Major convenience store operator Seven-Eleven Japan Co. has launched an experimental outlet in Tokyo with an unmanned payment system and facial recognition technology. The facial recognition system was developed by technology giant NEC Corp. Seven-Eleven Japan plans to open such outlets in locations where customers can ...

Traditional doll-maker Kyugetsu Co. opened a special exhibition in Tokyo on Monday featuring 30 kawari hagoita wooden paddles depicting standouts of the Heisei Era. The era, now in its 30th year, is set to end when Emperor Akihito abdicates the throne on April 30, 2019. Kyugetsu ...

The survivors meanwhile describe the powerful explosion.

The Consumers Organization of Japan is demanding that test fees and associated costs be paid back to the impacted applicants.

Akihiro Adachi, a 31-year-old audiovisual equipment designer at Panasonic Corp., longed for some personal space during his lengthy train rides from Osaka to Tokyo. So when his company set out to encourage innovation, he joined with some colleagues and came up with Wear Space, ...

A female giant panda born at a zoo in Wakayama Prefecture has been named Saihin, the zoo announced Monday. The Adventure World amusement park selected the name for the 4-month-old, 75-centimeter-long cub weighing over 6 kg from about 120,000 suggestions solicited from the public. The zoo ...

The Bank of Japan is more likely to wait until after next year's increase in the consumption tax before taking action to tighten monetary policy, given increasing risks to the economic outlook and recent market turbulence, a growing number of economists say. All 49 of ...

Foreign investment in India's renewable energy sector has picked up speed in the last four years, with investors including Japanese firms laying down big bets on the country's green energy push. According to government data, foreign direct investment in the sector has totaled $3.8 billion ...

Japanese water is clean and readily available, as evidenced by drinkable tap water and a nearly 100 percent penetration rate. But perhaps less known is the dire decay that has slowly chipped away at its infrastructure, casting doubt on its sustainability. To address this, the Diet ...

While many global companies, including the sōgō shōsha, face similar political, economic, social, technological, managerial and other risks — much too many to cover here — Japan's nearly complete dependence on natural resource and raw material imports from overseas and its shrinking domestic market ...

The number of households in areas designated as flood-prone by the central and local governments has soared 24.9 percent.

A prominent medical university in Tokyo, which recently admitted setting a higher bar for female applicants to pass entrance exams, is now being criticized for the reasons it has given for its gender discrimination. Juntendo University, which received the Tokyo Metropolitan Government's top award this ...

The government plans to introduce translation systems at about 100 consultation offices to be set up across Japan to provide assistance to foreigners, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga revealed Sunday. The translation systems will be included in a package of measures the government plans to ...

In the heart of an impoverished village in southern China, a life-sized statue of Mao Zedong sits on a platform adorned with intricate stonework, flanked by a diorama of Red Army soldiers and traditional brick-and-tile homes with curved roofs. Officials have spent a small fortune ...

Saihoji Temple in Kota, Aichi Prefecture, is littered with handmade mechanical dolls, antique clocks and record players — presenting a unique sight for visitors. Junno Nakamura, chief priest of the temple that has a history dating back to the Muromachi Period (1392-1573), is also a ...

The global environmental movement set itself on a collision course with populists from Australia to France and the U.S. over an agenda of ever-tightening curbs on pollution. Fresh from endorsing rules to implement the landmark Paris Agreement on climate change, diplomats, along with pressure groups ...

The crash of a Boeing Co. plane that killed 189 people in Indonesia is spiraling into a $22 billion feud between the aircraft maker and one of Asia's most influential aviation bosses. In a rare public dispute between the plane maker and one of its ...

The Pineda family trudged northward for more than a month with a caravan of Central American migrants who are now stuck at the U.S. border. But they were on the run in Honduras much longer than that due to fears of political persecution. According to ...

Will adopting Japanese-style education help boost Egypt's future economic growth?

If MPs vote against the one compromise proposal that is on the table, they will, with absolute certainty, be voting for chaotic impasse, with an outcome very likely to be the very opposite of what they intended.

Governments worldwide must do what it takes to ensure that both public and private financial flows support the climate agenda.

In 2019, China's leaders will likely attempt to re-stabilize bilateral ties and ease tensions in its non-U.S. relationships, and form a deeper judgment about the future of U.S. politics and foreign policy.

Left-right populism is fueling the Western political divide.

I am still waiting for someone to publish a concise history of humor from the 30 years of the Heisei Era. Thinking back, I can recall two bestselling books that conveyed American-style humor in translation. Both appeared in the 1990s, and they demonstrate how Japanese people, much to their credit, take a strong interest in what makes people in other cultures laugh. ...

There are many ways to use the verb 落(お)ち着(つ)く, which means to calm down, relax and be comfortable.

A couple of Japanese directors, Hirokazu Kore-eda and Mamoru Hosoda, get Golden Globe nods in the run-up to America's awards season.

Once a tradition firmly entrenched in the national consciousness, the nengajō (new year card) is facing extinction.

Trashaun Nixon used to make plays as a linebacker by pressuring quarterbacks and tackling runners. One year later, he became the Japan X Bowl MVP as a running back. Nixon carried 17 times for 196 yards and three touchdowns on Monday at Tokyo Dome, leading ...

Pitcher Tomoyuki Sugano signed a ¥650 million contract Monday, equaling Nippon Professional Baseball's highest reported deal for a Japanese player. The 29-year-old's one-year deal, worth approximately $5.7 million, matches the salary paid to reliever Kazuhiro Sasaki in 2004 and 2005 after his return from the ...

The 2018 season wound up being a remarkable year for Japanese men's marathon as two athletes broke the national record. The latter of the two, Suguru Osako, has deservedly received the top accolade of the country's track and field scene. The 27-year-old was presented with the ...

Naomi Osaka, this year's U.S. Open women's singles champion, on Monday donated 30 tennis rackets to children in Hokkaido, which was hit by a major earthquake in September. Osaka's grandfather Tetsuo, 73, who lives in Nemuro in the northernmost prefecture, attended a presentation ceremony at ...

Despite unhappy memories of their previous meeting, South Africa captain Siya Kolisi welcomed the announcement Monday that the Springboks will play Japan on Sept. 6 at Kumagaya Rugby Ground as a warm-up game for the 2019 Rugby World Cup. But having spent the past few ...

Left-hander Yusei Kikuchi, who was posted to Major League Baseball two weeks ago, arrived in Los Angeles to a throng of reporters but did not comment on his possible move to North America. Kikuchi has until 5 p.m. on Jan. 2 to negotiate a deal ...

Former Japan captain Makoto Hasebe has signed a contract extension to remain with Eintracht Frankfurt for another season, the German first-division club announced Sunday. Hasebe, 34, retired from international football this summer after captaining the Samurai Blue to the last 16 at the World Cup ...

A day after missing the podium for the first time this season, Ryoyu Kobayashi cemented his position as the world's best ski jumper with a convincing World Cup victory in Switzerland on Sunday. The win keeps Kobayashi atop this season's World Cup standings ahead of ...