The central government aims to increase the number of hotels with wheelchair-accessible rooms ahead of the 2020 Games, sources familiar with the matter said Wednesday. Under the plan, operators of newly built hotels and inns with 50 or more rooms will be required beginning September ...

The U.S. military will deploy five Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft to Yokota Air Base in the suburbs of Tokyo on Oct. 1 as part of a plan to introduce a total of 10 Ospreys to the base over several years, the Defense Ministry said Wednesday. While ...

Two major utilities and a pair of power plant manufacturers are considering cooperation as the industry grapples with rising costs related to decommissioning and safety.

Shipments of air conditioners in Japan hit a record high in July, an industry body said Wednesday, due to brisk demand as an unprecedented heat wave swept over the country. The volume of shipments last month rose 10.9 percent from the previous year to 1,763,000 ...

Takahiro Hayashi won his first nationwide title in shogi while still in high school and by the age of 22 he was the world amateur champion. His coaches were urging him to turn pro. But Hayashi wanted to be an entrepreneur, not a shogi player. ...

China's top broadcaster has taken to YouTube to roast U.S. President Donald Trump, in a sarcastic video titled "Thanks Mr. Trump, you are GREAT!" mocking the American leader over his trade policy toward Beijing. The English-language video, uploaded on Monday night, begins with a reporter ...

The Maritime Self-Defense Force will link up with five Asian navies and the U.S. during a dispatch involving three vessels that is certain to stoke anger in Beijing.

Nation still abuzz over victories of Kanaashi Nogyo, a northeastern agricultural high school, against powerhouse teams en route to the final of the summer baseball tournament.

Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull's grip on power slipped further on Wednesday when he was forced to abandon his centerpiece tax policy and a conservative rival in his own party canvassed support for an imminent second challenge. Turnbull's legislative agenda crumbled around him this week ...

Central Japan Railway Co. (JR Tokai) on Wednesday conducted its first drill involving a knife-wielding attacker on a bullet train following a deadly rampage on a shinkansen train in June. Based on the scenario that a knife-wielding man is in a train car, members of ...

The number of people who purchased traditional Japanese-style gravestones has halved over the past 14 years but Western-style memorials remain popular options, and those with designs unique to the deceased have experienced a sharp rise, according to an annual industry survey. This year's survey by ...

Yukio Edano, leader of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, will make a six-day trip to the United States from Sept. 11 in his first overseas visit since the main opposition party was formed last October, according to a CDP lawmaker. Talks are currently underway ...

Tokyo’s highest official is casting doubt on government plans to institute daylight saving time in 2019 and 2020 to help manage the scorching heat during the Summer Olympics. Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike said Monday that she was concerned about the expense and disruption of moving ...

Kumamon, the popular black bear mascot of Kumamoto Prefecture, will debut as a YouTuber next month, sharing online its experiences with sports, arts and crafts in multiple languages, the local government said Wednesday. Starting Sept. 3, a two-minute video featuring the official mascot of the ...

For all the frenzy over the Bank of Japan's first policy tweak in almost two years, little seems to have changed for the nation's insurers. That's because the rise in long-end government bond yields seen after the central bank's July 31 decision has proved to ...

The United Nations' atomic watchdog has said it has not seen any signs that North Korea has halted its nuclear activities — including those at secret sites — despite its vows to work toward denuclearization at a landmark summit with the U.S. in June. "The ...

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe plans to announce his candidacy Sunday for the Liberal Democratic Party leadership contest next month as he looks to secure a third consecutive term as LDP chief, a senior party lawmaker said Wednesday. During his visit to Kagoshima Prefecture over the ...

China's military will for the first time participate with Russia in massive joint exercises that are expected to be the largest war games since the fall of the Soviet Union as the U.S. rivals look to showcase their deepening ties. The annual Vostok military drills ...

The United States is confident the top al-Qaida bomb maker, believed to be the mastermind behind a failed bombing of a U.S.-bound airliner in 2009, has been killed, two U.S. officials said even as others cautioned the evidence was not conclusive. Washington has long sought ...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says its proposal to relax greenhouse gas limits on power plants will cause as many as 1,630 additional premature deaths annually by 2030 from heart and lung disease — an estimate independent experts say may be low. The projection is ...

