A Pandora's box in terms of diplomatic relations between Tokyo and Seoul may have just been opened with South Korea's top court upholding a lower court ruling Tuesday that Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corp. should pay about ¥40 million in compensation to four ...

A rooftop fire broke out in Tokyo's crowded Shibuya Ward on Wednesday evening, as revelers flocked to the Halloween mecca for a massive annual street party. Firefighters were working to extinguish the blaze, which occurred at a building near a police box on the area's ...

Tamaki argued that the central government’s decision can be legally challenged.

Speaking at a news conference, BOJ Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda denied that the revisions represented a large shift in the bank’s outlook.

North Korea may be preparing for a visit by international inspectors to its shuttered Punggye-ri nuclear test site, South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported Wednesday, citing the country's spy agency. "Signs have been detected that North Korea is doing some preparations and intelligence-related activity over ...

Low-income families may be able to purchase a voucher worth ¥25,000 for the cost of ¥20,000 under a government plan aimed at underpinning consumer demand after next year's planned tax hike, sources said Wednesday. The "premium vouchers" would be available to households with an annual ...

The progression of a sweeping 11-member free trade agreement was met with concern among the nation's farmers Wednesday, with many expressing their anxiety over a possible influx of imports stemming from the agreement that's set to enter into force Dec. 30. Australia earlier in the ...

A high court upheld a lower court's ruling Tuesday in favor of the government's decision to exclude a pro-Pyongyang school in Tokyo from a tuition waiver program that covers most of the nation's high schools. The Tokyo High Court said the school is suspected of ...

At the Tanner Hill apartments in Hong Kong, the residents — all aged 60-plus — are enjoying the ancient Chinese tile game of mahjong along with some bite-sized delicacies, dimsum, at one of the on-site restaurants. Each of the 588 units comes with wheelchair-height kitchen ...

As 1.4 million people move to cities each week, local abilities to keep residents safe can become strained, increasing the risk of disasters, warned the United Nations secretary-general. "The answer is to build resilience to storms, floods, earthquakes, fires, pandemics and economic crises," said Antonio ...

About 70 dignitaries, including Imperial family members and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, on Tuesday attended the wedding banquet of the former Princess Ayako, the youngest daughter of Emperor Akihito's late cousin, and her husband Kei Moriya in Tokyo following their marriage the previous day. Crown ...

With the number of women running for U.S. Congress hitting a record high in the Nov. 6 midterm elections, the growing participation of women in American politics may prompt a change in the male-dominated political and business circles in Japan, according to U.S. and ...

By the age of 34, Akiko Naka has already experienced more career-wise than most people do in a lifetime. She started by getting hired by Goldman Sachs Group Inc., where she worked as an equity saleswoman. When she left that job, she tried to make ...

Michiko Tsukamoto, who was just 10 years old when an atomic bomb was dropped over her hometown of Hiroshima in 1945, on Tuesday urged countries that have not signed a landmark nuclear weapons ban treaty to do so quickly. "Last year the nuclear ban treaty ...

Foreign Minister Taro Kono said Wednesday he has called on his South Korean counterpart, Kang Kyung-wha, to take "firm and resolute" action over a Supreme Court ruling ordering a Japanese steel firm to compensate four South Koreans subject to forced labor during Japan's 1910-1945 colonial ...

James "Whitey" Bulger, who lived a double life as one of Boston's most notorious mobsters and as a secret FBI informant before going on the run for 16 years, was killed at a federal prison in West Virginia, sources said Tuesday. The FBI was looking ...

The U.S. and South Korea have spent almost seven decades honing their preparedness for war. Now fears are growing among the alliance's proponents that extended peace talks are eroding that advantage. Defense chiefs from the two nations will gather for an annual meeting in Washington ...

The Kepler space telescope has run out of fuel and will be retired after a 9½ mission in which it detected thousands of planets beyond our solar system and boosted the search for worlds that might harbor alien life, NASA said on Tuesday. Currently orbiting ...

A yellow excavator, forklift and other heavy equipment made by U.S. firm Caterpillar gleam outside Cuba's annual trade fair, reflecting once-bright hopes for increased U.S.-Cuban commerce fanned by the 2014 detente between the old Cold War foes. But inside the pavilion where U.S. firms present ...

Fears of a prolonged market downturn, slowing international sales, stepped-up competition in the U.S. and flat-out confusion about how Amazon.com Inc. makes money are all reasons behind the company's dizzying 25 percent drop in value from its September high. The world's largest online retailer had ...

To make it easier to bring about a change in government, all seats should be elected in the single-seat electoral district system.

Global fish stocks are in decline, but a new tuna management scheme by the Federated States of Micronesia offers a blueprint for recovery.

Court precedents in Japan have reinforced that work rules lack legal power if they are not easily accessible and known to employees.

Ancient rites bend to an aging, shrinking population, but how much longer can local traditions hold out?

As Mutek gears up for its third edition in Japan, the festival, which originated in Montreal and now runs in regular installments around the world, looks set to deliver its most robust offering in Tokyo to date. Seeking to celebrate both digital creativity and electronic ...

Kate Sikora is an odd sort of import. Brought up in New Jersey, cutting her musical teeth as a student on New York's live circuit and self-releasing her first album there in 2005, most of her musical career has nonetheless been carved out among the ...

Mental illness takes many forms, but depression is among the most baffling to family and friends, since the afflicted may be physically healthy and verbally coherent but barely stir from bed for weeks or months at a time. But as Kosai Sekine shows with compassion ...

Twenty-year-old defender Itsuki Oda scored the first goal of his professional career as Kashima Antlers beat visiting Cerezo Osaka 1-0 in the J. League on Wednesday night. In an end-to-end clash between two teams angling for a berth in next year's Asian Champions League, it ...

Yokozuna Hakuho appears a long shot to take part in next month's Kyushu Grand Sumo Tournament after practicing Wednesday for the first time following knee surgery on Oct. 18. The Mongolian wrestler had endoscopic surgery to remove a bone spur in his right knee and ...

The game was still in progress. But some Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks fans picked up their belongings and started walking up the stairs to leave the stadium, when they perhaps thought the team had built a big enough lead to win the ball game. But the ...

Japan finished sixth in the women's all-around team event at the world artistic gymnastics championships on Tuesday, failing to clinch a berth at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Japan, led by 2017 floor world champion Mai Murakami, scored a total of 160.262 for sixth. The United ...

The newly-released banzuke (rankings) for the upcoming Kyushu Grand Sumo Tournament see Hakuho back in his old familiar 'Yokozuna 1 East' position. It is the 48th time that the Mongolian veteran has occupied the top slot — a sumo record. Indeed at this stage in his ...

The Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks put their fans through a myriad of emotions in Game 3 of the Japan Series. There was the relief of finally scoring first, the rapturous joy of blowing the game open and then the trepidation of watching the Hiroshima Carp claw ...