Dr. Chieko Asakawa's life motto: Make the impossible possible — by never giving up. Blind since the age of 14, Asakawa has dedicated the past three decades to researching and developing new technologies to help transform the lives of the visually impaired. Asakawa's inventions have impacted ...

Faced with a rapidly shrinking population of elderly residents reluctant to run for seats on the local council, the village of Okawa, Kochi Prefecture, passed a referendum Monday designed to make it easier serve on the council while concurrently holding side jobs. The measure goes ...

In an unusual step, China's ceremonial legislature is due to endorse a law meant to help end a bruising tariff war with Washington by discouraging officials from pressuring foreign companies to hand over technology. The battle with China's biggest trading partner is overshadowing the National ...

A debate over whether New York City should require paid vacation in a pioneering move has both sides saying: Give me a break. Mayor Bill de Blasio wants New York to become the first place in the 50 states to make private businesses provide time ...

The Imperial Household Agency had intended to wait until October. Now the date is set for May 4.

A local train station in Tokyo has been covered from floor to ceiling with images from the famous soccer manga and anime series "Captain Tsubasa," and the train arrival chime now features the show's theme song. The new interior of Keisei Electric Railway's Yotsugi Station ...

A year since removing any legal barrier to remaining China's leader for life, Xi Jinping appears firmly in charge, despite a slowing economy, an ongoing trade war with the U.S. and rumbles of discontent over his concentration of power. The Chinese president and head of ...

The number of foreign people living and retiring in Japan is expected to increase following the overhaul of the nation's immigration control law in April, which will introduce new types of working visas. However, only a small number of these residents appear fully aware of ...

The two factions at the heart of the battle have a long history of conflict.

The U.S. and South Korea militaries began a new, smaller-scale joint exercise Monday after the Trump administration canceled large-scale drills just days after U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un met in Hanoi for their second summit that ended without ...

The successful voyage of SpaceX's unmanned Crew Dragon to the International Space Station this weekend put the U.S. one tantalizing step closer to the day when American rockets will again ferry the nation's astronauts into space. Sometime this summer, both Elon Musk's Space Exploration Technologies ...

Malaysia's transport minister said Sunday that the government is open to new proposals from U.S. technology firm Ocean Infinity or any other companies to resume the hunt for Flight 370, as families of passengers marked the fifth anniversary of the jet's mysterious disappearance. Ocean Infinity ...

Fostering greater entrepreneurship is the best way for Japan to achieve sustained economic growth.

The only realistic solution to the conflict would be to recognize Kashmir as an autonomous state within a loose, federal regional structure through the South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation.

The second U.S.-North Korea summit meeting in Hanoi was a fiasco and provided no relief for Japan.

When speaking Japanese, getting the basics of language relating to permission can be helpful, from asking a colleague to pick up your slack to requesting a photo with a celebrity.

Using the word for 'lukewarm' in Japanese can allow you to express your thoughts on your drinks and your dinner, but can also be used to describe your friends, colleauges and loved ones.

A set of commemorative coins, released to mark the final year of the Heisei era, has seen high demand from buyers, leading to a lottery for those who wish to purchase a set.

With Okinawa having recently held a referendum on the relocation of a U.S. military base in the prefecture, we discuss the results.

Atsuko Maeda, an original member of all-girl pop group AKB48, has given birth to a baby boy, her first child, her husband said Monday. "I'd like to report that a baby boy was safely born the other day," 32-year-old actor Ryo Katsuji, Maeda's husband, posted ...

Cyclist Georg Preidler, who had gone to the Austrian police to confess to doping, has quit Groupama-FDJ "with immediate effect," the French team said on Monday. Preidler was not among six athletes arrested last week in a probe into an international doping ring but "couldn't ...

Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters teenage slugger Kotaro Kiyomiya has sustained a fracture to his right wrist ahead of the upcoming season, the Pacific League club said Monday. The 19-year-old first baseman received the diagnosis after undergoing an examination at a hospital in Tokyo. He withdrew ...

Yu Darvish, whose first season pitching for the Chicago Cubs was blighted by injury, was brimming with confidence after his second spring training start on Sunday. "It's the best stuff in my life," Darvish said after he threw 27 pitches — 17 of them strikes ...

Amanaki Lelei Mafi, who is undergoing criminal proceedings for assault, has been called up to Japan's extended Rugby World Cup training camp, the Japan Rugby Football Union announced Monday. The No. 8, who was charged with intent to injure former Melbourne Rebels teammate Lopeti Timani ...

Tomoyuki Sugano is the best pitcher in Japanese baseball. The Yomiuri Giants ace has won the past two Sawamura Awards, hasn't posted an ERA higher 2.14 (or an fielding independent pitching over 2.80) since 2015 and is 32-13 over the past two seasons. There's no real ...

A few hours after Roger Federer collected the 100th ATP title of his career in Dubai, Nick Kyrgios was preparing for his Mexican Open final against Alexander Zverev — on a jet ski. The Four Tops once sung about "Going Loco Down in Acapulco" and ...

James Harden and the Houston Rockets are at their best when they are knocking down 3-pointers, getting points in the paint and racking up points to the foul line. They did all three against the Boston Celtics and it added up to a mostly easy ...

Miho Takagi fell short in her bid for back-to-back titles at the World Allround Speed Skating Championships on Sunday, finishing second behind the Czech Republic's Martina Sablikova. Defending champion Takagi came into the final day of competition in Calgary with the overall lead, having won ...

Two months after blowing the chance to go 10 points clear, Liverpool isn't even top of the Premier League any more. With nine matches to go, the advantage is now back in the capable hands of defending champion Manchester City. City is a point ahead of ...