The Latest Breaking News from Niigata

NIIGATA, Japan: Political brinkmanship over raising the US debt ceiling risks "serious economic costs" even without the "catastrophe" of a default, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned Thursday at G7 finance talks in Japan.

A standoff in Washington over raising the U.S. debt ceiling overshadowed a meeting of Group of Seven (G7) finance leaders starting on Thursday, heightening U.S. recession fears as central banks seek a soft landing for the global economy.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will travel to Niigata, Japan next week to participate in the Group of Seven (G7) finance ministers and central bank governors meeting, the Treasury Department said on Wednesday.

Japan will invite some emerging nations to an outreach meeting at the Group of Seven advanced countries Japan chairs next month in the city of Niigata, Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki said on Friday.

Residents of Yamagata City have regained their crown as the nation's largest spenders on ramen, while consumers in Miyazaki City splashed the most cash on gyoza dumplings.

Heavy snow in northwestern Japan has left three people dead, stranded hundreds of vehicles on highways and left thousands of homes without electricity

NIIGATA -- Shrine maidens tossed omikuji fortune slips into the air at Gokoku Shrine in Niigata to raise the luck of visitors on their first shrine visit in the New Year.

In 1977, 13-year-old Megumi Yokota vanished from the Japanese coastal city of Niigata on her way home from school. Twenty-five years later, North Korea admitted that its agents had snatched her away, along with 12 other Japanese citizens, in order to train its spies. In a groundbreaking diplomatic move, Pyongyang…

Japan's government warned residents of Miyagi, Yamagata and Niigata prefectures to seek shelter indoors after North Korea's missile launch, according to J-Alert Emergency Broadcasting System issued on Thursday.

In the 1970s and 1980s, North Korea organised a kidnapping campaign in "enemy" countries. As one of its closest neighbours, Japan became a prime target. The programme, decided at the highest level of the Communist state, was likely intended to train North Korean spies in foreign languages and customs. FRANCE…

Japan holds the rotating presidency of the Group of Seven next year, meaning that not only will the summit be held in Hiroshima in May, but also ministerial meetings will be held throughout the nation.