Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said during a debate with opposition leaders on Wednesday that he will go ahead with the planned sales tax hike in October but vehemently denied there will be further increases while he remains in power. Although rumors that Abe might postpone ...

Kagoshima’s governor said the prefecture has decided to ask the SDF to assist with disaster relief, saying that there was an extremely high risk of large-scale disasters from the heavy rains.

Ambulance crews have recently found themselves up against the serious issue of how to respond to cases in which family members of patients suffering cardiac arrest refuse CPR, claiming that the patients do not wish to receive such treatment. On Wednesday, the Fire and Disaster ...

The envisaged plan comes in response to what Tokyo views as Seoul’s failure to address the dispute over compensation for wartime labor and prevent it from hurting bilateral relations.

Defense Minister Takeshi Iwaya apologized Wednesday to Yamaguchi Gov. Tsugumasa Muraoka over a mistake in a geographical survey conducted by the ministry that was used to select the prefecture as a candidate site for a U.S.-developed missile defense system. "We'll conduct the survey again and ...

One of the developers of the smash-hit mobile game Pokemon Go jointly released Tuesday a new Harry Potter game for smartphones in Japan, featuring augmented reality technology that blends "wizarding" with the real world. The Japanese version of Harry Potter: Wizards Unite was released by ...

Sony Corp. said Wednesday it will set up a venture fund of around ¥20 billion ($185 million) with a Daiwa Securities Group Inc. unit to invest in prospective startups. Innovation Growth Ventures Co. has been established by Sony and Daiwa Capital Holdings Co. to support ...

China on Wednesday said it lodged an official protest with London after British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt warned Beijing of "serious consequences" if it breaches the Hong Kong handover agreement. "He seems to be fantasizing in the faded glory of British colonialism and in the ...

Lee Iacocca, the auto executive and master pitchman who put the Mustang in Ford Motor Co.'s lineup in the 1960s and became a corporate folk hero when he resurrected Chrysler 20 years later, has died in Bel Air, California. He was 94. Two former Chrysler ...

Fast Retailing Co., operator of the Uniqlo casual clothing chain, said Wednesday it will switch from plastic to paper shopping bags from September, joining worldwide efforts to tackle what many believe is one of the most pressing environmental issues. Under the plan, the company aims ...

South Korea will seek to invest 1 trillion won (¥91.8 billion) annually in developing homegrown materials and equipment used to produce microchips, a senior ruling party lawmaker said Wednesday, after Japan tightened curbs on exports of some high-tech materials to the country. Japan said Monday ...

A routine keynote address by Baidu Inc. chief Robin Li morphed into a public humiliation when an unidentified man jumped onstage and doused him in water. The billionaire founder was 10 minutes into introducing an AI-powered valet parking service when a man in a black ...

An army-linked newspaper in China has run photos of a week-old military drill in Hong Kong, a move analysts described as a warning to Beijing's critics as the city grapples with a wave of anti-government protests. The People's Liberation Army (PLA) has maintained a garrison ...

A majority of elderly households live on pension income alone, a welfare ministry survey showed Tuesday. The share of elderly households who said pension or military pension benefits are their only source of income fell to 51.1 percent in 2018. The figure, which had stood at ...

The Pentagon has blasted as "disturbing" a Chinese missile launch from its man-made islands in the disputed South China Sea, saying that the test was meant to intimidate other claimants to the strategic waterway. The move startled analysts, who characterized it as a rarity — ...

Yoshifumi Yano was tiring of the high cost of living and long hours of work at a travel firm in the city of Osaka when he heard of a hotel for sale in a small town nearby in Wakayama Prefecture that was known for ...

Tokyo's Metropolitan Police Department is facing a surge in demand for foreign language services in line with the rising number of overseas travelers seen arriving in Japan in recent years. In one such case, in around April last year, the Kabukicho police box in Shinjuku ...

Robert Mueller will appear grudgingly before House committees this month, but the former special prosecutor's testimony is the best chance Democrats have to revive their stymied probes of U.S. President Donald Trump. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's resistance to a politically risky impeachment inquiry leaves six ...

