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 ...

Hong Kongers have raised more than ¥13.8 million to help people in Japan recover from a powerful typhoon that tore through the country earlier this month. The crowdfunding campaign, which ended Sunday with nearly four thousand backers, was created by YouTuber Jason Chau, who said ...

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

Indonesian President Joko Widodo's new Cabinet is taking shape, with some well-known business figures set to join his team as he pledges to put the world's fourth most-populous country on path to become a $7 trillion economy by 2045. The president, who was sworn in ...

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, ...

Lebanon's teetering government was expected Monday to approve a belated economic rescue plan as the nation prepared for a fifth day of mass protests against the ruling elite. A proposed tax on mobile messaging applications last week sparked a spontaneous, cross-sectarian mobilization that has brought ...

The number of rich Chinese has surpassed the count of wealthy Americans for the first time as both countries keep churning out millionaires, a study by Credit Suisse showed. The Swiss bank's annual wealth survey released Monday found 100 million Chinese ranked in the global ...

The government Monday decided to take steps to prevent poisonous foreign fire ants from settling in Japan. "A situation totally different from the past has been confirmed," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told a meeting of relevant ministers. "The government will join forces to prevent ...

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 ...

Corporate Japan's growing need to rely on new technologies to cope with the shrinking workforce was on show at the recent CEATEC technology exhibition, with service industry companies turning out in greater numbers this year. As more and more skilled workers reach retirement across various ...

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 ...

Australia's biggest newspapers ran front pages on Monday made to appear heavily redacted as a protest against legislation that restricts press freedoms, a rare show of unity by the usually partisan media industry. Australia has no constitutional safeguards for free speech, although the government added ...

Renault SA's growing litany of woes could nudge the French carmaker to reduce its stake in Nissan Motor Co., a step that would help ease their strained relations. The possibility of a shareholding deal with the Japanese company was driven home by analysts after a ...

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.

An Air France jet made an emergency landing Monday at Tokyo's Haneda Airport, and a government source said its passengers included at least one foreign dignitary attending Emperor Naruhito's enthronement ceremony. No injuries were reported as a result of the landing around 12:20 p.m. of ...

Global renewable energy capacity is set to rise by 50 percent in five years' time, driven by solar photovoltaic (PV) installations on homes, buildings and industry, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). Total renewable-based power capacity will rise by 1.2 terawatts (TW) by 2024 ...

China's defense minister, Wei Fenghe, said on Monday that resolving the "Taiwan question" is his country's "greatest national interest," and that no force could prevent China's "reunification." Separatist activities are doomed to failure, Wei said at the opening of the Xiangshan Forum in Beijing, which ...

From blocking airports to using encrypted messaging apps, Catalan separatists demonstrating against the jailing of nine of their leaders are openly copying tactics devised by pro-democracy protestors in Hong Kong. Shortly after Spain's Supreme Court on Monday sentenced nine Catalan leaders to prison terms of ...

Hong Kong's businesses will likely foot the bill for vandalism inflicted over the past four months during the territory's most violent protests in living memory as few of them bought insurance coverage for riot damage, industry insiders said. Businesses big and small have suffered smashed ...

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Sunday he will never allow electronic cigarette companies to produce their products in Turkey, urging Turks to drink tea instead. Speaking at an event against smoking in Istanbul, Erdogan said he had ordered his Trade Minister "never" to allow ...

Visitors to a London portrait gallery were treated to an impromptu performance on Sunday when three semi-naked climate activists were doused with mock crude oil in a protest against arts sponsorship by British oil company BP. The unauthorized stunt at the National Portrait Gallery capped ...

Fresh clashes broke out in Chile's capital Santiago on Sunday after two people died when a supermarket was torched overnight as violent protests sparked by anger over economic conditions and social inequality raged into a third day. Police and the military fired tear gas and ...

Cabin crew at four Lufthansa subsidiary airlines staged a day-long strike Sunday, causing dozens of cancellations at German airports in a battle for better pay and conditions. The walkout, called by the UFO cabin crew union, was initially set to last from 5:00 a.m. until ...

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.

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...