In the highly competitive arena of global diplomacy, it is Beijing that now stands atop the podium. China has overtaken the United States and now possesses the largest diplomatic network in the world, while Japan has quietly beefed up its global presence amid Beijing's rise, ...

The denial marks the latest tit-for-tat between Tokyo and Seoul following years of bickering and finger-pointing amid sour bilateral relations.

Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden, one of Tokyo's largest and most popular parks, will start selling entrance tickets online later this week ahead of next year's Olympics with an eye on cutting queuing times, the government said Tuesday. With tickets currently only available at park gates, ...

Major chemical maker Asahi Kasei Corp. has said it will purchase Veloxis Pharmaceuticals Inc. of the U.S. by February. The acquisition price will come to some ¥143.2 billion. Through the purchase of the U.S. drugmaker, Asahi Kasei hopes to establish a business foundation in the growing ...

Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Inc. made a strong debut on the Hong Kong stock market Tuesday, with its shares trading far above the $176 Hong Kong dollar (¥2,450) offer price. Alibaba, already listed in New York, is raising over $11 billion by issuing ...

KDDI Corp. and social media giant Facebook Inc. will jointly develop services to be provided through a 5G network in Japan, according to informed sources. They aim to offer smartphone users a product sales system utilizing augmented reality by taking advantage of the massive data ...

Sony Corp. and Sharp Corp. have supplied parts to video surveillance company Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology Co., one of 28 Chinese entities blacklisted by the United States last month over human rights violations, the Chinese company's product brochures show. Hikvision — the world's largest video ...

A Tokyo policeman was referred to prosecutors Tuesday over the death of a 4-year-old boy after he was hit by the officer's patrol car in August. Police added a request for the indictment of the 51-year-old male sergeant at a Shinjuku police station on suspicion ...

WeWork parent We Co. agreed to the Japanese conglomerate’s tender offer, one element of a $9.5 billion rescue package for the ailing office-sharing company, last month.

Hitachi Ltd. is in talks with Showa Denko K.K. to sell its chemical unit Hitachi Chemical Co., sources familiar with the matter said Tuesday. Hitachi is looking to offload its chemical unit so it can focus resources on what it believes to be growing sectors ...

Two men were referred to prosecutors Tuesday on suspicion of smuggling into Japan two rare perentie lizards, a protected species under the Washington Convention, police said. A 36-year-old pet shop owner from Atsugi, Kanagawa Prefecture, and another man allegedly conspired to import the lizards, a ...

For years, the government has sought to convince consumers that food from Fukushima is safe despite the nuclear disaster. But will it serve the prefecture's produce at the Tokyo Olympics? It's a thorny subject for the authorities. They pitched the Olympics in part as a ...

Tens of thousands rallied across the world Monday against abuse of women to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, as France unveiled new measures to combat domestic violence. Demonstrators gathered in countries as diverse as Guatemala, Russia, Sudan and Turkey, ...

Bundles of yuan notes were stacked high behind the counters of branches of Yingkou Coastal Bank earlier this month, as the northeast China lender fought off a run on deposits while on-site government officials battled rumors of a funding crunch. Yingkou was the latest small ...

Tightening its control over efforts to manage the upheaval in Hong Kong, the Chinese leadership has set up a crisis command center on the mainland side of the border and is considering replacing its official liaison to the restive semi-autonomous city, people familiar with ...

The last Japanese citizen to be evacuated from a war-torn region of Papua New Guinea has returned to witness a long-awaited referendum on independence. Satoru Kutsukake first arrived in Bougainville in May 1987 as an idealistic 28-year-old as part of the Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers, ...

Social media is increasingly being used as a means of smuggling endangered otters, and Thai authorities say this is making it difficult to crack down on secret networks. Illicit trade in the Asian small-clawed otter, an animal that has seen booming demand as pets in ...

A prolonged strike at Canadian National Railway Co., the country's largest railroad, sent further shocks through the economy on Monday with grain shipments scuttled and layoffs planned at fertilizer producers and an auto shipment terminal. As Canada's biggest rail strike in a decade entered its ...

Former White House counsel Don McGahn must comply with a congressional subpoena seeking his testimony about President Donald Trump's efforts to impede the now-completed federal investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election, a judge ruled on Monday. In an important case about presidential ...

Each of Wall Street's three major averages kicked off the trading week by closing at records on Monday as signs pointed to progress between the United States and China on a trade truce, while a round of merger deals also helped buoy sentiment. A Chinese ...

Using a bright orange electrocardiogram machine attached with suction cups to the body of a blue whale, scientists for the first time have measured the heart rate of the world's largest creature and came away with insight about the renowned behemoth's physiology. The blue whale, ...

When the Trump administration imposed tariffs on Chinese imports last year, officials insisted China would pay the cost — implying Chinese firms would have to cut their prices to absorb import "taxes" of up to 25 percent when the goods hit U.S. shores. Instead, the ...

Myanmar is in breach of a global convention banning chemical weapons and may have a stockpile left over from the 1980s, the United States said on Monday. The Southeast Asian nation may still have weapons at a "historic" facility where mustard gas was produced, a ...

Uber was stripped of its license to carry paying passengers in London on Monday for the second time in just over two years, pending an appeal, over a "pattern of failures" on safety and security. Unauthorized drivers were able to upload their photos to others' ...

Mexico, Latin America's second-largest economy after Brazil, registered a recession in the first two quarters of the year and zero growth in the third, according to revised official data released Monday. The downward revision confirmed the economy's weak performance under leftist President Andres Manuel Lopez ...

The emperor's position is determined by the will of the people, irrespective of the historical background of the imperial system.

The pro-democrats' landslide victory in district elections could prove a turning point for the city.

The capital once again led its global peers, but one of the city’s most famous restaurants is no longer listed in the prestigious guidebook.

There's a famous part of Tokyo called Nihonbashi, but a place in Osaka using the same kanji is pronounced Nipponbashi. When do you use the "ho" and when do you use the "po"? It depends on what everyone else is saying.

The structures "ni mukete" and "o mezashite" help express your working toward a goal, with the latter being the more concrete option.

A Kyodo story reviews language dealing with the "kyōsei shūyō" of Japanese Americans.

A discussion surrounding reports of women not being able to wear glasses at work while their male counterparts were allowed causes quite the stir on Twitter.

A South Korean pop star has become the latest celebrity to spark anger on the Chinese internet after he "liked" a tweet about the divisive issue of pro-democracy unrest in Hong Kong. Choi Siwon, a member of popular K-pop boy band Super Junior, was forced ...

It was pretty apparent early in the NPB season that it might be a special year for the Yomiuri Giants' Hayato Sakamoto and the Seibu Lions' Tomoya Mori. Eight months later, that was proven true as they stood side-by-side as the top players in their ...

As they enter their likely final season in Super Rugby, the Sunwolves revealed 15 players who will compete for the Japan-based team in Tokyo on Tuesday. All but one on the initial squad is a foreign-born player, including Georgian hooker Jaba Bregvadze, who played for ...

The Sunrockers Shibuya avenged their series-opening defeat by downing the Alvark Tokyo 77-65 on Monday night in Tachikawa. Ex-Duke University forward Ryan Kelly led Shibuya (12-4) with a game-high 28 points. Floor leader Leo Vendrame poured in 18 points, dished out four assists and made ...

Rugby World Cup winner Cheslin Kolbe was named the Top 14's player of the season on Monday, the French League announced at a ceremony. Kolbe, 26, lifted the Webb Ellis Trophy with the Springboks earlier this month after having helped his club Toulouse to the ...