The world watched in anticipation of a showdown, but the battle of the Conans ended peacefully this week in a small town in western Japan. American comedian and late-night talk show host Conan O'Brien visited the town of Hokuei — dubbed "Conan Town" for its ...

Amid fears the figure will rise further, the number of people dead or in critical condition in Hokkaido following Thursday’s powerful earthquake has risen to 18.

Senior officials in the North Korean government in charge of diplomatic affairs with Japan declare a 2014 bilateral agreement that led to Pyongyang reopening an investigation into the whereabouts of Japanese nationals abducted by North Korea as “invalid.”

Official campaigning for the ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s presidential election kicks off, setting in motion a two-week race widely predicted to give Prime Minister Shinzo Abe three more years in office.

The central government and Kansai region officials push a proposal to temporarily route some international flights to Osaka’s Itami airport and Kobe Airport following the temporary closure of Osaka International Airport.

An LGBT hospitality house will be set up during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics as a place to exchange and distribute information about issues faced by lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. A consortium, made up of 28 organizations and individuals so far, is ...

Osaka Gov. Ichiro Matsui said Friday he wants to start providing information for foreign visitors in the event of a disaster. The plan to develop a multilingual email system was announced after many foreigners faced difficulties following the closure of Kansai International Airport earlier this ...

A total of 102 women committed suicide before and after childbirth between 2015 and 2016, making it the leading cause of maternal death in Japan, according to a recent study by a team of experts that included personnel from the National Center for Child ...

It's a fast-growing city but with a reasonable cost of living, diverse cuisine and close access to an airport. Plus, the city is willing to support new tech projects. Doesn't that sound like a great place for engineers? That's the sales pitch the city of Fukuoka ...

The neon lights of Sapporo's famed Susukino entertainment district were still off Thursday night, the area's revelers replaced by people huddled in hotel lobby entrances or queuing for water and other bare essentials following the powerful earthquake that jolted the nation's northernmost island of ...

An explosion occurred at Kyushu University in the city of Fukuoka Friday morning and an unidentified human body was found in the debris, local police said. The cause of the 6:40 a.m. blast on the university's campus remains unknown. A janitor made an emergency call ...

With U.S. President Donald Trump gearing up to impose tariffs on $200 billion in Chinese goods and Beijing certain to retaliate against any such measures, the world's two biggest economies are locked in an escalating trade war, with no resolution in sight. The United States ...

U.S. President Donald Trump suggests during a newspaper interview that he will take on Japan next in his fight to cut trade deficits with his nation’s trading partners.

There is "lots of evidence" that chemical weapons are being prepared by Syrian government forces in Idlib in northwest Syria, the new U.S. adviser for Syria said on Thursday as he warned of the risks of an offensive on the country's last big rebel ...

As Okinawa continues to be roiled by tensions over a plan to move a key U.S. air base within the prefecture, filmmakers from Iwate Prefecture are using their next documentary to give younger Okinawans a greater voice. Movie director Shinya Todori and his twin brother ...

The fate of UFO-like traffic lights installed in a northeastern prefecture more than 30 years ago hangs in the balance as local police consider whether they should be removed. The traffic lights in Miyagi Prefecture, famous locally for their distinctive shape, have signals visible to ...

On July 27, the Asahi Shimbun reported that the Bank of Japan had overestimated the value of mutual funds being held by individuals by about 30 percent. Every three months the BOJ publishes statistics called shikin junkan tōkei that cover the financial assets of ...

Britain, France, Germany, Canada and the United States pledged on Thursday to work to disrupt "the hostile activities of foreign intelligence networks" and called on Russia to disclose its nerve agent program. In a joint statement, the other four countries said they backed Britain's assessment ...

Twitter Inc. said on Thursday that it had permanently banned U.S. conspiracy theorist Alex Jones and his website Infowars from its platform and Periscope. The company said in a tweet that the accounts violated its behavior policies. Last month, Twitter banned Jones and Infowars for seven ...

U.S. Republicans, Democrats, unions and manufacturers are aboard the anti-China train. What about Silicon Valley?

Motor maker Nidec, a bellwether for manufacturing trends, has been investing heavily in automation.

Following manga artist Momoko Sakura's death last week, fans and media personalities celebrated her work. Most highlighted the influence her series "Chibi Maruko-chan" had on the nation's comic and animation industries. That's a fitting tribute, as her creations not only inspired a generation of ...

If you're in the vicinity of Shin Pond in Takamatsu, Kagawa Prefecture, this weekend, don't be alarmed if you're suddenly surrounded by a mischievous gang of goofballs. It's all part of the Hyoge Matsuri, a festival that is held in memory of a samurai named ...

There are plenty of opportunities for people in Japan to interact with Chinese culture, from visiting panda cub Xiang Xiang at the Ueno Zoo to dining out in Yokohama's Chinatown. An event in Yoyogi Park this weekend offers another opportunity. One of the main highlights ...

Two-time defending Top League champion Suntory Sungoliath beat NTT Communications Shining Arcs 20-18 Friday at Prince Chichibu Memorial Rugby Ground to make it two straight wins to start the new season. But for the second week running the champs were forced to dig very deep ...

Hideto Asamura's seventh-inning RBI single snapped a 4-4 tie before the Seibu Lions batted around in the eighth to bury the Chiba Lotte Marines 10-4 on Friday. The win moved the Pacific League-leading Lions five games ahead of the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks after the defending ...

It's been a tumultuous offseason for the Kyoto Hannaryz. In the past few weeks, headlines across the nation have generated negative publicity for the club. First, there was the shocking news that Hannaryz big man Yuya Nagayoshi was one of four Japan men's national players ...