The murder of Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi officials in Istanbul was a "state killing" that should prompt world leaders to reconsider having the Group of 20 summit in Riyadh next year, according to the U.N. expert who investigated the columnist's death. "The killing of Mr. ...

A fund set up by the Aichi Prefectural Government in March is providing financial aid to students from children's homes seeking to enter higher education. "I want to realize my dream and live up to the expectations (of my supporters)," said a 19-year-old Aichi student ...

In the run-up to the July 21 Upper House election, opposition party leaders gathered in Okinawa Prefecture to highlight their united front against the government-backed construction of a U.S. military base in the Henoko coastal area in the prefecture. During a joint campaign event in ...

Arizona will withdraw incentives for Nike Inc's manufacturing plant in the state after the sportswear maker pulled the release of a sneaker that featured an old version of the American flag, Gov. Doug Ducey said on Tuesday. Nike decided to recall the shoe after former ...

Tens of thousands of tourists braced Tuesday for a rare total solar eclipse that was expected to turn day into night along a large swath of Latin America's southern cone, including much of Chile and Argentina. Total solar eclipses are rare, but what is even ...

The United States on Tuesday designated militants fighting Pakistani rule in Balochistan as terrorists after they carried out deadly attacks targeting Chinese interests. The State Department said it was classifying the Balochistan Liberation Army as a global terrorist group, making it a crime for anyone ...

Glyphosate, which was totally banned by Austria's parliament on Tuesday, is the world's most widely used herbicide but there have been growing attempts around the world to stop its use. The World Health Organization's International Agency for Research on Cancer found in 2015 that glyphosate ...

U.S. Vice President Mike Pence abruptly canceled a trip to New Hampshire on Tuesday, sparking speculation over what was initially described as an "emergency." A representative of Pence told an audience in New Hampshire — where the vice president was scheduled to give a speech ...

U.S.-China trade negotiations are now headed in a positive direction following this weekend's meeting between President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, a top White House aide said Tuesday. But trade adviser Peter Navarro said Chinese telecom giant Huawei remains blocked from participating ...

U.S. President Donald Trump's comments play into the prime minister's efforts at constitutional revision, particularly with regard to Article 9.

The country is still struggling to make money off of its worldwide cultural cachet

The first half of the 2010s offered singer-songwriter Emi Meyer few breaks. She released a full-length album every year until 2015, driven both by creative energy and a feeling that she needed to put herself out there. "That was my fulfillment in life. It was ...

The aesthetic of photographer and director Mika Ninagawa is gaudy to the nth degree. She crowds blood-red roses into her frame like crammed commuters in a rush-hour train. When she makes it rain, her actors may as well be standing under Niagara Falls. This may ...

Kota (Yutaro Furutachi) is a bit of an odd one: the type of grinning, hyperactive character you might label a lovable eccentric. He lives with just a few cats for company, and works at a frozen food factory where he's treated with affection by ...

Tokyo Yakult Swallows rookie Munetaka Murakami crushed a fifth-inning grand slam Wednesday as the Central League cellar dwellers overpowered the Hiroshima Carp 6-2. The blast against Hiroshima starter Casey Lawrence was No. 20 of the season for the 19-year-old Murakami, whose development has been a ...

It's rarely easy to say goodbye. That's especially so in the J. League, where the celebration of players leaving to go overseas has turned into an annual event — along with a never-ending debate over whether much of it is deserved. The honor guards, the video ...

Members of the press were invited on Wednesday to visit the new National Stadium, the Olympic and Paralympic Village and other venues that will host events during the Tokyo 2020 Games. Ninety percent of the construction of the new National Stadium has been completed, according ...

After claiming her third straight World Para Athletics Championships marathon title in April and securing a spot at next summer's Tokyo Games, visually impaired runner Misato Michishita said she plans to ride that momentum to the top of the Paralympic podium. "I want to stand ...