Most Japanese companies remained cautious Wednesday about the outlook for their U.S. operations after the midterm elections, seeing little possibility of change in President Donald Trump's protectionist policy. "I presume that the impact on the Japanese economy would be very small," Akio Mimura, chairman of ...

Tokyo may see President Donald Trump accelerate his war on what he considers “unfair” trade, as he seeks ways to fire up his political base.

Fumiko Hiyoshi, who headed a citizens' group and supported Minamata disease sufferers for more than half a century, died Wednesday due to old age at a nursing home in Minamata, Kumamoto Prefecture, a person close to her family said. She was 103. Hiyoshi, who was ...

Thirty candidates for buzzword of the year, announced Wednesday, highlight the numerous scandals that rocked Japan's amateur sports, the brutal summer of natural disasters as well as the country's response to the worldwide #MeToo movement against sexual harassment. The words nominated for the 2018 U-Can ...

Democrats laid claim to the U.S. House by riding a surge of voter anger and discontent with President Donald Trump in suburban enclaves, even as the leader's loyal supporters reaffirmed Republican control of the Senate. The outcome of Tuesday's midterm election highlighted the urban-rural divide ...

The venue for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic gymnastics competition moved a step closer toward completion Wednesday when construction workers raised the center section of its giant timber roof. Ariake Gymnastics Centre, in the city's Koto Ward, has been designed to incorporate aspects of traditional Japanese ...

Let the 2020 White House race begin. Tuesday's elections sounded the starting gun for a long, crowded, expensive and no doubt dramatic race for the presidency. Democrats, riding a wave of momentum from their gains in the U.S. House of Representatives, enter the presidential cycle without ...

SoftBank Group Corp. is seeking to raise a record ¥2 trillion ($18 billion) from Japanese individuals in the initial public offering of its mobile phone unit, targeting investors who often get no interest on their savings, sources have said. Nomura Holdings Inc., a joint global ...

Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp. said Tuesday it will invest ¥3 trillion ($26 billion) over the next five years on advanced research activities and next-generation 5G mobile communications networks. Under its medium-term business strategy, unveiled the same day, the telecommunications giant will also seek to ...

Rakuten Inc. CEO Hiroshi Mikitani's 2010 announcement of English becoming the official internal language of the online retailing giant shocked many of the firm's employees, including Fumie Suzuki. More than eight years have passed since Mikitani's bold move and Suzuki, 34, has come to enjoy ...

A planned meeting between U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and the right-hand man to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in New York has been postponed, the State Department said in a short statement just two days before the meeting had been scheduled ...

A 5.4-meter tsunami triggered by the March 11, 2011 quake left the plant without external power and incapacitated one of three emergency generators, although it managed to cool its reactor.

An agricultural high school in Hokkaido — its survival once at stake due to a shortage of students — has bounced back by earning fame through the delicious lamb produced by its pupils. The Hokkaido Embetsu Agricultural High School, the sole high school in the ...

The leaders of Japan and South Korea are not expected to hold talks on the sidelines of upcoming regional conferences that both plan to attend, in the latest sign of souring bilateral ties, sources have said. Relations between the two neighbors appear to be rapidly ...

Boeing Co. is preparing to send a bulletin to operators of its new 737 Max models warning that erroneous readings from a flight-monitoring system can cause the planes to aggressively dive, said a person familiar with the matter. The warning is based on based on ...

Canada urged Pakistan on Tuesday to ensure the well-being of a Pakistani Christian woman whose life is in danger after having been acquitted in the South Asian country last month of blasphemy charges against Islam, a ruling that sparked mass protests. The case of Asia ...

Insurance under the social welfare system covers medical expenses not only of corporate workers but also their family members, who it does not currently require to be living in Japan.

Millions of British women feel "betrayed" and many are facing poverty, campaigners said on Tuesday, as the age they can claim the state pension rose to 65 to match that of men. The government is accused of failing to give women enough warning of the ...

Motel 6 will pay up to $7.6 million to Hispanic guests to settle a proposed class-action lawsuit claiming that it violated their privacy by regularly providing guest lists to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents. Terms of the preliminary settlement with eight Hispanic plaintiffs ...

