By Makiko Yamazaki TOKYO (Reuters) -Japan Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato issued a fresh warning against speculative yen selling on Tuesday, as the Japanese currency approached the key 160 per dollar level that prompted yen-buying interventions half a year ago.

Large Japanese firms are likely to increase wages by about 5% on average in 2025, the same as last year, the chair of a major business lobby said on Tuesday while pledging efforts to spread the wage growth momentum to smaller firms.

Japan’s biggest automakers pledged cooperation in tech-focused areas to survive in the rapidly evolving global industry, just as two of its largest car brands begin negotiating a deal that would effectively split the country’s industry in two.

U.S. private equity fund KKR is considering selling supermarket chain Seiyu in a deal that could worth several hundred billion yen (several billion dollars), the Nikkei business daily reported on Tuesday.

A bluefin tuna about the size of a motorcycle has been sold for $1.3 million (207 million yen) at Japan’s most prestigious fish market, setting the second highest price on record during its new year auction.

Indonesia’s government says it has agreed with Japan to resume talks on the joint development of naval vessels that have stalled in recent years

Japanese policymakers are increasingly anxious that the country's birth rate is nearing the point of no return.

Japan’s SBI Holdings Inc. agreed to take a stake of more than 70% in Solaris SE as part of a new fundraising round for the German fintech that will slash the struggling company’s valuation, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Choking on mochi is so common that authorities offer tips every year on how to help someone who has the food lodged in their throat.

Japan's weather agency said Monday that last year was the hottest since records began, mirroring other nations as ever-rising greenhouse gas emissions fuel climate change.

Born in 1908, she raised four children, ran a family textile factory during World War II, and remained an avid hiker into her 80s.