Five years ago, Japan introduced a feed-in tariff system in a bid to promote the introduction of renewable energy on a large scale following the collapse of public trust in nuclear power due to the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011, and ...

When the political thinker Alexis de Tocqueville (1805-59) visited the infant United States in 1831, he was struck above all by the "equality of condition" that prevailed there. He was a French nobleman with aristocratic biases, but his American observations forced the conclusion on him ...

Anyone interested in Japanese television is familiar with the term "yarase," which refers to on-air situations staged to look natural and spontaneous. When the content is news-oriented, charges of yarase will lead to in-house investigations and, if proved, apologies on the parts of senior executives. ...

All cultures present aspects that cannot but baffle the foreign observer. For example: nothing in the native tradition equips a Japanese to grasp the concept of the blood of the crucified son of the one God washing believers clean of sin. The foreign observer of ...

A volcano in Kyushu that erupted earlier this week for the first time in six years erupted again Saturday, the Meteorological Agency said. Mount Shinmoe, straddling the Kagoshima and Miyazaki prefectural border, spewed ash to an altitude of around 2,300 meters above its crater shortly ...

The World Medical Association has named Dr. Yoshitake Yokokura as its new president for a one-year term. The appointment came Friday at the association's annual general meeting in Chicago. Yokokura, 73, who became president of the Japan Medical Association in 2012 and is starting his ...

Japan may face a shortage of influenza vaccines this winter due to a production delay. The supply volume is currently projected at some 25.28 million units, about 1.14 million units lower than the estimated amount used in the last flu season.

The Justice Ministry has unveiled unmanned facial recognition gates that will be introduced at Haneda airport on Wednesday to speed up immigration procedures for Japanese citizens. The system can judge whether passport photos match images of travelers taken by cameras at the gates in about ...

Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike, who is also the leader of Kibo no To (Party of Hope), denies that the party will join a ruling coalition led by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s Liberal Democratic Party after the Oct. 22 general election.

A U.S.-Canadian couple freed in Pakistan this week, nearly five years after being abducted in Afghanistan, returned to Canada on Friday where the husband said one of his children had been murdered and his wife had been raped. American Caitlan Coleman and her Canadian husband, ...

Finance chiefs from the Group of 20 major economies agree to step up coordination in coping with risk factors to the world economy amid signs that 2017 will be the best year for global growth in a decade.

Las Vegas police presented a third version on Friday of the timeline of events for the Las Vegas gunman who killed 58 people and himself, saying they responded immediately to the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history. Clark County Sheriff Joseph Lombardo, who oversees ...

Fire officials in Northern California reported further headway on Friday against the most lethal outbreak of wildfires in state history, as the death toll rose to 35 and teams with cadaver dogs combed charred ruins for human remains. The wind-driven blazes, which erupted on Sunday ...

The rise and — so far — fall in popularity of Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike's Kibo no To (Party of Hope) comes as no surprise in Osaka, where her ability to govern effectively, as opposed to deal with the media, has long been in ...

Japan scrambled its fighter jets in response to aircraft approaching its airspace 561 times in the first half of fiscal 2017 through September — 33 fewer than last year's record-setting figure but still the second-highest total ever for the period, the Defense Ministry has ...

North Korea renewed its threat to the American Pacific territory of Guam on Friday as the U.S. and South Korean militaries geared up for 10 days of joint naval exercises set to kick off next week. The drills "to promote communications, interoperability, and partnership" are ...

"I never miss Japan," says New York resident Aki Onda. "Now I have a distance — that's why I enjoy going back to Tokyo."

The sanma (Pacific saury) that's caught at this time of year is rich with heart-healthy oils, and is considered a quintessential autumn delicacy in Japan. But unlike other fall delicacies such as matsutake mushrooms, sanma has traditionally been considered affordable. This national favorite is in ...

Somtum Der is unlike any other Thai restaurant in the city. It's not just the look, though the bold red facade certainly stands out in the drab Yoyogi backstreets, and the chic, bright interior reflects a contemporary sensibility, not one rooted in the cliches ...

Banh Mi Bakery stands right across the road from Ebisu Yokocho. But with its colorful typography and bottles of nuoc mam fish sauce arrayed in the window, it looks like it's been beamed over straight from the streets of Saigon. Better yet, it smells ...

Beloved burger chain Shake Shack recently announced plans to use automated kiosks in lieu of employees to take orders at its new Astor Place location in New York. The news rather awkwardly coincided with the announcement that the chain's founder, Danny Meyer, has raised $200 ...

7-Eleven Japan's cream puff is the ideal convenience store dessert. It's basic but satisfying, offering just the right amount of sweetness. Maybe most importantly, it's also affordable. Few treats balance simplicity and tastiness quite like it, and the konbini chain has wisely experimented with ...

In July 2016, I handled @BeingTokyo, an account on Twitter that allows residents of the capital a week to give followers a taste of what their life in the city is like. My seven days were a little different from the norm as I ...

Wittingly or otherwise, Japan, the United States and China — Asia's top powers — all have their guns simultaneously trained on each other, in what Australian journalist Richard McGregor likens to a geopolitical Mexican standoff in his new book, "Asia's Reckoning." Asia's Reckoning: China, Japan, ...

Donald Richie didn't just open a window on Japanese cinema — the renowned film critic broke down a wall and put in a cultural door. A Hundred Years of Japanese Film, by Donald Richie.317 pages KODANSHA, Nonfiction. A classic among his more than 45 books on Japanese ...

Although cultural mores are changing, foreign nannies remain a rarity in Japan compared with many Western countries. Rarer still is the foreign nanny novel set in Japan. Yuki Means Happiness, by Alison Jean Lester.288 pages JOHN MURRAY, Fiction. Regardless of culture, however, when it comes to the ...

The defending champion Tochigi Brex fell to 2-3 to open the new season, losing 76-70 to the visiting Chiba Jets on Saturday afternoon. Chiba sealed the victory at the free-throw line in the fourth quarter, converting 10 of 11 shots, including three apiece by Ryumo ...

Yu Kobayashi scored a late double as 10-man Kawasaki Frontale kept their J. League title hopes alive with a stunning 3-2 win over Vegalta Sendai on Saturday. Frontale went into the game at Todoroki Stadium trailing league leaders Kashima Antlers by five points with six ...

Yusei Kikuchi had waited for this for far too long to not savor every last second. For seven years, the Seibu Lions left-hander had chased the shadow of his younger self, the high school phenom poised to skip right over NPB and head to ...

Tadahito Iguchi, a member of the 2005 World Series champion Chicago White Sox and a three-time Japan Series winner, on Saturday vowed to revive the fortunes of the Chiba Lotte Marines after being named as the club's new manager earlier in the week. Lotte has ...

The NPB postseason began with the promise of a pitcher's duel, with a pair of aces on the mound on a chilly Saturday afternoon in Saitama Prefecture. Only one was able to hold up his end of the bargain. Seibu Lions star pitcher Yusei Kikuchi threw ...

Cartier Martin made a dynamic debut last weekend for the San-en NeoPhoenix. By doing so, he instantly became one of the must-watch names in the B. League's new season. In week two of the 2017-18 campaign, the veteran swingman made quite an impression in his first ...