Four out of 6 endangered black rhinos that were relocated to Chad from South Africa have died, possibly of starvation, the two countries and an NGO said. The six rhinos were transferred from South Africa in May, re-introducing the species into Chad for the first ...

Exposure to workers from different countries and backgrounds will help Japanese people develop a global mindset.

Yes, it's only half of one branch, but they could do enough to put U.S. allies at ease.

This has been a busy year for Tasuku Emoto. Long accustomed to appearing in colorful supporting roles, the 31-year-old actor has found himself starring in three films in 2018. After playing real-life porn entrepreneur Akira Suei in "Dynamite Graffiti" and the slacker protagonist of "And ...

For once, the best film won. Though the jury at Tokyo International Film Festival has erred in the past, there could be few complaints about this year's choices. Mikhael Hers' "Amanda" was a worthy recipient of the Tokyo Grand Prix: An emotionally devastating portrait ...

The Japanese suicide rate has fallen for eight straight years, to 21,321 in 2017, but this number is still high compared to other advanced countries, and is course of no consolation to the families of those who take their own lives. The effect of suicide ...

Chekhov's principle about how you can't introduce a gun in the first act of a story without using it later on might also apply to Toru (Nijiro Murakami). When the university student impulsively snatches a pistol from a dead body he finds by a riverside ...

With its rapid-fire rapping, lyrics that are often impenetrable to outsiders and raw, synthetic timbres, grime was never an obvious candidate for international success. But from east London's tower blocks to the stages of California's Coachella festival, the genre has grown from humble origins ...

Michael Douglas celebrated his 50th year in showbusiness on Tuesday with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame near that of his screen legend father, Kirk Douglas, now 101. Douglas, 74, best known for his Oscar-winning turn as Gordon Gekko in "Wall Street," was ...

Japan suffered a 6-5 loss against Taiwan in an international friendly Wednesday, two days before Samurai Japan takes on a team of major league all-stars. With both teams struggling to get a hit, Taiwan came alive first by breaking a scoreless tie in the fifth ...

November is upon us and that means the final sumo tournament of the year is just days away. So far 2018 has seen Tochinoshin claim the first championship by a maegashira-ranked wrestler in six years, a dramatic return to form by yokozuna Kakuryu, a surprise ...

The ring purification ceremony for the upcoming Kyushu Grand Sumo Tournament takes places at Fukuoka Kokusai Center on Saturday, Nov. 10 at 10 a.m. As always, the ceremony is open to the public and free of charge. Entry is allowed between 9:20 and 9:50 a.m. All ...

The latest chapter in a long history of pro baseball exchanges between Japan and the United States will open Friday with the start of the six-game Japan All-Star Series. For the second time, visiting major leaguers will square off against Japan's national team, Samurai Japan, ...

Two seasons ago Mai Mihara burst onto the scene with victories at the Four Continents Championships and Nebelhorn Trophy, plus solid showings on the Grand Prix circuit, and a fifth-place finish at the world championships. It appeared as if Japan had a new star on ...

Japan head coach Hajime Moriyasu on Wednesday rewarded J. League players Yuma Suzuki and Ryosuke Yamanaka with their first call-ups to the senior national squad following strong club performances this season. The two were named in the 23-man squad to face Venezuela and Kyrgyzstan in ...

For Fujio Kariya, NHK's executive commentator (the broadcaster's top news commentator), the most impressive bout in his 31-year career as an NHK sumo announcer took place at the Kyushu Grand Sumo Tournament in 1988. That was when yokozuna Onokuni upset fellow yokozuna Chiyonofuji on the ...

Orix Buffaloes right-hander Yuki Nishi, Seibu Lions infielder Hideto Asamura and Hiroshima Carp outfielder Yoshihiro Maru said Wednesday they intend to exercise their domestic free agency rights this offseason. A 10-year veteran in Nippon Professional Baseball, Nishi went 10-13 with a 3.60 ERA in 2018, ...