, 2025.

Japan PM Takaichi in parliament

Japan PM Takaichi in parliament

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi drinks water during a House of Councillors Budget Committee session in Tokyo on Nov. 12, 2025.

BOJ chief in parliament

BOJ chief in parliament

Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda speaks during a House of Councillors Budget Committee session in Tokyo on Nov. 13, 2025.

Japan PM Takaichi in parliament

Japan PM Takaichi in parliament

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi listens to a question during a House of Councillors Budget Committee session in Tokyo on Nov. 12, 2025.

Japan PM Takaichi in parliament

Japan PM Takaichi in parliament

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi drinks water during a House of Councillors Budget Committee session in Tokyo on Nov. 12, 2025.

Japan PM Takaichi in parliament

Japan PM Takaichi in parliament

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi answers a question during a House of Councillors Budget Committee session in Tokyo on Nov. 12, 2025.

Parliament addresses bear attacks in Japan

Parliament addresses bear attacks in Japan

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi addresses a recent spate of bear attacks on humans in Japan, mainly in northern and northeastern Japan, during a House of Councillors Budget Committee session in Tokyo on Nov. 12, 2025. The prime minister unveiled a plan to dip into the fiscal 2025 supplementary budget to finance countermeasures.

Recipients of Japanese decorations

Recipients of Japanese decorations

Recipients of the Grand Cordon, including former House of Councillors President Hidehisa Otsuji (7th from L) and former Supreme Court chief justice Saburo Tokura (8th from L), pose for a commemorative photo following the conferment ceremony at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo on Nov. 11, 2025.

Recipients of Japanese decorations

Recipients of Japanese decorations

Recipients of the Grand Cordon, including former House of Councillors President Hidehisa Otsuji (C) and former Supreme Court chief justice Saburo Tokura (C,R), pose for a commemorative photo following the conferment ceremony at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo on Nov. 11, 2025.

Imperial conferment of decorations

Imperial conferment of decorations

Japanese Emperor Naruhito (L) speaks to former House of Councillors President Hidehisa Otsuji during a Grand Cordon conferment ceremony at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo on Nov. 11, 2025. (Pool photo)

Imperial conferment of decorations

Imperial conferment of decorations

Japanese Emperor Naruhito (L) confers the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Paulownia Flowers to former House of Councillors President Hidehisa Otsuji during a ceremony at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo on Nov. 11, 2025. (Pool photo)

Japan PM Takaichi in parliament

Japan PM Takaichi in parliament

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi answers a question during a plenary session of the House of Councillors in Tokyo on Nov. 6, 2025.

Japan PM Takaichi in parliament

Japan PM Takaichi in parliament

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi answers a question during a plenary session of the House of Councillors in Tokyo on Nov. 6, 2025.

Japan PM Takaichi in parliament

Japan PM Takaichi in parliament

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi answers a question during a plenary session of the House of Councillors in Tokyo on Nov. 6, 2025.

Japan PM Takaichi in parliament

Japan PM Takaichi in parliament

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi answers a question during a plenary session of the House of Councillors in Tokyo on Nov. 6, 2025.

Japan PM Takaichi in parliament

Japan PM Takaichi in parliament

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi answers a question during a plenary session of the House of Councillors in Tokyo on Nov. 6, 2025.

Japan PM Takaichi in parliament

Japan PM Takaichi in parliament

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi answers a question during a plenary session of the House of Councillors in Tokyo on Nov. 6, 2025.

Japan PM Takaichi in parliament

Japan PM Takaichi in parliament

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi answers a question during a plenary session of the House of Councillors in Tokyo on Nov. 5, 2025.

Philippines: Typhoon Kalmaegi Triggers Severe Flooding, Displacing Thousands 2

Severe flooding has submerged towns and displaced hundreds of thousands as Typhoon Kalmaegi battered the central Philippines. Rivers overflowed in Cebu and nearby islands, forcing residents onto rooftops while cars and containers were swept through the streets. Local officials said some evacuation centers were inundated, and many survivors of a recent earthquake had to be evacuated again. More than 380,000 people fled their homes across the Visayas, southern Luzon, and northern Mindanao. Kalmaegi, locally named Tino, made landfall late Monday, November 3 with winds of up to 130 kph before moving toward the South China Sea on Tuesday, November 4.

