An 18-carat gold bathtub weighing 154.2 kilograms at a Japanese hot spring resort has been recognized by Guinness World Records as the heaviest on the planet, the resort's operator said. The tub worth ¥800 million measures 1.3 meters in diameter, large enough to allow two ...

Domestic shipments of large household electric appliances hit their highest level in 22 years in fiscal 2018, with the heat wave last summer contributing to an uptick in sales of air conditioners, according to an industry body. The shipments in the year that ended March ...

The Tokyo District Public Prosecutor's Office on Monday indicted former Nissan Motor Co. Chairman Carlos Ghosn for a fourth time, this charge for allegedly misappropriating the company's money for personal use — an accusation described by legal experts as the most serious brought against ...

The Liberal Democratic Party's defeat in two by-elections on Sunday is likely to prompt the administration of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to use upcoming diplomatic events to deflect domestic attention from recent political setbacks, as he looks ahead to a key Upper House election ...

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe embarked Monday on an eight-day European and North American trip hoping to rally support to jointly tackle global issues such as free trade as chair of this year's Group of 20 summit. With China seeking greater influence with its "Belt and ...

He clambers out from under the table, wearing a pink Hooter's tank top while sporting fluffy angel wings and a halo, before bowing deeply toward the camera and taking a seat. "People of Tokyo — have you been smiling lately!?" he says suddenly, breaking into ...

A record six women have secured city mayoralty in this year's quadrennial unified local elections. On Sunday, the second and final round of the elections took place. There were mayoral elections in 59 cities (including three prefectural capitals, Mito in Ibaraki Prefecture, Nagasaki and Oita), 11 ...

Forces backing Libya's unity government battled to push back an offensive by strongman Khalifa Hifter on Sunday as his troops approached the gates of Tripoli after air raids overnight. Hifter's self-proclaimed Libyan National Army (LNA), galvanized by victories in its eastern stronghold and in the ...

A top commander of U.S. Forces Japan backed the idea Monday of allowing commercial aircraft to use the U.S. military's Yokota Air Base, located in the suburbs of Tokyo, during the 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games. "We will support it a hundred percent" if ...

Major firms will begin hiring university graduates year-round, Keidanren said Monday, revamping Japan's long-standing education-to-employment pathway in response to the changing labor market. Keidanren, the country's most powerful business lobby and also known as the Japan Business Federation, will no longer expect its members to ...

Police on Monday referred a former Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker to prosecutors following an allegation of forced sexual intercourse involving a woman he was dating in December, according to investigative sources. Tsuyoshi Tabata, 46, a former Bank of Japan employee who has served three terms ...

Toyota Motor Corp. said Monday it will supply its fuel cell vehicle technology to major Chinese automaker Beijing Automotive Group Co. as it seeks to expand business in the world's largest auto market by volume. In the first such tie-up between Toyota and a Chinese ...

Sudanese protest leaders Sunday suspended talks with military rulers, after the army failed to meet their demand for an immediate transfer to civilian rule. The protest leaders had planned to name members of a civilian body to take over from the ruling military council, which ...

Following renowned swimmer Rikako Ikee's announcement of her leukemia diagnosis, public interest in donating bone marrow has increased, especially in Hiroshima Prefecture, which has more than its fair share of patients as a result of the atomic bombing in 1945. In Hiroshima, though, the eligible ...

The Easter Sunday attacks on three churches in Sri Lanka mark a devastating escalation of violence against a Christian minority that has been targeted in the past, but never to such brutal and deadly effect. Ethnic and religious violence has plagued Sri Lanka for decades, ...

Sri Lanka seeks to restore stability following one of Asia’s deadliest terrorist attacks in years.

At the Shu Le County Education Center, a sprawling three-story complex in China's far-west region of Xinjiang, the dormitories feature bars on windows and doors that only lock from the outside. Inside are hundreds of minority Muslim Uighurs who have no way of leaving without ...

With Japan's foreign population expected to grow in light of the new visa statuses introduced this month, makers of hanko (personal seals) see a new opportunity for business. The traditional seals are still required to conduct various kinds of transactions in Japan, from purchasing cars ...

