Four teachers at an elementary school in Kobe have been removed from their positions and are facing further disciplinary action for allegedly rubbing hot soup into the eyes of a colleague and forcing him to drink alcohol, among other acts. A teacher in his 20s ...

He may have become a far-right internet meme in the West, but Pepe the Frog's image is being rehabilitated in Hong Kong, where democracy protesters have embraced him as an irreverent symbol of their resistance. Throughout the more than 100 days of protests rocking the ...

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe kicks off the extraordinary Diet session by tweaking his social welfare vows to appeal more to seniors and people with disabilities as he targets Article 9.

Hong Kong invoked colonial-era emergency powers for the first time in more than half a century to ban face masks for protesters in a bid to quell months of violent unrest. Chief Executive Carrie Lam announced the measure on Friday during a press briefing with ...

Kansai Electric reportedly told the deputy mayor of a town hosting one of its nuclear plants about dozens of projects that a construction firm linked to him won.

The Ise Bay typhoon, a killer storm that swept through the Chubu region on Sept. 26, 1959, claiming more than 5,000 lives, became an opportunity for the nation to make great progress in disaster prevention efforts, including the construction of seawalls and river levees, ...

Thousands of protesters clashed with riot police in Iraq's capital and across the south on Thursday, the third day of mass rallies that have left 31 dead. Defying curfews, tear gas and live rounds, demonstrators gathered to vent anger over corruption, unemployment and poor services ...

A brutal Indonesian forest fire season that left Southeast Asia choking in smog has renewed scrutiny of major palm oil and paper companies, with activists accusing them of breaking promises to halt logging. The monster blazes sent a pall of acrid smoke over the region ...

The climate change campaigner and former U.S. vice president says Japan’s enthusiastic support for coal as an energy source is ruining its credibility as a leading economy.

Finance Minister Taro Aso on Friday dismissed the need to boost fiscal stimulus to counter the impact of the consumption tax hike, despite expectations the government and the Bank of Japan may act to reduce pressure on the world's third-largest economy. The government rolled out ...

The United States and the United Kingdom are seizing on Facebook Inc.'s plan to apply end-to-end encryption across its messaging services to press for major changes to a practice long opposed by law enforcement, saying it hinders the fight against child abuse and terrorism. The ...

A man charged with abuse that led to the 2018 death of his 5-year-old stepdaughter Yua Funato told the Tokyo District Court Friday that he started assaulting her after his efforts at disciplining her did not work. "My disciplining was unsuccessful, and I started assaulting ...

With the number of foreign tourists to Japan increasing by the year, authorities are warning visitors to steer clear of so-called rip-off bars. Such establishments have been a problem for a number of years but police are no closer to being able to shut them ...

Interpreters have been provided for almost every team competing at the 2019 Rugby World Cup, but in a country with a very limited number of Georgian speakers, a 28-year-old man is supporting the squad all by himself. Hayate Sotome, who is assisting the Georgian players ...

One of the world's deadliest fungi has been discovered in Australia's far north for the first time, thousands of kilometers from its native habitat in the mountains of Japan and the Korean Peninsula. The poison fire coral fungus was discovered in a suburb of Cairns ...

The government Friday began discussing new legislation to bolster regulations on domestic and global information technology giants, and protect consumers' privacy amid concern that some companies are abusing their market share to secure growth. "It is necessary to lead international debate on issues surrounding digital ...

NHK President Ryoichi Ueda denied Thursday that outside complaints caused the cancellation of a program about inappropriate sales practices for Japan Post Insurance Co. products. "It's not the case that independence or freedom of creating programs has been impaired," Ueda told a regular news conference. Regarding ...

The little town of Guyra in eastern Australia lies next to a freshwater lagoon just half a day's drive from Sydney, but its drinking water is due to run dry in 400 days' time. The local authorities have been trucking in fresh water, built a ...

Indonesia's biggest student demonstrations in decades are testing President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's pledge to go all out in his second term to boost growth in Southeast Asia's largest economy, a former finance minister and a government adviser say. Tens of thousands of students have hit ...

Japan is ready to share, as requested by South Korea, information related to the launch a day earlier of what North Korea claims to have been a submarine-launched ballistic missile, government sources said Thursday. The decision is based on an intelligence-sharing pact that is set ...

