The Aichi Triennale arts festival closed on Oct. 14, and, along with it, a controversial exhibition titled "After 'Freedom of Expression?'", which had been temporarily shut down following threats of violence and complaints. The main point of contention was a statue of a Korean ...

"It's like you're submerged underwater, but the water is boiling, and you're kind of halfway cooked" — that's how one distance runner described conditions at the women's marathon at the 2019 World Athletics Championship in Doha on Sept. 27-28. Even though the marathon started at ...

After six boisterous weeks, the 2019 Rugby World Cup is over. By all accounts, the tournament has been a roaring success, with Nikkei Business estimating that it has injected more than ¥430 billion into the economy. Sadly, it seems, the Japanese national side saw very ...

Popular all-male idol group Arashi sang at a national festival Saturday to celebrate the enthronement of Emperor Naruhito, with the event attended by the imperial couple. The festival was held at the Imperial Palace Plaza in central Tokyo during the afternoon, beginning with a procession ...

Catastrophic bush fires in eastern Australia have killed at least three people and forced thousands from their homes, with the death toll expected to rise as firefighters struggle toward hard-to-reach communities. In the normally picturesque coastal town of Forster — one among dozens hit along ...

A man who had been indicted for using illegal stimulants and possessing marijuana escapes while being transferred to police custody in Osaka Prefecture.

Shinji Aoba, the suspect in the Kyoto Animation Co. studio arson attack, is interrogated for the first time as he recovers from severe burns sustained during the deadly July incident.

The English proficiency level for Japanese was ranked 53rd in an annual survey of 100 non-English speaking countries and regions by EF Education First, down from 49th place in last year's survey. The grim status quo was highlighted at a time when teachers and others ...

WeWork officials and SoftBank are being sued by minority shareholders to recoup losses as the shared workspace provider pulled its initial public offering and saw its value plunge more than 87 percent.

Beijing could resort to military conflict with self-ruled Taiwan to divert domestic pressure if a slowdown in the world's second largest economy amid a trade war threatens the legitimacy of the Chinese Communist Party, the island's foreign minister has said. As Taiwan's presidential elections approach ...

NASA, best known for its many Florida-launched forays into space, showcased an early version of its first all-electric experimental aircraft, the X-57 Maxwell, on Friday at its lesser-known aeronautics lab in the California desert. Adapted from an Italian-made Tecnam P2006T twin-engine propeller plane, the X-57 ...

Emperor Naruhito's enthronement parade on Sunday has inspired a number of products and services, ranging from wedding packages offering the same style of dress expected to be worn by Empress Masako to tours of the route. Kamigamo Shrine in Kyoto, which has ties to the ...

The body of a baby girl was found buried in a park in central Tokyo on Friday, after police received an emergency call in the morning. The Metropolitan Police Department said it received a call at 10:45 a.m. saying that "what appears to be the ...

China's consumer prices grew at their fastest rate in almost eight years in October driven by a spike in pork prices caused by an outbreak of African swine fever, according to official figures released Saturday. The consumer price index (CPI) — a key gauge of ...

The United States wants the United Nations to take up the Dalai Lama's succession to stop China from trying to handpick his successor, an envoy said after meeting the Tibetan spiritual leader. Sam Brownback, the U.S. ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom, said he spoke at ...

Two people have been found dead, seven are missing and at least 100 homes have been destroyed as bush fires rage across eastern Australia, authorities said on Saturday. The New South Wales Rural Fire Service (NSW RFS) confirmed two people had been killed by a ...

Many Japanese women are fighting for the right to wear eyeglasses to work, a new front in the growing movement that demands an end to the prescriptive beauty standards faced by female employees. The hashtag "glasses ban" started trending on Twitter on Wednesday, after Nippon ...

In a symbolic deal between two major U.S. allies in northeast Asia, South Korean officials confirm plans Seoul will terminate a military intelligence-sharing pact with Japan.

