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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Significant portions of major geological faults running under Tohoku Electric Power Co.'s Higashidori nuclear plant in Aomori Prefecture are probably active, a Nuclear Regulation Authority panel says.
The government will not disclose its evidence of China's recent locking of weapons-targeting radar on a Japanese warship because doing so would tip its hand on intelligence operations.
China is acting as a drag on a merger-and-acquisition spree by Japanese companies as relations deteriorate between the two countries amid the territorial dispute over the Senkaku Islands.
It was a single visit to Kenya in 1972 that completely changed Michio Hiraiwa’s philosophy on life. He fell in love with the country, and visited there 150 times over the past 40 years. Once a workaholic, Hiraiwa says he now leads a stress-free ...
Bangladesh has banned “Doraemon” from TV screens over fears that youngsters who are hooked on the Hindi-dubbed version of the animated series are struggling to learn their native Bengali. Information Minister Hasanul Haque Inu told Parliament last Thursday that television channels showing “Doraemon” had ...
With Masaaki Shirakawa stepping down as governor of the Bank of Japan on March 19, three weeks earlier than scheduled, the process to select his successor is accelerating.
Sara Takanashi became the youngest-ever winner of an overall World Cup skiing crown Sunday, claiming the women’s ski jumping title with her fourth consecutive victory and eighth of the season. The 16-year-old Takanashi marked 89.5 meters in the first round of jumps and followed ...
Stocks rebounded sharply Monday as the yen fell after the Group of 20 economies failed to single out Japan for criticism over its economic policies, which have led to the yen’s recent weakness. The Nikkei 225 average closed up 234.04 points, or 2.09 percent, ...
Former Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori will visit Moscow to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday to prepare for a possible visit by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to Russia, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihike Suga said Monday. As a special envoy for Abe, Mori is ...
The administration plans to present its nominees for Bank of Japan governor and vice governors to the Diet by month’s end, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said Monday. The terms of the current two vice governors expires March 19, but the administration will announce ...
A French multinational’s suggestion in the Netherlands to ask older workers to accept pay cuts as a cost-cutting measure has touched a raw nerve as the Dutch economy faces a slowdown and rising unemployment. Unions see the idea doing away with the principle of ...
Scientists said Monday they had discovered fragments of the meteor that spectacularly plunged over Russia’s Ural Mountains on Friday, creating a shockwave that injured 1,200 people and damaged thousands of homes. The giant piece of space rock streaked over the city of Chelyabinsk in ...
People living in the village of Ginoza in Okinawa have started measuring noise levels emanating from the U.S. military’s MV-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft. After collecting data, Ginoza officials will ask the central government to take steps to reduce noise pollution and also ask the ...
Apparel makers, department stores and other fashion-oriented businesses strive to attract women in their 40s and 50s as they remain active consumers, regardless of economic conditions.
President Barack Obama and congressional Republicans made no progress this past week in heading off $85 billion in budget cuts that automatically start taking effect March 1. Lacking a bipartisan deal to avoid them and hoping to heap blame and pressure on Republican lawmakers, ...
With both Japan and the United States unlikely to soon seek new solutions to the stalled relocation of the Futenma air station in Okinawa, progress might be better achieved through discussions by nongovernmental experts, according to a U.S. analyst. The existing plan to transfer ...
'Teachers quitting before graduation?!' the headlines screamed as we headed into the new year.
The Chicago Blackhawks used a strong start against the Los Angeles Kings on Sunday to keep their strong start to the season on a roll. Brent Seabrook and Jonathan Toews each had a goal and an assist to help the Blackhawks beat the Kings ...
Dear Alice, I was out for a walk with my camera the other day and came across a puzzling scene. I saw people putting what I thought were squares of dark paper onto easels in the sun, as if to dry. But when I ...
Thousands of women refused Monday to bury victims of a bloody bombing and a strike shut down Pakistan's biggest city, Karachi, as protesters across the country demanded protection for Shiite Muslims.
Global finance chiefs signaled Japan has scope to keep stimulating its stagnant economy as long as policymakers cease publicly advocating a sliding yen. The message was delivered during weekend talks involving finance ministers and central bankers from the Group of 20 in Moscow. While ...
Austrian star Marcel Hirscher lived up to the expectations of the medal-hungry public in this ski-mad country by winning the men’s world slalom in dramatic fashion on Sunday. In what was a perfectly choreographed finish to the two-week world ski championships, Hirscher followed up ...
