Opposition parties accused Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of favoring his political allies rather than making merit-based appointments in his Cabinet reshuffle Wednesday, while also questioning the timing of the announcement given that parts of Kanto are still recovering from Typhoon Faxai. "It is a Cabinet ...

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe reshuffled his Cabinet for the seventh time Wednesday, trying again to boost popularity among voters by tapping fresh faces and further cement his power base by doling out prestigious Cabinet posts to ruling lawmakers — business as usual. But this time, ...

Newly appointed Environment Minister Shinjiro Koizumi, the third-youngest Cabinet minister in the postwar era, has been tapped by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe for his youth and popularity with the media and the public. The 38-year-old son of former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, the younger Koizumi ...

A fire broke out near a rocket launch pad on Tanegashima Island in Kagoshima Prefecture early Wednesday, prompting the cancellation of an unmanned rocket launch scheduled for the same day to deliver supplies to the International Space Station, the operator said. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. ...

Hundreds of thousands of households near Tokyo were still without power and water Wednesday amid intense heat, after powerful Typhoon Faxai ripped through the metropolitan area earlier in the week.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, admired abroad for his progressive policies but damaged at home by scandals, kicked off a six-week re-election campaign on Wednesday with opinion polls suggesting his hold on power will be weakened. Trudeau, who swept to office in November 2015 promising ...

The U.S. president, citing strong policy disagreements, fires his national security adviser John Bolton — the White House’s third national security chief in less than three years.

Ten Democrats seeking the White House will gather Thursday for their party's third debate of the 2020 cycle, with frontrunner Joe Biden sharing the stage with top rival Elizabeth Warren for the first time. The televised showdown in Houston will be the longest to date ...

Seoul files a complaint with the WTO over Tokyo’s tightening of export controls, alleging the measures are retaliation for a court ruling against Japanese firms over wartime forced labor.

Apple unveiled its iPhone 11 models Tuesday with a price cut for the most basic models, while also laying out plans for streaming and gaming services as it bids to weather the slump in the global smartphone market. Price appeared to be a key consideration ...

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is living up to his "rocket man" nickname, with state-run media on Wednesday saying that the previous day's weapons test had been yet another of a "super-large multiple rocket launcher." The North's official Korean Central News Agency said in ...

Heading into 2019, Tsai Ing-wen looked at risk of becoming Taiwan's first one-term president. Then came the unrest in Hong Kong. Tsai had clawed back some ground in opinion polls before protesters started taking to the streets of Hong Kong in the hundreds of thousands ...

With two years left to cement his legacy, Prime Minister Abe carries out a major Cabinet reshuffle that reaffirms his desire to pursue outstanding issues such as constitutional revision.

Crown Princess Kiko, who celebrated her 53rd birthday Wednesday, has said she does not wish to comment on the postponement of her eldest daughter's marriage to Kei Komuro. "I believe she (Princess Mako) is thinking through a lot of things. Under such circumstances, I would ...

South Korea and North Korea have continued to pour resources into modernizing their militaries despite a frenzy of diplomacy since 2018, creating tension that has sharpened as talks have stalled. Military buildups on both sides of the heavily fortified border have come to the forefront ...

Dissident republicans planted a car bomb in the Northern Ireland city of Londonderry in a bid to kill law enforcement officers, police said Tuesday. A "command wire initiated improvised explosive device" was discovered in a vehicle in Creggan, a historically nationalist stronghold in the border ...

The European Aviation Safety Agency plans to send its own pilots to the U.S. to conduct flight tests of Boeing Co.'s grounded 737 Max jet before it is returned to service, it said Tuesday. The European regulator is conducting what it calls an "independent" review ...

Signing the nuclear weapons ban treaty would send a powerful message of the priority Tokyo gives nuclear disarmament.

The conformity that is encouraged in Japanese public schools shapes a social consciousness that is suspicious of outsiders.

Back in the bubble period, I was able to get a job at a Japanese bank in Tokyo with language skills that were intermediate at best. With a lot of intensive effort (and classes kindly paid for by my employer) I was able to ...

Full tilt: Need a pickup? A break from the hum-drum? If so, then this ginger ball of energy is for you. He's called Setamaru, a name coined from the Tokyo Ward where he was found. Born sometime this spring, he's still new to life ...

22-year-old Honoka Matsumoto's latest film looks at the issue of same-sex marriage in Japan, one of a number of difficult topics the actress has taken on in her roles

Koki Mitani's latest comedy feature follows the life of a Japanese prime minister trying to make good as he deals with memory loss

Actor Joe Odagiri makes his directorial debut with a beautifully shot tale of the life of a boatman in a Japan of the past.

The English aristocratic family immortalized in the television hit "Downton Abbey" made their big-screen debut at a premier in London Monday night — but to mixed reviews in the press. The Crawley family make their return after the series drew to a close in 2015 ...

The Seibu Lions grabbed the top spot in the Pacific League on Wednesday, sinking the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks 4-1 after Tomoya Mori connected on a three-run double with two outs in the third. Starting a half-game behind the Hawks, the Lions made their opportunities count ...

Just over 14, 15 hours after his return from China, Yuta Watanabe was back at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport on Wednesday, where the Japan men’s national team had landed on its return from the FIBA World Cup the previous night. And he was already "in an ...

Yokozuna Kakuryu kept his share of the lead at the Autumn Grand Sumo Tournament on Wednesday, defeating rank-and-filer Ichinojo in the day's final bout at Tokyo's Ryogoku Kokugikan. The Mongolian yokozuna, gunning for his second straight championship, sits in a tie with sekiwake Takakeisho and ...

One of the defining features of sumo is how quickly bouts end. Most fights take less than 5-6 seconds from start to finish. Japan's national sport is one in which a rikishi notorious for long, slow battles earned the nickname "Mr. One Minute." A matchup in any ...

The video assistant referee (VAR) has made its J. League debut, but there's still much to be done before the system is ready for the big time. After over a year of offline testing, VAR was used in the quarterfinals of the J. League YBC ...

High hopes turned into devastation — and misery. With an 80-65 loss to Montenegro on Monday, the Japan men's basketball team concluded its campaign at the 2019 FIBA World Cup with a disastrous 0-5 record, the worst-ever outcome for the team in the sport's extravaganza. Considering ...

South Korea and North Korea have missed a qualification deadline and will not be able to form a unified women's hockey team for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, sources close to the matter said Tuesday. The two countries had agreed to form joint teams in four ...

Shoya Nakajima's and Takumi Minamino's first-half goals led Japan to a 2-0 win away over Myanmar as the Samurai Blue opened their 2022 World Cup qualifying campaign with a victory. Japan picked apart the Myanmar defense early and often, slowed nearly as much by Thuwanna ...