The latest version of the blockbuster video game “Grand Theft Auto” may have stoked a worldwide buying frenzy, but the ultraviolent offering is likely to be a minnow in Japan’s vast gaming market. Shoot-em-up video games from abroad often struggle to gain traction here, ...

Kanebo Cosmetics Inc. will have a tough time repairing its image with consumer confidence at “rock bottom” after its skin-whitening products left ugly blotches on the faces of thousands of customers, analysts say. The nation’s second-largest cosmetics firm — more than a century old ...

Before the huge tsunami of 2011 virtually wiped it off the map, Rikuzentakata’s pristine beach and luxuriant pine forests were a well-worn stop on Japan’s tourist trail. Now the visitors are returning, but this time they want to see the devastation and the monuments ...

Alberto Pellegrini doesn’t speak or read Japanese, a deficit that threatened to leave the Italian tourist starving in a nation famous for its gastronomic delights. Fortunately for the hungry honeymooner, restaurants across this food-obsessed nation — where English menus range from sparse to nonexistent ...

Bando Tamasaburo has dedicated his life to the intimate study of women; the way they walk, the way they move, the way they hold their hands. And he is good at it. So good that France on Tuesday bestowed on Tamasaburo the Commander of ...

Hideaki Kato discovered his true identity by accident. During his medical training a decade ago, the 39-year-old doctor was performing blood tests on family members when he learned something startling: his dad was not his biological father. Suspecting an extramarital affair, the Tokyo-area physician ...

The sounds of Mandarin-speaking tourists and ringing cash registers have become rare in Tokyo’s upmarket Ginza district, retailers say, since the flareup between China and Japan over the disputed Senkaku Islands. “Until September, we had many Chinese customers and you could hear Chinese spoken ...

They are found in more than two-thirds of Japanese households and visitors to the country marvel at their heated seats, posterior shower jets and odor-masking functions. But for the company that has sold over 30 million high-tech toilets, commonly known as Washlets, global lavatory ...

Walking or running in a full suit of samurai armor is not the easiest thing in the world. Swimming in it is even harder, but that’s exactly what some people are doing. For fun. “It’s heavy, and it’s hot in here. . . . ...

Shiro Kayano, 54, was once just like the millions of salarymen who populate Japan’s neon-lit cities. He wore a suit and tie, bought the latest technology and earned a paycheck in Tokyo’s advertising sector. But a chance visit to a Canadian indigenous household two ...

For young females looking to while away an evening with a cappuccino and a flock of felines, Tokyo’s “neko cafes” are an oasis that allow their clientele to unwind and soothe their stress. “After a long day’s work, all I want to do is ...