Nomura Holdings Inc.'s chief executive vowed to keep Japan's biggest brokerage independent and quickly implement his latest turnaround plan as a slumping share price puts the question of a potential merger in focus. "We cherish the strengths and utility that we have through our independence ...

Elon Musk has engaged in Twitter spats with a long line of folks, from rival automakers to short-sellers and the Securities and Exchange Commission. He's at it again, but this time the stakes could be even higher. He's in a rare public dispute with a ...

South Korea will hold a ceremony later this week to mark the one-year anniversary of the historic first summit between President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. There's just one catch: North Korea's attendance is uncertain. The Unification Ministry in Seoul said in ...

Climate change protesters who have brought parts of London to a standstill said Sunday they were prepared to call a halt if the U.K. government would discuss their demands. Some 831 arrests have been made and 42 people charged in connection with the ongoing Extinction ...

A government panel plans to include in a set of recommendations a proposal calling for nursery teachers and others to be allowed to continue using their original surnames at work after marriage. The Regulatory Reform Promotion Council is discussing expanding the range of professions involving ...

The Trump administration won't renew the waivers that let countries buy Iranian crude oil without facing U.S. sanctions, according to four people familiar with the matter, a move that could roil energy markets and risks upsetting major importers such as India and China. Secretary of ...

A comedian with no political experience won a landslide victory in Ukraine's presidential election on Sunday, exit polls showed, dealing a stunning rebuke to the country's political establishment. Volodymyr Zelenskiy, whose only previous political role was playing the president in a TV show, trounced incumbent ...

Facebook Inc.'s head of global affairs said the social-media company is willing to explore ways to exempt some European parties and EU elections from its rules about online political advertising, the Financial Times reported. Executive Nick Clegg made the offer in a letter to the ...

The FBI on Saturday said it had arrested Larry Hopkins, the leader of an armed group that is stopping undocumented migrants after they cross the U.S.-Mexico border into New Mexico. The arrest came two days after the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) accused the group ...

Donald Trump's top lawyer on Sunday attacked "calumny, lies and distortions" in the Mueller investigation report, and said there is "nothing wrong" with taking hacked information from Russia. Rudy Giuliani mounted a combative defense of the president in Sunday talk show appearances that took aim ...

Oil-rich Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have just written another check to bail out their latest troubled ally. The Gulf nations on Sunday pledged $3 billion to Sudan after longtime President Omar al-Bashir was toppled this month. In a statement, they said they'll ...

A mysterious but apparently serious incident occurred Saturday in Cape Canaveral, Florida, involving the SpaceX capsule intended to carry American astronauts into space late this year, the private company and NASA announced. "Earlier today, SpaceX conducted a series of engine tests on a Crew Dragon ...

Japan is upgrading its military presence in the East China Sea in response to China's active challenging of Japanese sovereignty.

Tokyo should not spare its efforts to make its security partnership or alliance with Australia as substantially mutual as possible.

With the Emperor's abdication approaching you may be hearing some interesting Japanese vocabulary that is used only on royal occasions.

The words "deshō" and "darō" can help us put a little conjecture into the way we speak, but that's not the only thing they're used for.

Use a Japanese news article on some fancy posters on Seibu trains to expand your artistic vocabulary.

Get into the vocabulary of diversity and mixed-race Japanese by taking a look at a new book on the topic.

Seiichi Uchikawa scored the winning run with a seventh-inning homer as the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks came back to beat the Orix Buffaloes 3-1 in the Pacific League on Monday, giving rookie pitcher Keisuke Izumi his first professional victory. Izumi (1-0) picked up the win at ...

Scotland coach Gregor Townsend said Monday his side will need to be at their best if they are to beat hosts Japan and advance to the quarterfinals of this year's Rugby World Cup. Speaking at the Yokohama Country & Athletic Club after giving a coaching ...

David Huff, a left-handed reliever for the Tokyo Yakult Swallows, is the pro athlete in the Huff household. But his wife Lisa, he says, is the real MVP. "Not only dealing with me, with the ups and downs of a season, but dealing with kids (two ...

With the popularity of Japanese basketball continuing to grow, it's expected that arenas will be filled to capacity during the upcoming B. League Championship playoffs. "On Feb. 24, the Japanese men's national team clinched a berth in the World Cup, which gave us a spot ...