Shikoku Railway Co. has neglected to repair around 50 bridges on its network even though irregularities were detected by regular checks more than three years ago, sources revealed. The railway operator, better known as JR Shikoku, also failed to keep proper records of cracks, ...

The culture ministers of Japan, China and South Korea met Saturday in the ancient South Korean city of Gwangju and designated one East Asia City of Culture in each country. Culture minister Hakubun Shimomura nominated Yokohama, a historic port city known for international exchanges, ...

A fifth of Hong Kong’s population is living in poverty, underscoring the challenge Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying faces in seeking to narrow a record wealth gap. About 1.3 million people, or 19.6 percent of the population, were below the poverty line last year, according ...

George Washington, the first president of the United States, was finally honored with a library Friday, more than 200 years after the end of his tenure. The Fred W. Smith National Library for the Study of George Washington was inaugurated at the Founding Father’s ...

Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani girl who survived an assassination attempt by the Taliban, has been honored as Harvard University’s humanitarian of the year. Malala, an outspoken proponent for girls’ education, was at Harvard on Friday to accept the 2013 Peter J. Gomes Humanitarian Award. ...

Kenya’s military caused three floors of the Westgate Mall to collapse during the deadly terrorist siege, a top-ranking official confirmed Friday, while the government urged patience with the pace of an investigation that has left key questions unanswered. Seven days after 67 people were ...

Chinese state vessels are still steaming into Japan's waters around the Senkaku Islands but the door to dialogue is always open, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe says.

U.S. President Barack Obama and his Iranian counterpart hold the first direct contact between leaders of their estranged nations since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

The Jomon Period of Japanese history is so shrouded in the mists of time that any bid to fathom its secrets stretches even the usual bounds of prehistoric archeology. Yet as amateurs and experts alike have continued unearthing examples of Jomon pottery and stone ...

Under cartoon-blue skies washed by early-autumn typhoons, I stand at Sendaizaka-ue (summit of Sendaizaka Slope) in Tokyo’s Minato Ward. Sendaizaka was named for daimyo lords from Edo Period (1603-1867) Sendai, now in Miyagi Prefecture, who maintained a yashiki (suburban home) on the slope that ...

Top scientists have a better idea of how global warming will shape the 21st century: In a new report, they predict sea levels will be much higher than previously thought and pinpoint how dangerously hot it’s likely to get. In its most strongly worded ...

Haiku, the short Japanese poem now proliferating overseas, scarcely needs an introduction anymore. Its three great pillars, widely read even in translation, are the poets Matsuo Basho (1641-1694), its first creator, then Yosa Buson (1716-1784) and Kobayashi Issa (1763-1828), who renewed it. THE WINTER ...

Seventh seed Petra Kvitova defeated Angelique Kerber in three sets to win the Pan Pacific Open on Saturday at Ariake Colosseum. Kvitova, of the Czech Republic, won 6-2, 0-6, 6-3 over fifth-seeded Kerber in 1 hour, 39 minutes to claim the tournament title for ...

Rookie Shoichi Ino threw his first career complete game, Takayuki Kajitani hit a two-run homer in a seven-run fourth inning, and the Yokohama BayStars routed the Central League champion Yomiuri Giants 7-2 on Saturday. Ino (5-7) yielded two runs on four hits over nine ...

Hisato Sato scored a stunning first-half strike and reigning J. League champions Sanfrecce Hiroshima closed the gap on leaders Yokohama F. Marinos to two points with a 2-0 win away to Sagan Tosu on Saturday. Sato opened the scoring after 23 minutes with his ...

Barcelona star Lionel Messi and his father appeared before a Spanish judge to answer questions in a tax fraud case on Friday. Messi gave answers for approximately 90 minutes after his father Jorge Horacio Messi was questioned. After they were whisked away in separate ...

Tiger Woods was voted the PGA Tour player of the year for the 11th time on the strength of his five big wins and return to No. 1 in the world. It was the third time Woods won the Jack Nicklaus Award despite not ...