Chinese companies have exported artificial intelligence surveillance technology to more than 60 countries including Iran, Myanmar, Venezuela, Zimbabwe and others with dismal human rights records, according to a report by a U.S. think tank. With the technology involving facial recognition systems that the Communist Party ...

Former Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir was sentenced Saturday to two years' detention in a correctional center for corruption in the first of several cases against the ousted autocrat. The charges stemmed from millions of dollars received from Saudi Arabia by the toppled strongman. In a statement ...

The U.N. climate summit in Madrid stumbled toward the finish line Sunday after marathon talks between countries exposed deeper divides than ever over how to enact humanity's plan to avert a global warming disaster. More than a day and a half after the negotiations were ...

For the past two decades India has been enthusiastically feted in Washington, with politicians across the spectrum eager to nurture an alliance between the world's two largest democracies. But as Prime Minister Narendra Modi pushes forward his Hindu nationalist agenda, India has suddenly found itself ...

While Saturday marked the first anniversary of the start of landfill work Okinawa Gov. Denny Tamaki blasted the Abe administration’s “illegal” landfill work, calling it “an act of trampling on democracy.”

Crown Prince Akishino and his wife, Crown Princess Kiko, visited Peace Memorial Park in the city of Itoman, Okinawa Prefecture, on Saturday, laying flowers at the National Okinawa War Dead Mausoleum within the park. In the presence of bereaved relatives, the couple offered bouquets of ...

With the close of the extraordinary Diet session on Dec. 9, some of the largest opposition parties once again entered talks about merging before year's end, with an eye toward increasing their seats in the next general election. Here's a look at the talks ...

A postponed meeting last month between Japanese and Chinese politicians was canceled because Beijing had demanded that Tokyo send more representatives than the number it sent to Taiwan in October, diplomatic sources said Saturday. China requested that over 40 Japanese lawmakers take part in the ...

The death toll from New Zealand's White Island volcano eruption rose to 18 on Sunday, including two people whose bodies have not been recovered, police said. A land search early Sunday failed to find any sign of the missing pair and a sea search resumed ...

France reeled under a crippling public transport strike for a 10th day Saturday aimed at forcing the government to scrap a pension revamp, as fears grew of travel mayhem during Christmas. Train traffic was severely disrupted with only one out four TGV high speed long-distance ...

California's governor has rejected a plan by the state's largest utility to emerge from bankruptcy, which included a $13.5 billion payout for victims of a series of wildfires blamed on the company's faulty equipment. Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a letter to Pacific Gas and ...

Thailand's highest-profile opposition party warned of more demonstrations after drawing thousands of people to an anti-government rally Saturday that also protested the prospect of its looming dissolution. The crowd assembled on an elevated walkway in a Bangkok shopping district three days after the Election Commission ...

Evacuations are such a major expense for cities, towns and villages that government sign-ups for disaster insurance have nearly tripled, an insurer says.

After a scandal-dominated extraordinary Diet session closed last Monday, speculation began focusing on when Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will use his power to call a snap election to prevent his administration from becoming a lame duck. Abe became Japan's longest-serving prime minister in terms of ...

French carmaker Renault has offered the chairman of Volkswagen's SEAT brand, Luca de Meo, the job of chief executive, Spanish newspaper La Vanguardia reported on Saturday, citing anonymous sources. The report said de Meo would initially become CEO of Renault for two years before taking ...

In response to several tragic road accidents, Japan's automakers are upgrading their safety technologies. In September, Nissan Motor Co. released a premium version of the Skyline sports sedan equipped with a driver assistance system that enables hands-off driving on expressways while cruising in a single ...

A recent Jiji Press survey has shown that 57.4 percent of people in Japan eat something special for Christmas and that about half of such people buy take-out food. The proportion of respondents who said they have a special meal to celebrate Christmas every year ...

It was a busy 2019 for Kansai, particularly in the days leading up to the June Group of 20 leaders summit in Osaka. While the Tokyo Olympics will be the focus of much of the nation's attention in 2020, here are some major issues ...

The West has a golden opportunity to craft a larger strategy of both containment and cooperation.

Let’s put aside the finger-pointing, and let Time’s choice be a reminder that the problem isn’t going to solve itself. There’s more carbon entering the atmosphere every day.

The guest parlor at the Finland Embassy of Tokyo speaks of Scandinavian restraint and simplicity. Artworks by Finnish artists adorn the walls.

For aspiring action actor Alice Iwamoto, the multidisciplined approach of the martial art kobudō brings realism to fighting performances.

Chapter 2 Franz called his wife from the Narita Express terminal at Shibuya Station to inform her that he had completely forgotten about his parents coming to visit them over the holidays and that they were already at Narita Airport. Hina took the news unexpectedly ...

Chapter 1 The best thing about leaving his neighborhood of Happy Road Oyamadai was that he would always return to it. That was the thought that gave Franz comfort now, in this noisy and confusing environment. Not a lot of comfort, though. Under his beard, ...

The women's doubles pair of Miyu Kihara and Miyu Nagasaki won their first ITTF World Tour Grand Finals championship on Sunday. After a close first game, the 15-year-old Kihira and her 17-year-old partner Nagasaki, the world junior singles champion, rolled to a 12-10, 11-6, 11-6 ...

Veteran poise paid off the Alvark Tokyo on Sunday afternoon. Frontcourt mates Joji Takeuchi and Alex Kirk, pillars of the team's back-to-back title-winning teams, scored 19 and 14 points, respectively, and veteran forward Milan Macvan came off the bench and poured in 17 points as ...

World No. 1 Kento Momota fought back from a game down to win his 11th badminton title of the year on Sunday with victory at the BWF World Tour Finals. The peerless Japanese player defeated Indonesia's Anthony Ginting 17-21, 21-17, 21-14 in 87 high-quality minutes ...

The newly built National Stadium, which will serve as the main venue for next summer's Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games, was unveiled on Sunday. Hundreds of media members, from both domestic and international outlets, toured the inside and outside of the venue, which was completed ...

After parting with two coaches over the past year, Naomi Osaka has hired Wim Fissette, an experienced coach who has worked with several top-ranked players, Osaka's management revealed Sunday. The 39-year-old Belgian guided former world No. 1 Kim Clijsters to three Grand Slam titles and ...

Kevin Jackson, one of the most successful U.S. players to have ever competed in Japan's football scene, is concerned about the lack of chances local players have to compete abroad with the ambition of one day playing in the sport's motherland. He hopes late ...

Japan's women claimed their first team pursuit victory of the season in front of a home crowd on Sunday, the final day of the ISU World Cup in Nagano. The country's trio of skaters, sisters Miho and Nana Takagi, and Ayano Sato, crossed the line ...

Miyabi Onitsuka snared her first gold medal of the snowboard World Cup season, winning the women's big air in Beijing on Saturday. The 21-year-old received a score of 165.00 to finish seven points clear of Austria's Anna Gasser. Canada's Laurie Blouin took bronze with 155.75 ...