A national women's university in Tokyo will start accepting students in April 2020 who were assigned male at birth but identify as female. The education ministry said it believes Ochanomizu University will become Japan's first women's university to accept transgender students. Ochanomizu, founded in 1875, ...

The government will launch a public-private council this year to discuss the practical use of flying cars in hopes of bringing more companies outside the automobile industry into the effort, according to Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga. Given the slow development of such vehicles among ...

Princess Ayako says she hit it off with her husband-to-be Kei Moriya from the time they first met last December at the introduction of her mother, Princess Hisako.

President Rodrigo Duterte's two years in office in the Philippines have been marred by controversy, but with one big success: A booming economy. The jury is still out if that's because, or in spite, of him. The brash, 73-year-old leader — nicknamed The Punisher when ...

Mobile communications services will be available from next March aboard Hokkaido Shinkansen Line trains traveling through the undersea Seikan Tunnel, the communications ministry, Hokkaido Railway Co. (JR Hokkaido) and three major mobile phone carriers have announced. Currently, passengers cannot use smartphones or other communication ...

Toymakers in Japan are strengthening measures against counterfeit products being sold overseas, especially in China. The proportion of domestic toymakers' sales made overseas has been growing, due to the shrinking domestic market amid the declining birthrate. Firms are concerned that overlooking the sale of counterfeit ...

Unifa Inc., an IT venture firm in Nagoya, has begun offering a monitoring service that can alert nursery school teachers to the warning signs of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), the leading cause of death among babies at day care facilities. The high-tech solution for ...

According to the National Police Agency's latest statistics, as many as 82.26 million people held driver's licenses in Japan in 2017. Of those drivers, 18.18 million — or 22.1 percent — were 65 or older. With well-developed public transport networks in urban areas and a ...

Foreign visitor numbers and redevelopment in urban areas are generating healthy demand.

Japan has lowered its alert level for North Korean ballistic missile launches amid diminishing tensions following the historic summit between the U.S. and North Korean leaders last month, government sources said Monday. As a result, the Maritime Self-Defense Force's Aegis vessels, which are equipped with ...

Several hundred top diplomats, politicians and business people gathered Monday at a Tokyo hotel to honor Yoshio Okawara, a former Japanese ambassador to the United States who died of pneumonia March 29 at age 99. Okawara served as Japan's man in Washington from 1980 to ...

An expert says that during a crisis it would be better to turn around and go back home.

The government's top health official could barely conceal his discomfort. As Health and Human Services secretary, Alex Azar was responsible for caring for migrant children taken from their parents at the border. Now a Democratic senator was asking him at a hearing whether his agency ...

Confidence among Japan’s biggest manufacturers has slipped for a second straight quarter.

Furious at spiraling corruption and violence, Mexican voters unleashed a political earthquake Sunday by electing a leftist firebrand as president and giving him a broad mandate to overthrow the political establishment and govern for the poor. A late-night official quick count from electoral authorities forecast ...

Japanese comedian Naomi Watanabe landed a spot on Time magazine's latest list of the 25 most influential people on the internet. Watanabe, known for her over-the-top impersonations of Beyonce and Lady Gaga, is "Japan's most popular star on social media," with 8 million followers on ...

Emperor Akihito has cancelled his public duties after being diagnosed with dizziness and cerebral anemia, a condition of insufficient blood flow to the brain, the Imperial Household Agency said Monday. The Emperor, 84, is set to abdicate next year. According to the agency, the Emperor felt ...

If Russia and Turkey are born-again democratic empires in the modern era, what about Japan?

Turkey's president now has a green light to pursue even more vigorously his nationalistic theme and his Islamic agenda.

Action can and should be taken to reduce hazards posed by earthquakes.

Kanji with ovine roots turns up all over the place in Japanese vocabulary.

Introducing some uses of the noun 世話 (せわ, care) and related expressions.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern becomes the first woman in the country's history to give birth while in office.

Yokohama BayStars rookie Katsuki Azuma was among 13 players newly named to the Central League roster by manager Koichi Ogata for this month's All-Star games, Nippon Professional Baseball announced Monday. Azuma is the only first-year player in either league selected to play in the two-game ...

England has projected this World Cup as a fresh start for a new generation but the team's record of failure in penalty shootouts may not be so easy to forget. Penalties have been the death of England at six of the last 12 major tournaments ...

Two-time Olympic figure skating gold medalist Yuzuru Hanyu was bestowed with the People's Honor Award on Monday, becoming the youngest individual recipient of the prize. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe presented the award to the 23-year-old star skater in a ceremony at his office in Tokyo. Hanyu ...

LeBron James is leaving home for Hollywood and an iconic team. The Los Angeles Lakers have a new superstar — L.A.-Bron. The four-time NBA MVP announced Sunday night that he has agreed to a four-year, $154 million contract with the Lakers, joining one of the league's ...