Suspicious circumstances surrounding the deaths of three elderly residents and injuries of two others at a nursing care facility in Gifu Prefecture remain unclear.

The Democratic Party officially launches its leadership race, with the two contenders saddled with the task of reviving a party grappling with an exodus of lawmakers and the sweeping rise of a new political force.

Seoul and Washington began annual war games Monday, with South Korean President Moon Jae In warning the nuclear-armed North not to use them as an excuse to perpetuate the "vicious cycle" of tensions. Tens of thousands of South Korean and U.S. troops are taking part ...

The Miyagi Prefectural Government says it will remove an online tourism promotional video that has been criticized as sexually suggestive.

In the second major accident involving a vessel from the U.S. Navy’s 7th Fleet in just over two months, the guided-missile destroyer USS John S. McCain, based in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, collides with a tanker in waters east of Singapore.

For sponsor companies, the 2020 Tokyo Olympics is a golden opportunity to develop and showcase new technologies, not only to impress foreign visitors but also to provide a legacy for future generations. With everything from a mist curtain designed to cool people off in the ...

The censorship in China of hundreds of academic papers from a prominent journal will have little impact because readership is so small, but if Western institutions don't like the way things are done in China they can leave, the state-run Global Times newspaper said ...

On July 28, the central government released what it called a scientific, specialized map of the country highlighting areas where highly radioactive nuclear waste from the nation's power plants might, or might not, be safely buried underground for as long as 100,000 years. The multicolored ...

More and more people whose relatives lived through World War II are donating inherited personal items to peace memorial museums throughout Japan. Such artifacts offer a lens through which visitors are afforded view of Japan's wartime experience. But many museums face difficulties, including insufficient ...

A team of scientists has developed a superthin electronic sensor that can attach directly to human skin — technology that could be used in the fields of medicine, nursing and sports science. The technology takes the form of a layer of fine mesh coated with ...

Recognizing Japan's quality bubble is the first step to appreciating and assessing its significant value.

Only an India fully prepared to counter and defeat aggression can deter China from initiating a military conflict on the Sino-Indian border.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's diplomacy faces the risk of coming to an end without tangible accomplishments.

Cool heads and clarity need to prevail to prevent an escalation in the North Korea crisis.

We spoke to the founders of two successful, but hugely contrasting podcast shows for Japanese learners.

How do you say "The wind has become much cooler" in Japanese?

The government hosted the National Memorial Ceremony for the War Dead at the Nippon Budokan stadium.

Will the 2020 Tokyo Olympics be smoking-free?

Dick Gregory, a comedian who lambasted racism and played a prominent role in the 1960s civil rights movement after becoming one of the first black comics to perform for white audiences, died on Saturday at age 84, his son said. "It is with enormous sadness ...

Jerry Lewis, the high prince of low-brow comedy on stage and in movies as well as a fund-raising powerhouse with his annual Labor Day telethon, died on Sunday of "natural causes" at the age of 91, his family said. "Famed comedian, actor and legendary entertainer ...

The Chiba Jets Funabashi don't just look at the numbers that appear on the stat sheet, because the game of basketball is a team sport and the collective effort of the players gives teams a better chance to win games. Jets head coach Atsushi Ono ...

Despite the amount of ink spilled trying to determine whether Seibu Lions pitcher Yusei Kikuchi was actually guilty of the illegal two-stage pitching motion he was cited for on Thursday night, it's more important to note the way he handled the Tohoku Rakuten Golden ...

Kenta Maeda was outperformed by former Cy Young Award winner Justin Verlander in a heated pitchers' duel as the Detroit Tigers beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-1 to snap the visitors' winning streak at six games on Sunday. Maeda (11-5) took a no-hitter through the ...