China has offered to send more than 500 soldiers to the U.N. force seeking to contain Islamist militants in Mali in what would be its biggest contribution to U.N. peacekeeping in history. The move could be a bid to overcome tensions with the West ...

A Japanese cancer specialist said Wednesday she has started the world’s first clinical trial of a powerful, nonsurgical, short-term radiation therapy for breast cancer. The National Institute of Radiological Sciences is experimenting with “heavy ion radiotherapy,” a technique in which a pinpoint beam can ...

Three decades after Ronald Reagan launched his “Star Wars” project, the costly missile defense program has become a pillar of U.S. strategy despite lingering doubts about its technology. No longer designed to counter a Soviet nuclear attack, the antimissile network is supposed to thwart ...

Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Toshimitsu Motegi on Wednesday proposed measures including corporate tax breaks to exploit new markets in a bid to bolster private investment and escape from chronic deflation, according to government officials. During a meeting of the industrial competitiveness council that ...

A new type of flu vaccine developed at the U.S. National Institutes of Health outperformed existing products in animal tests, possibly paving the way for a new generation of vaccines. Researchers led by Gary Nabel, the former director of the Vaccine Research Center at ...

In a landmark decision, the Osaka District Court ruled Thursday that betting slips for horse races can be counted as a business expense, a finding that could alter rulings on other tax evasion cases related to gambling. The decision was handed down in the ...

The Nikkei 225 average tumbled more than 7 percent in hectic trading Thursday — its biggest daily percentage loss in more than two years — due to a flurry of futures-led selling. The Nikkei lost 1,143.28 points, or 7.32 percent, to finish at 14,483.98. ...

It was the customer service disaster heard around the Internet. A restaurateur in Arizona, fed up after years of negative online reviews and an embarrassing appearance on a reality television show, allegedly posted a social media rant laced with salty language and angry, uppercase ...

Softbank is offering to give the U.S. government an unusual degree of influence over the operations of Sprint Nextel amid security concerns raised by the proposed cross-border takeover, The Wall Street Journal reported online. “Tokyo-based Softbank has agreed to give the (U.S.) federal government ...

The dollar temporarily tumbled below ¥101.50 in Tokyo trading Thursday as the yen attracted brisk purchases for its safe-haven status in the wake of the stock tumble. Later in London trading, the dollar briefly slipped below ¥101 for the first time in about two ...

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Thursday he believes his strong intention to resolve the long-standing abduction issue with North Korea will be conveyed to its leader, Kim Jong Un, after a recent Pyongyang trip by his adviser. “It is not easy to demonstrate our ...

Bank of Kyoto Ltd. is one of a few regional lenders weighing additional investments in real estate investment trusts as low interest rates limit returns on government bonds. The bank said it will consider boosting purchases of so-called J-REITs during the year ending in ...