Business sentiment among workers with jobs sensitive to economic trends hit a three-year low in June as consumers kept their purse strings tight following the unusual 10-day holiday the previous month, according to government data. The diffusion index of confidence among "economy watchers" such as ...

She was a longtime proponent of improving workplace diversity and was featured regularly in international forums as a role model for working women.

The government announced a plan in June to find 300,000 permanent jobs for those who got stuck in the prolonged "employment ice age" that was triggered by the collapse of the bubble economy in the 1990s, but critics are skeptical about how effective it ...

A museum dedicated to novelist Natsume Soseki (1867-1916) that closed in 2016 has reopened in a new location in southeast England. Previously in south London, at the site of Soseki's lodgings during his stay in Britain, the museum closed after 32 years amid dwindling attendance ...

Museums in Taiwan and Japan on Sunday launched a third attempt to replicate a hypothetical human migration from Taiwan to Okinawa about 30,000 years ago. The voyage in a dugout canoe is one of multiple research projects signed in 2017 between Taiwan's National Museum of ...

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Sunday demanded that the Diet discuss his Liberal Democratic Party's proposals for constitutional amendments. The LDP's proposals include defining the roles of the Self-Defense Forces in the Constitution's war-renouncing Article 9. Political parties should put forward their own proposals for constitutional ...

The current account surplus tumbled 15.8 percent in May to ¥1.59 trillion as exports to China declined amid U.S.-China trade tensions, according to government data released Monday. The surplus in the current account, one of the widest gauges of international trade, fell for the third ...

One of Japan's biggest regional banks is resuming an expansion overseas, 20 years after the country's financial crisis forced it to retreat. Concordia Financial Group Ltd. plans to expand in Asia to offer cash management services to its Japanese corporate clients and infrastructure loans to ...

For Rugby World Cup fans budgeting for the trip of a lifetime to Japan this fall, the recent surge in the yen could have come at a better time. And the currency gods seem to be inflicting the most pain on followers of teams ...

A town in western Japan hit by flooding caused by torrential rain a year ago is now struggling with thefts targeting disaster victims who are working to rebuild their lives. Police have called on people in the Mabicho district of Kurashiki, Okayama Prefecture, to "ensure ...

The Paris agreement has accelerated worldwide momentum for strengthening global warming countermeasures. As most greenhouse gas emissions come from energy consumption, key measures to check global warming are saving energy through efficient use and transitioning to low carbon energy. For example, better fuel efficiency would ...

Britain's trade minister said Monday he would apologize to U.S. President Donald Trump's daughter Ivanka for a leak of confidential memos in which the U.K. ambassador describes the U.S. administration as "dysfunctional" and "inept." The memos from Kim Darroch, the U.K.'s ambassador to Washington, were ...

Japan, which has built amicable ties with Iran, has supported the nuclear deal as a way to promote stability in the Middle East.

Journalist Shiori Ito, who has accused a prominent former television reporter of rape, said in a damages lawsuit Monday that she tried to stop him and was "desperate to protect" herself. Ito, 30, is seeking ¥11 million in compensation from Noriyuki Yamaguchi, a former reporter ...

European powers urged Iran to reverse its latest decision to breach the levels of uranium enrichment under the 2015 nuclear accord but stopped short of threatening sanctions. The U.K. and the European Union said they were concerned about Iran's move to abandon uranium enrichment restrictions. ...

The existence of a detailed report documenting how chemical weapons were used by the Imperial Japanese Army in China has been confirmed for the first time, a Japanese historian said Sunday. The official report, compiled by a frontline poison gas battalion posted in northern China, ...

The death toll from a warehouse fire in Osaka Prefecture has risen to two, as a man who had been hospitalized with serious injuries died Monday, local police said. Jun Yamanishi, 36, is the latest victim of the fire at a warehouse in Takatsuki, Osaka ...

President Donald Trump wrapped up the weekend as he started it, jawboning the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates at a time when he may be sizing up his two latest picks for Fed governor as successors to Chairman Jerome Powell. If the Fed "knew ...

The wife of the former head of Interpol, who was detained in his native China, said on Sunday she had sued the global police cooperation agency for failing to protect his family and complicity in what she called China's "wrongful acts. Grace Meng first publicly ...

Whole teams in Deutsche Bank's Asian operations were told their positions were gone Monday, as the lender began axing 18,000 jobs globally in one of the biggest overhauls to an investment bank since the aftermath of the financial crisis. The German bank launched the restructuring ...

A Taliban attack on a government security compound in central Afghanistan on Sunday killed at least 14 people and wounded more than 180, including scores of children, hours before a meeting in Qatar aimed at preparing the ground for peace talks. Islamist Taliban fighters detonated ...

The Upper House election is unlikely to produce a significant change in the composition of the Diet, but it will still shape the near-term political landscape significantly.

U.S. National Security Advisor John Bolton is on the same page as Japan when it comes to North Korea, but his hawkish Iran stance is cause for concern.

In America all it takes to ruin your life is one bad decision. Even if you're just a kid.

A new study covering 40 countries provides solid evidence that people not nearly as dishonest as we tend to think.

A smarter approach involves the U.S. military and Homeland Security working with Mexico.

Certain Japanese words sound like they should represent an action, can you guess what a word means by how it's pronounced?

The irregular verb "kuru" (to come) changes sound and structure depending on the context. And once you learn the rules of using it, prepare to break them.

A look at an article that points out how Japanese officials should help the foreign residents of their cities and towns.

An English lesson that focuses on an article about Kim Kardashian West and a controversy she caused by naming a fashion line, Kimono.

Daisuke Yamai allowed a run over 6⅔ innings Monday in the Chunichi Dragons' 3-2 Central League victory over the struggling Hiroshima Carp. Right-hander Yamai (3-3) allowed two hits and four walks, while striking out two at Nagoya Dome en route to claiming his first win ...

One of sumo's most defining features is the stoicism of its wrestlers. Win or lose, rikishi are expected to remain composed. Sometimes after a particularly hard fought or meaningful bout, emotion slips through, but that's the exception rather than the rule. Overt celebrations after wins quickly receive ...

Yokozuna Hakuho and Kakuryu led the charge at the Nagoya Grand Sumo Tournament after each claiming second straight wins on Monday, while the mixed results continued for the rest of the sport's elite. Hakuho prevailed in his first top-division match-up with May's champion, No. 1 ...

It all started with an email written by his mother. One that could end up with him representing her native country, Japan. Hugh Hogland, who has been practicing in training camps with the Japan provisional men's national team for the upcoming William Jones Cup in Taiwan, ...

Following a spring training game against the Seattle Mariners in March, Yomiuri Giants manager Tastunori Hara mused that the MLB club's lineup looked similar to his own. Hara was specifically referencing the Mariners using one of their best hitters, Mitch Haniger, in the No. 2 ...