AP A car bomb exploded outside a mosque Sunday, killing at least 37 people and wounding another 141 in a mostly Shiite Muslim neighborhood in the southern Pakistan city of Karachi — the third mass-casualty attack on the minority sect in the country this ...
It's a dangerous, unpredictable world. Twice in January Chinese warships in the East China Sea challenged Japan's Maritime Self Defense Forces patrols in a manner deemed threatening. And on Feb. 12 came North Korea's nuclear test.
Here's an open secret: Japanese men have a bad international reputation on the romance front.
SELLING WOMEN: Prostitution, Markets and the Household in Early Modern Japan, by Amy Stanley. University of California Press, 2012, 282 pp., $49.95 (hardcover) In the vast cultural landscape, Japan fascinates the mainstream with manga and anime, the martial arts, Zen and kimono. Of course, ...
Kenta Maeda shook off worries about his form with five shutout innings as Japan beat China 5-2 in first-round Pool A of the World Baseball Classic on Sunday at Fukuoka Dome. Japan improved to 2-0 following a tough win over Brazil in Saturday evening’s ...
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British researchers unveil a futuristic Antarctic research base that can move, sliding across the frozen surface to beat the shifting ice and pounding snow that doomed its predecessors.
U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta urges China to tone down its stance on its territorial disputes with neighboring countries, saying Beijing should cooperate with the United States, Japan and other nations to ensure peace and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region.
Power went out for one minute at reactor 3 of Kansai Electric Power Co.'s Oi nuclear plant in Fukui Prefecture but the outage did not affect the unit's operation or cause a negative impact outside the facility, Kepco says.
Shinji Okazaki struck twice as Japan made a winning start to 2013 with a comprehensive 3-0 victory over Latvia on Wednesday.
It’s tough to figure out where to take your band when you get some buzz in the media right out the gate. After getting noticed for its fuzzed-out pop jams from highly regarded online music outlets such as Pitchfork, Noisey and Gorilla vs. Bear, ...
Baltimore celebrated with its Super Bowl champion Ravens on Tuesday, with thousands of fans in purple lining the streets and packing the team’s stadium for a celebration. Fans filled the square in front of City Hall and cheered when the team arrived and when ...
Tsunami 40 cm high are observed at Hachijo Island in the Izu chain off Tokyo following an 8.0-magnitude earthquake that rocked the Solomon Islands in the South Pacific.
All it took was a moment. Lindsey Vonn landed hard and tumbled face first with a piercing shriek. Just like that, the star American skier was on the ground with two torn ligaments in her right knee and a broken bone in her lower ...
The government plans to resubmit in mid-March a set of bills to the Diet necessary for Japan to join the international treaty on settling cross-border child custody disputes.
Milwaukee Brewers slugger Ryan Braun said the person who ran the Florida clinic under investigation by Major League Baseball only was used as a consultant on his drug suspension appeal last year. “I have nothing to hide,” Braun said in a statement released by ...
In May 2011, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry promoted the idea of “Cool Japan,” presenting Japanese culture as a product amid the confusing circumstances after the Great East Japan Earthquake. As Japan continues to suffer a declining population and weak economy, it ...
President Barack Obama on Tuesday urged Congress to head off deep, automatic spending cuts set to hit the Pentagon and other federal agencies on March 1 and replace them, at least for a few months, with a new debt-reduction package that includes fresh tax ...
With Bank of Japan Gov. Masaaki Shirakawa announcing his plan to step down three weeks before this term ends, the battle between the ruling and opposition camps over nominating his successor will only intensify.
Japanese corporate executives doing business with China as well as diplomats stationed in Japan and neighboring countries are probably breathing a sigh of relief now that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has dialed down his hawkish stance from the campaign trail in December and has ...
A major 8.0-magnitude earthquake was feared to have flattened villages in the Solomon Islands on Wednesday and triggered a tsunami with destructive potential for Pacific nations. A small tsunami reached part of the Solomons and watches were in effect as far afield as Hawaii, ...
Bulgaria blamed Hezbollah on Tuesday for a July 2012 bomb attack that killed five Israeli tourists, leading to renewed calls on the European Union to declare the Lebanese movement a terrorist organization. “What we can make as a justified conclusion is that the two ...
