Japan will open its doors wider to workers from abroad when the revised Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act takes effect. However, with it comes a host of other issues.

A new visa program designed to lure more workers to Japan takes effect Monday, and government officials and industry leaders hope two new types will help alleviate the national labor shortage. But whether businesses are prepared to accept them is an entirely different matter. Companies and ...

Seventy years after it was formed to counter the Soviet Union, Russia has returned to the top of the agenda for NATO. But the alliance faces another, more unlikely problem: criticism from the U.S. president. The 29-nation North Atlantic Treaty Organization is celebrating its 70th ...

Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg on Saturday called for governments to play a "more active role" in regulating the internet, and urged more countries to adopt versions of sweeping European rules aimed at safeguarding user privacy. Facebook and other internet giants have long resisted government intervention, ...

North Korea has called a February raid on its embassy in Spain by a shadowy anti-regime group "a grave terrorist attack," state-run media said Sunday in Pyongyang's first reaction to the break-in. A spokesperson for the North's Foreign Ministry labeled the raid "an illegal intrusion ...

Weeks before a gunman killed 50 Muslims in Christchurch, a man had threatened to burn copies of the Quran outside New Zealand mosques, in what community leaders said was the latest in a long list of threatening behavior against religious minorities. Police said they warned ...

Kumi Fujisawa launched her finance career in Tokyo in 1989. It was a notable year: Emperor Akihito ascended the Chrysanthemum Throne, the Nikkei average reached its giddy peak and the Sony Walkman was still a hot-selling gadget. Yet it wasn't an easy time to be ...

Officials are checking plants inside the Prime Minister’s Office for bugging devices as the government makes every effort to keep the new Imperial era name secret until its official announcement.

A 31-year-old worker at a special care facility for babies has been arrested for allegedly stabbing a colleague to death in her apartment in Tokyo last week, police have said. Yusuke Matsuoka, 31, was identified as the man seen in security camera footage leaving the ...

Tokyo and Seoul should consider who will be the losers and more importantly, who will be the winners, from a prolonged division in the bilateral relationship?

The disappearance of local newspapers is making national politics more polarized.

Boasting a fast-track career trajectory with U.S. e-hailing service Uber Technologies Inc., General Manager Tom White of Uber (Rides), Japan is having the ride of his life.

Designer and artisan Baku Sakashita sheds light on his striking Suki series of lamps and the history of design in Japan.

Ina in Nagano Prefecture hopes introducing a younger generation to aquatic larvae fishing will help save the dying tradition.

FromSoftware introduces its toughest game yet; Nintendo Labo goes 3D and Yoshi gets crafty

With Emperor Akihito abdicating on April 30, the Heisei Era that began Jan. 8, 1989, after his father's death will also come to an end. With this column I'd like to look back at some of the noteworthy changes that occurred to Japan's laws ...

The very attractive Kasa was born to a stray mother on an apartment balcony and came to ARK as a wee kitten. Though it's a big step up from the balcony, she is now nearly 2 years old and still without a home. Why?! We ...

Before coming down the ramp for her fight, Mei Yamaguchi, in a nod to her surroundings at Ryogoku Kokugikan, did a brief shiko (where a sumo wrestler lifts his leg high and straight before stamping it down on the ground). Then, she made her way ...

Yokozuna Hakuho revealed Sunday he has a muscle tear in his upper right arm following an injury in the final bout of the Spring Grand Sumo Tournament last week. "It will take time if I have surgery. I'll get stronger if I rest," Hakuho said ...

After two wildly successful regular seasons, the SeaHorses Mikawa have experienced the normal ups and downs that teams endure during a long pro basketball season. Coach Kimikazu Suzuki's club completed a series sweep of the host Toyama Grouses on Sunday, winning 97-83. Now the SeaHorses (27-25) ...

Yuki Yanagita's clutch batting helped drive the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks past the Seibu Lions for the second straight day as his undefeated club beat the defending Pacific League champions 3-1 on Saturday to sweep the three-game opening series. Batting third for the Hawks, Yanagita went ...

Goals from Kei Chinen and Hiroyuki Abe led two-time defending J. League champion Kawasaki Frontale to its first win of the season as it overturned Matsumoto Yamaga 2-0 on Sunday. Frontale had little trouble exploiting the gaps in the recently promoted hosts' defense, but was ...

Japanese forward Junya Ito scored for Belgian first-division side Genk in their 3-0 championship playoff win over Anderlecht at home on Saturday. Playing on the right wing at Luminus Arena, Ito intercepted a pass from Anderlecht keeper Thomas Didillon and whipped in a cross deep ...

Not even a game-high 22 points from Rui Hachimura could save No. 1-ranked Gonzaga's season as it was eliminated from the NCAA tournament at the elite-eight stage by Texas Tech on Saturday. The 75-69 loss means Hachimura, who was recently named a finalist for the ...

Both Japan's women's and men's basketball teams will compete at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games after the sport's governing body decided Saturday to allocate them host nation qualification places. The decision, taken at a meeting in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire, ends a long saga for Japanese ...

Yu Darvish had long since flopped in his return to Texas when former teammate Joey Gallo beat the Chicago Cubs with one swing. Gallo hit a three-run homer in the eighth inning and the Rangers rallied for an 8-6 victory Saturday night, giving new manager ...

Nasa Hataoka rocketed into second place at the Kia Classic after shooting an 8-under-par 64 in Saturday's third round to land one stroke off the pace. Hataoka shot eight birdies under optimal conditions in the bogey-free round and sits at a 13-under 203. Seven-time major ...

Jockey Christophe Lemaire steered Almond Eye to the horse's first Grade 1 victory outside of Japan at the Dubai Turf on Saturday. The four-year-old filly came from behind in the final dash to finish the 1,800-meter race at Meydan Racecourse ahead of Japan's Vivlos, the ...