Former Olympics minister Toshiaki Endo said Thursday it would be difficult to introduce daylight saving time ahead of the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Tokyo, a move that has been discussed as a way to mitigate the problem of scorching heat during the ...

The first Yoshinoya gyūdon (beef on rice) restaurant, located within Tokyo's Tsukiji wholesale market, will close on Oct. 6, ending a 59-year history, due to the relocation of the market. The Tsukiji outlet is known for how it served gyūdon between 2004 and 2006, when ...

The award-winning virtual reality film "Tree" offers a rare multisensory experience of becoming a rainforest tree from a seedling in just 15 minutes. Reading a short speech into a microphone analyzes your voice and tells who you are — your sex, height, skull type, ...

Toyota Motor Corp., Asia's biggest carmaker, is preparing for a potential future where people don't buy cars. That's behind the hefty investments the company has made in ride-hailing providers, most prominently the $1 billion it poured into Southeast Asian leader Grab. Toyota sees the partnership ...

City becomes the third local government in Japan to implement a accommodation levy after Tokyo and Osaka Prefecture.

Wetlands are disappearing at an alarming rate across the globe, an international environmental group reported Thursday, urging policymakers to do more. Wetlands disappeared by 35 percent between 1970 and 2015, a rate three times that of forests, due to climate change and other "global megatrends" ...

At a glance, it may appear U.S. President Donald Trump has scored a significant victory after his latest talks with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in New York. After taking a defensive posture on trade since Trump was inaugurated in 2016, Abe has finally agreed to ...

Of four employees at the firm who suffered mental and physical illnesses due to work, two killed themselves, company officials revealed Thursday.

Development comes amid expectations Pyongyang may start taking concrete steps toward denuclearization and engage in more dialogue.

In the latest twist in Donald Trump's shifting strategy on North Korea, the U.S. president on Wednesday backed off a set timetable for Pyongyang to denuclearize, ahead of a planned visit next month to the North Korean capital by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. "I ...

Nintendo Co.'s two-year old experiment in mobile gaming is heading for uncharted territory with Dragalia Lost, its first smartphone title featuring original characters rather than its established stars. Co-developed with new partner CyberAgent Inc., the free-to-play game is debuting Thursday on Apple and Android devices ...

A 19-year-old Nagoya university student who had already been arrested for alleged production of explosives and a 3D printed gun was served a fresh arrest warrant Thursday over stimulant drug possession, police said. The male student, whose name is being withheld because he is a ...

When a former intern at China's state broadcaster wrote in July about being groped and forcibly kissed by one of the country's most recognizable television stars, her story ignited a social media firestorm in a country where a backlash against sexual harassment was growing. Now ...

The ingredients in this experimental brain treatment may be better known to enhance cooking, not cognition. Chinese scientists have borrowed three ingredients from its traditional medicine practice — a 3,000-year-old approach that aims to regulate the flow of energy in the body — and used ...

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Wednesday he will shuffle his Cabinet and appoint executives of his ruling Liberal Democratic Party on Oct. 2 following his victory in the LDP presidential election last week. Speaking at a news conference in New York, Abe said he plans ...

Japan's biggest warship, the Kaga helicopter carrier, joined naval drills with Britain's HMS Argyll in the Indian Ocean on Wednesday as the frigate headed toward the contested South China Sea and East Asia. Britain, Japan and their close ally the United States have found common ...

The Okinawa gubernatorial election is an important one for the prefecture, for the central government, for the Japan-U.S. alliance and for the Indo-Pacific region as a whole.

Abe can't yield much on agriculture, while U.S. cars face few barriers — and few buyers — in Japan.

"Crazy Rich Asians" made headlines this summer for being the first Hollywood film in a quarter of a century to feature a main cast entirely comprised of actors of Asian heritage. The movie hits Japanese cinemas this weekend, but audiences here are obviously used ...

Kento Momota on Thursday topped the latest Badminton World Federation rankings for men's singles following his runner-up finish at the recent China Open. The reigning world and Asian champion becomes the first Japanese man to reach No. 1 in the BWF standings in either singles ...

Orix Buffaloes infielder Eiichi Koyano, a three-time Golden Glove winner, will retire at the end of the season, the team announced Thursday. Koyano, 37, entered the Pacific League in 2003 as a fifth-round draft pick of the Nippon Ham Fighters and cemented himself in the ...

A sense of familiarity, long-standing historical ties, and a look to the future have ensured the southern island of Kyushu will resemble Little Britain in the buildup to next year's Rugby World Cup. England, Scotland and Wales have announced they will be based in the ...

John Gibbons wasn't sure he had the energy to oversee a rebuild in Toronto, so he's moving on from his job as manager of the Blue Jays at the end of the season. "We are going to have a new voice. We are going to ...

The Hiroshima Carp became just the second team in the history of the Central League to win three straight pennants on Wednesday, when they beat the Tokyo Yakult Swallows 10-0. Hiroshima's ninth CL pennant hunt began with the Carp reminding the league of their offensive ...

World No. 2 Caroline Wozniacki and Wimbledon champion Angelique Kerber were stunned at the Wuhan Open on Wednesday, both suffering shock defeats at the hands of less fancied opponents. Olympic champion Monica Puig gave herself an early birthday present, beating Wozniacki 7-6 (12-10), 7-5 to ...

When a team ascends to the top by winning a title, the players have a metaphorical target on their backs whenever they step onto the court. This is the Alvark Tokyo’s reality for the 2018-19 season. They are the defending champions. They are a battle-tested group ...

Masahiro Tanaka had another poor outing in his final start before the playoffs. Tanaka gave up four runs and six hits over four-plus innings in the New York Yankees’ 8-7 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays on Wednesday night. "It just comes down to the mechanics," ...

Sarah Asahina clinched gold in the over 78-kg weight class at the World Judo Championships on Wednesday as all nine Japanese reached the podium in the women's classifications. It was the first time since the inauguration of the women's world championships in 1980 that every ...

Kashima Antlers advanced to the quarterfinals of the Emperor's Cup with a 2-0 win over Sanfrecce Hiroshima on Wednesday night thanks to extra-time goals from Leo Silva and Kento Misao. They will be joined in the last eight by Jubilo Iwata, who defeated visiting Consadole ...