The suspect admitted to the murder, telling investigators he resented the time he spent at the foster home and wanted to attack anyone working there.

A 29-year-old man who has admitted to poisoning cats in Kanagawa Prefecture last November said he was driven by his long-standing hatred of felines. "I always disliked cats," police officers quoted the man as saying. The case was referred to prosecutors on Monday. The Sagamihara man is ...

Emperor Akihito will be called "emperor emeritus" and Empress Michiko "empress emerita" following his abdication in April, the Imperial Household Agency said. Their Japanese titles to be used after the abdication have already been decided as jōkō and jōkōgō, respectively. But the agency had continued discussions ...

Many participants say the program is a scam and they are being forced to repay loans by working illegally long hours.

In a first for Japan, a bill to legally recognize the Ainu as the indigenous people of Japan is about to be submitted to the Diet. The bill includes clauses that oblige the government to adopt policies to support and protect the cultural identity of ...

Swindon, famous for its traffic intersections and steam-engine past, feels like Brexit Britain in a nutshell. Like the United Kingdom in general, the city of about 180,000 people boasts a proud industrial heritage stretching back to the 19th century. Current unemployment is low and the ...

The stunning arrest, indictments and long incarceration of former Nissan Motor Co. Chief Executive Officer Carlos Ghosn have given pause to foreign executives considering taking on senior jobs at Japanese companies. As Ghosn enters his fourth month in jail and awaits a trial still several ...

The centuries-old traditional style of craftsmanship covers techniques in 17 areas essential for repairing shrines, temples and homes.

The United States and North Korea could reach a deal on declaring an end to the 1950-53 Korean War at a summit meeting this week between their two leaders, South Korea's presidential Blue House said Monday. "I believe the possibility is open," South Korea's Yonhap ...

“Now that the clear opposition of the Okinawa people has been conveyed, it’s up to individuals in the rest of Japan to consider our wishes,” an activist says.

In the latest jab at perennial foe Japan, Pyongyang has blasted Tokyo over its alleged "nuclear weaponization" just days ahead of a second summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and U.S. President Donald Trump. In a commentary published Saturday in the Rodong Sinmun, ...

MUFJ Bank's labor union plans to request a base pay increase at this year's spring wage talks for the first time in four years, becoming the only union from one of the three mega-banks to do so, according to sources close to the matter. After ...

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has questioned why Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is confident of resolving the long-standing territorial dispute between Japan and Russia over four Russian-held Pacific islands known as the Northern Territories. Abe expressed his resolve to advance the post-World War II peace ...

Kim Jong Un's arrival in Vietnam by train this week for a second meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump may be most remarkable for how normal it's becoming. Since opening talks with South Korea last year, the once-reclusive North Korean leader has turned into one ...

U.S. President Donald Trump said he'll extend a deadline to raise tariffs on Chinese goods beyond this week, citing "substantial progress" in the latest round of trade talks that wrapped up Sunday in Washington. "The U.S. has made substantial progress in our trade talks with ...

Think tanks must further develop international coordination and work together to make the best use of AI while not allowing the abuse of such technologies.

Popular culture plays an underestimated role in shaping policymakers' world views and choices.

The trade war is a manifestation of the strategic competition between the two powers.

What if there was a Museum of Exceptional Japanese? Daniel Morales discusses the kinds of words he would like to see in such an institution, but what words would you donate?

The term 'ijō' usually translates as 'more than,' but it can be used for more than just that.

The Otsu City Board of Education has decided to implement a digital solution to one of the country's most pressing problems.

With swimmer Rikako Ikee revealing that she has leukemia, a spike in the number of people enquiring about bone marrow donation is reported.

Iranian Ambassador Morteza Rahmani Movahed was appointed to his newest position in July, but although he's lived in Japan for over six months, his schedule hasn't given him a lot of time for sightseeing.

This handsome fellow came to ARK in May as a very young kitten and turns 1 year old next month. His name is Pewter and, admittedly, there is nothing very pewter-like about him. However, the earliest piece of pewter was found in an Egyptian ...

A few weeks ago I had one of those "only in Japan" experiences that leaves you shaking your head and asking yourself, "Did that really just happen!?" Let me explain. It was about 1:30 a.m. on a Saturday. My husband had already gone up to ...

When I graduated from college and went to work for a consulting firm in Chicago, for the first week I was asked to sit next to someone who had worked there for a couple of years in the same role, who methodically took me ...

The segregation-era road-trip drama "Green Book" was crowned best picture at the Academy Awards, handing Hollywood's top award to a film seen as a feel-good throwback to some but ridiculed as an outdated inversion of "Driving Miss Daisy" by others. In a year where Hollywood ...

Rami Malek won his first Oscar on Sunday for his portrayal of late Queen frontman Freddie Mercury in musical "Bohemian Rhapsody." Malek, 37, had emerged as a favorite for the Oscar in recent weeks after winning Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild and British BAFTA awards. A ...

When Japan clinched a berth for the second round of FIBA World Cup qualifying last July in Taiwan, Nick Fazekas said that the Akatsuki Five had accomplished their mission. On Sunday night, that statement felt truer than ever. One day after they clinched a berth for ...

Judoka Hisayoshi Harasawa clinched his first international crown in three years on Sunday when he won the men's over 100-kg title on the final day of the Dusseldorf Grand Slam. Japan topped the medal tally by winning nine of 14 gold medals available at the ...

Kosei Yoshida threw more pitches in six games during last summer's National High School Baseball Championship than NPB hurlers did in any one month last season. Yoshida threw 881 pitches during Summer Koshien for Kanaashi Nogyo (Akita) High School, which made a Cinderella run to ...

Yokozuna Hakuho emerged in pole position for his push for a 42nd career championship when the rankings for March's Spring Grand Sumo Tournament were published Monday. For the first time in exactly five years, wrestlers will enter the raised ring with just two yokozuna at ...

Japan, anchored by overall World Cup leader Ryoyu Kobayashi, finished third in the men's team competition on Sunday and claimed the country's first medal of the 2019 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships. Japan — composed of Kobayashi, his older brother Junshiro, Daiki Ito and Yukiya ...

Nao Kodaira claimed the women's overall title for the first time in two years at the ISU World Sprint Speed Skating Championships in Heereveen on Sunday. Kodaira, who pulled out of the competition before the final event last year due to illness, won the 500-meter ...

Teenager Rika Kihira continued her unbeaten international run on Sunday when she came from behind to win the Challenge Cup in the Netherlands. The 16-year-old, who is nearing the end of her first international senior season, has now won six straight international tournaments including the ...

Japan completed an amazing turnaround to qualify for the basketball World Cup on Sunday, with Nick Fazekas keying an eighth straight win that punched the team's ticket to China. The U.S.-born Fazekas poured in 20 points and dominated the glass, finishing with 19 rebounds, as ...