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The head of an official inquiry into the deadly collapse of a Bangladesh factory complex said the building’s owner was the “main culprit” for the disaster because he violated construction codes. The cave-in of the eight-story Rana Plaza outside the capital last month killed ...
Throughout most of Japan, June is the rainy season. While all that rainfall is great for rice paddies so that we can have delicious new harvest rice in the fall, it makes it a rather dull month for seasonal produce: The summer’s bounty of ...
“I was stopped by two men in a government-registered vehicle, blindfolded and dragged off the street. They took me away to a house in a place I did not know. I was forced into a room with blood all over the walls and floor, ...
Claude Regy says the team at the Shizuoka Performing Arts Center (SPAC) threw him the “best birthday party ever” when he arrived in Japan just days after the actual May 1 occasion. The 90-year-old French director is hoping for an even better birthday gift, ...
As far as debuts go, Shohei Otani's delivered. The celebrated rookie pitched fairly well on Thursday night, and though he finished outside the decision, he left the mound with the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters well within striking distance of the Tokyo Yakult Swallows.
Factoring together culture, environment, economy and accessibility, Tokyo ranks fourth out of 35 major cities worldwide and only, but still, lags behind leader New York, No. 2 London and third-place Paris, but it has the potential to go higher, a report released Thursday by ...
People may be surprised to know abortion has been legal in Japan since 1949, more than a decade earlier than in other industrialized countries. In subsequent years, abortion became socially accepted to the point that Japan drew international criticism for attracting foreigners seeking to ...
Idle dog-walkers and shoppers around JR Makuhari Station were met with an unusual spectacle one sunny Sunday morning earlier this month. A large-framed blond man in a kilt sauntered past the shopping complex; then a group of Japanese women adorned in checked sashes came ...
An American man who was arrested in Fukuoka for allegedly abducting his children in order to regain custody has been released from jail, police said Thursday. Christopher Savoie, 38, a Tennessee native, had been accused of taking his two children, aged 6 and 8, ...
New education minister Tatsuo Kawabata says he will give more control of schools to local governments and increase practical learning, indicating a turn away from the conservative policies of previous administrations. “The central government is there to maintain a certain level of education and ...
The head of UNICEF on Tuesday condemned Japan’s laws on child pornography, saying the country is falling behind global standards and is guilty of spreading illegal material abroad. “Japan and Russia are the only two G8 countries that do not ban civil possession of ...
As Tokyo lost the race to host the 2016 Olympic Games to Rio de Janeiro early Saturday, experts, while praising the bid’s promises of secure funding and safety, criticized it as lacking vision and panache. “Tokyo’s bid lacked passion, it didn’t capture the voters’ ...
How to enter a room with bamboo mats, where to place chopsticks, what not to wear — these are just some of the essential rules of etiquette young professionals are learning from Michiko Noguchi, a veteran restaurant mistress whose seminars on table manners are ...
A group of young foreigners who visited Japan as part of a study program and mastered the language announced their favorite Japanese words Tuesday to an admiring domestic crowd. The 14 visitors, representing 12 countries from Mongolia to Morocco, gave presentations at Nikkei Hall ...
As the Democratic Party of Japan formed one of the most hotly anticipated Cabinets in decades, many voters voiced hope the new administration will put a stop to wasteful spending while others remained skeptical it will be able to deliver on its key campaign ...
Although last month’s election brought an unprecedented number of women into the Lower House, female lawmakers both at home and abroad are still subject to double standards and lack the ambition to take the stage in national politics, experts said at a recent symposium. ...
The Democratic Party of Japan’s landslide victory election has stirred interest among foreign media, who generally view the ousting of the conservative Liberal Democratic Party, which has ruled almost without interruption for 54 years, as a positive sign of change. In addition to front-page ...