Hoping to avoid Halloween-related rowdiness, Shibuya Ward in Tokyo will ban alcohol consumption on streets this coming weekend and on Halloween itself. Although the ordinance carries no punishment for violations, the ward adopted it in June as part of efforts to keep the area around ...

Children in Miyagi and Fukushima were happy to see each other and have a degree of normalcy restored to their lives.

Junnosuke Taguchi, a former member of Japanese male idol group Kat-tun, was given a suspended prison term Monday for possession of marijuana. The Tokyo District Court sentenced the 33-year-old Taguchi to six months in prison, suspended for two years. His partner, former actress Rena Komine, ...

Television ratings set during Japan's loss against South Africa in the Rugby World Cup quarterfinals reached an average of 41.6 percent in eastern Japan, the highest of any match in the current tournament, a rating agency said Monday. Video Research Ltd. said the rating for ...

A U.N.-led call for action to tighten sulfur oxide emissions may also be a trigger accelerating a shift to natural gas as fuel for the global shipping fleet, and Japan is wasting no time trying to establish a refueling hub in Asia. Some 80,000 vessels ...

A Filipino technical intern picks strawberries from elevated beds as he backs down an aisle on a swivel chair in a greenhouse — a common scene in this mountainous area of central Japan known for highland agriculture. Farmers from Benguet, an upland province on Luzon ...

The trade deficit came to ¥122.98 billion, following a revised ¥143.53 billion deficit in August, according to a preliminary report by the Finance Ministry.

For Mick Mulvaney, the hits just keep on coming. First, President Donald Trump's acting chief of staff stirred up a tempest by acknowledging that the administration had held up aid to Ukraine in part to prod that country to investigate Democrats and the 2016 elections. ...

Deep-sea explorers scouring the world's oceans for sunken World War II ships are focusing in on debris fields deep in the Pacific, in an area where one of the most decisive battles of the time took place. Hundreds of miles off Midway Atoll, nearly halfway ...

Prosecutors said Monday they are seeking to arrest the wife of South Korea's former justice minister, who resigned last week amid allegations of financial crimes and academic fraud surrounding his family that sparked huge protests and dented the popularity of President Moon Jae-in. The Seoul ...

If we can't restore the Japan-U.S. alliance, we must work to refine it together — maybe with a new administration in Washington.

Although he still routinely ranks high among respondents as the top pick for prime minister, the reality is that he still has years before he is ready for the job.

Using the "tai" verb ending expresses desire in Japanese, but adding "omotte-iru" can help convey the idea that your wants are not spontaneous.

The city of Iki, Nagasaki Prefecture, issued a climate emergency declaration on Sept. 26 and expressed its resolve to tackle problems posed by climate change.

Earlier this year we were treated to the use of Japanese that is used exclusively with the emperor. As enthronement celebrations continue, so do our opportunities to use such royal language.

Oscar winner Jennifer Lawrence got married over the weekend in Rhode Island during a ceremony and reception studded with Hollywood stars. The "Hunger Games" star tied the knot with New York art dealer Cooke Maroney on Saturday at a Newport, Rhode Island, mansion. Lawrence's publicist confirmed ...

The catchphrase of the ongoing Rugby World Cup in Japan is "Once in a Lifetime." The big question, a day after the Brave Blossoms were knocked out of the competition by South Africa, is will Japanese rugby be able to prove that wrong and ...

Bangladesh's cricket players have decided to go on strike, stating that they won't take part in the sport until their 11 demands are met. The players want an increased say in cricket matters and an improvement of domestic pay packages. They also urged for an ...

Kei Nishikori has decided to end his season early due to a lingering right arm and elbow injury, sources close to the matter said Monday. The Japanese world No. 8 revealed last month the injury had been bothering him since the French Open and as ...

About a dozen NBA players gathered for a teleconference with officials in the league office this summer, making their case about what they believe is one of the biggest problems in the game. Fan behavior, they said, is getting worse. The numbers show they're right, and ...

As his Brave Blossoms teammates lick the wounds they sustained in their Rugby World Cup quarterfinal loss, veteran scrumhalf Fumiaki Tanaka is already thinking about the bright side that has come out of Japan hosting rugby's marquee event. Thanks to the team's sensational efforts on ...

Not only did Jason Day win the inaugural The Challenge: Japan Skins game on Monday, beating Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy and Hideki Matsuyama, he also won the needling contest. Turning to Woods after receiving the trophy, Day asked how many similar events Woods had played ...

One trampling run launched Jonah Lomu to global stardom, ensuring his name will be indelibly linked to a Rugby World Cup semifinal between New Zealand and England. The All Blacks winger's rampaging runs during that era-defining World Cup in South Africa in 1995 were highlighted ...

A group of Wales fans laughed and smiled broadly while posing for a photo with South African referee Jaco Peyper after their team scraped into the Rugby World Cup semifinals. Peyper, perhaps unwisely, was holding his right elbow horizontally and into the face of one ...

Throughout the B. League's 60-game season, all teams will have cold spells on offense. The Yokohama B-Corsairs, for example, had five straight quarters with fewer than 20 points on Saturday and Sunday. Yokohama coach Tom Wisman addressed the team's lack of scoring punch at halftime ...

Midfielder Ryota Morioka netted the opener in Charleroi's 3-0 defeat of Cercle Brugge in the Belgian first division on Sunday, his sixth goal of the season. Five minutes into the match at Jan Breydel Stadium, Morioka collected a perfect pass from Ali Gholizadeh in the ...

The Sawamura Award is an honor given to the top pitcher in Japanese baseball each season. Well, except when it isn't. For the first time since 2000, and the fifth time since the award was established in 1947, no pitcher was deemed worthy of the honor ...

Japan's rugby team has been added to the list of this year's winners of the Kikuchi Kan Prize, given to people or groups that have made contributions to Japanese culture, a literature association said Monday. The Brave Blossoms were defeated in one of Sunday's quarterfinals ...

Nobuhiro Matsuda, the lively and exuberant soul who plays third base for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks, is often referred to as the team's "mood-maker." You can remember the game is supposed to be fun as Matsuda hops around on one leg in the batter's box, ...

Japan coach Jamie Joseph said Monday the team's impressive work ethic played a major role in the hosts making a run to the Rugby World Cup's last eight for the first time. Speaking a day after the Brave Blossoms were knocked out of the tournament ...

The Green Bay Packers gave the rest of the NFL its first true glimpse of what Matt LaFleur's offense can look like with Aaron Rodgers at the helm. And it was scary. Rodgers had his best game by far under the new Packers coach, throwing for ...

Japan fell a win short of making the final four at the Rugby World Cup, but both those involved in the game and others watching from the outside said Sunday they are proud of what the team achieved. "Watching them beat Ireland, then Scotland (in ...

Japan's Rugby World Cup players expressed mixed feelings as their incredible campaign came to an end with a quarterfinal defeat to South Africa on Sunday, with pride in their achievements largely crowding out the disappointment. "It was really emotional when the final whistle went," said ...

Nobuhiro Matsuda raised his fist in triumph in front of the dugout as he and over 30,000 fans shook Yafuoku Dome with a spirited yell of "atsuo," the custom in Fukuoka whenever Matsuda goes deep. Matsuda spun around while hopping on one leg as six ...