Kyodo News | Tokyo Gas, Kyushu Electric renew deals to buy Russian LNG, 30 Aug  
"The decision follows Moscow's establishment of a new  operator for the [Sakhalin-2 ] project in the Russian Far East after Western energy firms withdrew their investments"
Asahi Shimbun | Prices to rise for nearly 10,000 food products in fall, 1 Sep

The average price increase rate in the latest survey was 14 percent.

The survey found that the costs of 9,414 food products will rise this autumn, bringing the total number of more expensive food items this year to 20,056. ...Food makers were already prepared to pass on the rising costs of crude oil and ingredients to consumers.
[...]
The government plans to maintain the current resale price of imported wheat for millers when it sets a new price in October as part of measures to help ease the pressure on consumers.

Mainichi | Japan, Taiwan to begin talks on evacuation plans amid China's threats

As Japan has no diplomatic ties with democratic Taiwan, the delegation will act in lieu of the country's government, which cannot have direct contact with the island's administration, lower house lawmaker Minoru Kihara told Kyodo News.
[...]
More than 20,000 Japanese citizens live in Taiwan. Japan usually sends Self-Defense Forces aircraft to evacuate its nationals in an emergency in another nation, but it is uncertain whether they can land on the island, which China claims as its territory.

Asahi Shimbun | Yen plummets to 24-year low of 140 against the U.S. dollar, 2 Sep

factors prompted traders to sell yen and buy U.S. dollars, pushing the value of the Japanese currency to its lowest level since 1998

Mainichi | Japan's foreign minister, top US Marine discuss China concerns

[Yoshimasa] Hayashi and [Commandant Gen. David] Berger also agreed on the importance of peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region, pledging to continue cooperating closely in strengthening the deterrence and response capabilities of the Japan-U.S. alliance.
[...]
Later in the day, Berger held separate meetings with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada. Kishida said Japan will proactively work on realizing a free and open Indo-Pacific, a vision pushed by both nations to counter China's rise. Hamada said cooperation between Japan's Ground Self-Defense Force and the U.S. Marine Corps is more important than ever.

Kyodo News | Japan's exports of sanctions-exempt used vehicles to Russia surge