A helicopter crashed in a village northwest of Tokyo on Wednesday afternoon, killing four employees of the helicopter service company who were on board, local authorities said. The helicopter crashed around 2:30 p.m. and burst into flames in the Gunma Prefecture village of Ueno, the ...

Nissan Motor Co. revised downward on Wednesday its full-year profit forecast for the fiscal year through next March, as it reels from an inspection scandal in which uncertified workers conducted final tests on cars. Nissan now expects its group operating profit to stand at ¥645 ...

Police arrest the president and a former employee of failed travel agency Tellmeclub on suspicion of defrauding a bank of about ¥200 million in loans by window-dressing earnings data.

The Japanese team competing in an international lunar probe contest said Wednesday it will postpone the launch date of its moon rover from Dec. 28 to sometime between January and March next year. The decision by team Hakuto — one of five teams shortlisted in ...

Looking to rev up the artificial intelligence speaker trend, Amazon.com Inc. said Wednesday its smart speakers will debut in Japan starting next week. Amazon is dominant in the sector overseas, and its entry into the Japan market is expected to further fuel competition. The e-commerce giant ...

A man who barricaded himself inside his home on Wednesday after shooting his pet dog was found dead when a police team stormed the apartment in Fukuoka Prefecture, police said. The 65-year-old man apparently shot himself soon after he killed the dog, officials said, adding ...

The head of the International Monetary Fund said Wednesday that Japan's efforts to promote labor reform and improve child care can together be a "game changer" for the economy and lift growth. Speaking at a seminar in Tokyo, IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde said demographics ...

In a post-Harvey Weinstein world, logic would dictate that Silvio Berlusconi, who hosted wild parties with young women and brags about his sexual prowess, would have zero chance at political resurrection. But logic and Italian politics have never been synonymous. On Monday, the four-time former prime ...

A blockbuster Pacific trade pact thrown into doubt by Donald Trump could be salvaged by suspending parts of the deal in order to get the 11 remaining nations to sign on, according to Malaysian Trade Minister Mustapa Mohamed. Speaking in Vietnam ahead of a meeting ...

Yokoze, a quiet, scenic town of around 8,400 in the mountainous Chichibu region in Saitama Prefecture, isn't immune to the sweeping demographic change impacting hundreds of rural municipalities across Japan. The town's population has been shrinking for the past two decades as its residents age. ...

It's pick-a-number time for Japanese stock bulls after the Nikkei 225 average surged to its highest close since 1992 on Tuesday — even though the index slightly receded 0.1 percent to close at 22,913.82 on Wednesday. Okasan Securities Co. sees 25,000 by March 2019. Martin ...

The government will consider stricter penalties for gold smuggling as attempts soar with offenders seeking to pocket the 8 percent consumption tax from transactions.

If the United Nations is to be seen as a truly credible institution, it is necessary to change the structure of the outdated Security Council, Japan’s U.N. ambassador says.

As soon as Indonesian domestic worker Anisa discovered she was pregnant with her first child, her heart sank. Having worked for 13 years in Hong Kong, she was terrified that her employer would fire her, jeopardizing her future and that of her unborn child. Without a ...

The government has downplayed U.S. President Donald Trump's abrupt request for Japan to make large purchases of U.S.-made military gear. "So one of the things, I think, that's very important is that the prime minister of Japan is going to be purchasing massive amounts of ...

Nestled near a volcano in southern Japan, 450 quake-resistant domed houses put up by a health resort and decorated with flowers and dinosaurs are drawing visitors from across Asia. A dozen polystyrene foam pieces, each so light that two adults can pick them up, are ...

Japan enjoys a reputation as a country where people can expect belongings left behind on trains or in shops to be returned. Less well known is that the nation's police have been struggling to handle a surge in lost items found by railway operators, shop ...

Gondolas and water taxis will never again have to vie with big cruise ships for space in front of Venice's iconic St. Mark's Square, an Italian governmental committee decided on Tuesday. Venetians and environmentalists have long voiced concerns about floating pleasure palaces sailing close to ...

The Republican-controlled Michigan Senate was poised Tuesday to begin passing legislation to let people with extra training carry guns inside churches, schools and other places now off limits. The bills were expected to be approved by a committee Tuesday, two days after a gunman killed ...

Small amounts of radioactive cesium were detected on a glove of a worker at an nuclear facility in Aomori Prefecture last month, Japan Nuclear Fuel Ltd. said Thursday. However, as the worker was not himself exposed to any radiation and none was recorded outside the ...

Japan is a good trade partner and a key source of investment into the U.S. Monetary easing, rather than aggressive jawboning, is the best approach to the imbalances that remain.

A prominent Danish gastrophysicist has made a bold claim: He believes he can get children to not only eat broccoli but enjoy it too. Having spent the last decade researching and writing on Japanese cuisine, professor Ole G. Mouritsen has turned his attention to tsukemono ...

#MeToo may have failed to fly here, but Japanese society has much to learn about combating sexual assault and harassment.

Perhaps my own failing was not to challenge the locker-room code — not with the wagging finger of a spoiler, but as a man who is also learning.

Actor Tommy Lee Jones reveals what goes on in the mind of a film festival juror.

Covering a film festival is what's known in the profession as a crapshoot. No matter how many screenings you manage to clock, you're probably going to miss half of the flicks that end up winning prizes. For casual moviegoers attempting to navigate Tokyo International Film ...

Roppongi isn't the first place that jumps to mind when you're looking to have a night out with Beethoven. A concert hall with plush velvet seats, women in pearls listening to Symphony No. 9 — that's more of a Ginza thing. But Tahlia Petrosian, a ...

Japan claimed a spot at next March's world women's curling championship on Wednesday, after LS Kitami secured a top-three finish at the ongoing Pacific-Asia Curling Championships. However, Japan's representatives for February's Pyeongchang Olympics, women's team LS Kitami and men's team SC Karuizawa, will not compete ...

National team manager Vahid Halilhodzic demanded strong friendly opposition to help prepare Japan for next summer's World Cup, and this coming week's two fixtures certainly fit the bill. Japan faces five-time world champion Brazil in Lille, France, on Friday before taking on European heavyweight Belgium ...

With his exceptional height and confidence, Naoki Uto could add a new dimension to the Japan men's national basketball team. Standing at 189 cm, Uto is by far the tallest point guard that Japan coach Julio Lamas has called up for his preliminary squad, which ...

The men’s road cycling race at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics is expected to cover a 270-km route starting in the Tokyo suburbs of Chofu, going past Lake Yamanaka and the foot of Mounbt Fuji, and finishing at Fuji Speedway in Shizuoka Prefecture, a source ...

Masako Kaneko, who trained Olympic synchronized swimming medalists such as 1988 Seoul Games double bronze winner Mikako Kotani, has been chosen as recipient of the International Olympic Committee's inaugural Coaches Lifetime Achievement Awards, a source close to the matter said Tuesday. Kaneko, 73, long headed ...

Kakuryu's career continues to hang by a thread as his stablemaster Izutsu said Wednesday the Monogolian yokozuna will withdraw from the upcoming Kyushu Grand Sumo Tournament. According to Izutsu, the 32-year-old wrestler has been experiencing lower back pain for the last few days in addition ...