The Alaskan Brewing Co. is going green, but instead of looking to solar and wind energy, it has turned to a familiar source: beer. The Juneau-based beer maker has installed a unique boiler system in order to cut its fuel costs. It purchased a ...
The Japan Volleyball Association said Monday that American Gary Sato has been appointed head coach of the men’s national team as successor to Tatsuya Ueta. The 58-year-old Sato, a former assistant coach for the U.S. men’s team, will be the first foreign coach to ...
The last time Rafael Nadal won in Brazil, it was at the very start of the most dominant clay-court career tennis has ever seen. Eight years later, Nadal hopes his second title here will mark the restart. Nadal beat David Nalbandian 6-2, 6-3 in ...
Chris Paul, Blake Griffin and Kobe Bryant turned this All-Star Game into L.A. story. Paul had 20 points, 15 assists and won MVP honors, Bryant blocked LeBron James’ comeback attempt, and the Western Conference beat the East 143-138 on Sunday night. Kevin Durant scored ...
A group of medical specialists has provided an answer to a dilemma that has faced flyers since the Wright brothers took to the air in 1903 — is it OK to fart midflight? The experts’ recommendation is an emphatic yes to airline passengers — ...
Political efforts to change a key part of the Constitution that would make it much easier to revise other articles continue to strengthen in the ruling and opposition parties. Nippon Ishin no Kai (Japan Restoration Party) and Your Party have agreed to cooperate on ...
President Rafael Correa, a fiery-tongued leftist who has endeared himself to the lower classes by expanding Ecuador’s welfare state but drawn wide rebuke for intolerance of dissent, breezed to a second re-election on Sunday. With 57 percent of the vote counted, the U.S.-educated economist ...
Cast in bronze, Hachiko sits in a position of prominence befitting a storied daimyo or prime minister, right next to the busiest intersection in Japan, if not the world.
In Fujitsu’s first full-fledged entry into smartphone sales overseas, the firm intends to launch its smartphone targeting the elderly in France by the end of this year, company officials said Monday. The handset will be marketed by major French telecom carrier France Telecom, the ...
Some words can evoke powerful images, values and stereotypes that have crept into our subconsciousness to sometimes dictate the way we think or behave. For Ruri Clarkson, this is something that needs to be challenged in Japan, and which she does herself with art.
London AFP-JIJI The cost of keeping police round-the-clock outside the Ecuadorean Embassy in London in case Julian Assange emerges has hit $4.5 million, British police said Friday. Officers have been stationed outside ever since the WikiLeaks founder jumped bail and fled there on June ...
Victoria Azarenka defeats Serena Williams to win the Qatar Total Open before handing over her world No. 1 ranking to the beaten finalist.
It's a bittersweet finale for the famed Japanese fashion brand Mastermind, as it officially ends its 15-year run with the release of its 2013 spring/summer — and final — collection.
A judge being interviewed for a Supreme Court job jokes that women might enjoy rape. A local official takes a 17-year-old second wife, then quickly divorces her by text message. Both cases reflect attitudes toward women’s rights and safety that have persisted for years ...
The government will accelerate efforts to attract foreign investment and stimulate greater domestic investment with deregulation and tax incentives, officials said Monday, outlining a key part of the administration’s forthcoming growth strategy. The outline also focuses on improving the global competitiveness of the nation’s ...
Some U.S. scientists are helping search for evidence of alien life not by looking into outer space, but by studying some rocks right here on Earth. Some of the rocks are up to 3.5 billion years old. The scientists are looking for crucial information ...
Over 60 percent of rare plant species, including endangered ones, that were transplanted due to the construction of U.S. military helicopter landing and takeoff sites in Okinawa have died, documents showed Sunday. Construction of the landing zones for Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft is under way ...
John Merrick hit two clutch shots to win a sudden-death playoff and claim the Northern Trust Open on Sunday for his first PGA Tour victory, in his home city. On the second playoff hole, Merrick saved par while Charlie Beljan missed a 5-foot par ...
Jukka Peltonen has just come home from the shop with a bag of mandarin oranges, but he is disappointed to discover they’re too acidic for his taste. Instead of throwing them out, Peltonen, the head of a PR firm, offers them to his neighbors ...
Shimane Prefecture’s annual ceremony Friday to commemorate Japan’s 1905 annexation of Takeshima will draw at least 18 Diet members, but so far no one in the Cabinet has signaled plans to participate in the event, the prefecture said Monday. The two Takeshima islets, which ...
Danica Patrick has made history before — as a woman and a racer, in Indianapolis and Japan. The spotlight is nothing new. But never has it been this bright before. Patrick won the Daytona 500 pole Sunday, becoming the first woman to secure the ...
