About 10 million adults in Japan are strongly suspected of having diabetes, a 2016 survey by the health ministry showed Thursday. The figure, up 500,000 from the previous survey in 2012, has been on an upward trend since 1997, when suspected diabetics totaled 6.9 million. The ...

With the debut of high-end virtual reality gaming systems for home use, 2016 was heralded as the dawn of the VR era. But while the technology basked in the spotlight, some questioned whether there was substance behind the hype. If this year's Tokyo Game Show ...

With a view of Mount Shari in the distance and an ocean breeze wafting in from the Sea of Okhotsk, working in this coastal community in northeastern Hokkaido is certainly an escape from the hustle and bustle of Tokyo. The town of Shari, at the ...

Western Digital Corp. said Wednesday it has taken legal steps against Toshiba Corp.'s investment in a new production site at their joint-venture chip plant, just hours after the Japanese firm rejected the California-based company's bid to acquire its semiconductor unit. Western Digital filed an arbitration ...

Despite the heightened state of racial tensions in the United States, interest in the nation's higher education system remains strong among international students, the president of the oldest private university in California said. Speaking to The Japan Times on Wednesday ahead of an academic conference ...

BMW AG became the latest carmaker to weigh in on the Brexit debate as an executive warned that the introduction of any tariff would have repercussions for the German firm's business. A day after Toyota Motor Corp. and PSA Group of France expressed disquiet with ...

As working-age Japanese depart the countryside in droves, leaving behind graying populations, rural authorities are trying to counter the trend by turning idle real estate into homes for city dwellers seeking a quieter lifestyle. The Kyoto Prefectural Government is among those providing advice for people ...

Cases of reported child abuse rise to a record high in the first six months of 2017 amid heightened public awareness.

The U.S. military conducted a parachuting drill Thursday at Kadena Air Base on Okinawa's main island for the third time this year, despite calls from the Japanese government and local authorities to suspend it due to safety concerns. "It is regrettable. Japan urges the U.S. ...

The Bank of Japan kept its monetary stimulus unchanged Thursday, but a dovish new board member opposed the decision in his first meeting — an unexpected dissension on a board chosen entirely by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Still, BOJ Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda and his Policy ...

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has expressed willingness to shift social security benefits — currently aimed primarily at retirees — to the working generation in a move toward a system for "all generations." In an address to investors at the New York Stock Exchange on Wednesday, ...

The Japan National Tourism Organization on Thursday launched a free smartphone app that allows travelers from abroad to look up destinations, restaurants and train routes as well as free Wi-Fi spots. The app also includes listings of tax-free shops, ATMs and hospitals that provide services ...

Russia, the only major power that has not called on Iraq's Kurds to cancel a referendum on independence next week, has swiftly become the top funder of Kurdish oil and gas deals, with as much as $4 billion pledged in less than a year, ...

An international group of cryptography experts has forced the U.S. National Security Agency to back down over two data encryption techniques it wanted set as global industry standards, reflecting deep mistrust among close U.S. allies. In interviews and emails seen by Reuters, academic and industry ...

Hundreds of Buddhists in Myanmar tried to block a shipment of aid to Muslims in Rakhine state where the United Nations has accused the military of ethnic cleansing, with a witness saying protesters threw petrol bombs before police dispersed them by firing into the ...

The Trump administration is making it more difficult for skilled foreigners to work in the United States, challenging visa applications more often than at nearly any point in the Obama era, according to data reviewed by Reuters. The more intense scrutiny of the applications for ...

South Sudan's hellish war will get worse if its neighbors let President Salva Kiir hold an election before he accepts peacekeepers, a cease-fire and political opposition, U.N. investigators said on Wednesday. South Sudan was plunged into civil war in 2013 when Kiir fell out with ...

When he saw his commander holding the severed head of one of his neighbors, teenage Islamist fighter Jalil knew it was time to escape from Marawi. Churches and homes had been ransacked, people had been shot or taken hostage, and now Philippine government troops, planes ...

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and French President Emmanuel Macron agreed Wednesday in New York to further advance their cooperation in security and defense equipment, reiterating their commitment to maintaining the rule of law at sea. Abe and Macron agreed to speed up negotiations toward an ...

