Last January, the mayor of Chiba, Toshihito Kumagai, raised eyebrows when he called for increasing the number of male staff in the city's public day care program. Tending to children is still considered a woman's job in Japan, which is why pay remains criminally ...

In its May 25 issue, Shukan Shincho set pens a-pushing and tongues a-wagging throughout the nation by accusing rival weekly magazine Shukan Bunshun of engaging in sneaky schemes to steal its thunder. In 10 full pages of text and three pages of photos — roughly ...

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and newly elected French President Emmanuel Macron agreed Friday in their first bilateral summit to push ahead with cooperation in trade and defense. Meeting on the sidelines of the Group of Seven gathering in Taormina, Italy, Abe and Macron affirmed their ...

The last part of the Ground Self-Defense Force unit deployed to volatile South Sudan returns safely to Japan, ending its longest U.N. mission ever.

Egyptian fighter jets carried out strikes on Friday directed at camps in Libya which Cairo says have been training militants who killed dozens of Christians earlier in the day. President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi said he had ordered strikes against what he called terrorist camps, declaring in ...

For the second time in a week, a U.S. military plane has been intercepted by Chinese fighter jets in an "unprofessional" and "unsafe" manner, the Pentagon said Saturday. The latest incident, which occurred over the disputed South China Sea, came Wednesday when two Chinese J-10 ...

British police have arrested a "large part of the network" behind this week's Manchester suicide bombing but more arrests are likely, the country's top counterterrorism officer said on Friday. Mark Rowley said "immense" progress had been made in the investigation into Salman Abedi, who killed ...

Once U.S. President Donald Trump returns from his overseas trip, the White House plans to launch its most aggressive effort yet to push back against allegations involving Russia and his presidential campaign, tackling head-on a scandal that has threatened to consume his young presidency. Trump's ...

Feeling tired? Wish you had more time in your life? Got too much to do? I answer all three questions in the affirmative, and I am far from alone — in fact, almost everyone I know feels the same. The problem may be a ...

Where is the beauty in downplaying the "comfort women" issue, muzzling the media, promoting patriotic education, rolling back transparency and restarting nuclear reactors?

Burton Watson, the foremost translator of Chinese classics and poetry into English, chose to live much of his long life in Japan.

Among the millions of items that were registered with Tokyo's lost and found center last year was an urn containing someone's ashes. And yet this should perhaps not surprise you — urns are handed in to lost and found centers more regularly than you might ...

A Tokyo-based startup is offering a range of services to help people keep track of their belongings. Mamorio Inc. has created a small electronic tag that can be inserted in a wallet or attached to a keyring and other personal items, and used to track ...

Although afternoon tea is a British tradition, Japan, too, offers an opportunity to enjoy tea time with all the luxurious trimmings. Traditional afternoon tea is generally served in a three-tiered stand. The lower plate contains a selection of dainty finger sandwiches (including the thinly sliced ...

Kyoko Sato hit bottom soon after arriving in New York in 2002 to be with the man who was to become her husband (since divorced). "I had been able to work freely in Japanese society, so I really suffered when I came (to the States) since I couldn't do that anymore," she says. "I had really loved my job in Japan, so it was tough; I wondered if I had made a stupid decision." ...

At Kunsei Lover Fumo, smoking — of the food, that is — is so desirable that it appears twice in the name of the restaurant, first in Japanese (kunsei) and then in Italian (fumo). The lover part should be self-explanatory. Just about everything on the menu ...

It's not quite cinema-dark inside Enza, but it's not far off. Indeed, the cinema connection is apposite: In many ways Enza is as much about yakitori as it is about icons of American cinema. Framed movie posters line the walls, but the best room in ...

Japanese kitchen knives have a worldwide reputation for excellent quality and artistic beauty. The trouble is, there's so much mythology and romance surrounding them, not to mention a bewilderingly wide range of prices and types, that it can be difficult to make a choice. The ...

A few years back, Japanese snack maker Koikeya released a series of fruit-flavored chips. They were billed as a "breakfast snack," but mostly got attention for their novelty blend of potato and peach. It was interesting but made for a weird flavor combination. Was ...

Self-described English gentleman on drinking tea and a new trick involving an audience member and a lemon.

When I met the popular author Hiromi Kawakami in London recently, I asked her thoughts about the great authors of Japan's literary past. Did she, for example, enjoy the novels of Meiji Era (1868-1912) great Natsume Soseki? Record of a Night Too Brief, by Hiromi ...

Despite regular, if sometimes half-hearted apologies, China and South Korea have repeatedly accused Japan of being unrepentant and insincere in its attitude to World War II. The nation's acceptance of defeat and acknowledgment or denial of guilt is most often compared with that of ...

Namiko Kunimoto's new book, "The Stakes of Exposure," interweaves artist practices and works with key events in postwar Japan. As such, the reader will learn about events that were critical in shaping postwar politics and protest that have previously been treated separately in the ...

Perhaps it was fitting that it was the Tochigi Brex hoisting the first B. League championship trophy at Yoyogi National Gymnasium on Saturday evening. Tochigi was founded in 2006 and started as a JBL second-division club from the 2006-07 season. Being a purely professional club, ...

Kashiwa Reysol stretched their winning streak to seven games Saturday, topping the J. League first division with a 4-2 defeat of last-place Omiya Ardija. Kosuke Taketomi's second-half brace, sandwiched by goals from Junya Ito and Cristiano, moved Kashiwa to 27 points, two clear of ...

Carlos Peguero hit a grand slam and Manabu Mima worked six innings as the Pacific League-leading Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles came from behind to beat the Seibu Lions 6-1 on Saturday afternoon. Mima (5-1) allowed his only run on a leadoff homer to six-time PL ...

An exciting new era for pro basketball in Japan produced an appropriate final chapter to close out its inaugural season on Saturday afternoon. The first B. League Championship final delivered a tight duel between the Kawasaki Brave Thunders, last season's NBL champion, and the Tochigi ...

Mongolian yokozuna Hakuho defeated ozeki Terunofuji on Saturday to capture a record-extending 38th career title with a day to spare at the Summer Grand Sumo Tournament. Starting the day with a two-win cushion, Hakuho outlasted his countryman in a tightly contested bout at Ryogoku Kokugikan ...

Enes Kanter, the Turkish NBA star whose home country has revoked his passport, on Friday expressed disdain on social media at reports that Turkey's government had issued a warrant for his arrest. "You can't catch me. Don't waste your breath. I will come on my ...

The Sunwolves failed to pick up their second win of the Super Rugby season on Saturday after a 47-7 defeat to South Africa's Cheetahs. The Sunwolves returned to Prince Chichibu Memorial Rugby Ground for their first match in Tokyo since beating the Bulls 21-20 at ...