A panel urged the Justice Ministry Friday to conduct more in-depth background checks on those applying for refugee status, and not just rush them through the system if they don't at first appear to meet the requirements for approval. The panel looked at 32 cases ...

The government releases a color-coded map of areas deemed suitable for storing high-level nuclear waste as public concern lingers over the safety of atomic power.

Beleaguered Defense Minister Tomomi Inada announced Friday that she will resign over allegations that a cover-up was conducted to hide the politically sensitive activity logs of the Ground Self-Defense Force unit that was deployed for peacekeeping duty in conflict-riven South Sudan. Inada's resignation will deliver ...

The Osaka District Court shocks Tokyo by ruling that the government’s decision to exclude Pyongyang-linked Osaka Korean High School from its free tuition program is illegal.

Researchers in Singapore have brewed up a beer containing probiotic bacteria that can improve gut health and boost the immune system. Food researcher Alcine Chan, 23, experimented for almost a year with a recipe of malt, alcohol, hops and a strain of probiotic bacteria until ...

The government is finally moving to catch up with the private sector on the use of maiden names in the workplace, with the Japan Patent Office set to become the first state agency to officially permit the practice starting in September. The change, announced Friday, ...

Japanese men and women ranked second in the world in average life expectancy in 2016 after setting new longevity records for a fifth year straight, according to the welfare ministry data. According to the data released Thursday by the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry, Japan's ...

After a four-month trial period, Southeast Asian ride-hailing giant Grab has begun full operations in Myanmar, launching localized apps with new safety and technology features. Hooi Ling Tan, co-founder of Grab, said Myanmar has become the seventh country to be covered by its ride-hailing platform, ...

Japan announces it will impose emergency 50 percent tariffs on frozen beef from the United States and elsewhere in August amid soaring shipments.

Japanese companies continue to face severe labor shortages, with job availability improving further in June to the tightest level in over four decades while the unemployment rate declined, government data showed Friday. The seasonally adjusted job availability rate improved to 1.51 from 1.49 in May, ...

Looking back at her university years in the early 1980s when Japanese companies could openly discriminate against women in recruitment, Keiko Honda now feels gender equality in Japan has come a long way. Back then, women were expected to assist the male workforce and quit ...

Russian intelligence agents attempted to spy on Emmanuel Macron's election campaign earlier this year by creating phony Facebook personas, according to a U.S. congressman and two other people briefed on the effort. About two dozen Facebook accounts were created to conduct surveillance on Macron campaign ...

Britain plans to send a warship to the disputed South China Sea next year to conduct freedom of navigation exercises, Defence Minister Michael Fallon said on Thursday, a move likely to anger Beijing. Britain would increase its presence in the waters after it sent four ...

Preparations for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics have kicked into full gear, with the world's biggest quadrennial sports event just three years away. One of the biggest challenges facing any host city for the Olympics is how to make the event sustainable. For Tokyo, organizers are ...

North Korea is behind an increasingly orchestrated effort at hacking into computers of financial institutions in South Korea and around the world to steal cash for the impoverished country, a South Korean state-backed agency said in a report. In the past, suspected hacking attempts by ...

Honda Motor Co. said on Thursday that a Takata air bag inflator ruptured in a car crash last week in Florida in what could be the 19th death worldwide linked to faulty air bags recalled as part of the largest automotive safety campaign in ...

Starbucks Corp. is buying the rest of its East China joint venture in a $1.3 billion transaction, marking the biggest deal ever for a company that sees China as a huge growth opportunity. The Seattle-based coffee chain will acquire the remaining 50 percent of the ...

Asian carmakers are taking hits to their profits from having to spend more to move metal in America. Nissan Motor Co. and Hyundai Motor Co. both cited higher incentive spending in the U.S. as reasons behind a slump in quarterly profit, with a political backlash ...

Japan will press ahead simultaneously with economic reform and constitutional changes as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe tries to revive his declining popularity, according to lawmaker Yasutoshi Nishimura, who advises the prime minister. While Abe has vowed that he won't take his eyes off the economy, ...

China is exploiting states' economic reliance on it to compel their support for its foreign policy objectives.

Japanese firms must acquire a taste for startup mergers and acquisitions, if the nation is to regain its global competitive advantage.

Every year, toward the beginning of July, the waters of Zamami Island — so blue as to seem synthetic — are disturbed by a fleet of yachts. Almost 60 in number, the yachts cut elegant figures across the ocean, their hulls heeling and sails ...

Aren Kuri allowed a run in six innings to earn his first win as a starter in two months as the Hiroshima Carp beat the Tokyo Yakult Swallows 7-1 on Friday night. Kuri (6-5), making his first start since June 2, served up some fat ...

High school baseball sensation Kotaro Kiyomiya hit his 107th home run Friday, tying the all-time national record for senior high school players as his Waseda Jitsugyo defeated Hachioji 4-1 in a qualifier for next month's National High School Baseball Championship The 18-year-old senior led off ...

New Japan men's national team head coach Julio Lamas, who arrived in Japan last week, has not spent enough time assessing his players and their technical skills yet. But he's satisfied with their intangibles so far. "We've had our practices in a very good mood," ...

Dome Corporation CEO Shuichi Yasuda says that the country's universities are mostly conservative and reluctant to tackle new initiatives. On the other hand, the University of Tsukuba is trying to be a trailblazer in reforming Japanese collegiate sports. The national university announced on Thursday that it ...