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 ...

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.

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.

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 ...

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.

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 ...

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 ...

The U.S. has been ousted from medal contention by France at the World Cup, failing to capture gold at a major international tournament for the first time since the 2006 world championships. Evan Fournier scored 22 points, Rudy Gobert added 21 points and 16 rebounds ...

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 ...

Defending champion New Zealand underwent a punishing first World Cup training session in Japan on Wednesday before promising to come out firing against South Africa in their blockbuster tournament opener. The treble-chasing All Blacks, who face the Springboks in a potentially explosive Pool B clash ...

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 ...

New England Patriots wide receiver Antonio Brown has been accused of rape by a former trainer. Britney Taylor says Brown sexually assaulted her on three occasions, according to a lawsuit filed Tuesday in the Southern District of Florida. Brown has denied the allegations. Darren Heitner, a ...

South Korea has formally asked the International Olympic Committee to ban the Japanese "rising sun" flag at next year's Tokyo Games, calling it a symbol of Japan's brutal wartime past and comparing it with the Nazi swastika. South Korea's Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism ...

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 ...

Fans can expect plenty of helping hands at the Rugby World Cup starting on Sept. 20 as a record-high 13,000 volunteers are set to cover 12 venues across Japan. They have been named the "Team No-Side," a Japanese rugby term corresponding to the English "full ...

Christian Yelich and the Milwaukee Brewers didn't need this kind of break. Trying to catch up in the wild-card race, the Brewers instead saw the reigning NL MVP foul a ball off himself and go down with a broken right kneecap Tuesday night. "We don't have ...

Watch it: Odell Beckham Jr.'s taking a stand against the NFL on his lavish wrist wear. Beckham said Tuesday that he intends to keep wearing the expensive watch he had on during Sunday's season opener against the Tennessee Titans. The showy wide receiver believes the ...

Thousands of Hong Kong soccer fans booed loudly and turned their backs when the Chinese national anthem was played before a World Cup qualifier match against Iran on Tuesday, taking the city's months of protests into the sports realm. The crowd broke out into "Glory ...

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 ...