Kyushu Electric Power Co. said Thursday it will halt two reactors next year due to a delay in implementing anti-terrorism measures required by regulators, in the first such suspension under stricter rules set after the 2011 Fukushima nuclear crisis. The power company said it will ...

The Tokyo District Court ruled Thursday against a government deportation order issued to a U.S. activist opposing dolphin hunts when he tried to enter Japan three years ago. The government had argued that when Richard "Ric" O'Barry, 79, who featured in the Oscar-winning documentary "The ...

A research team from Kyoto University said Friday that the average life expectancy of chimpanzees raised in Japan is 28.3 years. Satoshi Hirata, professor at the university's Wildlife Research Center, and colleagues calculated the average life span from necessary information, such as birth and death ...

Burundian refugees who returned home on Thursday say they left camps in Tanzania because women are often raped when they go looking for firewood and because Tanzanian police have beaten and arrested men. Reuters interviewed 10 of the 590 refugees who returned, the first batch ...

The U.S. decision to impose tariffs on French wines will penalize American consumers who will see a sharp rise in prices while severely hurting French producers on their largest export market, exporters said on Thursday. The United States has said it will impose 25 percent ...

The Cabinet must pursue management of the economy that will achieve near-term stimulus and medium- to long-term growth.

Historical and territorial disputes have consistently marred bilateral ties, but relations between the two democracies have hit a new low.

Minutes from Tamachi Station, the area of Shiba, is a maze of weathered watering holes, chain restaurants, karaoke joints and gritty izakaya (Japanese pubs), like an east Tokyo version of Shinjuku's Golden Gai.

The latest episode of "Terrace House" was like a cup of hot cocoa: sweet, heartwarming and the perfect thing to lull me into a peaceful frame of mind. Peppe's story about his orange-flavored first kiss must have intrigued Haruka because she's definitely showing some interest ...

Gamba Osaka put some distance from relegation with a 5-0 demolition of visiting Consadole Sapporo in the J. League first division on Friday. After a 3-1 loss to Cerezo in the Osaka derby last weekend, Gamba moved up to 11th place on 34 points, six ...

South Africa fullback Cheslin Kolbe scored two tries to lead his team's seven-try attack and flyhalf Handre Pollard added 14 points on four conversions and two penalty goals as the Springboks trounced Italy 49-3 on Friday at Shizuoka Stadium Ecopa. South Africa (2-1) earned five ...

Scotland's Adam Hastings said playing at the Rugby World was a "lifelong dream," after making history by following in the steps of his father, Gavin, one of his country's greatest players. When the Glasgow flyhalf came off the bench with just two minutes left in ...

Tonga is taking inspiration from samurai swordsmen as it seeks to repeat its famous 2011 victory over France at the Rugby World Cup. The Tongans will play France on Sunday in Kumamoto, a city famous for its samurai heritage, and they said Japan's renowned warrior ...

Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson's four touchdown passes included a 5-yard strike to Chris Carson with 2:28 to play Thursday in the Seahawks' wild 30-29 victory over the Los Angeles Rams. Wilson's stellar night was almost overshadowed — but Rams kicker Greg Zuerlein missed a 44-yard ...

Alex Ramirez is going to play this one by the numbers. That goes for the lineup he'll field against the Hanshin Tigers in the first stage of the Central League Climax Series and also his starting pitcher. Kenta Ishida will get the call over ace ...

World No. 1 Novak Djokovic on Friday put on a stunning show of supremacy at the Rakuten Japan Open with a 6-1, 6-2 win over Lucas Pouille of France. The Serb more than overwhelmed his opponent in the quarterfinal match, showering Pouille with a barrage ...

Japan will head into its Rugby World Cup Pool A game with Samoa this weekend hoping to repeat recent history. Four years ago, Japan produced some of its best rugby under Eddie Jones to beat the Samoans 26-5, having done so much in the first ...

Ireland head coach Joe Schmidt said Thursday the humidity in Japan has posed a challenge for his team's Rugby World Cup campaign, and that he will continue to monitor the conditions ahead of his team's final Pool A clash with Samoa. Following Ireland’s 35-0 win ...

New Zealand utility back Jordie Barrett insists he is ready to rise to the challenge of being named as the All Blacks' starting standoff to face Namibia on Sunday — despite never having played the position in a test match before. New Zealand head coach ...