Japan and Russia are making arrangements for their foreign ministers to meet on Jan. 14 in Moscow to lay the groundwork for a summit intended to accelerate peace treaty talks, Japanese government sources said Friday. Foreign Minister Taro Kono and his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov ...

The Defense Ministry in Tokyo “strongly protests” to Seoul after a South Korean destroyer allegedly locked its targeting radar on a Japanese surveillance plane.

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis resigned Thursday after clashing with President Donald Trump over the abrupt withdrawal of U.S. troops from Syria and after two years of deep disagreements over America's role in the world. Mattis, perhaps the most respected foreign policy official in Trump's administration, ...

The defense budget will swell to a record ¥5.26 trillion for the 2019 fiscal year, the government said Friday, as Tokyo looks to beef up its missile defense and deploy stealth jets in a bid to counter China. The defense spending was part of a ...

The figures reveal the difficulty of the government’s goal of raising the total fertility rate amid the population decline.

The Cabinet of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Friday approved a record-high ¥101.46 trillion draft budget for fiscal 2019, topping ¥100 trillion for the first time amid swelling social security and defense expenses, meaning Japan remains far from consolidating its battered fiscal health despite ...

The policy covers employment and housing support measures for former inmates to prevent them from reoffending.

Idol groups such as the iconic AKB48 are synonymous with Japan. Known for their cutesy, highly choreographed stage performances and film clips, they personify the nation's pop culture. But far fewer people are familiar with the subculture that has spawned chika (underground) idols, a phenomenon ...

The world's only known albino orangutan climbed trees, foraged for food and began building a nest after being released into a remote Borneo jungle more than a year after conservation officials found her starving and dehydrated in an Indonesian village. The Borneo Orangutan Survival foundation ...

The Sao Paulo Shimbun, a Japanese-language newspaper based in the sprawling Brazilian metropolis, will end its 72-year run after printing its Jan. 1 edition, due out Saturday, an official with the publisher said Thursday. Established on Oct. 12, 1946, the newspaper has been an opinion ...

The disruption of hundreds of flights at London's Gatwick Airport after it was buzzed by miniature drones shows just how easy it can be to disrupt advanced aviation networks with simple, inexpensive devices. Airports have been raided by drones before. Dubai International was briefly closed ...

The government's decision Thursday to leave the International Whaling Commission to resume commercial whaling has drawn mixed reactions at home and criticism abroad. In the town of Taiji, Wakayama Prefecture, which is said to be the place where Japan's whaling culture began, Mayor Kazutaka Sangen ...

Yoshitaka Sakurada, minister for both cybersecurity and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics, who recently made headlines around the world by admitting that he cannot use a personal computer, made a new confession on Thursday: He is unable to speak English. "There are two things ...

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that the United States' military presence in Japan was complicating the search for a formal peace treaty between Moscow and Tokyo. Russia and Japan have been in dispute for seven decades over a group of islands captured by Soviet ...

The arrest was a dramatic turnaround, as Ghosn appeared close to release after a court rejected a request from prosecutors Thursday to extend his detention.

Instead of trying to divide the U.S. from its allies, Beijing is taking hostages.

The West's open, democratic culture makes it an easy online target for Moscow.

Everyone needs a break from the stress-percolator that is Tokyo. But heading off to a different sprawling metropolis for some peace of mind might not seem the most obvious play. Sometimes, though, heading to a new metropolis and surrounding yourself with new sights, smells ...

A New York state judge on Thursday denied Harvey Weinstein's motion to dismiss criminal charges that he sexually assaulted two women, rejecting the movie producer's argument that the case was tainted by police and prosecutorial misconduct. Supreme Court Justice James Burke in Manhattan announced his ...

The more things change, the more they stay the same. Four-time national champion Satoko Miyahara is in the lead after the short program at the Japan championships on Friday night. Miyahara, gunning for her fifth straight title, skated last and gave the fans an evening to ...

Three sets of numbers jump out at you from Friday night's Kawasaki Brave Thunders-Nagoya Diamond Dolphins game at Todoroki Arena: turnovers, points in the paint and 3-point shooting. The visiting Diamond Dolphins had fewer turnovers and a big advantage in inside scoring in a 79-75 ...

Rafael Nadal has given €1 million ($1.14 million) to the victims of floods in his native Mallorca, the mayor of the affected town Mateu Puigros said on Thursday. The incidents claimed 13 lives in October in the town that neighbors Nadal's home of Manacor. The 17-time ...

Los Angeles Clippers announcer Ralph Lawler was approached two months ago with a special request. A longtime season-ticket holder asked team president Gillian Zucker if he could call a game on television with Lawler and honor his 40 seasons with the club. Lawler apprehensively said ...

Yuta Watanabe scored in double digits for the second straight day to help the Memphis Hustle sweep their games at the NBA G League Winter Showcase with a 124-113 win over the Wisconsin Herd on Thursday. Watanabe, a rookie forward, scored 22 points and grabbed ...

The 2020 Tokyo Olympics will cost about ¥1.35 trillion, according to the third and most recent budget announced to the press on Friday. The local organizing committee and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government held a joint media briefing on Friday to announce the budget's details. Although ...

Former NBA coach Rick Pitino, fired last year by the University of Louisville after a pay for play recruiting scandal, has agreed to coach Greek club Panathinaikos, according to his agent. Drew Rosenhaus, Pitino's agent, told ESPN and The New York Times on Thursday that ...

The first NBA games to be played in India will be staged next October in Mumbai with preseason contests between the Indiana Pacers and Sacramento Kings, the league announced Thursday. The 2019 matchups, the first ever by any North American sports league in the nation ...

Six-time Olympic athletics champion Allyson Felix revealed Thursday she has given birth to a baby daughter who was born prematurely and only after an emergency C-section operation. Felix gave birth to daughter Camryn on Nov. 28 after only 32 weeks when emergency surgery was performed ...

For fans of the J. League, there is perhaps no date more anticipated than the opening day of the season. But for those who share a fascination with the rapid evolution of sports marketing in Japan and how it applies to the beautiful game, Christmas ...