China: Tourists and Locals Rescue Yaks from Mud Pit in Qinghai

In Qinghai, China, tourists and locals joined forces with an excavator operator to rescue four yaks stuck in deep mud on September 30, 2025. After spotting the trapped animals, the tourists alerted a herdsman and enlisted help from a nearby construction site. Working for nearly an hour, they freed all four yaks safely. The herdsman said the rescue prevented losses of over RMB 40,000.

Major Japanese daily makes false report

Major Japanese daily makes false report

Photo taken Aug. 28, 2025, shows the previous day's edition (R) of major Japanese daily the Yomiuri Shimbun carrying a front-page story reporting that prosecutors were investigating a secretary of Taku Ikeshita, a House of Representatives member from the opposition Japan Innovation Party, along with an "apology and correction" notice about the report in the Aug. 28 edition. In fact, the prosecutors searched the office of House of Councillors lawmaker Akira Ishii from the same party, not Ikeshita.

Major Japanese daily makes false report

Major Japanese daily makes false report

Photo taken Aug. 28, 2025, shows the previous day's edition (R) of major Japanese daily the Yomiuri Shimbun carrying a front-page story reporting that prosecutors were investigating a secretary of Taku Ikeshita, a House of Representatives member from the opposition Japan Innovation Party, along with an "apology and correction" notice about the report in the Aug. 28 edition. In fact, the prosecutors searched the office of House of Councillors lawmaker Akira Ishii from the same party, not Ikeshita.

Major Japanese daily makes false report

Major Japanese daily makes false report

Photo taken Aug. 28, 2025, shows the previous day's edition (R) of major Japanese daily the Yomiuri Shimbun carrying a front-page story reporting that prosecutors were investigating a secretary of Taku Ikeshita, a House of Representatives member from the opposition Japan Innovation Party, along with an "apology and correction" notice about the report in the Aug. 28 edition. In fact, the prosecutors searched the office of House of Councillors lawmaker Akira Ishii from the same party, not Ikeshita.

Yasukuni shrine visit on end of WWII anniv.

Yasukuni shrine visit on end of WWII anniv.

Sohei Kamiya, head of the opposition Sanseito party, visits the war-linked Yasukuni shrine in Tokyo on Aug. 15, 2025, the 80th anniversary of Japan's surrender in World War II. The populist party gained traction in last month's House of Councillors election with its "Japanese first" banner.

Yasukuni shrine visit on end of WWII anniv.

Yasukuni shrine visit on end of WWII anniv.

Sohei Kamiya, head of the opposition Sanseito party, visits the war-linked Yasukuni shrine in Tokyo on Aug. 15, 2025, the 80th anniversary of Japan's surrender in World War II. The populist party gained traction in last month's House of Councillors election with its "Japanese first" banner.

New upper house lawmaker Anno

New upper house lawmaker Anno

Takahiro Anno, leader of Team Mirai, gives an interview in Tokyo on Aug. 7, 2025, after winning a seat in Japan's July House of Councillors election

New upper house lawmaker Anno

New upper house lawmaker Anno

Takahiro Anno, leader of Team Mirai, gives an interview in Tokyo on Aug. 7, 2025, after winning a seat in Japan's July House of Councillors election

New upper house lawmaker Anno

New upper house lawmaker Anno

Takahiro Anno, leader of Team Mirai, gives an interview in Tokyo on Aug. 7, 2025, after winning a seat in Japan's July House of Councillors election.

New upper house lawmaker Anno

New upper house lawmaker Anno

Takahiro Anno, leader of Team Mirai, poses for a photo during an interview in Tokyo on Aug. 7, 2025, after winning a seat in Japan's July House of Councillors election.