Facing a critical Upper House election this summer, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe appears to be laying the groundwork for a controversy-free five-month Diet session, which starts Monday.

A mural by British street artist Banksy on a fire-exit door at Paris' Bataclan theater, where Islamist militants killed 90 people three years ago, has been stolen, the venue said Saturday. The work, one of a series of murals painted last June in the French ...

The National Institute of Infectious Diseases says mutated influenza viruses resistant to baloxavir marboxil, a new flu drug sold as Xofluza, were detected in patients last month.

The United States on Saturday called on the world to "pick a side" on Venezuela and urged countries to financially disconnect from Nicolas Maduro's government, while European powers signaled they were set to follow Washington in recognizing Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido as the ...

South Korean Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo has denounced recent alleged flybys of Japanese patrol planes near South Korean naval vessels as a "serious provocation," according to Yonhap news agency. Jeong made the remarks Saturday during an unscheduled visit to the Republic of Korea Fleet headquarters ...

A multibillion dollar China-backed rail project in Malaysia has been scrapped, government officials said Saturday, adding that the cost of building it was too high. Malaysia has in recent months suspended several major projects signed under the country's previous scandal-plagued regime, in a bid to ...

French President Emmanuel Macron told Prime Minister Shinzo Abe that it would be appropriate for Renault SA's new chairman to also be chairman of Nissan Motor Co., according to Fuji News Network. Macron floated the idea to Abe during a phone call on Friday, the ...

Supporters see Putin's doomsday rhetoric as a solution to the world's problems.

If liberals want to defeat populists, there is only one route: Regain the trust of the voters that form much of their base.

When visiting the Grand Hyatt Tokyo, one might encounter an impeccably dressed, broad-shouldered individual diligently picking up absent-mindedly discarded bits of trash, returning a stray pamphlet or straightening a sign.

A traditional dhow sailing boat made entirely of trash and flip-flops has set off on an expedition along the Kenyan coast to raise awareness about the harmful effects of plastic waste. Dhows, with their billowing triangular sails, are an icon on the Kenyan coast, having ...

As the end of the financial year draws to a close, now is the season when fashion companies restructure their retail portfolios, with shop closures making way for new shoots to pop up in the following months.

With G-strings and push-up bras losing their allure as ultrasexiness gives way to comfort and with the idea of seduction being questioned, lingerie designers are grappling with how to be interesting without objectifying women.

Now 2019 is in full swing, On: Design takes a final look at a few of 2018's end of year noteworthy prizewinners.

Cockle, a tiny shih tzu mix, was originally rescued from the horrid conditions of a breeder and was first featured in The Japan Times' Adopt Me section in May 2017. He has now been rechristened Shishimaru (after the cartoon character from "Ninja Hattori-kun"), and ...

Every January, Just Be Cause takes a look at how things went for the non-Japanese residents of Japan (NJ) in the previous year. While not everything made this year's list — there were the false claims of "foreigner fraud" of the national health insurance system, ...

In a move that shocked fans, popular Japanese boy band Arashi said Sunday that it will go on hiatus at the end of 2020. "Around the middle of June 2017, I told other members that I wanted to end the activities as Arashi for now ...

Rei Ohara finished runner-up behind Ethiopia's Fatuma Sado in Sunday's Osaka Women's Marathon. Ohara covered the 42.195-kilometer course in the western Japan metropolis in 2 hours, 25 minutes, 46 seconds. It was Sado's first victory in the race that starts and finishes at Yanmar Stadium ...

Jawad Williams scored his team's first basket of the game, a 3-pointer from the right corner. It was a good omen for the defending B. League champions. A sign of things to come. Williams finished with a game-high 31 points, including 5 of 8 from 3-point ...

Takeshi Inoue lost a unanimous decision against undefeated Mexican champion Jaime Munguia in his challenge for the WBO super welterweight title on Saturday. The judges scored the fight for the 22-year-old Munguia 120-108, 120-108, 119-109. His win at the Toyota Center in Houston raised his ...

The Emperor's Cup isn't the only prize awarded on the final day of a sumo tournament. The new champion receives an array of trophies and gifts from various organizations and locales around Japan as well as prizes from several foreign governments. Two to four men normally ...

In the heat of the 2016 U.S. presidential election, a certain candidate promised his supporters that they would be "tired of winning." It's a sentiment that could just as easily apply to observers of the Samurai Blue after their fifth shaky one-goal win of the ...

Sekiwake Tamawashi became the second-oldest wrestler in sumo's current format to secure his maiden championship, winning the New Year Grand Sumo Tournament on Sunday, the tourney's 15th and final day. The 34-year-old Mongolian wrapped up his triumph with his 13th victory, beating No. 9 maegashira ...

For newly crowned Australian Open champion Naomi Osaka, the reality of a second Grand Slam title and her impending move into the world No. 1 ranking had yet to sink in on Saturday night. The Osaka-born 21-year-old said she had envisioned her 7-6 (7-2), 5-7, ...

Japan's Ryoyu Kobayashi finished third in the competition in Sapporo on Sunday, landing on the ski jumping World Cup podium for the first time in four meets. Kobayashi recorded jumps of 124.5 and 129.5 meters in the large hill individual event to finish with a ...

Comeback queen Petra Kvitova said she was hurting but still felt like a winner after going down swinging against Naomi Osaka Saturday in an epic clash for the Australian Open crown. The Czech, a two-time Wimbledon champion, overcame incredible odds to even play tennis again ...

Hideki Matsuyama fell four places down the leaderboard after a rollercoaster 1-over 73 in the third round of the Farmers Insurance Open on Saturday, ending up in a tie for sixth heading into the final round. Matsuyama, who shot his second consecutive 66 to move ...

Japan erupted in joy after Naomi Osaka won her second straight Grand Slam title at the Australian Open on Saturday, with fans taking pride in the feat that guaranteed she will become the country's first world No. 1 single's player in tennis. In Osaka, where ...

Over four months since her U.S. Open win catapulted her into the realms of tennis' elite, Naomi Osaka at last got to have a true moment in the spotlight. She was deprived of such a moment in New York in September, her win having been ...