The U.S. government’s case against Standard & Poor’s points to documents that authorities say support their accusations — namely, that S&P intentionally gave high marks to risky mortgage investments that eventually collapsed and helped trigger the financial crisis. S&P disputes the allegations and says ...
The abrupt resignation of the land ministry's parliamentary secretary, was the result of a sex scandal involving a minor, according to the weekly magazine Shukan Shincho.
A replica of Michelangelo's Renaissance sculpture "David" that was erected suddenly last summer in a town in Shimane is unnerving residents, with some calling for the naked masterpiece to be given underpants.
Scientists said that for the first time they had printed 3-D objects using human embryonic stem cells, furthering the quest to fabricate transplantable organs. Once fine-tuned, the technology should allow scientists to make three-dimensional human tissue in the lab, eliminating the need for organ ...
By the time Andrew Desjardins’ match penalty was rescinded by the NHL, it was too late to help the San Jose Sharks. Patrick Kane scored the tiebreaking goal for Chicago on what would have been a San Jose power play and then added an ...
Rafael Nadal wants to stop talking about the inflamed left knee that kept him away from the ATP Tour for just over seven months until his doubles victory Tuesday with Juan Monaco at a little-known clay court tournament in Chile. Nadal, whose knee problem ...
Japan imposed a fresh asset freeze on six organizations and four individuals linked to North Korea on Wednesday in line with tougher U.N. sanctions introduced in response to Pyongyang’s rocket launch in December. The organizations and individuals newly subject to Japanese sanctions include the ...
British lawmakers voted in favor of controversial legislation allowing gay marriage Tuesday despite fierce opposition from members of Prime Minister David Cameron’s Conservative Party. The move puts Britain on track to join the 10 countries that allow same-sex couples to marry, but Cameron had ...
The first all-girl rock band in Indian-controlled Kashmir has decided to disband after only one concert because of threats its teenage members received on social media and a demand from a top Muslim cleric that they stop performing. The fate of Pragaash, which means ...
The Reconstruction Agency should play a bigger role in the budget compilation process to speed up efforts to rebuild the areas devastated by the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami, former Iwate Gov. Hiroya Masuda says. The central government was slow to create the organization, ...
Fifty-four foreign governments assisted the CIA in a global campaign that included harsh interrogations of suspects, a rights advocacy group said Tuesday as it pressed for greater accountability. The report by the George Soros-backed network of Open Society Foundations marks the most comprehensive list ...
Dell unveiled plans to go private Tuesday in a $24.4 billion deal that would give founder Michael Dell a chance to reshape the former leading PC maker away from the spotlight of Wall Street. “I believe this transaction will open an exciting new chapter ...
Ireland’s government oversaw workhouses run by Catholic nuns that once held thousands of women and teenage girls in unpaid labor and usually against their will, a fact-finding report concluded Tuesday, establishing state involvement in the country’s infamous Magdalene Laundries for the first time. But ...
Three Japanese banks on Wednesday started offering Chinese yuan clearing services to companies in Taiwan as the island’s domestic banks began accepting deposits and remittances in the mainland’s currency. The three Japanese entities are Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. and Mizuho ...
In the face of international outrage, Japan is defending its tradition of whale hunting by championing cultural heritage and food resource diversity. But with commercial whaling virtually banned and what little hunting activity there is coming under fire, the quest to keep alive its ...
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is urging business leaders to raise wages, saying it could help stimulate domestic demand and beat chronic deflation. “We’ll ask for the cooperation of companies whose performance is improving” in a bid to boost national income through wage increases, Abe ...
French-led forces have killed hundreds of militants in fighting to reclaim northern Mali and, with the rebels’ last bastion secured, France said Tuesday it will begin withdrawing troops in March. French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said the 26-day military intervention had killed “several ...
Poet Saw Wai parked himself on the lawn, unfurled a map of Myanmar with a blob of blood-red paint dripping down from a spot up north and invited people to make poetry with him. “He’s calling for more trouble,” said a passer-by. What the ...
Japanese securities industry officials are inviting institutional investors in London to invest in Japanese stocks by underscoring the expected effects of the Abe administration’s economic policies. In a keynote speech Tuesday at the Japan Securities Summit held by the Japan Securities Dealers Association, Atsushi ...
