Residents in the area view the preparations as something happening in the background. In fact, some believe they are actually hindering the region’s recovery.

The public support rate for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's Cabinet has fallen slightly to 43.3 percent, with many calling for respecting a recent local referendum that rejected a plan to relocate a U.S. air base within Okinawa Prefecture, a Kyodo News survey showed Sunday. In ...

Umer Farooq's grandfather and father made bagpipes. Now he is the third generation to take up the tradition in Pakistan, which is thousands of kilometers from Scotland yet sells thousands of bagpipes each year. The fresh smell of wood floats through the Mid East factory ...

Fujitsu Ltd. says it is developing an image-sensing technology system that will greatly speed up the restoration of stone walls on quake-hit castles and other cultural assets. With the technology, which the electronics company aims to put into practical use by the end of next ...

The executives told in-house investigators that they would disclose further details to the prosecutors if they could secure a plea deal, sources said.

North Koreans went to the polls Sunday for an election in which there could be only one winner. Leader Kim Jong Un's ruling Workers' Party has an iron grip on the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, as the isolated, nuclear-armed country is officially known. But every ...

Fukushima and the city of Tono, Iwate Prefecture, have turned some of their temporary units into permanent public housing for those still displaced.

A member of the Kisarazu Municipal Assembly in Chiba Prefecture has been stabbed to death, and investigators said Sunday they are interrogating a man believed to be a relative on suspicion of murder. Police identified the victim as Norihisa Ishikawa, 71. They said his wife found ...

Actor Takuro Tatsumi has been asked again by the ruling Liberal Democratic Party to run in next month's Osaka gubernatorial election, sources familiar with the situation said Sunday. A senior member of the party headed by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe met with the 60-year-old Osaka ...

Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido on Saturday called on citizens nationwide to travel to the capital, Caracas, for a protest against socialist President Nicolas Maduro as the country's worst blackout in decades dragged on for a third day. Addressing supporters in southwestern Caracas, Guaido — ...

An Islamic State fighter detained in Syria urged Italy on Saturday to let him come home to start a new life, saying he had abandoned the self-styled jihadi "caliphate" after growing disillusioned with its rulers. Mounsef al-Mkhayar, a 22-year-old of Moroccan descent who grew up ...

The tortuous Brexit saga is culminating in a crunch week that either sends Britain sailing nervously out of Europe — or sets the stage for it staying put. The House of Commons will hold up to three votes between Tuesday and Thursday as the country ...

Justin Trudeau rose to power in Canada as a champion of feminism and indigenous rights, quickly earning him golden boy status at home and abroad as a progressive leader. But a major political scandal that sparked the resignation of two of his ministers — both ...

Japan is being leapfrogged by innovations from all quarters across Asia.

The government risks negotiating an agreement that only the prime minister himself and those closest to him are willing to accept.

Dawn breaks over Tokyo. The streets surrounding Ota Shijo market are still dark and the air is quiet, but inside the Tokyo Bay market's expansive hangars, a different story emerges.

Become over 40 manga characters with "Jump Force"; "Dead or Alive" is very much alive and kicking; and "Nier: Automata" is even better than it was before.

When Angela Ortiz describes what it felt like to return to Aomori Prefecture five days after the Great East Japan Earthquake of March 11, 2011, she uses words like "horror," "incredulous disbelief" and "intense curiosity." The 36-year-old American lived in Aomori between the ages of ...

Earthquakes are an ever-present danger in Japan so it is important to be thoroughly prepared in the eventuality that one strikes. Although many areas in Japan publish comprehensive guides in English and other languages — see "Tokyo Bousai" ("Disaster Preparedness Tokyo") published by the ...

Ohara Koson created a large body of ukiyo-e prints that delighted a foreign clientelle, yet garnered relatively little attention in Japan. More than 70 years after his death, he is finally being honored with a retrospective in his native country.

Over the past two months, the #MeToo movement breached the American anime convention industry. Most feel it was inevitable. Many say it's about time.

With 44 games in the books, there aren't any big surprises remaining regarding the Chiba Jets Funabashi's roster and playing style. They are built to win now, and they execute at a high level at both ends of the court. Blessed with a deep bench and ...

Striker Takuma Nishimura scored his first goal since joining CSKA Moscow in Saturday's 3-0 victory over Rubin Kazan to help his new club maintain its bid for a seventh title. Goals from Nishimura, Fyodor Chalov and Slovenian Jaka Bijol left CSKA in third, four points ...

Midfield maestro Andres Iniesta put on a playmaking master class Sunday and David Villa scored for the second straight game as Vissel Kobe came from behind in a 3-1 win over Vegalta Sendai in the J. League first division. Villa, the third big-name European star ...

Namibian runner Helalia Johannes on Sunday won the Nagoya Women's Marathon, a race through which five Japanese punched their tickets for this fall's Marathon Grand Championship, which will serve as a qualifying race for the 2020 Olympics. Johannes broke away from a three-woman lead pack ...

Sekiwake Takakeisho started his campaign for promotion to the sport's second-highest rank by beating Myogiryu in his opening bout at the Spring Grand Sumo Tournament on Sunday. Mongolian yokozuna Hakuho and Kakuryu suffered mixed fates to begin the 15-day competition at Edion Arena Osaka as ...

The lion's share of media attention in sumo goes to the top (makuuchi) division. Its bouts are shown live on domestic television, its wrestlers are discussed endlessly online and in print and its winner is given a parade, ¥10 million and a giant silver trophy ...

Yuto Totsuka overcame challenging weather conditions at Mammoth Mountain in California to win the men's snowboard halfpipe finals at the World Cup season finale on Saturday. Totsuka, a silver medalist from last month's world championships in Utah, had a top run score of 95.75 points ...

Japan international Takashi Inui scored his second goal in as many games Saturday in Deportivo Alaves' 1-1 draw with Eibar in the Spanish first division. Inui broke the deadlock in the 58th minute with a shot inside the box to put Alaves ahead against his ...

Ryoyu Kobayashi helped Japan's men claim silver in a World Cup ski jumping team event on Saturday. The team of Kobayashi, his older brother Junshiro, Yukiya Sato and Noriaki Kasai claimed 456.8 points to finish behind Norway, which captured the gold with 469.8. Austria took ...

Nao Kodaira, Miho Takagi and Tatsuya Shinhama all set national records on the first day of the ISU long track World Cup speed skating finals on Saturday. Kodaira slashed 0.03 second off her own mark when she clocked 36.47 seconds to win the first women's ...

New Orix Buffaloes player Joey Meneses stole the show at his home park by leading Mexico to a 4-2 win over Japan in the first game of their two-game series on Saturday. The 26-year-old Meneses, who batted .311 with 23 home runs and 82 RBIs ...

World No. 1 Kento Momota set up an All England Open final showdown with Viktor Axelsen after beating Hong Kong's Ng Ka Long Angus in the semifinals on Saturday. Momota was in dominant form as the reigning world champion cruised to a 21-19, 21-11 victory, ...