Baseball star Hideo Nomo may have blazed a trail for Japanese players in the MLB when he signed with the Dodgers in 1995, but the achievements of domestic athletes abroad in the Heisei Era certainly didn't stop there.

Japan typically reviews the tragedy of World War II in August, focusing almost exclusively on the Japanese who died in the conflict. As far as TV coverage goes, NHK has always led the field in terms of production quality, and this year its selection ...

Ginko Ogino deserves to be better known — especially now. She was Japan’s first licensed female doctor. What she went through to earn that distinction is the theme of the 1993 novel "Hanauzumi" ("Beyond the Blossoming Fields") by Junichi Watanabe (1933-2014), who was himself a ...

It’s a question that haunts almost everyone over the age of 30 as they grow older: What exactly are the kids into today? If you put this question to young people in Japan this summer, the answer appears to be La Bouche’s 1995 smash hit “Be ...

Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko on Saturday visited the tennis court in Karuizawa, Nagano Prefecture, where they first met 61 years ago. This is expected to become the Imperial Couple's last visit to the memorable place before the Emperor's abdication in late April next year. While ...

The facility is designed not only to spread Japanese culture but also Tokyo’s political views on sensitive issues that have stirred global debate since the war.

The government asks 20 companies to staff a panel that will brainstorm ideas to help Japan catch up to its rivals in the new aviation race.

In a surprise announcement, U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday canceled a planned visit to North Korea by the United States' top diplomat next week just a day after it was announced, citing insufficient progress in negotiations for Pyongyang to relinquish its nuclear weapons. "I ...

The trade war between the U.S. and China is about to get uglier. After a long, hot summer spent weighing risks and firing warning shots, the hawks in President Donald Trump's administration have gained the upper hand — and they're set to unleash a ...

The infrastructure ministry plans to request an increase in the number of personnel in charge of assisting municipalities in checking damage and providing emergency measures for roads and rivers in disaster-hit areas, Jiji Press has learned. The request will be made as part of the ...

Studies in the U.S. and Germany link Facebook and Twitter with xenophobic crime.

Film producer Yukie Kito talks about making movies, her favorite actor and how the entertainment industry in Japan differs to that in the U.S.

When Masato Miyazawa opened his first restaurant here in Kyoto, he was 32. Called Jiki Miyazawa, it's a paean to chakaiseki, a cuisine that combines two things he had poured more than a decade of his life into: the ebb and flow of the tea ...

Learn how to make hiyajiru, a chilled miso and sesame soup, with this simple recipe.

Masa Kogure started Table For Two in 2007 to address both obesity and global hunger issues and "flatten out the calorie imbalance."

Video game-maker Sega is offering a tasty vanilla bean-infused taiyaki shaped like its company logo.

For any fan of speculative fiction, Hybrid Child presents a sprawling, imaginative excursion into the unknown that also predicts current familiar thematic questionings on gender politics or weaponized robots.

Compiled and edited by Kenzaburo Oe, "The Crazy Iris and Other Stories of the Atomic Aftermath" is a multifaceted look at the nightmarish horrors of the atomic bomb.

Mark Brazil's "Birds of Japan" will be a birders' Bible for the foreseeable future and fills the niche for anyone who plans to search out the wealth of birds that this country has to offer.

Air guitar enthusiasts gathered in the Finnish city of Oulu on Friday to shred and strum their imaginary instruments in pursuit of the world championship of the bizarre dance form. Under gray, wet skies, this year's 15 finalists appeared on the open air stage in ...

Popular TV superhero Kamen Rider topped a survey of Japanese childhood heroes conducted internally by Mitsubishi Electric Engineering Co. Sailor Moon, a 1990s anime heroine, topped the list among women. In an employee survey, Kamen Rider, the leading character in the long-running live-action TV series, was ...

Former Seattle Mariners lefty Ariel Miranda did not allow a hit until the ninth inning, and Nobuhiro Matsuda homered twice to lead the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks to a 5-1 victory over the Seibu Lions on Saturday. Miranda (2-0), pitching in his second game for the ...

Kawasaki Frontale maintained the pressure on J. League leaders Sanfrecce Hiroshima with a 1-0 win over Vegalta Sendai in steamy conditions on Saturday. Kengo Nakamura scored in the 55th minute at Todoroki Stadium to keep defending champions Frontale six points behind Sanfrecce — who beat ...

Japan advanced to the semifinals in the Asian Games women's soccer tournament on Saturday with a 2-1 victory over defending champion North Korea. Both sides fought aggressively from the beginning until the final whistle at Gelora Sriwijaya Stadium, but it was Japan's Mana Iwabuchi who ...

Tomoa Narasaki topped the qualifications of sport climbing combined at the Asian Games for the second straight day on Saturday, as all Japanese climbers qualified for the following day's final. Narasaki and Kokoro Fujii will gun for a medal in the men's event, while Akiyo ...

Joseph Schooling and his Singapore team came up short of the podium, finishing fourth in the men's 4x100-meter medley relay, which wrapped up the six-day swimming competition at the Asian Games. But the 23-year-old butterfly specialist was happy with his second Asiad experience in Jakarta. "I ...

Kiyo Shimizu and Ryo Kiyuna won their respective women's and men's Asian Games' karate kata event golds on Saturday. The double victory in Indonesia offered a positive start for them and their teammates ahead of the Japanese martial art's debut at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Shimizu ...

Nanako Fujita rode to her 35th career victory on Saturday, rewriting the record for wins by a Japanese female jockey. Fujita rode second favorite Seiun Ririshii to victory in the 12th race in Niigata. The 21-year-old Fujita had been tied with Yukiko Masuzawa with 34 ...

This summer, veteran swimmer Satomi Suzuki sent a strong message to Japanese fans, reminding them that she can still compete at the highest level. At the ongoing Asian Games, many supporters perhaps have their eyes on younger prospects with the 2020 Tokyo Olympics less two ...

Right-handed pitcher Shumpei Yoshikawa has signed with the Arizona Diamondbacks and broken amateur baseball rules in the process, informed sources said Friday. The 23-year-old Yoshikawa was expected to go high in Nippon Professional Baseball's amateur draft this October. He is the first marquee amateur to ...

First-round co-leader Nasa Hataoka shot a 2-under-par 70 and fell back into a four-way tie for fourth place after two rounds at the CP Women's Open on Friday. Hataoka surprised herself by finding the cup from 146 yards for an eagle on the fifth hole ...

Modern life is bombarded by a 24/7 news cycle, an endless loop often filled with cynicism, scandals, and superficiality. So it's refreshing to stumble upon an upbeat story that's not any of those things. Here's one: Former Hosei University point guard Michael Malhotra, who battled ...

Japan upset Spain 3-1 in the final to win the Women’s Under-20 World Cup for the first time on Friday. The victory made Japan the first country to hold titles in all three FIFA Women’s World Cup age categories after winning the World Cup in ...

Hiroto Inoue won the Asian Games marathon gold medal after a late tangle with Bahrain's Elhassan Elabbassi as the pair sprinted together in the closing meters of the race. Inoue finished in 2 hours, 18 minutes and 22 seconds and held his arms out wide ...