The central government said Wednesday it has reached a basic agreement with the United States on the use of new routes for commercial flights in the U.S. military-controlled airspace over part of Tokyo and its surrounding areas. With the agreement, annual arrival and departure slots ...

Prime Minister Abe on Wednesday refused an opposition party’s request to dismiss the labor minister over his ministry’s faulty jobs data handling that led to the large-scale underpayment of work-related benefits.

Ahead of the 2020 Summer Games, the transport ministry said Tuesday it plans to strengthen measures to help foreign visitors in the event of a massive earthquake in the Tokyo area. The ministry will beef up airports and railways' quake resiliency to ensure vital transportation ...

Police on Wednesday raided the Tokyo office of a yakuza group associated with a man wanted in connection with a murder earlier this month in Shinjuku Ward. Masaru Abe, 56, a member of a group under the Sumiyoshikai crime syndicate, is wanted in connection with ...

Some parts of Okinawa may not participate in a local referendum on a controversial relocation plan for a U.S. air base within the island prefecture after its assembly failed to unanimously pass a resolution Tuesday. After some municipalities in the prefecture opposed a plan to ...

A 20-year-old former policeman pleaded guilty Wednesday to fatally shooting his commanding officer at a police box in Shiga Prefecture in April, but sought leniency, with his lawyers citing his diminished capacity due to mental stress. The defendant, whose name has been withheld because he ...

The top U.S. intelligence official warned Tuesday that the United States is facing strengthening ties and a convergence of interests between China and Russia, just as policy changes on trade and defense by the Trump administration could cause allies to look beyond Washington — ...

The U.S. agreed Tuesday to sell two Aegis Ashore missile-defense systems and other military equipment to Japan at an estimated cost of $2.15 billion.

Lawmakers from Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's ruling party on Wednesday intensified calls on the government to act against South Korea, as the two countries have been locked in fierce historical and military related disputes in recent months. At a meeting of Liberal Democratic Party lawmakers ...

Nissan Motor Co. and Renault SA have hired the French auditor Mazars to investigate possible wrongdoing within their automotive alliance, people familiar with the matter said, a sign the partners are moving forward on a joint probe following Carlos Ghosn's arrest for alleged financial ...

Japanese cities with large populations of foreign nationals on Tuesday urged the central government to offer more assistance as the country prepares to start accepting workers from overseas under a new visa system. Leaders and representatives of 15 municipalities with an especially high concentration of ...

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said Wednesday he was ready to sit down for talks with the country's opposition and is open to the possibility of third countries mediating, Russia's RIA news agency reported. RIA released his comments as the struggle for control of Venezuela intensified, ...

After a week of missteps, Irish nerves are steadying again, unmoved by British Prime Minister Theresa May's promise to go back to Brussels to renegotiate the Brexit deal. The Irish government rejected any softening of the so-called backstop, immediately after Westminster on Tuesday backed May's ...

Akebono Brake Industry Co. is seeking a capital infusion from top shareholder Toyota Motor Corp. and a moratorium on debt repayment as part of a revival plan, sending its shares tumbling by a quarter on Wednesday. The brake-maker, a supplier to automakers including General Motors ...

The U.S. Air Force has sent two B-52 bombers over the East China Sea for "routine training" near Okinawa Prefecture, the military has said, the latest mission in the waterway that is home to the Japanese-controlled Senkaku Islands. The B-52 bomber mission was part of ...

U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said that if China presents enough trade concessions to President Donald Trump, there's a chance the administration may lift all tariffs. "Everything is on the table," Mnuchin said early Tuesday during an interview on Fox Business Network. The Treasury chief ...

Islamic State fighters in eastern Syria are pinned down in a final tiny pocket with their wives and children, forcing a U.S.-backed militia to slow its advance to protect civilians, the militia said on Tuesday. An aid agency said separately that 10,000 civilians had fled ...

Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou appeared in a Canadian court on Tuesday for a hearing concerning her bail in a case that has strained Beijing's ties with Canada and the United States. Meng, the daughter of Huawei's founder, ...

Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. said Tuesday that its experimental dengue vaccine appears to be safe and effective at preventing all four types of the mosquito-borne disease, meeting the main goal of the drugmaker's late-stage clinical trial. The company said no significant safety concerns have emerged to ...

Key players in the Trump administration had protected American interests in Japan, South Korea and Europe. No longer.

Japan continues to expect mothers to be the primary caregiver and educator within the family.

A sweet aroma wafted through the air as unblended malt whisky gushed from a storage cask at Hokkaido's Akkeshi Distillery in the freezing rural north of Japan in December. The distillery, located in the village of Akkeshi in eastern Hokkaido, is just one of a ...

So you're thinking of working for a Japanese firm. You might be wondering whether what you've heard about working in Japan is true. Or, if you're already working here, you may wonder if what you're experiencing is typical. I've devoted my career to the subject ...

IT engineering is a field in which there are a lot of opportunities for non-Japanese who possess sufficient skills to work in Japan. There are 28,000 non-Japanese IT engineers working in Japan currently, comprising about 3 percent of all IT engineers in Japan, according ...

Youth suicides hit a 30-year high in Japan in fiscal 2017, with 250 kids of high school age and under taking their own lives. Ijime (bullying) was a factor in many of these deaths, but there were others, as well as many unanswered questions. So ...

A manga series whose time in the public consciousness peaked years ago? Check. A cast of idol singers whose acting chops are questionable at best? Check. A script in dire need of a rewrite? Check. You guessed it: It's time for another manga-to-live-action adaptation. Based ...

The Nezu Museum showcases Sumiyoshi Hironao's "Shutendoji Monogatari" ("The Tale of the Drunken Demon" scrolls in their entirety for the first time in the museum's history.

Women's world No. 1 and two-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka was not named for Japan's upcoming Fed Cup clash with Spain, the Japan Tennis Association said Wednesday. Japan will host its World Group II first-round match against Spain on Feb. 9 and 10 at ...

Just prior to the 2018 September Tournament, while sitting in a sweltering Ryogoku Kokugikan and watching the Yokozuna Deliberation Council practice session, I grabbed a quick selfie with a couple of rikishi standing over my right shoulder. Tochinoshin and Mitakeumi were the two wrestlers in ...

Portuguese first-division side Portimonense on Tuesday confirmed Japanese attacker Shoya Nakajima is set to be transferred, according to local media reports. Portimonense manager Antonio Folha said he kept the 24-year-old Nakajima out of the side for the club's 1-0 loss to visiting Chaves on Tuesday ...

The organizing committee for next summer's Tokyo Olympics revealed the process for domestic ticket sales and detailed ticket prices for each sport on Wednesday. The lottery process is set to begin via an official ticketing website during the spring, per the committee. Winners of ...

Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks pitcher Kodai Senga said Wednesday he has made no progress in persuading the Pacific League club to let him move to the major leagues. The right-hander, who turned 26 on Wednesday, has asked the two-time defending Japan Series champions to make him ...