Television personality Masahiro Nakai made an appearance as a "surprise guest" on the March 10 installment of Nippon TV's law-related variety show, "Gyoretsu no Dekiru Horitsu Sodanjo" (“Line-up Law Office”). Earlier, guest Koji Kato had related an anecdote featuring Shingo Katori, Nakai's former associate ...

Is democracy dying? Certainly authoritarianism is rising. A generation ago, it was the opposite — authoritarianism seemed moribund, democracy on the cusp of new life. Sekai magazine (April) sums up the gloomier mood now gaining ground. "We cannot," it says, "take democracy for granted." This ...

It doesn’t take much for a celebrity drug scandal to be picked up by domestic news outlets in Japan, so when TV personality Pierre Taki was arrested on suspicion of cocaine use on March 12, it’s perhaps not surprising that TV and print media ...

A Korean Air Lines Co. labor union has demanded that a Japanese civil servant accused of assaulting an airport worker in Seoul recently directly apologize and offer compensation to the worker, who is a member of the union. The union released a statement Friday ...

At a Tokyo summit, 2014 Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai urges world leaders to further promote the empowerment of women through education and financial support.

British Prime Minister Theresa May tried to persuade MPs to back the EU divorce deal, seeking to build bridges after lashing out at lawmakers for their indecision on Brexit. May wrote to all MPs on Friday to spell out the possible paths forward after European ...

Much like tapping the brake pedal in a car to disengage cruise control, a sharp tug on the controls of older models of Boeing Co.'s 737 used to shut off an automatic trim system that keeps the plane flying level, giving the pilot control. But ...

The Islamic State group has been defeated at its final shred of territory of Baghouz in Syria, the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) said on Saturday, announcing the end of its self-declared "caliphate" that once spanned a third of Iraq and Syria. The SDF declared ...

Special Counsel Robert Mueller on Friday handed in a confidential report on his investigation into Russia's role in the 2016 presidential election and any potential wrongdoing by U.S. President Donald Trump, setting off a clamor from lawmakers in both parties for the document's quick ...

The Bank of Japan's quarterly tankan survey for March is likely to show a slump in business sentiment among major Japanese manufacturers, according to the latest projections by 12 private think tanks. Their average forecast points to a fall to plus 13 in the headline ...

A major volcanic eruption of Mount Fuji, similar to the one that occurred in 1707, could leave a layer of ash up to 1.5 cm deep in central Tokyo over 15 days, according to a recent estimate.

Japan will tighten controls on its internationally maligned ivory market in July, requiring dealers to prove via carbon dating that specimens were legally obtained, the Environment Ministry said Friday. "By shutting down the movement of ivory of unknown origin, the domestic market is moving closer ...

Muslims prayed at Christchurch's main mosque on Saturday for the first time since a white supremacist massacred worshippers there as New Zealand sought to return to normality after the tragedy. The Al Noor mosque was taken over by police for investigations and security reasons after ...

The U.S. will leave in place North Korea-related sanctions on two Chinese shipping companies that were announced on Thursday, and U.S. President Donald Trump has no plans to impose additional penalties on Kim Jong Un's government, according to two people familiar with the matter. The ...

A correlation between ill health and eating eggs doesn't actually tell us much.

It's 2:30 a.m. and dark outside. Tsuyoshi Hirasawa can see his breath in the February chill as he turns the key in the ignition of his white Honda minivan. The large hands gripping the steering wheel are rough and leathery from years of working ...

For Fumi Nagasaka, photography was born from making friends.

From the Olympics to English education, sociology professor Ogasawara has plenty to say about the state of Japan today.

After surviving as a prisoner of war in Krasnoyarsk, Eastern Siberia, Toyokazu Matsubara taught himself to cook and opened up an izakaya bar-restaurant, Kurasuno, which has become a multigenerational family enterprise and beloved neighborhood treasure.

At Rakushin, kaiseki chef Shintaro Katayama's cuisine is flexible and curious even as it pays respect to the genre's historic canon.

At Yakitori Souten, chef Teruaki Nakamata has been sourcing high-quality organic ingredients, especially domestic jidori chickens, and collaborating closely with farms and distillers for 15 years.

Fujiya's Instagram-friendly Yume-iro ("dream-colored") Rainbow Cake is made up of five fruit- (and one ramune lemon soda) flavored layers each separated by a line of cream.

Soviet spy Richard Sorge's story remains largely unknown to the Western world, but that's about to change with the publication of a remarkable new biography, "An Impeccable Spy: Richard Sorge, Stalin's Master Agent," by Owen Matthews.

Satirical yet eerily plausible, William Gibson's "Idoru" is a complex sci-fi novel set in post-quake Tokyo that addresses the often negative impacts technology has on our lives.

In Yusuke Kimura's two novellas, "Sacred Cesium Ground" and "Isa's Deluge," the aftermath of the 3/11 disaster plays out across two stories exploring the post-disaster relationships between humans and animals.

Robert Sacre made the Kyoto Hannaryz pay for fouling him repeatedly in the fourth quarter on Saturday night. Sacre went 10-for-10 at the free-throw line in the decisive fourth quarter. The Gonzaga University alum also scored 14 of his season-high 44 points in the final ...

We're following the action of the Men's Free Skate at the 2019 ISU World Championships, being held at the Saitama Super Arena.

The International Skating Union on Friday cleared Mariah Bell of causing intentional harm after the American was accused of colliding into 16-year-old South Korean rival Lim Eun-soo in the final warmup session ahead of the world championships at Saitama Super Arena The ISU said it ...

Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks closer Dennis Sarfate, who had season-ending hip surgery last April, will begin the 2019 season still undergoing rehab, the team said Saturday. The 37-year-old right-hander was the Pacific League's MVP in 2017 when he established an NPB record with 54 saves. He ...

The race for the Emperor's Cup at the Spring Grand Sumo Tournament will go down to the final day with undefeated yokozuna Hakuho and fourth-ranked maegashira Ichinojo both winning on Saturday. In the penultimate day of the 15-day meet at Edion Arena Osaka, Hakuho, seeking ...

Ryoyu Kobayashi secured his 20th podium of the season when he finished runner-up to German Markus Eisenbichler in the first of two flying hill individual competitions at the season-ending round of the ski jumping World Cup on Friday. According to the International Ski Federation, Kobayashi ...

As with most top-level athletic endeavors, 30 seems to be the age when many rikishi either hang up their mawashi or see a noticeable decline in skills and performance. Once the topknot is cut, the vast majority return to civilian life. Culinary skills acquired while in ...

During the competition at the World Figure Skating Championships, skaters like Yuzuru Hanyu, Nathan Chen and Alina Zagitova are the stars of the show. After their routines end, it's the flower girls' turn to shine. Since the event kicked off on Wednesday at Saitama Super Arena, ...