U.S. non-farm payrolls rose by 165,000 in October, above the average monthly gain of 48,000 over the past 12 months, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday.
The unemployment rate stood at 4.1 percent in October, down 0.1 percentage point from the previous month.
The bureau also revised up its employment figures for August and September, adding a combined 84,000 jobs to the previously reported numbers.
Analysts noted that the strong job growth could bolster the U.S. Federal Reserve's confidence in the labor market, allowing it to focus more on curbing persistently high inflation.
US non-farm payrolls rise by 165,000 in October
Japanese citizens gathered in Tokyo on Friday to protest against the government's attempt to breach the country's long-standing "Three Non-nuclear Principles," urging it to uphold its anti-nuclear commitment and oppose military expansion.
The protest came after Japanese media reported on Thursday that the government was considering explicitly including exceptions to the principles in its revised National Security Strategy, scheduled for the end of the year.
Japan's Three Non-Nuclear Principles stipulate that the country will not possess, produce, or permit the introduction of nuclear weapons. The current National Security Strategy, one of the country's three key security documents, explicitly states that Japan's basic policy of adhering to the principles will remain unchanged.
Protesters expressed concern that introducing exceptions would effectively undermine the principles and gradually weaken restrictions on nuclear weapons.
"Such a move is very machiavellian and disgraceful. I believe that under no circumstances should nuclear weapons be allowed into Japan. I also oppose incorporating such provisions as new clauses into the Three Non-nuclear Principles. Once this practice is accepted, the restrictions will gradually be loosened, eventually becoming uncontrollable," said a protester.
Other protesters said that the government's reported move to reconsider the non-nuclear principles is a deviation away from Japan's postwar pacifist commitment.
They also criticized the country's growing defense spending.
"Japan was defeated in the war and subsequently formulated the Constitution, which explicitly stipulates that Japan renounces the use of force. Japan thus became a country that will no longer wage a war. But now Japan's defense budget has increased by big margins every year, and there are moves to allow nuclear weapons into the country. Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has even proposed reviewing the Three Non-nuclear Principles, a national policy that people across the country have upheld tighter all along. I find the current government's stance very disappointing," said another protester.
"Japan has always followed the Constitution of the country and formulated and adhered to the 'Three Non-Nuclear Principles' in accordance with it. But now the Takaichi administration is trying to breach this principle, and I oppose this. In the final analysis, I simply cannot feel at ease if Japan possesses nuclear weapons," said a protester.
Japanese rally against attempt to breach "Three Non-Nuclear Principles"
