Senior Japanese and South Korean officials failed to bridge differences in talks Thursday over the thorny issue of compensation by Japanese firms for wartime labor. In the working-level consultations in Seoul, Kenji Kanasugi, director general of the Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau of the Japanese ...

How much gaming is too much gaming? This is the question Japan's pre-eminent addiction expert, Dr. Susumu Higuchi, is trying to answer as he treats people whose lives have been destroyed by video game addiction. Online gaming addiction has become the fastest-growing form of addiction in ...

Japanese trading house Itochu Corp. will aim to promote sustainable trade in natural rubber under a capital tie-up with a Singaporean market platform operator. Itochu acquired a 19 percent stake in HeveaConnect Pte. Ltd. for $2.2 million earlier this month through private share placement, Itochu ...

The ban on the Boeing 737 Max aircraft became worldwide on Wednesday after U.S. President Donald Trump joined Canada and other countries in grounding the aircraft amid intense pressure about the safety concerns. Demands grew for urgent answers over the safety of the Boeing 737 ...

A group of investors led by SoftBank Group Corp. and Toyota Motor Corp. is in talks to invest $1 billion or more into Uber Technologies Inc.'s self-driving vehicle unit, which would value the unit at $5 billion to $10 billion, said two people familiar ...

Ruling and opposition party lawmakers on Thursday decided on a bill to provide ¥3.2 million ($28,700) in state redress to every surviving victim of a state sterilization program that was conducted under a now-defunct 1948 eugenics law. The bill marks progress toward offering relief to ...

Brokerages are taking steps to help relieve at least some investors worried about getting trapped by the country's unusually long holiday next month related to the Emperor's succession. Markets in Japan are scheduled to be closed from April 27 through May 6 because the government ...

The National Police Agency said Thursday that 750 people under 20 years old were involved in furikome (bank transfer) scams last year, up 57.9 percent from the previous year. Of the minors, 76.4 percent received cash from fraud victims by hand, and 9.7 percent worked ...

Central bankers searching for options to fight the next downturn should look to Japan, where policymakers are gathering for a regular review of the world’s most epic monetary stimulus program. The Bank of Japan's two-decade journey from zero interest rates to massive asset purchases, negative ...

Japan is planning to request help from other countries to operate the Subaru Telescope, located near the top of Hawaii's Mauna Kea volcano, in order to increase available funding and widen the scope of research activities, officials said Thursday. The optical-infrared telescope with a mirror ...

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe suggested Thursday he has no intention of serving another four-year term as president of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party when his third term expires in September 2021. Abe's remarks came after some LDP heavyweights hinted at the possibility of changing a ...

Amid severe labor shortages, the use of unmanned aerial vehicles to perform human tasks is sure to grow, and DJI, the world's biggest drone-maker, is ready to respond, the firm's Japan head said. Drones for industrial uses ranging from agriculture to infrastructure maintenance and security ...

The warning came ahead of the launch of a new visa program that will allow the entry of more workers to address serious labor shortages.

Of the total, 1,095 cases involved physical abuse, followed by 226 cases of sexual abuse, according to the report by the National Police Agency.

Tapping fingernails that trigger goose bumps, whispers that send shivers down the spine: The brain-tingling world of ASMR has people clamoring for sounds that feel good. The auditory-sensory phenomenon, in which people experience waves of calm and pleasurable mental quivers that are often referred to ...

The former high-flying head of collapsed bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox will learn his fate Friday as a Tokyo court hands down its verdict on charges of faking digital data and embezzling millions of dollars. Prosecutors have called for a 10-year jail sentence for French-born Mark ...

Police arrested three men Wednesday over the robbery and murder of an 80-year-old woman in Tokyo last month, after investigators found similarities in the case with two other robberies targeting elderly people. Tatsumi Komatsuzono, 27, Hiroki Sue, 22, and Yuta Sakai, 22, allegedly broke into ...

Facebook is undergoing one of its most widespread and persistent system outages, with users across the globe unable to access its social network and services from Instagram to Messenger for much of Wednesday. From about noon New York time, users encountered only partially loaded pages ...

Setsuko Takamizawa is determined to prove that it is never too late to learn as she bids to conquer the English language before the Tokyo Olympics, having been prevented from learning what was considered the "enemy language" in her youth. When Japan last hosted the ...

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday denounced China and Iran as Washington offered its annual human rights report, while going easier on other countries like North Korea in the name of "U.S. interests." China, often seen as the main strategic adversary of the United ...

The U.S. has sent B-52 bombers near disputed islands in the South China Sea, the U.S. Pacific Air Forces said Thursday, the second such mission over the contested waterway in 10 days. The Pacific Air Forces (PACAF) said in a statement that the two B-52s ...

Protesters tried to interrupt the biggest U.S. energy conference, holding signs and using a microphone to shout "Climate Change is Genocide." It's the first time in recent memory that environmental activists have made their presence felt at the CERAWeek by IHS Markit conference in Houston, ...

