A carbine that can call in an airstrike. A computer-aided scope on a machine gun that can turn just about anyone into a marksman. Firearms that measure and record every movement, from the angle of the barrel to the precise moment of each shot ...

The largest proportion of the public wants new Environment Minister Shinjiro Koizumi to become the next prime minister, but he has suffered a decline in popularity while watching support for Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga surge, a Jiji Press opinion survey for October showed ...

Almost 60 percent of the public is opposed to the government’s plans to build Japan’s first so-called integrated gambling resorts, highlighting widespread concern that public security will deteriorate with the entry of casinos, a Jiji opinion poll has found. According to the results of the ...

Self-Defense Forces ships and planes will patrol the Gulf of Oman and other areas but avoid the U.S.-led coalition protecting shipping interests in the strategic waters.

According to the legislation, foreign investors will have to give advance notice when buying stakes of over 1 percent in national security-related companies, rather than 10 percent.

The record high number of cases was credited to a greater effort by teachers to report bullies nationwide, the education ministry survey said.

Global bottled water giants are ramping up trials of easily recyclable aluminum cans to replace plastic that pollutes the world's seas. Sound like a slam-dunk for the environment? Not entirely. Aluminum cans might indeed mean less ocean waste, but the production of each can pumps ...

To the joy of some, and perhaps the surprise of others, next Tuesday is a one-off national holiday. While some may happily take the day off, it is also the day when dignitaries from across Japan and the world will gather in Tokyo to witness ...

In media interviews published Friday, South Korean Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon said he intends to deliver a personal letter from President Moon Jae-in to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe next week in Tokyo, hoping to improve a bilateral relationship strained by historical issues and trade ...

Within a week of taking the helm, Renault SA interim Chief Executive Officer Clotilde Delbos called into question the strategic road map that had been meant to carry the French carmaker through 2022. In a video address to employees Tuesday, Delbos said Renault will review ...

Alitalia received a boost to its hopes of rescue on Thursday with signs that Lufthansa could take a stake in the Italian carrier, while Rome agreed to a €350 million ($389 million) bridging loan to ease immediate cash worries. Loss-making Alitalia has been run by ...

The government has estimated that a bilateral trade agreement Japan recently signed with the United States will push up gross domestic product by around 0.8 percent, officials said Friday. If calculated in terms of the nation's GDP in fiscal 2018, the increase amounts to about ...

The government on Friday approved granting pardons to roughly 550,000 petty criminals in light of Emperor Naruhito's enthronement ceremony next Tuesday. The Justice Ministry said the pardons, the first since 1993, will be granted on the premise that the emperor's enthronement is "an opportunity for ...

A new green fund being set up by Indonesia should prioritize protecting its rainforests and creating a carbon trading program to help the country meet its goals to curb climate change, environmentalists and officials said. Indonesia's Environment Ministry last week launched an agency to manage ...

Japan's core consumer prices rose 0.3 percent in September from a year earlier, with the pace of growth slowing to a 29-month low due to lower crude oil prices, government data showed Friday. The nationwide core consumer price index, which excludes volatile fresh food prices, ...

When authorities drew up a plan to make Hong Kong a hub for Asia's wine trade, they faced a big challenge: where to store the bottles in a city that was fast running out of space. So they went underground. Officials presented World War II-era ...

Major Japanese credit card issuer JCB Co. will partner with Singaporean fintech startup Socash Pte. Ltd. to launch its first cardless cash advance service in Southeast Asia after spring 2020. The two are in discussion on the new service, which will in effect see cash ...

If Prime Minister Boris Johnson wins parliamentary backing for the Brexit deal he clinched with Brussels on Thursday, Britain will be on course for more distant economic ties with the European Union, making the country poorer. Compared with the deal his predecessor Theresa May reached ...

Technology could help Myanmar fight a rise in rape cases, says an award-winning entrepreneur who is using augmented reality to bring sex education to the socially conservative country. The rape in May of a 3-year-old girl at a private nursery has sparked outrage, prompting thousands ...

Internal affairs minister Sanae Takaichi, as well as a cross-party group of about 100 lawmakers, paid homage Friday at war-linked Yasukuni Shrine during its autumn festival, a day after a visit from a different Cabinet minister drew criticism from China and South Korea. Takaichi was ...

Google has walked away from a potential Toronto lease with WeWork after months of negotiations, agreeing to take space from rival co-working firm IWG PLC instead, according to people familiar with the matter. Google signed a multiyear deal for about 24,000 square feet across two ...

E-cigarette maker Juul Labs Inc. said Thursday it will completely halt U.S. sales of all flavors except tobacco, mint and menthol, as the company faces heightened scrutiny from regulators, lawmakers and state attorneys general over the appeal of its nicotine products to teenagers. Thursday's move, ...

The United Auto Workers will continue its strike against General Motors Co. until a tentative deal is ratified by its full membership, extending their walkout for at least another week. Voting on the proposed contract will begin Oct. 19 and ballots will be due by ...

