The transport ministry said Tuesday it has selected a number of regional airports across the country to take part in a tourism incentive program, which includes lowering landing fees for international flights. Airports in Niigata, Shizuoka, Kumamoto and six others in Hokkaido are among 32 ...

North says it “can strike any place in the world” after missile fired on ‘lofted’ trajectory splashes down in Sea of Japan

Demand for profitable light trucks gave Ford Motor Co. and top Japanese automakers better sales than analysts had estimated for June, following a five-month streak of industry declines. Toyota Motor Corp.'s deliveries climbed 2.1 percent in June, while Honda Motor Co. sales rose 0.8 percent ...

The Justice Ministry expects the plan, which doesn’t require advance registration, to work better than a fingerprint-based system launched in 2007

A popular, media-savvy figure originally from the Kansai region wins the governorship by running as a reformer, then forming a political party to take on the Liberal Democratic Party in the local assembly election. Upon winning a plurality of votes, the party teams up ...

Selling everyday items to bargain hunters has made the founder of Japan's biggest discount store a billionaire. Hirotake Yano, founder and president of closely held Daiso Sangyo Corp., the self-described "Japanese shopping wonderland," was one of the country's first vendors to adopt a single-price model ...

Tax deductible donations to municipal governments under the furusato nozei (hometown tax) payment scheme in fiscal 2016 hit a record ¥284.4 billion, the government said Tuesday. Donations were up 1.7-fold in the year ended March 31 from fiscal 2015 as simplified online procedures encouraged more ...

The government said Tuesday it will promote Nobuhisa Sagawa, a senior Finance Ministry official who defended the central government amid a scandal involving a shady land deal and school operator Moritomo Gakuen, to the head of the National Tax Agency. The promotion, effective Thursday, has ...

It remains unclear whether the EU will agree given its demand that tariffs on all categories of cheese be eliminated

Famous for its onsen (hot springs), Oita Prefecture has posted a promotional video featuring former Olympians performing synchronized swimming in geothermal pools in a bid to "heat up" momentum for an upcoming international aquatics sports competition. The video, posted Monday by the prefecture's official YouTube ...

In a move more commonly associated with seniors seeking a quiet place to retire, an increasing number of young couples are showing interest in relocating to the countryside from Tokyo and other urban centers, drawn by cheap land and hopes of a better environment ...

The 2020 Olympics will take on a radical new look, with its urban sports venues open for public use while the games are in progress, International Olympic Committee Vice President John Coates said last week in Tokyo. Earlier in June, the IOC decided to add ...

Insurance policies covering various expenses relating to dementia are growing more common as Japanese demographics shift to an older population. One in five Japanese age 65 or older are projected to suffer from dementia in 2025, according to estimates by the Health, Labor and Welfare ...

South Korean chipmaker SK Hynix Inc. is asking for up to 33.4 percent of voting rights in Toshiba Corp.'s semiconductor unit as they continue talks on the sale of the business, according to sources. SK Hynix has joined a consortium chosen by Toshiba as a ...

As Cuba's communist government seeks to "diversify options for love," it is reviving a network of state-run "love motels" in Havana where couples can rent rooms by the hour, the official trade union weekly Trabajadores said Monday. Havana, the capital of the Caribbean island, boasted ...

Officials in the former Imperial capitals of Kyoto and Nara are looking to invite Emperor Akihito to hold important ceremonies or stay for long periods in their prefectures after his expected abdication. An association comprising officials from Kyoto prefectural and city governments, as well as ...

U.S. President Donald Trump spoke with German and Italian leaders on Monday, a White House official said, ahead of a summit of the Group of 20 leading economies this week that could expose his sharp differences with world powers on trade and other issues. Trump ...

Prosecutors on Monday filed an appeal against a district court's decision last week to grant a retrial for a 90-year-old woman who served a 10-year prison term for the murder of her brother-in-law in Kagoshima Prefecture in 1979. The Miyazaki branch of the Fukuoka High ...

Employees of the public-private entity aimed at promoting Japanese culture and products overseas claim they were harassed by executives, including a central government bureaucrat

By waging stealth wars to accomplish political and military objectives, China is turning into a principle source of strategic instability in Asia.

Ideally, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel will enter into an open political marriage from which all of Europe will benefit, rather than an exclusive relationship that breeds resentment.

As the better-known children of Russia's previous generation of oligarchs have steadily left the country, the offspring of Vladimir Putin's cronies have taken their place.

While the return of the "Pirates of the Caribbean" franchise has gotten mixed reviews from critics overseas, it's bound to be a hit in Japan for two reasons: Johnny Depp and Paul McCartney. Depp plays the series' hero, Captain Jack Sparrow, and McCartney is playing ...

"Kurai" ("It's dark") says someone as we open the door at the new entrance of Nanzuka gallery in Shibuya, Tokyo. Yet, the freshly painted black walls and dimly lit stairs inside set the mood for a gallery specializing in underground art, and provide the ...

The Yomiuri Giants beat the first-place Hiroshima Carp for just the second time in 12 games this season behind seven shutout innings from Kazuto Taguchi in a 3-0 victory Tuesday. The Giants ended a four-game skid as Taguchi (7-2) held the Carp to four hits ...