Children enjoyed intercultural experiences ranging from Thai vegetable carving to learning Sri Lanka’s Sinhala alphabet Saturday in Tokyo. Children’s International Festa 2013, held at Yebisu Garden Place in Shibuya Ward, provided kids with opportunities to learn about different cultures around the world through hands-on ...

Lap dogs no more! After the British Parliament’s decision to reject taking part in any U.S.-led strike against the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad, that victory cry rang out Friday from many quarters of the nation. For those who smarted at the memory ...

A swimming and running race and a walking event to view venues related to the 1964 Tokyo Olympics were held Saturday to promote Tokyo’s bid to host the 2020 Summer Games ahead of the crucial vote Sept. 7 in Buenos Aires. About 200 people ...

A disaster drill for the anticipated major earthquake in central to western Japan was held Saturday with about 4,200 people taking part at numerous locations. Self-Defense Forces planes and helicopters were used to simulate transporting injured people from airports in the region to cities ...

Venice has teemed with boats for centuries, but a tragic gondola death has stirred anger on the canals and could change the face of the floating city’s most famous waterway. The tourist’s funeral was held Friday in Germany accompanied by a delegation of gondoliers, ...

Tokyo Electric Power Co. has a plan to better monitor the 930 radioactive water tanks at Fukushima No. 1, but it is unclear whether it will be able to lock down the storage problem before the trickle turns into a flood.

Naoto Kan took his first steps in the world of politics around 40 years ago as a pugnacious citizen-activist, admonishing those with power as only those without it can. Though he likes to say he’s the same man now, of course there’s an irony ...

In 1967, Ethiopia was the last African country south of the Sahara still without any national parks — an embarrassment for a nation then entertaining ambitions to assume leadership of the continent. In September that year, after five months on Baffin Island working as ...

Like many people, I like soft light and use lampshades of Japanese paper from the successful Akari series designed by the American sculptor Isamu Noguchi (1904-1988), certainly the artist’s greatest influence on individual lives, especially at home. Some of his own upbringing is described ...

The China volleyball team had to fight hard to maintain its unbeaten record in the FIVB Women’s World Grand Prix Finals on Saturday as Japan fought it all the way. China won 3-2 (25-16, 18-25, 26-24, 21-25, 15-13) at Hokkaido Prefectural Sports Center and ...

Tadashi Settsu overcame a dicey first inning to last seven frames and pick up the victory as the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks defeated the Pacific League-leading Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles 9-2 on Saturday afternoon. Settsu (14-5) surrendered a home run to light-hitting Takero Okajima on ...

Urawa Reds made up ground in the J.League title race with a 1-0 win over Albirex Niigata as front-runners Yokohama F. Marinos and Sanfrecce Hiroshima both lost on Saturday night. Urawa went into the match at Saitama Stadium trailing first-place Marinos by four points ...

Billy Mills’ rise to prominence began nearly 50 years ago. Now, as he looks back on his highly successful career as a distance runner, author, humanitarian and motivational speaker, he reflects on how significant a role the 1964 Tokyo Olympics played in his life. ...