An increasing number of Liberal Democratic Party lawmakers are calling for boosting public works projects to improve infrastructure.

Swiss tennis star Roger Federer made headlines two weeks ago when he appeared on center court at Wimbledon wearing an outfit bearing the red-and-white squares of Uniqlo.

When Isao Akutagawa moved to the sleepy riverside community of Mabicho in Okayama Prefecture 45 years ago, it seemed like the perfect suburb to raise his children. In the town, which was merged with the nearby city of Kurashiki in 2005 and is now called ...

National Archives of Japan President Takeo Kato is alarmed by the document management scandals plaguing the Abe administration and says the issue highlights Japan's growing pains as it moves toward becoming a more robust democracy. "It's a matter relating to the degree of the maturity ...

North Korea is planning to grant a general amnesty next month in the run-up to the 70th anniversary of its foundation day in September, state media said Monday, in an echo of moves done before other key dates in the nuclear-armed country's history. The North's ...

European Union President Donald Tusk called on Donald Trump to reform the world order rather than bring it down, warning that trade wars can lead to "hot conflicts." Tusk issued his appeal in opening remarks to an annual EU-China summit on Monday, as he made ...

As the year's ordinary Diet session nears a climax this week, debate is heating up over a bill Prime Minister Shinzo Abe characterizes as key to his growth strategy: the so-called casino implementation legislation. The bill spells out a raft of rules on the structure ...

The toll for this weekend's heat wave rose to eight dead and 2,000 injured Sunday after two people died in Shiga and Saga prefectures, a Kyodo News tally showed. Temperatures rose above 35 in many parts of Japan, with the high for the day logged ...

Seventy percent of the people killed by the torrential rain in western Japan this month were 60 or older, tallies show. Of 169 fatalities identified as of Sunday evening, 118 were 60 or older and six were under 10. The downpours began on July 5, triggering ...

The land ministry plans to revise Japan’s standards for barrier-free hotels to increase the number of rooms suitable for wheelchair users ahead of the Olympics.

The Thai drama shows a global community does indeed exist and can do great good.

We're running out land to farm and a almost billion people don't have enough to eat. It's time to take real action.

Why isn't the strong demand for labor pushing up wages?

Regardless of musical chairs with the manager job, the Japanese are basking in the afterglow of having made it to the round of 16 when few people had thought they could pull it off.

Introducing some uses of the word なかなか (quite)

The three trails on the Shizuoka Prefecture side of Mount Fuji opened on July 10 at the start of the climbing season.

While the execution of cult founder Shoko Asahara may offer a degree of closure on a string of crimes that shocked Japan, it also creates an opportunity for further debate about the death penalty.

On the 30th anniversary of the release of the animated version of 'Akira' in Japan, we examine the enduring legacy of Katsuhiro Otomo's sci-fi classic.

Oswaldo Arcia belted a three-run homer and Kohei Arihara went the distance as the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters defeated the Orix Buffaloes 4-1 on Monday. With both leagues returning to action after this year's All-Star Series, Arcia took Orix starter Yuki Nishi (5-8) deep in ...

Sekiwake Mitakeumi was a man in a hurry on Monday, when he needed just 1.8 seconds to remain unbeaten after nine days of the Nagoya Grand Sumo Tournament. His win over No. 5 maegashira Daishomaru (3-6) left Mitakeumi one win ahead of his closest ...

If there's anything to be learned from the first half of the 2018 baseball season it's that a lot of people still can't get enough of Daisuke Matsuzaka. It's been over a decade since his last turn as the ace for the Seibu Lions and ...

Japan international rugby player Amanaki Lelei Mafi was released on bail Monday after appearing in court in Dunedin, New Zealand, charged with assaulting one of his Melbourne Rebels teammates, according to local media. The 28-year-old Mafi was allegedly involved in an altercation with fellow Tongan-born ...

It was not the expected major shakedown, but the riders' faces told a story of suffering as most of the main Tour de France favorites stayed in contention after a much-feared stage nine on Sunday. The 156.5-km route from Arras featured 21.7km of cobbled sections, ...

Retired NHL goaltender Ray Emery, who helped the Ottawa Senators reach the final in 2007 and won the Stanley Cup with the Chicago Blackhawks in 2013, drowned in his hometown of Hamilton, Ontario. He was 35. Hamilton Police said Emery was identified as the victim ...

Michael Brantley homered leading off the eighth inning, and the Cleveland Indians headed into the All-Star break with a 5-2 win over the New York Yankees on Sunday to split their four-game series. One of six Cleveland players who will be in Washington for Tuesday's ...

The rain hid Croatia's tears. After Luka Modric collected his Golden Ball award in a downpour, he shared an emotional embrace with Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic, both wearing the country's red-and-white checkered uniform. Croatia knows Sunday's 4-2 loss to France in the World Cup final was ...

Taking turns sliding across the rain-soaked turf holding the World Cup trophy tight, teenager Kylian Mbappe and the rest of France's players acted like the youthful bunch they are. Nothing, not a Pussy Riot protest nor a postgame downpour that soaked Russian President Vladimir Putin, ...

Novak Djokovic was disconsolate and injured when he left Wimbledon a year ago, quitting during his quarterfinal because of a painful right elbow that would need surgery. Djokovic was so dispirited by his upset exit at the French Open last month that he vowed, in ...