More than 200 Venezuelans crossed the border illegally into Ecuador on Tuesday, fleeing a deepening economic and political crisis at home in a desperate race to get to Peru before new entry restrictions kick in on Saturday. This year 423,000 Venezuelans have entered Ecuador through ...

Even if the economy doesn't affect the election, the election will affect the economy.

The country needs more babies, but the dense cities that sprung up during industrialization make that difficult.

When Yahya Almasri heard Japan had closed the door on other students fleeing war, he decided he had to do something.

Amnesty International Japan introduced the Gender Human Rights Education Project, with an aim to provide a forum and tools for students to learn about and discuss gender, discrimination and human rights protection

"Modest Heroes" studio Ponoc was founded by producer Yoshiaki Nishimura, formerly of Ghibli, just as that legendary anime studio decided to cool its jets back in 2014. Ponoc's debut feature, last year's "Mary and the Witch's Flower," established it as a kind of Ghibli ...

Ten-member Tower of Power will touch down in Asia toward the end of this month on the band's latest trip to the region to play its renowned blend of soul and jazz, on a series of dates in Tokyo, Nagoya and Manila. But the Oakland, ...

Compared to today's Tokyo, where teenagers quietly curate their Instagram feeds in Starbucks and tourists happily snap selfies from the middle of Shibuya Crossing, the 1990s were a wilder, freer time. Shibuya was then the domain of the kogyaru, teenage girls who cheekily flouted traditional ...

Sagan Tosu proved to be too good for Vissel Kobe in the fourth round of the Emperor's Cup on Wednesday, with a Fernando Torres goal, his first in Japan, closing out a 3-0 win. The former Spanish national team star started the match on the ...

Ryoma Nishikawa's tie-breaking, three-run home run led the Central League-leading Hiroshima Carp to a 7-4 come-from-behind win over the Tokyo Yakult Swallows on Wednesday. One night after a heartbreaking loss in a game the Carp were on the verge of winning, Nishikawa came up in ...

Yasuhiro Koseki shook off a slow morning heat to win the men's 100-meter breaststroke gold from Lane 1 at the Asian Games on Wednesday. The 26-year-old, who won in 58.86 seconds, completed a 100-200 breaststroke double in Jakarta. With the 50 coming up Friday, Koseki ...

The Japan women's badminton team won gold at the Asian Games for the first time since 1970, beating China 3-1 in the final on Wednesday. Singles world No. 2 Akane Yamaguchi's nightmare tournament continued into the final, with the 21-year-old again dropping the first rubber ...

Takeshi Nagata looks out over the pitch from the back stand of Kamaishi Unosumai Memorial Stadium and tugs at the collar of his shirt. He retired from playing rugby six years ago, but his body is still in good shape and his formal clothes ...

In last week's column, I talked about overseas tours by the Japan Sumo Association and also mentioned the live sumo broadcasts with English commentary on NHK. What I didn't reveal was that the latter came about as a direct result of the former. According to Hiro ...

Masahiro Tanaka, who is one win short of another 10-win season, was not involved in the decision Tuesday in the New York Yankees' 2-1, 12-inning victory over the Miami Marlins. The 29-year-old, who is 9-4 in 20 starts this season, pitched four scoreless innings at ...

Two-way rookie Shohei Ohtani, who has been sidelined as a pitcher for over two months with an elbow injury, said Tuesday he is confident that he will return to the mound again this season. "At this point I feel confident that I'll be pitching at ...

Sumo stablemaster Takanohana was discharged from hospital on Wednesday, one day after he was admitted following a fit of convulsions. The 46-year-old former grand champion told Kyodo News at Akita Station that he was "just discharged" from hospital, without elaborating. The Japan Sumo Association had said ...

The Chicago Cubs ruled right-hander Yu Darvish out for the remainder of the season on Tuesday after an MRI exam revealed a stress reaction in his right elbow. Darvish will be shut down for six weeks as a result of the ailment. He removed himself from ...