Close to 20,000 foreign children may not be attending school despite being eligible to enroll, a government study showed Friday. The first such survey, conducted by the education ministry in May and June, found that 19,654, or 15.8 percent, of eligible foreign children are not ...

With Japan's consumption tax rate hike to 10 percent scheduled for the start of next month, the government promises to simultaneously introduce a reduced rate for everyday essentials — mostly food and non-alcoholic beverages — to ease the financial impact on lower income households. The ...

Such tie-ups highlight how automakers are scrambling to chase scale, manage costs and boost development.

Two softball games and one baseball game in Fukushima next summer may be little more than an 2020 Olympic cameo, but local fans are thrilled to have them, largely in the hopes they will give their prefecture a badly needed public relations boost. Fukushima was ...

With the nation marking the fifth anniversary of the eruption of Mount Ontake that killed 58 people and left five others missing, a government survey shows about half of the municipalities near active volcanoes do not have evacuation plans in the event of an ...

Not long after Tom Yam returned to his native Hong Kong after 40 years abroad, he picked Lantau Island to settle in, drawn to its laid-back villages, wooded trails and scenic beaches that seemed a world away from the bustle of the city. That may ...

The report says some “negative” actions by Seoul have affected bilateral defense cooperation.

Kepco’s president said those involved tried to return what they received but were not able to do so because the former town official refused.

North Korea is evading U.N. sanctions by profiting on the soaring domestic demand for smartphones, according to defectors, experts and an analysis of North Korean-made phones. Economists estimate as many as 6 million North Koreans — a quarter of the population — now have mobile ...

Fed up with finding yourself next to a screaming child on a long-haul flight? On some Japanese airlines, a seat map will warn you where potentially bawling babies are sitting. The feature, offered as part of Japan Airlines' "Smile Support" travel service for those with ...

The city of Matsue in Shimane Prefecture has embarked on an experiment to find out whether teleworking in the regional city helps reduce the stress levels of businesspeople who normally work in major cities. The city hopes the experiment will demonstrate the health-promoting benefits of ...

Accessing everything from Wikipedia to Google Maps is about to get a lot easier in Myanmar on Tuesday when it finally adopts the universal code underpinning phone and online communication. Tech experts say the move to bring the country more in step with the rest ...

Scientists have captured a view of a colossal black hole violently ripping apart a doomed star, illustrating an extraordinary and chaotic cosmic event from beginning to end for the first time using NASA's planet-hunting telescope. The U.S. space agency's orbiting Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) ...

There is a tradition in Japan of holding moon-viewing parties to celebrate the harvest on the 15th day of the eighth month of the lunar calendar, believed to be the best time of the year to watch the full moon, and this year it ...

Is escalator etiquette in Japan about to change? The established custom of standing to one side and keeping the other side open for people in a hurry is being called into question by those who want to make moving stairways safer. As next year's Tokyo Olympics ...

A majority of the Japanese electorate is quite sensible supporting a realistic security agenda and a moderately liberal economic and social agenda.

Japan's 34 national parks span the length of the country and include some of its most pristine, undeveloped and unusual landscapes. These are The Japan Times' picks of 10 national parks you shouldn't miss.

In an alternate reality, Masaharu Morimoto would be fielding questions from sports journalists. He might even be talking about his transfer from Japan’s top-flight baseball league to Major League Baseball in the United States. But a severe injury to his shoulder in high school put ...

While we not-so-patiently wait for the next episode of "Terrace House Tokyo 2019-2020" to become available, we decided to pass the time by listing some of the best date locations the housemates have ventured to so far. From gardens to fireworks shows to golf, ...

Follow the action of the next match of the 2019 Rugby World Gup: Japan vs Ireland, at Shizuoka Stadium Ecopa.

Everyone at Tokyo Dome knew what Yomiuri Giants public address announcer Daisuke Takahashi was going say. They just needed to hear him say it one more time, one last time. "Catcher, Abe Shinnosuke," Takahashi, voice rising to a scream, announced as the Giants took the ...

Intensity and bravery can only take the lower-tier nations so far against rugby's elite sides and the key to running them close is to turn pressure into points, Tonga forwards coach Grant Doorey said on Friday. The Pacific Island squad gave a good account of ...

Flanker John Quill has been banned for three matches and will likely miss the rest of the United States' World Cup campaign after he was sent off in his side's Pool C match against England in Kobe on Thursday. Quill was shown the first red ...

Double will be the key word if Japan is to pull off an upset Saturday to match the Brighton Miracle. For if the Brave Blossoms are to repeat their win four years ago over South Africa by beating Ireland, currently ranked No. 2 in the ...

Former middleweight boxing champion Nigel Benn is returning to the ring at the age of 55 for a one-off fight, saying he wants "closure" on a career blighted by drug abuse, depression and the death of his brother. Benn, who has not fought professionally since ...

U.S. head coach Gary Gold said hosting the Rugby World Cup put Japanese rugby on the map, and hopes the United States will have the same opportunity in order to create a steady profile. The former Kobe Kobelco Steelers coach made his return to the ...

The organizing committee for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics said Thursday it received a total of 535,717 applications from people hoping to be torchbearers in the buildup to the games. Organizers began accepting applications in June in collaboration with each of the 47 prefectures ...