Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker Mio Sugita is being criticized for comments she made about how LGBT individuals should not receive government “support” because, biologically speaking, they can’t have children and are thus “unproductive” as members of society. Although the media have covered her remarks ...

Two decades ago, it was still common to see articles in the media disparaging the lack of manners and self-absorbed behavior of mobile phone users. By around 2003, however, the phones had become so ubiquitous that the erstwhile complainers had most likely become phone ...

The internet loves a clapback, so when writer Melissa Martin shared a few snappy responses from a monk named Daniel Kimura to less-than-positive reviews of a temple doubling as lodging on Mount Koya, Twitter embraced it. The tweet garnered more than 17,000 retweets and ...

Media reports allege the systematic manipulation of test scores may have started in 2010 or earlier, reducing the female acceptance rate by 10 percent.

Japan's negotiating skills will be put to the test as Tokyo tries to fend off U.S. demands for a bilateral free trade agreement and counter the threat of tariffs on cars and auto parts. The longtime allies are set to launch high-level trade talks Thursday ...

Even a record heat wave wasn't going to keep Claire Lee from joining tens of thousands of South Korean women at a mass protest against spycam pornography on Saturday as anger over the issue swells, prompting national soul-searching. Since May, the monthly demonstration in Seoul ...

Sushi-hungry Japan hopes the other nine members of an international fisheries panel will agree that bluefin tuna stocks are recovering quickly enough to withstand its proposal.

The first tranche of state support will be used to fix river facilities and help damaged households and businesses clean up and get back on their feet.

North Korea has not stopped its nuclear and missile programs in violation of United Nations sanctions, according to a confidential U.N. report seen Friday. The six-month report by independent experts monitoring the implementation of U.N. sanctions was submitted to the Security Council North Korea sanctions ...

Even behind bars, Brazil's Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva will secure his leftist party's nomination Saturday and continue to overshadow more likely candidates in the country's most unpredictable presidential election in decades. Saturday will see three big party conventions, two months before the first round ...

An accountant for U.S. President Donald Trump's one-time campaign chairman Paul Manafort admitted in trial testimony on Friday that she helped backdate documents and falsify financial records at Manafort and his business partner's request to reduce his tax burden and help him qualify for ...

Soichiro Honda's diminutive motorbike is more than just a reliable machine — it's a veritable phenomenon. After selling more than 100 million units worldwide over the past six decades, the ageless Cub just keeps on rolling.

From the rice fields of Niigata Prefecture to the Catalonian culture of Barcelona, Ochiai's experience is reflected in his pastries and cakes.

For five generations, family-owned Wadaman sesame has used their exceptional roasting process to produce top-notch sesame oils and products.

There are only two fail-safe ways to get through a Tokyo heatwave summer. One is to head for the hills, or anywhere else the nights are cool. The other is to self-medicate. Sake does the trick perfectly, especially when matched with good yakitori. That ...

It's no secret: Ramen is big in America, and getting bigger fast. It also seems to be undergoing some unusual mutations in its new, no-holds-barred environment. No one understands this better than the self-styled "hyper ramen creator," Tomoharu Shono. He's the man behind some of ...

Mister Donut stores across Japan have partnered with the Osaka-based Pablo to create six rare cheese-flavored doughnuts and tarts.

In her latest work, "The Emissary," Yoko Tawada joins the ranks of other Japanese writers who use their writing to comment on the catastrophic and irrevocable effects of environmental disasters on society.

In "First Snow on Fuji," nine short stories and one dramatic work selected by Kawabata himself highlight this literary master's minimalist prose.

Second-year pro Shun Ikeda pitched two innings in relief and picked up his first win Saturday as the Yomiuri Giants beat the Chunichi Dragons 6-4. Ikeda (1-1) gave up two hits and a walk in his 24-pitch outing at Nagoya Dome after taking the mound ...

Alison Aguilar and Delaney Spaulding drove in three runs each as the United States beat Taiwan 7-0 Saturday to improve to 2-0 in Group A at the Women's Softball World Championship, a qualifier for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Aguilar hit a bases-loaded double in a ...

Wakana Nagahara and Mayu Matsumoto beat an Indonesian pair in straight games on Saturday to set up an all-Japanese women's doubles final at the World Badminton Championships. Nagahara and Matsumoto, each 22-year-old world championship debutants, will face last year's runners-up, Yuki Fukushima and Sayaka Hirota, ...

Johnny Manziel threw an interception — and made a tackle — on his second play in the Canadian Football League. It didn't get much better after that, with four of his six first-half series ending in interceptions. Seeing regular-season action for first time since December ...

Kerri Walsh Jennings will call it a career in beach volleyball after the Tokyo Olympics in two years. She has big plans before her days on the sand are done, and for improving the long-term health and growth of the sport well into the future ...

Defending champion Hideki Matsuyama fell down the leaderboard into 37th place after carding a 2-over-par 72 in the second round of the Bridgestone Invitational on Friday. Meanwhile, Tommy Fleetwood took advantage of another soft day of good scoring at Firestone Country Club with a 7-under ...

Kei Nishikori suffered a quarterfinal loss against Germany's Alexander Zverev on Friday and crashed out of the Citi Open. Nishikori, the seventh seed and 2015 champion, was handed a 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 loss by the world No. 3 Zverev at Rock Creek Park Tennis Center, ...

Mamiko Higa ran into trouble down the stretch Friday but remained one shot off the pace after carding a 3-under-par 69 in the second round of the Women's British Open, the fourth major of the season. Higa carded an eagle, four birdies, a bogey and ...