Theories about when the last Neanderthals walked the Earth may have to be revised, according to a study that suggests they became extinct in their last refuge in Spain much earlier than previously thought. Earlier dating of bone fossils found at Neanderthal sites in ...
For one Chinese TV extra, playing with the enemy has proved the secret of his success — one that requires him to die as often as eight times a day. Shi Zhongpeng, 26, works at the Hengdian film studio in Zhejiang Province where scores ...
President Barack Obama’s plan to install his counterterrorism adviser as head of the CIA has opened the administration to new scrutiny over the targeted-killing policies it has fought to keep hidden from the public, as well as the existence of a previously secret drone ...
Bank of Japan Gov. Masaaki Shirakawa’s planned early exit, almost three weeks before his term runs out, will accelerate a leadership transition that is likely to aid Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s campaign for aggressive easing, analysts say. Shirakawa, 63, said Tuesday he will exit ...
The Houston fans knew the Rockets were on the verge of history against Golden State on Tuesday night, needing one more 3-pointer to set an NBA record. Warriors coach Mark Jackson wasn’t going to let that happen. The Rockets settled for tying an NBA ...
Located in Williamstown, Massachusetts, the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute is known in the United States for its wide range of European masterpieces dating from the Renaissance to the late 19th century. Besides its famous collection of French Impressionist paintings, it houses all ...
A senior Chinese police officer has been sacked following reports that he owned hundreds of houses and a false ID card, state media said Wednesday, in the country’s latest corruption scandal. Zhao Haibin was stripped of his public offices for “engaging in business deals ...
For the first time, genes chemically silenced by stress during life have been shown to remain silenced in eggs and sperm, possibly allowing the effect to be passed down to the next generation. The finding, obtained from detailed DNA scans in developing mouse eggs ...
Since the Edo Period (1603-1867), kabuki has been an important source of national pride in Japan, and though it has undergone some key changes over the years, it remains a popular form of entertainment. Curated to celebrate this April’s reopening of Tokyo’s Kabuki-za theater, ...
Snow fell Wednesday over wide areas of Japan, mainly in mountainous regions, due to a low pressure system, the Meteorological Agency said. Up to 6 cm was recorded in Utsunomiya, Tochigi Prefecture, in the morning, up to 3 cm in the city of Nagano, ...
A delegation of Japan’s biggest business lobby has told Myanmar President Thein Sein that it will provide money and expertise for the future development of the long-isolated country. Heading the Keidanren delegation of around 100 senior officials from leading domestic businesses, Hiromasa Yonekura, chairman ...
Bank of Japan Policy Board member Takehiro Sato said Wednesday that achieving the 2 percent inflation target agreed to by the BOJ will be a tall order and called on the government to enhance its growth strategy to ensure wage hikes. “At a time ...
The largest U.S. ratings agency, Standard & Poor’s, in July 2007 was considering whether to downgrade a range of mortgage bonds that had earlier gotten the company’s seal of approval. Pressure was increasing inside the firm to reveal the toxic nature of these securities. ...
Six Spanish tourists were raped by a gang of armed, masked men in the Mexican resort of Acapulco, in the latest chapter of violence that has tarnished the once-glamorous Pacific coast resort. The vicious, hours-long attack occurred before dawn Monday at a house that ...
During the early 1970s Herbie Yamaguchi moved to London, where he lived for 10 years taking photos of the city’s vibrant music scene, and it was his book titled “London” that put his photography in the spotlight. Back in Japan, Yamaguchi continued to show ...
Hina Matsuri, Japan’s annual girls day festival, became a particularly popular celebration during the Edo Period. As part of the festivities, girls are given a set of ornamental dolls, which are put on display from February through March 3 — a ritual believed to ...
U.S. stocks jumped Tuesday, recovering much of Monday’s losses and picking up momentum from solid economic indicators. The Dow Jones industrial average finished 99.22 points higher, or 0.71 percent, at 13,979.30. The S&P 500 index climbed 15.58, or 1.04 percent, to 1,511.29, while the ...
Wikipedia is aiming to use mobile phones to reach a billion people by 2015, doubling the present number, a senior executive says. The rapid spread of cellular networks in the developing world is providing fertile ground for this expansion, even as it robs the ...