Ahead of a planned visit to Japan next year by Chinese President Xi Jinping, Japan refrains from directly criticizing China over the death of a student protester in Hong Kong on Friday.

A North Korean diplomat said Friday that the window of opportunity for progress in dialogue with the United States was getting smaller, adding that Pyongyang expects reciprocal steps from Washington by the end of the year. "We've given the United States quite a lot of ...

The Foreign Ministry has added a Korean-language explanation of the Rising Sun flag to its website, a move aimed at addressing the backlash over the decision not to ban it at venues for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics. The move came Friday in the ...

Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has the money and name recognition to shake up the Democratic presidential race, but he will face huge hurdles to the nomination if he makes the leap to become a formal candidate. The billionaire media mogul is laying ...

Withdrawn endorsements for films and art exhibitions are re-igniting a debate in Japan over self-censorship, exposing a struggle to balance freedom of expression with a cultural penchant for avoiding conflict. The latest controversy arose when Japan last week canceled its endorsement of an art exhibition ...

Don't lump useful social science experiments together with pop psychology.

The future of Ginza's iconic building hangs in the balance as architectural enthusiasts attempt to preserve the fading landmark.

Working in the Japanese music industry, Naoko Takei Moore's job was to wine and dine famous artists. What she picked up from that was a desire to cook that took her to the United States.

Through byōbu, we can glimpse the souls of the artists who expressed their love of nature in these screen paintings, and the souls of the people who cherished those images as part of their day-to-day existence.

Tokyo Aleworks offers periodic one-day brewing classes for customers to try their hand at making beer, just one way it opens its doors to young brewers and the local community.

Chie Nishimura's business, Farm Canning, uses around 1,000 kilograms of organic "ugly vegetables" per year, turning them into canned preserves and healthy catered meals.

It's trickier than you might expect to find a good sake bar where you can order a glass or two before sundown. Luckily, there's standing bar Sanbun to fill that gap.

Don't wait to check out the new desserts on offer at Shibuya Scramble Square!

Bistro New Orleans owner-chef C.C. Haydel on the differences between Cajun and Creole cuisine, his go-to cocktail and the hardest ingredients to find in Japan.

Hiroko Oyamada's award-winning debut novel, "The Factory," measures out in terse detail an indictment of contemporary work culture. Set in modern Japan where the norms of underpay and overwork are well-known, the novella evokes the worst of the Silicon Valley-type tech campuses and asks ...

The extraordinary story of Lafcadio Hearn (1850-1904) is here skillfully brought to life in a sumptuous historical novel told from the perspectives of the most important women in his memorable life. The Sweetest Fruits, by Monique Truong.304 pages PENGUIN RANDOM HOUSE, Historical fiction. We begin on the ...

If there's a country more infatuated with receiving UNESCO heritage status than Japan, please name it. World Heritage Japan, by John Lander.236 pages RIVER BOOKS, Photography. From the Shiretoko Peninsula in Hokkaido to the low-lying islands of Okinawa (the main attraction of which, Shuri Castle, burned down ...

The Alvark Tokyo built a 13-point cushion by halftime in Saturday's series opener against the visiting Ryukyu Golden Kings. Providing a boost from the get-go, star guard Daiki Tanaka scored nine of his 17 points in the opening quarter, and Tokyo triumphed 76-66 at Arena ...

Kawasaki Frontale clung to the slimmest hopes of a third straight J. League crown Saturday, handing the Kashima Antlers a 2-0 defeat that dented the eight-time champions' own title aspirations. Former Antlers defender Kazuya Yamamura and Tatsuya Hasegawa scored against the momentum in the second ...

Shocking news came out of the blue early last month when the Japan Basketball Association revealed that the wild-card spot for either its men's or women's national 3x3 teams would be negated by the International Olympic Committee. In late March, FIBA had granted automatic berths ...

The organizing committee of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics is considering members of Nadeshiko Japan, soccer's 2011 Women's World Cup champion, as candidates to open the domestic leg of the Olympic torch relay in March, sources said Friday. The members of the team, captained ...