Standing on the grounds of the State Guesthouse, Akasaka Palace on a crisp autumn day in November, it's hard to believe you're in central Tokyo, just a few minutes' walk from bustling Yotsuya Station. Birds can be heard chirping in the nearby garden and, ...

In September, media reported that 20 executives of Kansai Electric Power Co. (Kepco) had, for a decade or so, received almost ¥320 million worth of cash and gifts from Eiji Moriyama, the former deputy mayor of Takahama, Fukui Prefecture, who died in March at ...

Although the cost of living in Japan is expected to increase in 2020, wages are forecast to remain about the same. This means consumers are constantly on the lookout for better deals, while businesses are scrambling for ways to cut prices and still protect ...

In Japan, 2019 will be remembered as a year that ended twice. In addition to the Western calendar year, which ends on Dec. 31, April 30 marked the final day of year 31 of the Heisei Era, thereby bringing an end to the reign ...

A man who allegedly stole hard disk drives containing data collected by the Kanagawa Prefectural Government began stealing the devices soon after he joined a data erasure company in 2016, it was learned Saturday. Yuichi Takahashi, 50, who was employed by electronics recycling company ...

The government has decided to postpone holding full-fledged talks on how to achieve a stable imperial succession due to differing views even within the ruling Liberal Democratic Party.

A Mitsubishi Electric Corp. employee has been referred to prosecutors for allegedly inciting suicide after one of the company’s recruits killed himself in August.

A department store in Osaka that suspended a campaign that encouraged female staff to wear badges indicating they were having their periods is planning to restart it using a different badge design. The "period badges" introduced at Daimaru department store's Umeda branch were aimed at ...

Economists are divided over how much good Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's new stimulus package will do in terms of sparking extra growth, but there's one thing they do seem to agree on: The Bank of Japan is off the hook for now. The package announced ...

A giant blaze that has blanketed Sydney, Australia's largest city, in a hazardous smoke may take many weeks to put out, fire services said late on Friday, with the whole region fighting nearly 100 wild fires and expectations that the worst is yet to ...

Artificial-intelligence judges, cybercourts and verdicts delivered on chat apps — welcome to China's brave new world of justice. China is encouraging digitization to streamline case-handling within its sprawling court system using cyberspace and technologies like blockchain and cloud computing, the country's Supreme People's Court said ...

The powerful OPEC group of oil producers and its allies reached a deal Friday to cut production by 500,000 barrels per day in a bid to stem prices, which have been under pressure from abundant reserves and weak global economic growth. Friday's so-called OPEC+ meeting ...

China on Friday confirmed that it will waive import tariffs for some soybeans and pork shipments from the United States as the two sides try to thrash out a broader agreement to defuse their protracted trade war. The tariff waivers were based on applications by ...

Japan's three biggest commercial banks are the world's top financiers of new coal plants, according to research released Thursday in Spain at the United Nations Climate Change Conference. Mizuho Financial Group, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group together accounted for 32 percent ...

Agriculture minister Taku Eto on Friday suggested the possibility of expanding the swine fever vaccination program to cover prefectures where the infectious disease hasn't entered yet. Six unaffected prefectures have asked the agriculture ministry for vaccinations, which started being carried out in infected prefectures last ...

The U.S. House of Representatives on Friday threw its weight behind a two-state solution for Israelis and Palestinians, in a warning to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as he mulls annexing the West Bank. Passed largely along party lines, the House resolution also marked a shot ...

Swedish telecommunications firm Ericsson has agreed to pay more than $1 billion to resolve allegations of bribery spanning Asia and the Middle East, the U.S. Justice Department announced Friday. An Egyptian subsidiary also pleaded guilty in a federal court in New York to a charge ...

If Japanese food culture were pared down to its fundamental elements, the ingredient that might embodies them best is kome kōji (rice inoculated with Aspergillus oryzae).

Winter lasts most of the year in Daisetsuzan, the high mountain range that stretches across the center of Hokkaido. Yet some animals live successfully and apparently quite happily in this frozen world.

Though nomadic and grueling, Tohru Miyano's experience of being moved from factory to factory across East Asia and the U.S. has, he says, left him feeling liberated and more open-minded.

In the past four years, if you've stepped into Isetan Shinjuku and checked out one of its in-store displays, chances are you've seen Tokiko Iino's food styling designs.

Increasing numbers of high-end restaurants in Tokyo offer vegetarian and vegan tasting menus. But it's a surprising challenge to find drink pairings to accompany them.

In all honesty, no one needs dessert following a meal at McDonald's. Then again, sometimes you find yourself in a weird state of mind: Your eyes glance up at the sweets menu and you think, "I deserve this!" Curently, the chain has two pie creations on ...

From jet lag to local lodgings — the life of a travel journalist

A dreary drizzle of rain falls on the November day I've set aside for walking out along the Kokubunji gaisen (cliff line) in western Tokyo. Despite the weather, my hope is to catch some late autumn colors, so I yank on my trusty rubber ...

The recent reprint of Hal Gold's book, "Japan's Infamous Unit 731," keeps alive the memory of human rights atrocities committed by the Imperial Japanese Army.

Travel around the world with Mitsumasa Anno's iconic "Anno's Journey" series, which introduces children to countries and customs through meticulous illustrations.

Facing a 61-50 deficit after three quarters was not an insurmountable task for the Utsunomiya Brex. Coach Ryuzo Anzai's club relied on experience and veteran poise to stage a memorable comeback. Macho forward Ryan Rossiter led the way with 19 of his game-high 31 points in ...

A month ago, Saturday's match between Yokohama F. Marinos and FC Tokyo was billed as potentially the most climactic finish ever to the J. League season, with the two sides neck-and-neck alongside the Kashima Antlers, a club that knows a thing or two about ...

The Kyoei Gym, which has been the Tokyo training base for 13 world champions including boxing legend Yoko Gushiken, will shut its doors, gym president Keiichiro Kanehira said Saturday. According to Kanehira, after filing documents to halt business operations with the East Japan Boxing Association ...