China's central bank said on Friday it was cutting the amount of cash that banks must hold as reserves for the third time this year, releasing 900 billion yuan ($126.35 billion) in liquidity to shore up the flagging economy. Analysts had expected China to announce ...

From quiet beaches in Bali to empty rooms in Hanoi's hotels, pangs from China's economic malaise and weakening yuan are being felt across Southeast Asia's vacation belt. A boom in Chinese outbound travel in recent years that stoked tourism across Southeast Asia is now in ...

SoftBank Corp. said Friday that from next week it will stop giving its mobile phone users two-year contracts that offer discounts on monthly communication fees but impose substantial penalties for canceling early. The major mobile phone operator will start offering rate plans from Sept. 13 ...

Renowned for melding East and West, old and new with its architecture and design, The Okura Tokyo opened its doors to the press for the first time Friday after three years of renovations, ahead of its public opening on Sept. 12. "We hope that we ...

Sony Corp. unveiled Thursday a 40th anniversary Walkman featuring a case and a screensaver that give it the appearance of the original cassette tape music player. The screensaver, which features a cassette tape image, is displayed while music is being played so that the anniversary ...

The labor ministry said Friday it had issued administrative guidance to Recruit Career Co. for selling to its clients web browsing data predicting the odds of job-hunting students declining informal job offers, without the students' consent. The ministry determined that selling the data violated the ...

The e-commerce giant won’t launch Japan’s fourth independently run phone network until April because the base stations aren’t up yet.

Eight years since the Great East Japan Earthquake, some survivors of the disaster still live in uncertainty as they fall between the cracks of governmental policy that is meant to support them. Now, 176 families who live in public apartment complexes within Sendai will have ...

The U.S. and Japan are still thrashing out details of a trade deal that President Donald Trump wants to sign this month, including the crucial issue of whether he'll refrain from imposing higher tariffs on imported cars, according to people familiar with the matter. At ...

China and the United States agreed Thursday to hold high-level talks in Washington in early October, encouraging investors who hope for a trade war thaw as new U.S. tariffs on Chinese consumer goods chip away at global growth. The new talks were arranged during a ...

The nonbinding ordinances in South Korea will allow 284 Japanese companies including Mitsubishi Heavy Industries to be openly linked to their wartime pasts.

The ministry says the lists are at their shortest since it began tracking them in 1994, but demand is expected to grow when free services kick off in October.

Rape threats, body-shaming and doctored photos — women supporting the anti-government protests in Hong Kong say they are being harassed online by suspected pro-Beijing trolls. Hundreds of thousands of demonstrators have taken to the financial hub's streets week after week in the biggest challenge to ...

On a recent afternoon, Yamashita Park in Yokohama's waterfront was teeming with visitors — from lovey-dovey young couples to picnicking families and foreign tourists taking selfies in front of the ocean liner Hikawamaru, a museum ship permanently moored at the park. A short distance away, ...

Denise Ho has been pulled from concerts, her records are banned in China and she has been smeared as "poison," but the Cantopop star says standing with the Hong Kong pro-democracy movement outshines all the damage to her career. The short-haired 42-year-old is a rare ...

Mitsubishi Aircraft Corp. saw a boost this week to sales of its long-delayed SpaceJet regional aircraft, as Mesa Air Group Inc. signed a pact to negotiate a potential 100-plane deal. The memorandum of understanding, signed Thursday, calls for Mitsubishi and Mesa to discuss terms for ...

In a break from the long tradition of adopting the Western name order in Roman script, the government Friday decided to put surnames first when writing Japanese names in official documents. "In a globalized world, it has become increasingly important to be aware of the ...

Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe was feted as an African liberation hero and champion of racial reconciliation when he first came to power in a nation divided by nearly a century of white colonial rule. Nearly four decades later, many at home and abroad denounced him as ...

Okinawa's Orion Breweries Ltd. is considering developing craft beer products, the new head of the company said in a recent interview. "Okinawan people expect Orion to improve its brand image," said President Keiju Hayase, who took the helm of the Urasoe-based brewery in July. "This ...

Police searched the offices of the trucking firm and are looking into whether the train’s brakes were used “appropriately.”

President Moon Jae-in's nominee for justice minister may soon take office under the cloud of a prosecution inquiry and public outcry over a scandal that has reignited debate over class privilege. At issue are scholarships and other perks granted to the daughter of the nominee, ...

Hokkaido on Friday marked the first anniversary of a powerful earthquake that claimed 44 lives and triggered the nation's first prefecture-wide blackout. The magnitude 6.7 quake jolted Hokkaido in the early hours of Sept. 6, injuring 785 people and damaging thousands of homes. Hundreds of thousands ...

