Hokkaido formally celebrated the 150th anniversary of its name Sunday in Sapporo, with the Emperor and Empress in attendance and Ainu representatives performing traditional dances. The island prefecture was officially named Hokkaido on Aug. 15, 1869, and formally put under the control of the government. ...

A month after the historic rain disaster in western Japan, residents in Hiroshima are still struggling to come to terms with the aftermath. And the people most affected, particularly those unfamiliar with Japanese procedures, will face further hurdles on the path to recovery. As residents ...

Postpartum support for mothers to cope with depression and other mental health maladies is still hard to come by despite government efforts in recent years to promote it, a survey shows. Funding and staff shortages are the major obstacles to making such support more widely ...

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is arranging to hold a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of an Eastern Economic Forum conference in Vladivostok, Russia, in September, it was learned Sunday. The summit is aimed at accelerating the improvement of Japan-China relations, government ...

In an apparent effort to court U.S. President Donald Trump toward declaring an end to the Korean War and keep him engaged in negotiations, North Korea has been making what critics say are merely "cosmetic concessions" to the United States. Pyongyang has returned some of ...

In the cramped former home of Jack Ma, founder of the Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, about 30 young engineers sit elbow to elbow, working to attract the next million users for DingTalk, Alibaba's workplace communication software. Their installation in the hallowed flat where Ma got ...

In Venezuela's inflation-hit economy, a single dollar can buy 3.5 million liters (920,000 gallons) of gasoline — an absurdity that the government says it will tackle with a hike in the cost of state-subsidized fuel. But just how far can President Nicolas Maduro go without ...

Noodle club members from a high school in the city of Fukui are hurriedly honing their soba-making skills to prepare themselves for the national high school championship in Tokyo later this month. The noodle club, a rarity even in noodle-crazed Japan, was launched two years ...

Signing the treaty banning nuclear weapons would put Japan on the right side of history, geography, legality, morality and humanity.

Far from a rejuvenated hegemon poised to reshape the global economy, Xi's China has been exposed as a giant with feet of clay.

Lisbon broke a 37-year-old record over the weekend to notch its hottest temperature ever as an unrelenting heat wave baked Portugal and neighboring Spain. New heat records were set in 26 places around Portugal. Portugal's weather service said the capital reached 44 C on Saturday ...

Bright sunshine lit up the room when Ambassador Alan Beraud, sporting an Argentine blue tie, walked in and introduced himself with the warm smile and confidence of a career diplomat.

As Kaori Shibo bends her head down and peers at a log through a magnifying glass, she emits a delighted gasp. The object of her adoration? Moss. With her face almost close enough to kiss the fallen tree, she shouts out, "Oh, this baby's sporophyte ...

Inspired by the 2018 Good Toy Awards winners, announced in May by the NPO Japan Good Toy Association, this month's On: Design takes a look at a few aesthetically pleasing items to help keep the kids entertained over the summer holidays.

CW. Nicol visits Zenryoji temple in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture for a Candle Night public event, led by chief priest Tomonobu Narita, for a slow-life-themed evening.

Read all about it in the government's daily gazette, from laws and notices of naughtiness to deaths and even poetry.

Reader B wrote to Lifelines about his worries regarding his wife, a keen driver who is about to become an octogenarian.

Mikio was but a kitten when he came to ARK last September, but he's grown into a gorgeous, "uber-friendly" cat who's about to turn 1 year old.

Kento Momota, only restored to the national team in January after a suspension for illegal gambling, became the first Japanese man to win a badminton singles world championship on Sunday. Earlier, Mayu Matsumoto and Wakana Nagahara came from behind to win an all-Japanese women's doubles ...

Kashiwa Reysol snapped a four-game J. League losing streak Sunday with a 2-1 win away to Consadole Sapporo. In an end-to-end to contest at Sapporo Dome, Reysol outdueled fourth-place Consadole to claim victory for the first time since beating last-place Nagoya Grampus on May 20. Reysol ...

One of the great leaders football has seen, Ray Lewis used his Pro Football Hall of Fame induction speech to call for more enlightened leadership in our country. The last of the seven members of the class of 2018 on hand to be enshrined, Lewis ...

Kenya Wakatsuki unloaded the bases with one swing, powering the Orix Buffaloes to a 6-4 win over the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks on Sunday afternoon. With two outs in the top of the fourth inning at Yafuoku Dome after Ryo Nishimura's bases-loaded single tied the game ...

Kenta Maeda was tagged with his second-straight loss Saturday night as the Los Angeles Dodgers fell 14-0 to the visiting Houston Astros. Maeda dropped to 7-7, while the second-place Dodgers fell to 61-51, one game behind the Arizona Diamondbacks in the race for the National ...

The Canterbury Crusaders had hardly begun to celebrate their back-to-back Super Rugby titles when they put the spotlight on completing a three-peat next year. The Crusaders were too smart and too clinical for the Golden Lions in Christchurch on Saturday as they won this year's ...

Defending champion Hideki Matsuyama fell from 10 to 13 shots behind sole leader Justin Thomas and is tied for 36th place after the third round of the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational on Saturday. After shooting rounds of 67 and 72 for an up-and-down start at the Firestone ...

Mamiko Higa shot a 1-under 71 Saturday and dropped two notches to fourth place, but kept alive her hopes of becoming the second Japanese player to win a major title after three rounds at the Women's British Open. Higa, who finished seventh in her British ...