Tokyo Electric patches a radioactive pipe after finding a lethal hot spot and rising tritium and strontium levels near its leaky water tanks.

Famed director and anime master Hayao Miyazaki is retiring after a four-decade career, the head of his production company announces in Venice.

Indian student Appu Sharma was going to apply to a U.S. university to study economics but with the rupee on the ropes, he’s set his sights closer to home. “I’ll do my BA here and maybe my postgrad abroad if the rupee improves — ...

In a dim parlor furnished with red velvet couches and a stripper pole, Brooke Taylor is having a sale on herself. “I offer a lot more specials and discounts and incentives for people to come in to see me,” said Taylor, 32, a brunette ...

When Sen. John McCain spoke during an Armed Services Committee hearing last year on security issues in the Western Hemisphere, he relayed a stark warning about the spread of Mexican drug cartels in the United States. “The cartels,” the Arizona Republican said, “now maintain ...

Three founders of Femen said Saturday they had left Ukraine in fear for their lives after police discovered weapons in their Kiev offices that the feminist group says were planted. Alexandra Shevchenko, Anna Hutsol and Yana Zhdanova “have fled Ukraine fearing for their lives ...

U.N. human rights chief Navi Pillay on Saturday accused Sri Lanka of becoming “increasingly authoritarian,” with activists facing growing military harassment four years after the end of a civil war. Pillay charged that military officials are harassing and intimidating priests, journalists and other civilians ...

Japan retools its annual disaster drills for the first time to practice for the dreaded Nankai quake, mobilizing more than 1 million people across the country.

Kitsuen (喫煙, smoking) could become an obsolete habit in Japan in the near future, as youngsters apparently now consider smoking dasai (ダサい, uncool). A recent survey by the monkashō (文科省, an abbreviation of monbukagakushō, or the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology) ...

Paul Oseguera went five-plus innings to win his Japan debut and Fukuoka Softbank’s bullpen pitched out of a series of jams as the Hawks defeated the Pacific League-leading Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles 4-0 on Sunday. Oseguera, a 29-year-old whom the Hawks signed out of ...

The United States defeated Japan 3-2 (17-25, 25-19, 18-25, 25-17, 15-12) in the last match of the FIVB World Grand Prix Finals on Sunday at Hokkaido Prefectural Sports Center. Japan finished in fourth place in the final standing with five points while the U.S. ...