Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Saturday said he was ready to win another term as the conservative Liberal Democratic Party's leader in September, which would all but ensure he becomes Japan's longest-serving leader. "My goal has not changed at all since I ran in the ...

Authorities comb a mountain for clues after confirming that everyone who was on the Gunma Prefectural Government rescue chopper died in the crash.

Thanks to Marie Kondo, everyone knows about the Japanese art of katazuke, or "tidying up." Kondo's books on organizing your things and deciding what items you should throw away have been translated into numerous languages and she's been interviewed by myriad international media outlets. Katazuke ...

People in Japan have been complaining about the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics since Japan’s capital was awarded the games. Netizens have railed against everything from the apparent insensitivity of hosting the two-week competition while the Tohoku region continues to recover from the Great ...

"Is solitude an illness?" The Asahi Shimbun raised the question in an op-ed feature last month. Or is it an intensified form of health — a view that informs the monthly magazine Bungei Shunju's treatment of the subject. A child playing alone evokes pity — misplaced, perhaps. ...

In the summer of 1985, 9-year-old Ken Miyajima boarded an airplane from Tokyo to Osaka by himself. He had a backpack packed with snacks and juice and was excited about meeting his cousins and visiting Japan's high school baseball mecca, Koshien Stadium. Ken's life ended ...

A body without a head or limbs was found in the drainage ditch of a farm in Kusatsu, Shiga Prefecture on Saturday, local police said. The torso appears to belong to an adult who died anywhere from a few days to several weeks ago, the ...

Tokyo has topped a list of the world's most innovative cities, leapfrogging London and New York after embracing the "globe-shaking trends of robotics and 3-D manufacturing." Tokyo has risen rapidly since entering the top 10 of the Innovation Cities Index three years ago behind Paris, ...

Yu still remembers her mother's firm words: "You're using your other hand." "She wasn't exactly forceful, but when I was little she would say this whenever I grabbed a crayon or spoon with my left hand," recounted the 45-year-old. "Maybe it's the fact that she ...

Officials in Tokyo are worried the development will weaken its hand in the abduction talks by giving Pyongyang a new bargaining chip.

The rally took place just days after the death of Gov. Takeshi Onaga, who fiercely opposed the plan to move U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma to Nago.

Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike says no words are needed for the Korean minorities murdered following the 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake because she will attend related ceremonies.

A United Nations human rights panel said Friday it has received many credible reports that 1 million ethnic Uighurs in China are being held in what resembles a "massive internment camp that is shrouded in secrecy." Gay McDougall, a member of the U.N. Committee on ...

The U.S. military had unusually strong words for Beijing over social media on Saturday after recent reports that an American reconnaissance plane had been warned to "leave immediately" during a flight near China's man-made islands in the contested South China Sea. Reporters with CNN and ...

The Chinese military has kicked off "major" exercises in the Yellow Sea ahead of Taiwanese leader Tsai Ing-wen's planned departure Sunday for Paraguay, the only Taiwanese ally in South America, and the tiny Central American country of Belize. China's Defense Ministry said late Friday that ...

Economic revitalization minister Toshimitsu Motegi indicated Friday that he has requested that the United States exempt Japan from a controversial plan to impose stiff tariffs on car and parts imports. "I made it clear to the U.S. side that it is indispensable for Japan and ...

Whether it's tales of hauntings, spirits or paranormal phenomena, Yuki Yoshida loves a good scare. The 37-year-old writer known as the "occult detective" is on the lookout for the supernatural. From ghost sightings and bizarre religious rituals to unidentified flying objects, he has spent over ...

Contemporary classical duo bring together the cello, koto and shamisen for original classical contemporary compositions.

The lights flashed, the music swelled and glittering confetti streamed down onto a stage filled with culinary luminaries. It was the moment of truth, the denouement of an intense, year-long and worldwide competition. And there in the spotlight, receiving the winner's trophy as S. ...

Longtime Tokyo resident on choosing fabric, fashion designers and surviving Japanese summer.

Although Tokyo's nascent cycling tourism sector is ostensibly aimed at inbound tourists, "cycle cafes" are designed to create sustainable communities by combining coffee and culture.

Tokyo-area craft sake breweries gather to celebrate local specialties at the Greater Tokyo Sake Festival.

Kirin's attempt to tap into demand for decaf coffee misses the mark.

According to author and translator Adam L. Kern, there's a pervasive myth that haiku is only nature poetry, that it is always serious and connected to Zen, that there are hardly any women haiku poets. But haiku covers far greater ground.

Oe's first novel, published in 1958 when he was only 23, tells of a group of school children evacuated to a remote village to escape wartime bombing raids, only to be cut off and abandoned when plague breaks out.

Toshiyuki Horie's collection of stories embrace small moments, deep thought and cross-cultural connections.

Phil Yu is excited. The Los Angeles-based blogger saw an advance screening months ago of "Crazy Rich Asians," and now the first Hollywood movie with an all-Asian cast in 25 years is about to arrive in theaters, along with two other predominantly Asian films. "I've ...

Hiroaki Okuno and Takuma Nishimura both scored in the second half as Vegalta Sendai beat Kashiwa Reysol 2-0 on Saturday to claim their first J. League win in four games. Vegalta went into the match at Sankyo Frontier Kashiwa Stadium having picked up only four ...

Rikako Ikee won gold in the women's 100-meter butterfly final and set a national in the process on Saturday, bagging her third medal at the Pan Pacific Swimming Championships. The 18-year-old touched the wall in 56.08 seconds at Tokyo Tatsumi International Swimming Center, 0.36 seconds ...

Ryoichi Adachi's three-run, eighth-inning triple powered the Orix Buffaloes to a 6-3 come-from-behind victory over the Chiba Lotte Marines in Pacific League play on Saturday. With his team trailing 3-2, the slumping Adachi came to the plate with two outs and the bases loaded after ...

Lionel Messi was named as Barcelona's captain on Friday following the departure of long-serving midfielder Andres Iniesta, while defenders Gerard Pique and Sergi Roberto were named new vice captains. Messi, Barca's all-time top scorer, has been a vice-captain since 2015 and takes the club's armband ...

Passion is something that younger and older generations can both detect immediately. After all, it's either there or it isn't. When elementary school students encouraged Kei Hirata to return to cheerleading overseas, their support inspired her. She decided to pursue her passion once again. Now, almost a ...