Foreign ministers from the Group of 20 major economies gathered in Nagoya on Friday, where they were set to discuss free trade, sustainable development and how to best assist rapidly growing economies in Africa. The two-day event — the last of the eight ministerial G20 ...

The government plans to spend around ¥400 billion ($3.7 billion) to supply more computers to public schools as part of an economic stimulus package, government sources said Friday. State and local outlays for the package, which will be formulated early next month, are expected to ...

In a statement likely to annoy some in Japan ahead of his visit planned for next spring, Chinese President Xi Jinping blamed the unpopularity of his country on Japanese bias and prejudice. "The fact that Chinese people have a more favorable view of Japan shows ...

The dramatic reversal just hours before the deadline came in the face of strong pressure from Washington and after Tokyo and Seoul reportedly narrowed their gap on trade.

After a three-year renewal project, Shibuya Parco, an iconic shopping complex in the bustling central Tokyo district, is back in the game. Having been at the vanguard of fashion and youth culture, especially in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, the facility, which reopened Friday, largely ...

Slumping vehicle sales are starting to take a toll on the employment situation in the automotive industry. Since Nov. 8, Mazda Motor Corp. has stopped soliciting new workers on fixed-term contracts at its head office plants in Hiroshima Prefecture, which mainly manufacture finished vehicles, and ...

The amended law, which requires foreign investors to get state permission when acquiring stakes of 1 percent or more in a sensitive company, takes effect next spring.

Huawei Technologies Co. Chairman Liang Hua said Thursday that parts procured from Japanese companies are set to total ¥1.1 trillion ($10 billion) in 2019, also expressing hope to boost ties with them while the firm remains blacklisted by the United States. The figure represents more ...

The supervisor’s December 2017 suicide at Mitsubishi Electric unit Melco Semiconductor came after he logged over 100 hours of overtime per month.

The 12 divorced parents want ¥12 million in damages for allegedly being denied the right to raise their children. They also want Japan to create a joint custody system.

A predawn fire that destroyed much of Shuri Castle in Naha, Okinawa Prefecture, has shocked the local tourism industry and associations of traditional Ryukyu Kingdom crafts, raising alarm about the loss of the historic attraction and potential harm to the prefecture's ability to promote ...

Some 60,000 particles of microplastics per square meter — meaning one particle per 16 square millimeters — are estimated to exist at Nasanohama beach on Toshi Island in Toba, Mie Prefecture, a study by Yokkaichi University professor Satoshi Chiba has revealed. Although the beach is ...

Three municipalities, including Higashikawa in Hokkaido's Kamikawa subprefecture, and nursing care providers in the prefecture's north introduced in April a scholarship program for non-Japanese attending welfare services schools to encourage them to take up jobs at local nursing homes. The move has raised hopes that ...

Venice could lose its status as a World Heritage Site if it does not adequately protect itself from worsening flooding, UNESCO representatives have warned as they offered help after recent inundations. "Key buildings which are within the World Heritage area are threatened. ... This is ...

Dassai sake from Yamaguchi Prefecture, where Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's constituency is located, was used at the annual state-funded cherry blossom-viewing party that's now the subject of intense scrutiny, it was learned Friday. The government admitted serving the well-known brand at the party in a ...

Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako visited the Grand Shrines of Ise in Mie Prefecture on Friday to mark the completion of two major rites signifying the emperor's enthronement. The couple offered prayers at the Geku outer shrine dedicated to the goddess of clothing, food and ...

In a show of resilience following a deadly arson attack on one of its studios earlier this year, Kyoto Animation Co. has announced that it will continue to offer training programs for aspiring animators next year. The animation company — also known as KyoAni — ...

Justice Minister Masako Mori has pledged to prioritize the protection of human rights and support services for victims of crime in her new role. The lawyer-turned-lawmaker with 25 years of experience in the legal field said protecting the rights of children, in particular, would be ...

Jeremy Corbyn pulled no punches as he presented the country with his plan for a Labour government, the most radical proposed since 1983, when the party suffered its worst postwar defeat. Railways, water supply and broadband infrastructure would be brought into state ownership. The government's ...

In a drab government office in Seoul, a team of regulators spend their days watching online porn — the front-line troops of South Korea's attempts to crack down on spy-cam videos that mostly expose women. The 16-member unit for monitoring digital sex crimes was set ...

The U.S. Navy has sent warships on two occasions in recent days near islands claimed by Beijing in the disputed South China Sea, the military told The Japan Times on Friday. The so-called freedom of navigation operations (FONOPs) on Wednesday and Thursday came amid rising ...