President Donald Trump's withholding of $391 million in military aid to Ukraine was linked to his request that the Ukrainians look into a claim — debunked as a conspiracy theory — about the 2016 U.S. election, a senior presidential aide said on Thursday, the ...

A new way of studying planets in other solar systems — by doing sort of an autopsy on planetary wreckage devoured by a type of star called a white dwarf — is showing that rocky worlds with geochemistry similar to Earth may be quite ...

Venezuela won a seat on the U.N. Human Rights Council Thursday, sparking outcry from the United States, advocacy groups and Latin American countries who say its rights record is appalling. The United States slammed the result as an "embarrassment" for the United Nations but Venezuela ...

California rolled out the nation's first statewide earthquake warning system on Thursday, designed to detect seismic waves and alert residents through a mobile phone app even before the ground starts shaking. Gov. Gavin Newsom, who urged Californians to download the MyShake app on the anniversary ...

Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg on Thursday defended the huge social network's policy of refraining from fact-checking politicians, saying it's not the job of tech firms to "censor." Speaking to students at Georgetown University in Washington, Zuckerberg responded to critics who argued that Facebook is ...

The 17-year-old South Sudanese refugee finally managed to escape after three months as a prisoner in a Cairo apartment where she was repeatedly gang raped, only to realize that she had become pregnant by one of her attackers. She is one of a growing number ...

The U.S. Marine Corps on Thursday acknowledged an error in the identity of a second Marine pictured lifting the American flag over Iwo Jima in one of the most iconic photographs of World War II. The record was corrected after three private historians came forward ...

Malaysia is negotiating with countries sending their plastic waste to the Southeast Asian nation to take back the trash and is waiving storage fees to clear hundreds of containers of scrap stranded at ports across the country for months, officials say. Malaysia last year became ...

Russian President Vladimir Putin watched Thursday as the country's armed forces tested missiles that can carry thermo-nuclear warheads. The Grom-19 or Thunder-19 strategy games began Wednesday and involve 12,000 troops deployed on ships, planes and nuclear-missile-carrying submarines carrying out launches of long-range precision missiles, the ...

The Islamic State group said Thursday it had "freed" women held by Syria's Kurds, the latest in a series of reported breakouts since Turkey launched a cross-border offensive last week. In a statement released on the Telegram messaging application, IS said it had stormed a ...

Disruption is made difficult not by technological challenges but by people's mind-set and their difficulty to set their traditional ways of thinking aside.

In the Middle East itself, those calling the shots increasingly believe Washington is leaving — and are unconcerned by what America might wish.

From the mansions of former barons to riverside forests, here's Russell Thomas' pick of Tokyo's best autumn leaf-viewing spots.

After saying goodbye to one member and hello to another, this week's episode of "Terrace House" is all about trying out new pairings with the housemates — and things get a little messy. First up are Ryo and Emika, who decide to follow through with ...

Cuban ballet legend Alicia Alonso, who developed a new Latin-influenced style and taught well into her 90s despite being practically blind for most of her dancing career, died on Thursday. She was 98. Known for her strong character and strict discipline, and revered in Cuba ...

Matsumoto Yamaga earned a 1-1 home draw against the league-leading Kashima Antlers on Friday night. Using their strong defense to stymie one of the league's top-scoring sides, Yamaga scored first before the Antlers equalized on a penalty. Although the hosts remain 17th in the 18-team ...

Shortly before the end of the Japan Series managers' meeting the skippers of the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks and Yomiuri Giants were asked to name their starters for Game 1. Hawks manager Kimiyasu Kudo spoke first, grabbing a mic and stating simply with no hesitation, "For ...

Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks manager Kimiyasu Kudo admitted to feeling a little bit nostalgic on the eve of this year's Japan Series matchup against the Yomiuri Giants. Kudo was a pitcher for Yomiuri the last time these two clubs vied for the crown. That was in ...

Key French backs Antoine Dupont and Damian Penaud have been passed fit to play in their Rugby World Cup quarterfinal against Wales, a huge boost for coach Jacques Brunel that allowed him to name a full-strength side on Friday. Scrumhalf Dupont had a back problem ...

South Africa will have to shelve its affection for Japan and Japanese fans to spoil the hosts' party in the Rugby World Cup quarterfinals, according to Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus. The Springboks have been firm crowd favorites at the World Cup, with many Japanese fans ...

Japan head coach Jamie Joseph has warned his players to expect a brutal onslaught from South Africa's forwards when they go head to head in Sunday's Rugby World Cup quarterfinal. But the New Zealander also hinted that the Brave Blossoms could have a trick up ...

Bradley Beal committed to the Washington Wizards, ending a months-long negotiation while keeping options to hit free agency in the near future on the table for the coveted All-Star guard. "Bradley embodies the type of high-character, team-first player that we want to have representing our ...

Ireland coach Joe Schmidt has been used to making history in his six years in charge and he could make a little bit more on Saturday in the Rugby World Cup quarterfinal against his native New Zealand. The Irish have never advanced past the quarterfinals ...