The Metropolitan Police Department has introduced two large trucks to be used for autopsies in the event that a major disaster, such as a powerful temblor, hits Tokyo, sources said Wednesday. The trucks, which cost ¥14 million each, will also carry tents and water ...
The highlight of 2012 for experimental postpunk trio ZZZ’s was meeting Sonic Youth guitarist Thurston Moore in Miami. It turns out the feeling was mutual. American record label Matador Records posted their artists’ and employees’ favorite things from the past 12 months online recently ...
Five colleges in Saga Prefecture will introduce a joint program in April to educate nursery teachers about developmental disorders to support such children at an early stage, their officials said Wednesday. Those who earn the required number of credits for courses, including child health, ...
A picture of North Korea’s Kim Jong Un with a smartphone has triggered fevered speculation about which brand is favored by the leader of one of the world’s most repressive nations. The photo released by the North’s state media showed Kim presiding over a ...
The Pentagon plans to extend some benefits to the spouses of gay and lesbian troops, officials said Tuesday. The decision was expected to be formally announced within days, before Defense Secretary Leon Panetta retires this month, the officials said. Since the Pentagon lifted a ...
JTB Corp. said it will start selling Thursday five tour packages featuring Japan’s World Heritage sites, targeting some 2 million foreign residents in the country who likely have already visited major tourist destinations such as Mount Fuji. The “Japan” series of tours offers unique ...
A proposal by a Syrian opposition leader for peace talks suffered two sharp blows Tuesday, with both a ruling party lawmaker and the largest bloc inside the antiregime coalition rejecting the idea. The U.S. and other world powers have pushed for a negotiated solution ...
Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard warned Wednesday that “rivers of grog” were beginning to flow again in Aboriginal communities as she unveiled a mixed report on tackling indigenous disadvantage. Gillard took aim at local governments rolling back strict alcohol bans on Aborigines in the ...
GS Yuasa Corp., the battery maker at the center of the probe on fires that grounded Boeing Co.’s Dreamliner fleet, said it will maintain its production plan for car and aircraft lithium-ion cells even as the plane maker seeks approval for test flights. GS ...
Distressed by the sight of Paul Gascoigne’s renewed battle against alcoholism, England players offered Tuesday to help the troubled star’s recovery as he receives treatment in the United States. Gascoigne’s friends organized for him to fly to a treatment center in Phoenix after seeing ...
Disney is mining The Force for even more new films. Walt Disney Co. CEO Bob Iger said Tuesday that screenwriters Larry Kasdan and Simon Kinberg are working on stand-alone “Star Wars” movies that aren’t part of the new trilogy that’s in the works. Iger ...
Chris Carpenter, one of the best clutch pitchers in the storied history of the St. Louis Cardinals, may have thrown his final pitch. General manager John Mozeliak and manager Mike Matheny announced Tuesday that Carpenter almost certainly won’t pitch in 2013 and that his ...
Eighteen people were charged in what may be one of the largest credit card fraud rings in the U.S., a sprawling international scam that duped credit-rating agencies and used thousands of fake identities to steal at least $200 million, federal authorities said Tuesday. The ...
The head of the Royal Bank of Scotland’s investment banking arm is to step down over the Libor rate-rigging scandal, British media reported Tuesday. John Hourican is to give up £4 million ($6.32 million) in past share awards when he quits the state-rescued British ...
The Nuclear Regulation Authority said Wednesday it will prohibit its staff from meeting alone with officials of atomic power plant operators even if it is a courtesy visit, to ensure transparency in its dealings with the industry. The decision was reached after the NRA ...
Japan Post Insurance Co. said it will postpone the planned release in April of its new educational endowment insurance because the requirements for approval have not been met. Among other units of Japan Post Holdings, Japan Post Bank also has no prospect of gaining ...
Rock star Reg Presley, lead singer of The Troggs on hit songs including the garage-rock classic “Wild Thing,” has died at age 71. Presley’s friend and publicist, Keith Altham, said late Monday night that Presley died after a long bout with cancer. Altham said ...
Stewie the Cat, the longest domestic cat in the world at more than 1.2 meters long from nose to tail, has died. Stewie was surrounded by family when he succumbed to a yearlong battle with cancer Monday evening at his Reno home, owner Robin ...
Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman said Japan’s slow growth results from the country’s workforce shortage but the increased output of the working-age population is “not that bad.” “Japan has a big long-term problem, which is basically a shortage of Japanese,” Krugman, a Princeton University ...