Cecilia Munoz, President Barack Obama’s chief domestic policy adviser, keeps a framed letter from the late Democratic senator and immigration advocate Ted Kennedy in her West Wing office. “We didn’t complete the journey, but we’ll get there,” Kennedy wrote in 2007 following the collapse ...
As China and Japan bicker over the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea, Yeap Swee Chuan is benefiting. Yeap is president and chief executive officer of Aapico Hitech, a Thai auto parts maker that supplies Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co. as ...
A day after the first of two games being used to help determine the makeup of the national baseball team resulted in a 7-0 drubbing, manager Koji Yamamoto’s squad tried to get the whipping out of its system in practice on Monday. “Yesterday, we ...
The new commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan said Sunday he would comply with an intended order by President Hamid Karzai that prohibits Afghan forces from calling in NATO airstrikes on residential areas. Gen. Joseph Dunford Jr., on the job there for ...
Emperor Akihito is steadily recuperating from the heart bypass operation he underwent a year ago, energetically carrying out his official duties, his doctor and officials of the Imperial Household Agency said. A checkup in late January showed the Emperor was “largely in good health,” ...
The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry plans to create a comprehensive futures market for energy products at the Tokyo Commodity Exchange in 2014, sources said. The market will list energy products such as liquefied natural gas, coal, fuel oil and liquefied petroleum gas ...
Louisville Kentucky After a backlash from customers, the producer of Maker’s Mark bourbon is reversing a decision to cut the amount of alcohol in bottles of its whiskey. Rob Samuels, Maker’s Mark’s chief operating officer, said Sunday that it is restoring the alcohol volume ...
Three-time Olympic champion Saori Yoshida said Monday she is not ready to consider whether to join the world wrestling governing body’s female committee that will be formed as the organization is fighting to maintain the sport’s Olympic status for the 2020 Summer Games. “I ...
Yokozuna Harumafuji on Monday condemned the recent incidents of corporal punishment that have shocked Japanese society, but insisted parents must take responsibility for ensuring their children are able to stand up for themselves. In December, an Osaka high school student committed suicide after suffering ...
The dollar retook ¥94 in Tokyo on Monday after a Group of 20 meeting ended in Russia without taking Japan to task over the yen’s recent weakness. At 5 p.m., the dollar was quoted at ¥94.05-06, up from ¥92.48-52 at the same time Friday. ...
Officials of the Environment Ministry and about 130 municipalities meet in Tokyo to boost cooperation on measures against possible high concentrations of toxic smog spreading to Japan from China.
Officials in Osaka said Monday they will launch a bureau in April to boost tourism. The office will handle the overall tourism strategy for the municipal and prefectural governments. Its first chief will be Kunio Kano, a former Hong Kong Tourism Board official. The ...
To the caches of ammunition and medicines that they lug each day from this border city back into their homeland, Syrian rebels have added new tools to support their fight against President Bashar Assad: metal detectors and pickaxes. The rebels, struggling to finance their ...
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange regards his bid to become an Australian senator as a defense against potential criminal prosecution in the United States and Britain, a news website reported Monday. Assange spoke to The Conversation website at the Ecuadorean Embassy in London, where he ...
A serialized story that appeared in a newspaper in the 1920s has been confirmed as an early novel by Nobel laureate Yasunari Kawabata (1899-1972). Takumi Ishikawa, a professor of modern Japanese literature at Rikkyo University in Tokyo, examined the serialized story, titled “Utsukushii!” (“Beautiful!”), ...
Thirty investors filed a suit Monday seeking around ¥610 million in damages from Democratic Party of Japan President Banri Kaieda for his alleged misleading investment advice that led them to heavy losses. In the damages suit filed with the Tokyo District Court, the plaintiffs ...
Chicago Cubs right-hander Matt Garza suffered a mild back strain on his left side while throwing batting practice to teammates Sunday and is expected to miss at least a few days of practice. Whether it will delay his start to the regular season, team ...
Financial institutions are turning to solar power generation as a new earnings source amid an economic slump that is putting off borrowers. “We’re now in a position to promote the (photovoltaic generation) projects aggressively,” said a Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. official, referring to ...
Chelsea broke Brentford’s resistance with a potent second-half attacking display to eliminate the third-tier club from the F.A. Cup at the second attempt with a 4-0 victory on Sunday, while Manchester City crushed Leeds by the same score. Held by Brentford three weeks ago, ...
