A village affected by the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster has turned to an unlikely public relations ambassador with the appointment of a locally born search and rescue dog. The 6-year-old mixed-breed — named Jagaimo (potato) — will be tasked with promoting the Fukushima Prefecture village ...

Statues symbolizing "comfort women" were installed on five buses in Seoul on Monday, giving passengers a constant reminder of the thorny issue between the Asian neighbors. The buses with the statues — symbolizing the mostly Asian women who were forced to provide sex at Japanese ...

A small plane crashed Monday in a mountainous area of Nara Prefecture, and the bodies of two people were found near its wreckage, the prefectural police said. They identified the two deceased as Ryoichi Tanaka, a 68-year-old company executive, and his wife, Sachiko, 55. The pilot ...

Leaders of Shimane, Hiroshima, Kochi and Ehime call for efforts to ensure residents’ safety following Pyongyang’s threat to launch missiles over Japan to waters near Guam.

Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera seeks to persuade the Okinawa Prefectural Government to permit Osprey flights despite strong local concern about the aircraft’s safety.

While a secret deal on nuclear arms had been previously acknowledged, the new document shows that Japan expressed its stance using an official diplomatic channel.

Iran's parliament voted to boost spending on its elite Revolutionary Guards force and missile program in response to new U.S. sanctions. An additional 20 trillion rials ($609 million) will be evenly divided between the missile program, to improve the nation's "deterrent capability," and Guards' Qods ...

A tricky question has been keeping economists busy of late: Are Japanese consumers finally beginning to loosen their purse strings? As far as recent economic data show, the answer may be yes — at least for now. Private consumption, accounting for nearly 60 percent of ...

New U.N. sanctions targeting North Korea's key exports will help curtail funding for its nuclear and missile programs, but they may not bring an end to leader Kim Jong Un's nuclear ambitions and could be hard on ordinary people, a high-profile defector said in ...

Designers and clothing retailers are spotting what has previously been a niche trend now gaining widespread popularity in Japan, drawing a growing number of fashion-forward customers from within the country and overseas: T-shirts. Not just any old T-shirt though, the objects of desire are designs ...

In the not so distant future, Kraft Parmesan, a household name for grated cheese with its distinctive green package sold by a Japanese dairy company, may disappear from shelves in Japan or reappear bearing a different name. That is one example of what may happen ...

Mobile supermarkets are beginning to pop up in urban areas, including Nagoya. Originally, most of the trucks were designed to service underpopulated areas where there are few shops. However with the growing number of aging baby boomers with limited access to shopping facilities or who ...

A revised government-sponsored bill aimed at banning indoor smoking won't include a size threshold for restaurants, sources close to the matter have said, in an effort to avoid clashing with ruling Liberal Democratic Party lawmakers who are strongly opposed to banning indoor smoking at ...

Growth is expected to continue in coming quarters, offering the Bank of Japan hope that a tight labor market is finally starting to boost consumer spending.

The government is arranging to have U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres visit Japan by the end of the year, a diplomatic source said. If he does, it will be his first visit since taking the helm of the United Nations in January. The U.N. chief will ...

The Pacific War was a struggle between imperial powers for control of imperial possessions.

Young, innovative corporations dazzle while their older peers tread water; the disconnect does not bode well for the U.S. economy.

You may groan and think me an oyaji, but enka songs offer great language lessons and also provide insight into how the Japanese conceive of love.

How do you say, "Your report was generally well-written" in Japanese?

After a day's delay, the 99th National High School Baseball Championship kicked off on Aug. 8.

Takashi Ono, who has cerebral palsy, can hardly move his body or speak.

With their big guns struggling, the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters got big games from the backups on Monday, snapping a six-game losing streak with a 7-1 win over the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks. Before 35,961 at Kyocera Dome, Journeyman right-hander Toru Murata pitched out of a ...

Hideki Matsuyama knew a major title wouldn't come easy, but after coming so close and letting victory slip through his hands it was harder to accept the fact he didn't come out on top in the season's final major. Matsuyama looked on course to become ...

The Panda is living amongst the Tigers in Osaka. At least that's how the Hanshin Tigers and their fans refer to the team's newest addition, first baseman Jason Rogers. When it's not "Panda," his nickname, it's "Rogers," and the East Point, Georgia, native wonders, somewhat ...

Chapecoense hopes to seek inspiration from a nation that knows pain firsthand as the tragic Brazilian club faces Urawa Reds in Tuesday's Suruga Bank Championship. More than eight months after a plane crash killed all but three of its players, Chapecoense has arrived in Japan ...

Japan's hopes of reaching the Women's Rugby World Cup semifinals were dashed when it allowed host Ireland to come from behind for a 24-14 victory in a Pool C match on Sunday. Japan dominated territory in the first half and took a 14-0 lead into ...

Ritsu Doan was substituted in the second half after failing to make an impression in his FC Groningen debut, a 3-3 draw at home against Japanese compatriot Yuki Kobayashi's Heerenveen on Sunday. Groningen came from 2-0 down at the break in the teams' Eredivisie season ...