Japanese scientists have identified a new species of dinosaur from a nearly complete skeleton that was the largest ever discovered in the country, measuring eight meters long. After analyzing hundreds of bones dating back 72 million years, the team led by Hokkaido University concluded the ...

Hong Kong's airport has used a newspaper advertisement to appeal to protesters, asking them not to target the transport hub ahead of another weekend of anti-China demonstrations in the city. "Spare our passengers further disruption," read a half-page ad from the Airport Authority Hong Kong ...

Overburdened Chinese regulators have left the peer-to-peer lending industry to poorly staffed local governments, according to ex-regulators, threatening the survival of an important credit mechanism once seen as crucial for the country's economy. The resulting difficulties, as the industry tries to grapple with pyramid-scheme scandals ...

Canada has accepted the nomination of a new Chinese ambassador, Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland told reporters on Thursday, describing the move as a step forward amid a major dispute between the two nations. Her remarks are another indication that diplomatic relations might be warming up ...

Prince Hisahito, second in line to the throne and the nephew of Emperor Naruhito and son of Crown Prince Akishino, turned 13 on Friday. Prince Hisahito is the only heir of his generation, as the Imperial House Law states that only males descendants of emperors ...

British Airways on Thursday dismissed a proposal by a pilots union to avoid strike action next week as "unrealistic," leaving it little closer to resolving a dispute over pay with its pilots that could disrupt its services. Earlier the British Airline Pilots Association (BALPA) had ...

The online message board 8chan, linked to several recent mass shootings, plans to restrict parts of the website during a "state of emergency," the site's owner, Jim Watkins, told a U.S. House panel in a written statement. "If 8chan comes back online, it will be ...

French magistrates investigating the 2009 crash of a flight from Rio de Janeiro to Paris in which 228 people died have ordered charges against Airbus and Air France to be dropped, legal sources told AFP Thursday. Air France flight AF447 plunged into the Atlantic during ...

The 347 scientists who collaborated to produce the world's first image of a black hole were honored Thursday with the Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics, winning $3 million for what is known as the "Oscars of science." The Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration grabbed global headlines ...

Dutch investigators expressed concern Thursday they will be unable to question a Ukrainian man over the downing of flight MH17 after a court in Kiev freed him pending trial. The release of Vladimir Tsemakh, an alleged air defense specialist for pro-Russian separatists, comes amid speculation ...

Facebook Inc. is launching its dating services in the United States, the social network said on Thursday, sending its shares up 2 percent. The company said users will be able to integrate their Instagram account with Facebook dating profile and add Instagram followers to their ...

The next step in the evolution of Japanese security practice will involve growing pains, but for better or worse, the Abe administration has demonstrated its willingness to endure some friction to posture against China's steadily increasing presence in the East China Sea.

"Concrete Tokyo Map" outlines the most iconic concrete buildings in Tokyo. Here's The Japan Times' pick of 10 you should definitely visit on an architectural tour of Tokyo.

Fans flocked Friday to the opening of the first film released by Kyoto Animation Co. since a deadly arson attack in July on one of its studios claimed the lives of 35 staff members. Audiences packed a theater in Kyoto for "Violet Evergarden Gaiden: Eien ...

It was a week of surprise twists, tearful goodbyes and shocking news, but before we get to the good stuff, we have to go over one exhausting subject: Ruka. Again, Ruka is going on about his dream of being Spider-Man. Not becoming a comic book ...

Kodai Senga threw the 91st regular season no-hitter in NPB history on Friday in the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks' 2-0 victory over the Chiba Lotte Marines. The 26-year-old right-hander struck out 12, while walking three and hitting another to win a pitchers' duel against Lotte's Mike ...

Star forward Rui Hachimura will not play in Japan's consolation games against New Zealand and Montenegro in order to rest his weary body, the Japan Basketball Association announced on Friday. A decision was made regarding Hachimura after discussions between the JBA and the Washington Wizards, ...

Rikako Ikee, who is continuing treatment for leukemia, watched a college swim meet Friday in her first public appearance since revealing her diagnosis in February. The 19-year-old swimming star, who was temporarily discharged from the hospital, cheered for her Nihon University teammates at the Inter ...

The result was anticipated. Nevertheless, the game left the Akatsuki Five with grief and a sigh. The Japan men’s national team posted a third straight loss in the first round of the FIBA World Cup with a 98-45 pounding to reigning tournament and Olympic champion ...