Shippers scrambled to shift freight onto trucks on Thursday as a strike at Canada's biggest railroad, Canadian National Railway Co., entered its third day and left the critical fuel propane and other goods stranded. Some 3,200 unionized employees, including conductors and yard workers, hit picket ...

A growing push to put cities on a digital path to a greener future risks excluding groups like the poorest, disabled and elderly, and will fail to benefit those people unless technology is used to help meet their needs, rights advocates have warned. They also ...

Elena's husband had strangled and beaten her, but it was the moment he slammed one of their twin baby girls against the bed that she decided she had to get out. That was eight years ago. She thought she and her daughters had escaped from danger, ...

The crew of a passenger ferry traveling to Ireland from France discovered 16 migrants stowed aboard in a sealed trailer on Thursday, a spokesman for the vessel's Swedish operator Stena Line said. The migrants were found during a routine inspection on board the ferry while ...

WeWork said on Thursday it is laying off around 2,400 employees globally, as the office-sharing company seeks to drastically cut costs and stabilize its business after it transformed from a Wall Street darling into a pariah in a matter of weeks. The long-anticipated layoffs are ...

A suspected Nigerian serial killer reversed his plea to not guilty in court Thursday after earlier confessing to strangling nine women in a string of ritual-style killings. Gracious David West, 26, was arrested in September on accusations he lured his victims to hotels in Port ...

As the world's economic center of gravity shifts to Asia, it increasingly falls to these two countries to take up the baton to champion freedom, inclusivity, trade and other liberal values.

Today, the world is fretting over Venice's soaked and damaged urbs, but it has largely failed to recognize the extent to which the Venetian "civitas" is in decline.

I propose a very low-stakes drinking game for watching the recent episodes of "Terrace House" — you'll probably be parched by the end credits, though. Whenever Ruka appears on screen, take a sip of your beverage of choice. His appearances have become so rare ...

The first comic book produced by Marvel, the famed U.S. publisher behind Spider-Man, X-Men and The Avengers, went under the hammer Thursday, fetching a record $1.26 million, Heritage Auctions said. "This is a historic copy of a historic comic book," Ed Jaster, auction house senior ...

The former Yura Yura Teikoku frontman discusses his absence from the live music scene and how he feels singing in Japanese is no longer a barrier to international acclaim

Dance music has always had a political edge, but recent events in Tokyo show that clubs and politics are clashing on a more frequent basis

Reigning world champions Uta Abe and Joshiro Maruyama missed their chance to become the first Japanese judoka to secure a spot at next summer's Tokyo Olympics after losing in the finals at the Osaka Grand Slam on Friday. Abe lost to France’s Amandine Buchard in ...

Yuzuru Hanyu took a commanding lead after the short program at the NHK Trophy on Friday night at Makomanai Ice Arena. The two-time Olympic champion gave the capacity crowd the show they were looking for with an exquisite performance to "Otonal" that saw him earn ...

After finishing five straight tournaments with a losing record, Tochiozan was demoted to the juryo division for the ongoing Fukuoka meet. The veteran is in a good position for instant repromotion to the top tier after securing a winning record on Day 12, but whether ...

Yokozuna Hakuho beat komusubi Abi at the Kyushu Grand Sumo Tournament on Friday, positioning himself just one win away from extending his record for career top-division championships to 43. Hakuho claimed his 12th victory at Fukuoka Kokusai Center to retain a two-win buffer over his ...

When 3x3 basketball's inclusion in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics was announced, longtime proponent Tomoya Ochiai was beside himself. At the same time, he wondered if the sport's Olympic inclusion was legitimate. "When I first started playing, we would be playing on the concrete, sometimes in the ...

Christophe Lemaire started his career as a horse racing jockey in 1999 in France, his home country. He began competing in Japan Racing Association events in 2002, racing under a short-term license before making a complete transfer in 2015. The 40-year-old Frenchman set a new Japanese ...

Argentine legend Diego Maradona announced on Thursday he would return as coach of Argentine first-division side Gimnasia, just two days after resigning. "I am very happy to be able to announce that I will remain coach of Gimnasia," he wrote on social media, noting that ...

Wataru "Wat" Misaka, a Utah native of Japanese descent who was recognized as the first person of color to play in what is now the NBA, died Wednesday at the age of 95, the University of Utah said. Misaka, who was born in Ogden, Utah, ...

When the entrance gates open at Tokyo Racecourse on Sunday, another chapter in the history of one of the world's most prestigious horse races will also open, and those passing through the gates on Sunday will experience the unique atmosphere that accompanies the running ...