The Tokyo High Court on Wednesday ruled the disparity in the weight of votes in the July Upper House election was constitutional, in the last of 16 similar lawsuits filed nationwide by groups of lawyers. The ruling was the 14th stating that the disparity of ...

The Niigata District Court on Wednesday sentenced a 25-year-old man to life in prison for the sexual assault and murder of a 7-year-old schoolgirl last year. According to the ruling, Haruka Kobayashi intentionally hit the second-grader with his car while she was on her way ...

The U.S.-Japan trade agreement is a gamble for Tokyo and will show whether concluding such a deal with Trump is a sufficient insurance policy that discourages him from making future demands.

Opposition parties are accusing the government of lying about the existence of backup data for a guest list for a contentious cherry blossom viewing party this year.

A new law strengthens independent checks on major listed firms by obliging them to have outsiders on their board of directors and make executive compensation more transparent.

Dakshini Siriwardena never expected that the failure of her father's business in Japan would leave her with no choice but to live here as an exchange student — despite having resided in the country for more than 16 years. "It's ridiculous that I had the ...

MUFG Bank will set up a joint company with human resources services provider Recruit Holdings Co. to launch a smartphone-based cashless payment service, it was learned Wednesday. The core banking arm of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. will seek to utilize Recruit's client base of ...

Iran relayed to Japan on Tuesday its wish for President Hassan Rouhani to visit the country, a source close to bilateral relations has said. Abbas Araghchi, Iran's deputy foreign minister for political affairs, serving as a special envoy of the president, relayed the message to ...

Kim Jong Un is back in the saddle — literally — and apparently ready to make a decision on what kind of "Christmas present" North Korea will offer the U.S. as a year-end deadline for progress in nuclear talks with Washington approaches. And one option ...

The top diplomat in China's government arrived in Seoul on Wednesday, visiting South Korea for the first time in more than four years as the two countries seek to repair ties that soured over the deployment of U.S. anti-missile systems in South Korea. During his ...

As part of work style reforms, the Diet enacted a bill Wednesday to introduce a new working-hour system that will enable public school teachers to take extended holidays. The legislation to revise a special law on teacher salaries was adopted at a plenary meeting of ...

In a triennial international survey on academic ability, Japanese students ranked at their lowest level ever for reading skills while remaining in the top band for science and mathematics, the OECD said Tuesday. The 2018 Program for International Student Assessment tests covered about 600,000 15-year-old ...

Japan's financial support for U.S. forces stationed in the country is at an "appropriate" level under a bilateral agreement, the nation's top government spokesman said Wednesday, after remarks by U.S. President Donald Trump that it should be increased. Tokyo earmarked about ¥197.4 billion ($1.8 billion) ...

Japan was one of three countries to receive a satirical "Fossil of the Day" award this week from an international environmental group after the country's industry minister voiced a plan to continue using coal-fired power, one of the top causes of global warming. The nongovernmental ...

East Japan Railway Co. said Tuesday a robotic guide utilizing artificial intelligence and an unstaffed convenience store will feature at a new station slated to open in Tokyo in April 2020. JR East hopes to make Takanawa Gateway Station on the Yamanote Line a model ...

It's turning out to be one of the worst years ever for auto workers across the globe amid shrinking demand and a tectonic shift in vehicle technology, with Daimler AG and Audi announcing almost 20,000 job cuts in just the past week. All told, carmakers ...

Police arrested a man Tuesday on suspicion of having caused injuries resulting in the death in September of his girlfriend's 3-year-old son, Ryutaro Yamada, in Tokyo. Yuji Watanabe, 34, the partner of the boy's mother who lived with them both, had said he found Yamada ...

The PlayStation has been recognized by Guinness World Records as the world's best-selling home video game console brand, having sold 450.19 million units over 25 years, Sony Corp.'s game business unit said Tuesday. The first PlayStation device was launched in December 1994, when Nintendo Co.'s ...

U.S. President Donald Trump said Tuesday a trade deal with China might have to wait until after the U.S. presidential election in November 2020, denting hopes that the two largest economies would soon reach an initial deal to ease their damaging trade war. "I have ...

Although the growth of global carbon emissions is slowing, the persistent rise indicates governments — in particular, China and India — aren't doing enough to stave off the worst consequences of climate change, according to a new report. Emissions of carbon dioxide from burning fossil ...

A 52-year-old in Hyogo Prefecture has filed a claim challenging the constitutionality of a law that blocks people with children who are minors from changing their sex in the official family registry system maintained by Japanese authorities. In the claim, filed Tuesday with the Amagasaki ...

The death toll from Typhoon Kammuri rose to 17 after destroying houses and displacing hundreds of thousands on its path across the Philippines. As it neared its exit, downgraded to a Severe Tropical Storm, tropical cyclone wind signals were lifted as of Wednesday for 10 ...

Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido's faltering efforts to oust President Nicolas Maduro are facing a new challenge in the form of an influence-peddling scandal that has left disillusioned Venezuelans wondering if Guaido's moment has passed. Guaido on Sunday said the opposition-controlled congress would investigate alleged ...

The U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday overwhelmingly approved a bill that would require the Trump administration to toughen its response to China's crackdown on its Muslim minority, drawing swift condemnation from Beijing. The Uighur Act of 2019 is a stronger version of a bill ...

The Diet approved a trade deal with the United States on Wednesday that slashes tariffs on farm and industrial goods, clearing the way for its entry into force at the beginning of next year. The deal, agreed to by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and U.S. ...

What makes an area of trade negotiations crucial is not its economic size but its political importance.

The French government is using psy-ops and parental logic to turn U.S. President Donald Trump into a fan of NATO.

South Korean actor Cha In-ha was found dead in his home, police said Wednesday, the country's third young celebrity to die in the past two months amid growing debate about the intense social pressures artists face. While South Korea's pop culture mostly projects a wholesome ...

Masaaki Suzuki and his son Masato are decidating their time to promoting the music of Johann Sebastian Bach through Bach Collegium Japan

The Rinpa school of painting's initial phase was formed by the superlative talents of Honami Koetsu (1558-1637) and Tawaraya Sotatsu (c. 1570-c. 1630) in late 16th-century Kyoto. The aesthetics resonated with the grand and powerful ornamental inclinations of the Momoyama Period (1573-1603) — gold ...

The International Olympic Committee agreed Wednesday the 2020 Olympic marathon and race walk events, which have been relocated from Tokyo to Sapporo, will take place over the last four days of the July 24 to Aug. 9 games, according to the organizers. The IOC's executive ...

The International Olympic Committee announced at an Executive Board meeting Tuesday that the United States, France and Japan will be the last three countries to march in the opening ceremony of the 2020 Tokyo Games. As in previous editions, Japan as host will be the ...

Despite leading the league for 20 straight rounds from Round 8 — and retaking the top spot for one more week after Round 31 — FC Tokyo is almost certain to settle for second place when the final whistle is blown on Saturday at ...

As detailed in last week's column, sumo fans are divided when it comes to the kind of English language coverage they want and expect. Some would like greater explanation of basic terms and techniques, while others think there is already too much handholding of the ...