President Barack Obama will go to Israel in the spring, the White House said Tuesday, marking his first visit to the U.S. ally since becoming president. While in the region, Obama will travel to the West Bank and Jordan. Obama and Israeli Prime Minister ...
If art is something that you want to feel comfortable with in your home, then Haroon Mirza is probably not your man. As the winner of the 2012 Daiwa Foundation Art Prize, British-born, ethnic-Pakistani artist Mirza is being introduced to Tokyo’s art connoisseurs with ...
Alex Zhang Hungtai is constantly in motion. The Taiwanese-born artist, who performs under the name Dirty Beaches, has said in interviews the idea of “home” doesn’t mean much to him. He’s lived in Taipei, Honolulu, Shanghai and Montreal, and is an avid traveler on ...
Toyota Motor Corp.’s Aqua hybrid sedan sold 22,466 units in Japan in January, up 66.6 percent from a year earlier, remaining the nation’s best-selling car for the fourth straight month, industry bodies said Wednesday. Ranking second was Honda Motor Co.’s N Box minicar, whose ...
Too much drama, boredom and scads of irrelevant information are just some of the reasons Facebook users cite for taking a break from the world’s biggest social networking site for weeks at a time, according to a new study. A report from the Pew ...
The government of South Africa has awarded the Order of the Companions of O.R. Tambo to Toshio Akiniwa, the president of the Japan Asia Africa Latin America Solidarity Committee (JAALA), for his unconditional support for the African National Congress (ANC) during the apartheid era. ...
“On Mosquitoes Human and Other Animals” is the work of artist Beatriz Inglessis in collaboration with three other people: philosopher Suzanne McCullagh, education specialist Renee Jackson and gallery curator Shai Ohayon. The latest show at The Container gallery in Nakameguro, it’s the result of ...
Oil and gas giant BP’s profit fell nearly 80 percent in the fourth quarter in results released Tuesday, dragged down by payouts related to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. BP said that net profit fell to $1.62 billion in the three months ending ...
New Chicago Cubs reliever Kyuji Fujikawa worked out at the club’s spring training facility for the first time on Tuesday. The 32-year-old Fujikawa joined the Cubs as a free agent after saving 220 games in his career with the Central League’s Hanshin Tigers. The ...
A former Taiwanese Air Force officer has been given 12 life sentences for spying for China, a court said Wednesday, adding to a lengthy list of espionage cases that have rocked the island. Lt. Col. Yuan Hsiao-feng was convicted of passing unspecified military secrets ...
Stuart Broad took three wickets to lead a determined fightback before England lost off the last ball to a New Zealand XI in the last warmup match ahead of its Twenty20 cricket series against New Zealand. Tailender Matt Henry timed a four when one ...
A goalkeeper linked to attempts to fix a Champions League match against Liverpool was questioned by UEFA about the case in 2010, his club said Tuesday. Hungarian club Debrecen had said in 2010 that Vukasin Poleksic was questioned about being approached by match fixers ...
Manchester United will host youth soccer camps in Japan for the first time this spring, organizers said Wednesday. Manchester United Soccer Schools (MUSS) under the Premier League giants will hold the camps for three days each in Hiroshima, Yokohama and Tokyo between March 22 ...
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s visit to Cairo on Tuesday, the first by an Iranian leader in more than three decades, highlighted efforts by Egypt’s Islamist leader to thaw long-frigid ties between the two regional heavyweights. Although the official welcome was warm, there was unscripted ...
U.S.-based cable operator Liberty Global said late Tuesday that it will acquire Virgin Media in a stock and cash merger valued at $23.3 billion. The deal hopes to create “the world’s leading broadband communications company,” which would cover 47 million homes and serve 25 ...
Germany’s education minister was stripped of her doctorate Tuesday after a committee of academics concluded that she plagiarized substantial parts of her 1980 thesis, which dealt with the formation of conscience. Annette Schavan, 57, is the second minister in Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Cabinet to ...
The Shapla Neer nongovernmental organization in Tokyo is utilizing unsent postcards to help fund education for poor children in South Asia. The NGO, which provides aid to Bangladesh, Nepal and India, runs an annual project to collect unposted cards from across Japan. Those collected ...
