With the number of children shrinking, popular entertainment naturally began targeting the otaku population that didn't hesitate to open their wallets for material many considered juvenile.

Earlier this month, weekly magazine Shukan Bunshun ran several articles on Nippon Television Network Corp.'s Sunday night variety show, "Sekai no Hate Made Itte Q," claiming that the program had fabricated "festivals" in foreign countries and presented them in one of its semiregular segments ...

The Yuru-kyara (Promotional Mascot) Grand Prix in Japan has become one of the internet’s most anticipated events of the year. The 2018 edition lived up to expectations, and even featured a little voting drama. In the end, the city of Shiki’s Kaparu captured the ...

Japanese art has a quality all its own. The ancient and the avant-garde merge. Prehistoric figurines seem 10,000 years deep rather than 10,000 years old. And modern art takes us back even as it propels us forward. Manga, for instance, predates its name by ...

The body of American missionary-adventurer John Allen Chau may never be recovered from the lost island where he fell in a volley of arrows fired by a reclusive tribe whose existence is threatened by the modern world, experts say. The menace to the Sentinelese from ...

After Osaka wins the right to hold the event, questions about costs and integrated casino resorts come to the fore.

European Commissioner for Trade Cecilia Malmstrom says she will support Japan’s efforts to reform the World Trade Organization when the Group of 20 meets in Japan next June.

Emperor Akihito has given thanks to the gods for a bountiful autumn harvest, the last time he will perform one of the most important annual palace rites before abdicating next spring. The Emperor conducted the Niiname-sai harvest ritual Friday at a shrine in the Imperial ...

Precision equipment-maker Shimadzu Corp. says it will soon commercialize a blood test designed to detect early-stage colon cancer

After Carlos Ghosn's shocking arrest Monday, many of his most ardent supporters were left to reconcile their positive image of the man said to have saved Nissan Motor Co. against the possibility he may have committed numerous crimes. But over the next few days, as ...

The foreign ministers of Japan and Russia agree to cooperate closely toward progress in talks to settle a territorial row that has blocked the signing of a peace treaty to formally end World War II hostilities.

Osaka won the rights to host the 2025 World Expo, beating out rivals Yekaterinburg in Russia and the Azerbaijan capital of Baku, during voting in Paris on Friday. Celebrations were held in Paris after the results were announced, and crowds marked the good news early ...

Researchers found they could predict success decades in advance from the names of the first five galleries where an artist exhibits.

In 2002, a fateful encounter with habaneroson the Okinawa island of Ishigaki first sparked Taku Kondo's interest in the pepper. Now, Kondo cultivates 1,800 habanero plants to make his award-winning range of organic hot sauces, which are sold under the Mellow Habanero label.

Russian artist Max Goshko-Dankov on his talent for combining incompatible colors, the role of art in modern society and how adult coloring helps you get in touch with yourself.

A Peu Pres in Kyoto is decidedly not the kind of French restaurant with starched white linens: Instead, it has a whimsical easygoing charm. And chef Mizuho Takemura's take on French food is wholesome, without fanfare or drama.

On Dec. 1 and 2, John Wurdeman will visit Japan with a group of Georgian wine producers to participate in the first Tokyo edition of Rootstock, Sydney's popular natural wine festival. He's not sure if they will sing, but one thing is certain: There ...

Andrew Clare has published an impressive array of translations of novels by Japanese authors, all while putting in long hours at the corporate coalface. Now, Clare is launching his translation — the first in English — of a classic, but little-known, Yukio Mishima novel, ...

"Clouds Above the Hill" portrays, in rich detail, the first generation to grow up in the Meiji Era and culminates in Japan's surprising victory in the Russo-Japanese War.

"Apocrypha: The Legend of Babymetal," illustrated by G.M.B. Chomichuk, is a surreal multigenre manga that elaborates on "kawaii metal" band Babymetal's origin story.

Koshiro Shimada grabbed the lead in the men's competition after the short program at the Japan Junior Championships on Saturday with a fine performance. Shimada, who is Japan's lone qualifier for next month's Junior Grand Prix Final, looked sharp while landing a triple axel, triple ...

November has been an unpredictable month for the defending champion Alvark Tokyo. Entering Saturday's series finale against the visiting Kyoto Hannaryz, the Alvark's up-and-month had done this way: loss, loss, win, loss, win, win, loss, loss. So what happened next? Tokyo coach Luka Pavicevic's team earned an ...

Tatsuya Shinhama won his second straight men's 500-meter World Cup race on Saturday, while countrywoman Nao Kodaira topped the podium in the women's race to extend her winning streak in the distance to 33 races. A day after winning his maiden title on the World ...

A normal day of a sumo tournament starts around 8:30 a.m. and ends just after 5:45 p.m. From the silent early morning atmosphere, with just friends and family of wrestlers watching the bouts and talking in whispers, to the raucous packed-out arena where fans roar ...

Komusubi Takakeisho overreached against ozeki Takayasu and instead of clinching the title on Saturday, left the two men tied heading into the final day of the Kyushu Grand Sumo Tournament. As he had throughout the tournament at Fukuoka Kokusai Center, the 22-year-old Takakeisho looked quicker ...

The J. League's scheduling software, known affectionately as "Nittei-kun" by fans, has earned a reputation over the years as having an uncanny ability to schedule dramatic fixtures at the end of the season. That FC Tokyo’s 2-0 loss to Kawasaki Frontale in Saturday's Tamagawa Clasico ...

Kevin Durant knew the Warriors would have to earn it and play well in every way to end a frustrating funk that lasted more than a week. Durant scored 32 points, Klay Thompson had 31 and Golden State snapped its worst losing streak since early ...

Canada completed the lineup for next year's Rugby World Cup in Japan by securing the 20th and final spot with a win over Hong Kong in the repechage tournament on Friday. The Canadians upheld their record of qualifying for every Rugby World Cup as they ...

Mai Mihara grabbed the top spot in the women's short program on Friday at the Internationaux de France, edging Rika Kihira to take a narrow lead in the sixth and final leg of this season's Grand Prix series. Mihara scored 67.95 points and Kihira received ...