The following is the text of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's address to the U.N. General Assembly in New York on Wednesday. Mr. President, ladies and gentlemen, Today, I had intended first of all to tell you of the sincerity with which Japan is implementing the ...

St. Louis officials decided on Wednesday to supply police officers with body cameras for a year as the city prepares for a sixth night of protests after a white former police officer was acquitted of killing a black man. The city's Board of Estimate and ...

Former Liberal Democratic Party President Sadakazu Tanigaki will not run in the upcoming Lower House election expected next month owing to his extended hospitalization following a cycling accident, sources said Wednesday. The 72-year-old heavyweight has conveyed his intention to the ruling party's local chapter of ...

The estimated number of foreign visitors to Japan totaled 18,916,200 in the first eight months of this year, a record for the period, the Japan Tourism Agency said Wednesday. The number continued to increase this month and topped 20 million as of Sept. 15, 45 ...

Japan prime minister asks U.N. member states to act collectively against North Korea, which has ‘no intention’ of abandoning its nuclear program.

Senate Republicans announced plans to vote next week on their latest bid to scuttle Obamacare even as a popular comedian who has become part of the U.S. health care debate denounced the bill and former President Barack Obama on Wednesday warned of "real human ...

School operator Kake Gakuen's application to open a new veterinary medicine department strayed from well established procedures.

The Kurds' quest for self-rule puts them in the crosshairs of Iraq, Iran, Turkey, Russia and the United States.

The Rihga Royal Hotel Osaka is offering a Halloween plan "Adults' Halloween Suite," limited to one pair or group per day, from Sept. 22 to Oct. 31. The French-palace-themed suite is decorated in an eerie and creepy Halloween motif with bats hanging from tree branches ...

Watch dealer Misuzu Corp. held a Handa Watch World Fair at a Tokyo hotel on Sept. 12 to showcase high-end Swiss timepieces and other watches. The company, which also operates the Misuzu Gakuen chain of cram schools that work to prepare high school students to ...

The group that would soon be known as Dangen Entertainment sat around Ben Judd's house this past April, making plans and bouncing ideas off each other over pizza and drinks. Judd had an idea to start an independent game-publishing company in Japan and had ...

As I turned the pages of a free magazine in London this summer, a picture of a beaming woman clutching a signed CD and program for the West End musical "Kinky Boots" caught my eye. She was a 27-year-old named Emily who'd seen the ...

Popular singer Namie Amuro, who has a strong fan base in Asia, said Wednesday she will quit show business next September. "I, Namie Amuro, would like to take this opportunity to inform all of my fans of my decision to retire as of Sept. 16, ...

Hokkaido Nippon Ham hurler Shohei Otani struck out nine while giving up one run — a solo homer — over six innings in his fourth start this season as the Fighters defeated the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks 6-4 on Thursday. Otani (2-2) allowed five hits and ...

World champion Nozomi Okuhara breezed past India's world No. 2 Pusarla Sindhu in straight games at the Japan Open badminton tournament on Thursday, advancing to the quarterfinals of the women's singles competition. Eighth-ranked Okuhara, bronze medalist at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, had claimed ...

Ozeki Goeido stayed on course for his second career championship at the Autumn Grand Sumo Tournament on Thursday, despite a surprise second defeat at the hands of fourth-ranked maegashira Shohozan. The loss in the day's penultimate bout at Ryogoku Kokugikan saw Goeido fall to 10-2, ...

Will it be a bigger adjustment for the promoted Nishinomiya Storks and Shimane Susanoo Magic as they acclimate themselves to the first division this season, or for their opponents? Promotion to the top flight, of course, was a reward for the Storks and Susanoo Magic ...

Japan midfielder Shinji Kagawa scored his first goal of the season as Bundesliga leader Dortmund won 3-0 away to Hamburg on Wednesday. Kagawa, making his first start of the league campaign, opened the scoring after 24 minutes, driving home from close range after Omer Toprak ...

Quad king Yuzuru Hanyu arrived in Montreal on Wednesday as his second Winter Olympic campaign swings into action with the Autumn Classic International, his first event of the 2017-2018 figure skating season. Showing calm before the storm, Hanyu, the reigning Olympic and world champion, did ...