A Tokyo court on Monday upheld a national law that forces couples to use the same surname upon marriage, rejecting claims over its unconstitutionality. The lawsuit against the central government was brought by Yoshihisa Aono, the 47-year-old president of software development firm Cybozu Inc., and ...

Tokyo-based venture company A.L.I. Technologies Inc. aims to release a mass-market flying motorcycle by 2022, Chief Executive Officer Shuhei Komatsu said. A.L.I. Technologies, which mainly develops small drones, hopes to sell the product, called a "hover bike," in emerging economies in Africa, the Middle East ...

The January death of 10-year-old Mia Kurihara in Chiba Prefecture, allegedly at the hands of her abusive father, shocked Japan after coming on the heels of a similar case involving a 5-year-old girl in Tokyo's Meguro Ward last year. In both cases, the children sought ...

The Aichi Prefectural Government started work Sunday to vaccinate wild boars against swine fever, in the first attempt at vaccinating wild animals in the country. Aichi officials placed feed containing a vaccine in the ground at some locations in Aichi Prefecture, including at a forest ...

Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corp. was hit with a similar move in January.

Tokyo stocks tumbled Monday, with the Nikkei 225 index logging its biggest point loss since Dec. 25 on rekindled concerns over the global economy following the release of sluggish U.S. and European economic data. Investors ditched shares and fled to the safety of bonds as ...

Tokyu Corp. on Monday began running the Setagaya Line in Tokyo with electricity generated 100 percent from renewable energy sources. According to the railway, it is the first urban train service in Japan that relies entirely on renewable energy. The electrified light rail line is now ...

A political party linked to exiled tycoon Thaksin Shinawatra claimed victory in Thailand's election and said it would seek to form a government, challenging a military-backed group that led in initial vote counts and has also said it won. Pheu Thai won the most seats ...

U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May was under pressure on Monday to give a date for leaving office as the price to bring Brexit-supporting rebel lawmakers in her party behind her twice-defeated European Union divorce treaty. At one of the most important junctures for the country ...

The government began to perform the next stage of land reclamation work in Okinawa Prefecture on Monday, as part of a project to build a replacement facility for a contentious U.S. air base in the prefecture despite local opposition. The work to pour soil and ...

Options under consideration for the next Imperial era name, which will be unveiled April 1, are believed to include terms adapted from Japanese classics despite past era names typically being drawn from Chinese classics, government sources have said. In Japan the era name is used ...

Eel is a prized summer delicacy in Japan, and the nation’s imports of young eels could spark international criticism.

North Korea sent back its officials to an inter-Korean liaison office in the North's border city of Kaesong on Monday, reversing a decision two days ago to withdraw the officials, South Korea's Unification Ministry said. A group of four to five officials showed up at ...

Stephen Moore has drawn swift and unusually pointed criticism after President Donald Trump picked him to be a governor of the U.S. Federal Reserve, with at least one prominent Republican economist calling on the Senate to block the appointment. "He does not have the intellectual ...

The Pentagon has sent ships through the Taiwan Strait — the third time in as many months — as Washington ramps up naval activities in the waterway, stoking fears in Beijing of a growing alignment with Taipei. The move, likely to be interpreted by China ...

U.S. Special Counsel Robert Mueller's conclusion that Donald Trump did not collude with Russia to win the presidency in 2016 gives the president a powerful weapon to use against his Democratic opponents and a potential boost to what is shaping up to be a ...

America's endless political battle over Russiagate is eclipsing other important national and international matters.

Look for Kim to play the Russia card to ratchet up pressure on U.S. and South Korea.

If you ever want to take a break from grammar and reading when studying Japanese, dive into the world of "giongo" and "gitaigo."

Kono otoko wa kusai. (This guy is sketchy.) ...

This article about North Korea and the 2020 Olympics is filled with technical terms that illustrate the importance of modifying clauses.

A popular story about a teen formerly known as 'Prince' can open up a discussion about so-called kira-kira Japanese names.

Jorge Toledo has a novel piece of advice to offer any foreigner coming to Japan — learn your gestures.Spain's new ambassador to Japan recalled how during his first posting here in the mid-1990s, he was often confronted with "lost in gesticulation" moments, such as ...

Spoon-bending psychic Uri Geller wants to bend British Prime Minister Theresa May's will against Brexit using mass-telepathy. From his home in Israel, Geller — who is also a British citizen and a former resident of May's Maidenhead constituency — wrote an open letter to the ...

An internal investigation by amateur boxing's world body AIBA has raised serious questions about the judging at the 2016 Rio Olympics, with particular suspicion falling on a French official, French newspaper Le Monde reported on Monday. France basked in the glow of six boxing medals ...

The decision by Super Rugby organizers to give Japan's Sunwolves the boot six months before the country hosts the World Cup has sparked concerns about the sport's growth prospects in Asia. The axe will fall on the Tokyo-based franchise after next season following a chastening ...

Two-time Olympic champion Yuzuru Hanyu will miss next month's ISU World Team Trophy as he has yet to fully recover from an ankle injury, the Japan Skating Federation said Monday. The 24-year-old, who finished runner-up at the world championships in Saitama on Saturday, originally sustained ...

Asami Yoshida, one of the greatest players in Japanese women's basketball history, announced her retirement on Monday, saying that she can no longer motivate herself even with the Tokyo Olympics drawing near. The JX-Eneos Sunflowers, Yoshida’s home throughout her Women’s Japan Basketball League career, had ...

Zion Williamson took on 7-foot-6 (229-cm) Tacko Fall at the end and won. So did top-seeded Duke — barely — when two last-ditch shots by UCF rolled off the rim. Williamson had 32 points and helped rally the Blue Devils from behind in the final ...

Yokozuna Hakuho said Monday he felt an "invisible weight" after suffering an arm injury in the final bout of the Spring Grand Sumo Tournament, where he racked up a record-extending 42nd top division title. Hakuho pulled out another close victory in Sunday's bout against fellow ...

Veteran forward Jawad Williams filled a vital role for the Alvark Tokyo during the club's 2017-18 B. League championship season. He had a knack for making clutch shots, grabbing key rebounds, playing lockdown defense and providing valuable leadership on and off the court. Williams' season came ...

Newly crowned World Cup ski jumping champion Ryoyu Kobayashi earned his 13th victory in Sunday's season finale in Slovenia. The 22-year-old totaled 464.9 points on his two jumps to win the season's 28th event handily over Slovene Domen Prevc, who was second with 444.0, and ...