Since July 12, when Lower House lawmaker Takako Suzuki announced she was pregnant with her first child, the news media has been full of stories about "maternity harassment." Suzuki's announcement was met with negative comments posted to her blog. Some people believe she cannot be ...

Try defining "happiness." "A state of well-being and contentment," says Merriam-Webster's dictionary, unhelpfully. It's like saying happiness is happiness. Indefinable it may be, but we all know it when we feel it. Whatever it is, there's nothing better, and everything we do we do for ...

More than 80 cities, towns and wards have been selected as destinations in what is being dubbed the "Anime Tourism 88-Stop Pilgrimage," an anime industry association announced Saturday. The municipalities listed contain sites that were depicted in or inspired scenes for anime productions. The campaign ...

The culture chiefs of Japan, China and South Korea agree to use the next three Olympic events in the region to jointly promote East Asia’s culture to the world.

The Japanese, Chinese and South Korean environment ministers reach an agreement to join forces against fire ants and other invasive species.

After a nearly monthlong hiatus, North Korea launches three short-range ballistic missiles, one of which explodes almost immediately, amid war games held by the U.S. and South Korea.

Former Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra has fled to Dubai, senior members of her party said Saturday, a day after she failed to show up for a negligence ruling in which she faced up to 10 years in prison. Sources in her Puea Thai party ...

The labor ministry said Friday it is seeking around ¥280 billion to promote labor reform as part of a total budgetary request for a record ¥31.43 trillion in fiscal 2018. The total is a 2.4 percent rise from fiscal 2017 through next March. Labor reform ...

A widespread internet disruption hit Japan on Friday, blocking access to banking and train reservation services as well as gaming sites. The disruption was limited to the networks of NTT Communications Corp. and KDDI Corp. NTT Communications, which runs the OCN internet service, said the problem ...

Abe occupies Koike's ideological comfort zone, so she needs to cannibalize his base to get any traction. It is thus imperative that she presents an alternative policy agenda to highlight their differences and tap into simmering dissatisfaction with the status quo.

I stood under the looming Shinto torii gate with my guide Mish Haddad, an expert on Kyoto culture with a passion for the local food. Our goal was to both hike and eat our way along the Kyoto Trail from Fushimi Inari Shrine (Marker ...

Chef Katsutoshi Uezoma first discovered New Orleans while on a trip to New York. He took a diversion from the Big Apple to the Big Easy to go sightseeing. That one small trip led to a second, then several more. In 2012, he brought a ...

Getting in and out of Sushi Masa is much like trying to maneuver in a walk-in closet. Masa is just off Tenjinbashisuji, a shopping arcade that stretches nearly 3 kilometers, and as you might imagine there's no shortage of places to graze and gaze at ...

A typical modern Japanese kitchen is equipped with all sorts of appliances for actually cooking the food, as in applying heat to it. While most of these items will be fairly familiar, there are some differences from typical North American or European kitchens that may ...

Don't look now, but here comes the fall. Seasons always arrive early in the Japanese food scene, with store shelves already displaying seasonally flavored goods and drinks boasting fitting designs. The weather might betray it, but at least your shopping cart can feel like ...

Translator reveals the strangest request she's ever been asked in her career.

An interactive art collective wants us all to connect and experience a world without boundaries.

Fifty-one minutes after the earthquake struck on March 11, 2011, a massive wall of water inundated the grounds of the Ishinomaki Municipal Okawa Elementary School in Miyagi Prefecture, killing 74 pupils, 10 staff and the school bus driver. Ghosts of the Tsunami: Death and Life ...

Okinawa at times is like heaven and hell in equal measures: tropical beaches next to ammunition dumps. A garrison island where people come to take vacations, the most politicized region of Japan can seem like being teleported back to the agitprop heyday of the ...

Ennui and existential loneliness have become synonymous with contemporary Japanese literature, and those sentiments receive one of their most direct treatments in this newly translated novel from 2002. "The Part of Me That Isn't Broken Inside" is as unrelentingly bleak as its title suggests. The ...

The Kashima Antlers continued to pad their lead in the J. League on Saturday as the defending champions seized a 1-0 victory in a top-of-the-table clash with Cerezo Osaka. Leandro struck in the nick of time at Yanmar Stadium, scoring an 88th-minute goal from a ...

The Hanshin Tigers came to Tokyo expecting to face Tomoyuki Sugano in the second game of their series with the Yomiuri Giants Instead it was rookie Tappei Tanioka on the mound for his first career start, and Hanshin took full advantage. Yoshio Itoi's three-run homer and ...

The Panasonic Wild Knights maintained their perfect start to the new Japan Rugby Top League season Saturday, beating the Canon Eagles 43-8 at Kumagaya Athletic Stadium. Digby Ioane and Akihito Yamada each picked up a brace of five-pointers and Kenki Fukuoka and Takuya Yamasawa also ...

Successful organizations have people who inspire others and encourage them to build an environment where success is a top priority. Look around you, and you'll notice them. Exhibit A: Keith Richardson served a vital role for the Ryukyu Golden Kings for nine seasons. As an assistant ...

Naomi Osaka was handed a tough first-round encounter in the upcoming U.S. Open on Friday as she begins her Grand Slam campaign against world No. 6 and defending champion Angelique Kerber of Germany. The 19-year-old Osaka, who made a third-round exit last year, was drawn ...

World No. 2 Hideki Matsuyama missed the halfway cut for the second time this season on Friday, unable to recover from an uncharacteristically poor first round at the Northern Trust. Matsuyama, who entered the second round at 102nd after shooting 4-over 74 in his opening ...

Yuki Takahashi defeated Thomas Gilman of the United States 6-0 to win the men's 57-kg freestyle final at the world wrestling championships on Friday for Japan's first freestyle gold in 36 years. The 23-year-old reigning Asian champion and 2016 national champion was appearing in his ...

Legendary distance runner Billy Mills, whose performance at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics catapulted him to global fame, is receiving a special honor close to home. Mills, who captured the gold with an amazing finish in the men's 10,000 meters in Tokyo, is among a quartet ...