Top News

North Korea fires missiles into sea

North Korea fires three short-range missiles as the totalitarian state showcases its military ambitions in defiance of international sanctions.
11 hours ago

Hashimoto fires back, pins outcry on media

Osaka Mayor and Nippon Ishin no Kai coleader Toru Hashimoto defends his remarks on Japan’s wartime sex slave system and hits media outlets for running misleading reports.
11 hours ago

Despite lacking FTA, Japan to get U.S. LNG

The United States will allow exports of domestically produced liquefied natural gas to Japan and other countries to which it is not bound by free-trade agreements.
11 hours ago

Japan Post to replace all outside directors in June

All of Japan Post Holdings Co.'s 13 outside directors will resign next month when the group's new president is to be appointed as part of its government-led management reshuffle.
11 hours ago

Life | WEEK 3

Fukushima photos focus on what can't be seen

by Ken Kawashima

Photographer Tomoki Imai has been a blur of activity since we reached the lookout point halfway up 601-meter Mount Higakure in the Futaba district of Fukushima Prefecture.
11 hours ago
National

Unpublished Tezuka cartoon sheets shown

A cartoonist has acquired nine unpublished comic strip sheets created by the late artist Osamu Tezuka, who gained fame for his “Astro Boy” and “Black Jack” series. The sheets were created for four works, ...
11 hours ago
Politics & Diplomacy

Philippines rejects Taiwan's allegations of murder

The Philippines on Saturday rejected Taiwan’s allegations that its coast guard had intentionally murdered a Taiwanese fisherman whose death has triggered a major diplomatic spat. Hong Shi-cheng, a 65-year-old fisherman, was shot dead by ...
11 hours ago

Latest News

Magnitude 6 quake Tohoku region; no tsunami warning issued

11 hours ago

Family photo album of last Russian czar shown for first time

11 hours ago

LinkedIn looks to build on its impressive resume

Mixi's new boss tells ailing SNS time for changes

11 hours ago

Japanese chef's death still a mystery

11 hours ago

Hatchet-wielding hero of Net fame held in murder

11 hours ago

Toronto mayor dismisses video allegedly showing him smoking crack

11 hours ago

Berlusconi's raunchy parties detailed in court

Former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi’s private disco featured not only aspiring showgirls performing striptease acts as sexy nuns and nurses, but one woman dressed up as President Barack Obama and a prominent Milan prosecutor whom the billionaire media mogul has accused of persecuting him, ...

Sports

Basketball

Burns heroics give B-Corsairs shot at championship

by Ed Odeven

Unbelievable energy. Splendid self confidence. Never-wavering faith in his abilities or his teammates. Those are ingredients to success for Draelon Burns, the Yokohama B-Corsairs’ super substitute. Burns buried a remarkable three buzzer-beating shots to close out the three final quarters, and his team needed ...

Community

Our Lives

Foreign-born professional strives to reconnect Japanese with koto music

by Louise George Kittaka

Life in Japan just seems tailor-made for certain foreign residents, who slip into the fabric of this society as smoothly as a hand slides into a glove. American Curtis Patterson, a professional koto player and music teacher, is a case in point. Not only ...

Life

Food & Drink

Ginza offers tonkatsu that's a cutlet above

by Robbie Swinnerton

Tonkatsu is comfort food, gourmand grub — not a gourmet delicacy. So what are those hearty, unpretentious deep-fried breaded pork cutlets doing in an elegant little bar-style restaurant above one of Ginza’s temples to high-end consumption? Katsuzen has come a long way from its ...

Culture

Book

Authorized life of Thatcher is clear-eyed, rich in details

by Andrew Rawnsley

It is a tricky deal being an authorized biographer. Charles Moore’s big advantage over those who have previously tackled Margaret Thatcher is that he has been provided with material denied to them. Of the arrangement that he was offered by his subject, he writes: ...

Opinion

Editorial

Not so happy Mother's Day

Once the Mother's Day advertising displays came down, it was back to the grim reality of being a mother in Japan rather than in other developed countries.

Editorial

Gap-year system starts

The first group of students at the University of Tokyo have submitted their plans and embarked on a new "gap year program" to learn from the world.

Jeff Kingston

Immigration reform: Could this be Abe's new growth strategy?

The politics of immigration in Japan involve anxieties about national identity and worries about crime. Looking at other countries with large numbers of immigrants, the Japanese government has said “no thanks.” There are, however, strong economic reasons for Japan to let down the drawbridges. ...

Pavin Chachavalpongpun

Wishing for China's trade, fearing its prowess

The Southeast Asian region has been caught in a dilemma — wanting to benefit from China's economic rise but fearing its intensifying military prowess.