Railway operators Tokyu Corp. and Izukyu Corp. on Friday began operating a luxury train service between Yokohama and the south of the Izu Peninsula — a popular hot-spring resort area. The inaugural Royal Express train left Yokohama Station for Shimoda, near the southern tip of ...

Tokyo Electric has said that a remotely controlled robot investigating the inside of reactor 3 at the Fukushima No. 1 power plant has finally spotted objects that could be fuel debris — a potential milestone in the effort to clean up one of the ...

Seven female members of the Miyagi Prefectural Assembly asked the governor on Friday to remove a tourism promotion video the prefecture is using on the internet, claiming it portrays women as sex objects. The video, featuring Dan Mitsu — a well-known model and actress — ...

Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike backs off a vow to clean up the toxic water under Toyosu and says the Tsukiji fish market might reopen there next spring.

Defense chief Tomomi Inada denies participating in the alleged GSDF log coverup, clinging to her position ahead of a Cabinet reshuffle in which she is widely expected to exit.

U.S. President Donald Trump is a man of controversy and nobody would be surprised if he caused another one. But during a recent interview with The New York Times, Trump kicked off an unexpected debate about Japan's first lady: Can Akie Abe, the wife of ...

If you've spent any time in Japan you will have heard the expression, "Deru kugi wa utareru" ("The nail that sticks out gets hammered down"). The phrase is used to explain how Japanese society traditionally prefers conformity and social harmony to independence and individual ...

Popular manga "One Piece" will become a live-action TV drama through a collaboration with a Hollywood production team, according to the firm that publishes the series. The partner for the live-action drama will be Tomorrow Studios headed by Marty Adelstein, known for his work as ...

The government has expanded the list of standardized pictograms used in Japan's signboards and posts to better serve foreign visitors in the run-up to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry on Thursday revealed 15 additions and seven changes to the ...

Japan has lodged a protest with South Korea about a plan to create a memorial day to commemorate the Korean females who were forced into Japan's military brothels before and during the war, a government source said Thursday. South Korea's intention is against the spirit ...

Honda Motor Co. opened a proving ground for automobiles and motorcycles in eastern Thailand on Thursday. The testing location in Prachinburi province is Honda's first facility in Asia outside of Japan. The automaker's local subsidiary, Honda R&D Asia Pacific Co., said that it invested over 1.7 ...

Democratic Party leader Renho is leaning toward replacing Secretary-General Yoshihiko Noda after the main opposition party's lackluster showing in the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly election, a party lawmaker said Thursday. The former prime minister voiced his desire to step down to his aides after the July ...

Sales at convenience stores fell 0.1 percent in June from a year earlier to log the first drop in four months, with rainy days in northern Japan and low temperatures in western Japan keeping customers away, industry data showed Thursday. The same-store sales of eight ...

The Bank of Japan's latest delay in reaching its 2 percent inflation target despite more than four years of aggressive monetary easing has cast a shadow over Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda's chances at a new term. On Thursday the BOJ pushed back the timing of achieving ...

A fiscal 2017 white paper on Japan’s economy and finances highlights its labor shortage and poor productivity and suggests cutting working hours and eliminating worker discrimination.

More than half of Japanese companies are planning to raise the retirement age of their workforce, a Reuters poll shows, with many saying it would alleviate the labor shortage and harness the expertise of veteran workers. In the country, most companies require full-time employees to ...

Millennials in Japan have little interest in the job-hopping ways of their overseas counterparts, seeking stability and security instead. That is thwarting the Bank of Japan's efforts to jolt the economy back to life. By some measures, young Japanese today face the best job market ...

For the past three decades, a Japanese nongovernmental organization has been supporting farmers in the Philippines by providing them with the workhorse of Southeast Asia: the water buffalo. To date, Carabao Family has donated around 100 of the animals to farmers on Leyte Island, where ...

Tech entrepreneur Elon Musk on Thursday said he had received "verbal" approval to start building a high-speed underground transport system linking New York and Washington that could cut travel time between the cities to about half an hour. Musk, the chief executive of electric car ...

A bag used by U.S. astronaut Neil Armstrong to bring the first samples of moon dust back to Earth was sold to an anonymous bidder for $1.8 million at an auction in New York on Thursday marking the 48th anniversary of the first moon ...

Crown Prince Naruhito and a top national politician delivered keynote speeches on Thursday at a U.N. session on water and disasters, with both pledging Japan will share its knowledge to help communities around the world that are prone to water-related catastrophes. "Almost 90 percent of ...

There are no "innocents" in the South China Sea — only degrees of rationalization.

To save his political hide, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe should do something arguably no Japanese leader has done in decades: project strength and leadership abroad.

Paul Martin, an expert with 25 years of experience, teaches how to appreciate Japanese blades at the Samurai Museum in Kabukicho.

Chester Bennington, the lead singer of rock band Linkin Park, was found dead on Thursday at his Southern California home in an apparent suicide, the Los Angeles County Coroner's office said. Coroner's office spokesman Brian Elias said his office had been notified by law enforcement ...

Jose Lopez went 5-for-5 to fuel the Yokohama BayStars' three-run comeback in a 3-3 tie with the Yomiuri Giants on Friday. Lopez drove in one run and scored the tying run after some adventurous base running, but both bullpens prevented any more runs from scoring ...

On Dec. 24, 2000, a skinny, dejected young Mongolian kid, near the end of his two-month stay in Japan, had seemingly failed in a bid to join sumo. Weighing just 60 kg and barely 180 cm tall Davaajargal Monkhbatyn had been unsuccessful in finding ...

At long last, the Japan men's national team can legitimately begin its developmental project as its skipper has finally stepped onto the boat. Julio Lamas, who was announced in April as the new coach for the Akatsuki Five, arrived in Japan to get to work ...

Chiaki Takada won silver in the women's long jump T11 category at the World Para Athletics Championships on Thursday. In the event for athletes with visual impairment won by Arjola Dedaj of Italy in 4.65 meters, Takada, who placed eighth at the 2016 Rio Paralympics, ...

Hakuho underlined his status as the most successful wrestler in sumo history on Friday, as the Mongolian yokozuna claimed a record 1,048th win at the Nagoya Grand Sumo Grand Tournament. Hakuho, who tied former ozeki Kaio's mark of 1,047 career match wins on Thursday, outlasted ...