Ford Motor Co. said it will be hit twice by U.K. tariffs to be imposed in the event of a no-deal Brexit. The U.S. company, which only makes engines in Britain, would be taxed on exporting them to assembly plants in mainland Europe and then ...

Britain's Parliament voted to avoid an economically disastrous no-deal split from the European Union, opening the door to delaying Brexit and radically re-writing the terms of the divorce. The House of Commons voted 321 to 278 to reject leaving the EU with no deal and ...

Volkswagen AG canceled plans to sell a share of its Traton SE division due to weak market conditions, dealing a setback to the automaker's plan to generate fresh funds for the heavy-truck unit's expansion outside Europe. "We regret that we have to refrain from a ...

The Syrian army aided by Russian warplanes shelled rebel-held towns in northwestern Syria in the most extensive bombardment in weeks against the last remaining rebel bastion in the country, rebels, rescuers and residents said on Wednesday. Rebels who have fought to topple President Bashar Assad ...

Populism is the Achilles heel of democracy.

Trump, the fence builder of the West, would be wise to remember the fate of the Soviet Union.

Cherry blossoms get all the attention during spring, but those ubiquitous pink petals won't stop the InterContinental Tokyo Bay from showing the Easter Bunny a little well-deserved love. From March 15 to April 30, The Shop N.Y. Lounge Boutique on the hotel's first floor will ...

Japanese soft power has seen two faces in 2019. One is that of tidying guru Marie Kondo. The other is the horrifying visage of Momo, an unsettling sculpture turned viral hoax. The two couldn't be more different — Kondo encourages viewers to de-clutter their closets, ...

All-female idol group AKB48 will not hold its annual popularity contest this year, which has drawn huge crowds over the past 10 years, management agency AKS said Wednesday. The group has held its Senbatsu General Election since 2009 for fans to pick winners to perform ...

Born to a forward-thinking father who founded Kajimoto Concert Management in 1951, Masahide Kajimoto calls himself "the eccentric second (president)." Full of curiosity, Kajimoto enjoys art and music, and has also tried motor racing, motorcycling and paragliding. "If you fly in the air, you can experience ...

U.S. actress Lori Loughlin surrendered to authorities on Wednesday and was to appear in a Los Angeles court to face charges in a massive college admissions scam involving other celebrities and top industry CEOs. The "Fuller House" star and her husband, designer Mossimo Giannulli, who ...

The Nippon Paper Cranes finished runner-up in the Asia League Ice Hockey on Thursday after losing their final game before their disbandment to Russian team Sakhalin. The Cranes brought down the curtain on their 70-year history after suffering a 4-3 overtime loss in Game 3 ...

Yokozuna Hakuho overcame a determined effort by rank-and-file opponent Myogiryu to stay unbeaten Thursday at the Spring Grand Sumo Tournament. In the final bout of Day 5 at Edion Arena Osaka, Hakuho showed strength and willpower to maintain his pursuit of a record-extending 42nd top-level ...

Sumo is a unique sport and its merchandising reflects that fact. While many sports rely heavily on wearable items like hats, T-shirts, and replica uniforms, sumo tends to focus more on traditional Japanese goods and edibles. Tegata (autographed handprints), banzuke (ranking sheets) as well as various ...

Ten-year-old skateboarding sensation Sky Brown, who had been a medal hope for Japan at next year's Tokyo Olympics, on Thursday opted to qualify under the British flag. The pint-sized YouTube smash, born to a Japanese mother and a British father, said she had made the ...

Shinji Kagawa is set to make his return for Japan after being named Thursday to the Samurai Blue squad for the upcoming international friendlies against Colombia and Bolivia. Manager Hajime Moriyasu included the veteran midfielder in his 23-man squad for the matches, which will serve ...

The Sunwolves on Thursday named Amanaki Lelei Mafi in the 23-man match-day squad for their upcoming Super Rugby clash with the Queensland Reds. The 29-year-old No. 8, who is undergoing criminal proceedings for assault in New Zealand, has been named on the bench for Saturday's ...

Kei Nishikori and Yuzuru Hanyu were the only two Japanese athletes named Wednesday to ESPN's 2019 World Fame 100, the network's fourth annual list of the most famous athletes on the planet. Nishikori, the current world No. 7 men's singles tennis player, placed 28th on ...

Yoshihito Nishioka retired in his fourth-round match at the BNP Paribas Open on Wednesday due to back pain. Nishioka looked sluggish from the outset and dropped the first set 6-4 to Serbia's Miomir Kecmanovic despite taking medication and a timeout to receive a massage from ...

As the regular season winds down, SeaHorses Mikawa rookie guard Yuta Okada continues to demonstrate impressive skills and an exciting all-around game. In short, Okada has established himself as a future star for coach Kimikazu Suzuki's club. For teammates, fans and foes alike, the 20-year-old combo ...