Russian border security authorities seized five Japanese fishing vessels Tuesday and took them to the island of Kunashiri, one of the disputed Russian-held islands off Hokkaido, the Japanese government said. The seizure of the boats, which were operating under a bilateral agreement on fishing around ...

South Korea and the United States failed on Wednesday to reach an agreement over Seoul's contribution toward hosting some 28,500 U.S. troops, ending two days of talks that were the last before their existing deal expires on Dec. 31. South Korean lawmakers have said Washington ...

Asahi Breweries Ltd. says it will stop releasing sales volume data for its beer and quasi-beer products this month, switching in January to the disclosure of the value of sales. The major beer-maker is apparently intending to put more emphasis on boosting its profitability while ...

Japan logged a goods trade deficit of ¥82.08 billion ($749 million) in November, hit by weak exports to China amid a slowdown in the world's second-largest economy, government data showed Wednesday. The trade deficit followed a revised ¥15.66 billion surplus in October, according to a ...

Ito said she hopes her case and the court’s decision will lead to changes in the criminal law that will offer victims greater protection.

A review panel formed by the Aichi Prefectural Government has slammed a high-profile art festival held every three years in the prefecture, saying that the event, which sparked controversy for featuring a statue symbolizing "comfort women," had many faults in its displays and preparations. The ...

In the not-so-distant future, more robots may be interacting with customers at shopping complexes, serving food at restaurants or cleaning floors at offices in Japan amid a serious labor crunch. A hint of what is to come is visible at the International Robot Exhibition 2019, ...

It’s unlikely Japan will be able to bypass U.S.-imposed sanctions and resume importing crude oil from Iran in accordance with Tehran’s apparent wishes, experts say.

A court Wednesday sentenced a man to life in prison over a random knife attack aboard a shinkansen last year that killed one passenger and injured two others. Ichiro Kojima, 23, had admitted to the charges of murdering 38-year-old Kotaro Umeda and attempting to kill ...

The central government will distribute ¥16.6 trillion to local governments, up ¥400 billion from the previous year.

East Japan Railway Co. conducted trial operations on Wednesday on a section of the Joban Line in Fukushima Prefecture that has been closed since the March 2011 earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster. JR East aims to fully reopen the Joban Line, which connects Tokyo and ...

The government plans to ease its requirements for subsidies to people who move to places outside the Tokyo area in order to take new jobs, according to sources with knowledge of the matter. Despite the government's target of providing the subsidies to 3,984 individuals by ...

The commissioning puts China in a small group of nations with multiple aircraft carriers as it reportedly continues to work on building a third.

India's controversial religion-based citizenship act will have to pass the scrutiny of the nation's top court, even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government pledged to push ahead and implement the law. A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice of India S.A. Bobde issued a notice ...

Veteran climbers of Mount Everest are skeptical that proposed new regulations by the Nepalese government to tighten the permit process for adventurers will address the root causes of this year's heavy death toll on the world's tallest peak. American mountaineers Ed Viesturs and Alan Arnette ...

Archaeologists have discovered two iron ship anchors off Mexico's Gulf Coast that they say date back 500 years and could have belonged to Spaniard Hernan Cortes' fleet, which landed in 1519 before overthrowing the Aztec empire. The anchors, found on the ocean floor near the ...

Prosecutors have questioned a ruling party lawmaker over his alleged ties with a Chinese company that showed interest in joining a casino project and is suspected of violating the foreign exchange law, sources close to the matter said Wednesday. Tsukasa Akimoto, 48, a House of ...

A father who lost his 12-year-old daughter in the 2011 tsunami, a centenarian A-bomb survivor and a group of people who missed their chance to participate in the last Tokyo Olympics torch relay due to a typhoon are among those tapped to carry the ...

Near the southern Egyptian city of Aswan, a swath of photovoltaic solar panels spreads over an area of desert so large it is clearly visible from space. They are part of the Benban plant, one of the world's largest solar parks following the completion last ...

A top U.S. Air Force general on Tuesday said he expects North Korea's "Christmas gift" to the United States to be a long-range missile test, after Pyongyang delivered an ominous threat ahead of a unilateral year-end deadline for progress in nuclear talks. "What I would ...

Russia plans to invest $500 million in the Syrian port of Tartus and build a grain hub there to boost its presence on Middle East markets, Interfax news agency cited Deputy Prime Minister Yury Borisov as saying on Tuesday. Russia, the world's largest wheat exporter, ...

Toyota Motor Corp. plans to first deploy advanced self-driving features in commercial vehicles before adding them to cars meant for personal use, a senior official at the Japanese automaker said Tuesday. It will be easier to apply self-driving technology that does not require constant and ...

Cote d'Ivoire and Ghana's move to combat farmer poverty with a living income premium for their cocoa sales is being undermined by chocolate makers scaling down purchases and negotiating discounts on other parts of the price, sources said. Confectioners publicly backed a move by the ...

Syrian government and Russian airstrikes killed at least 17 people on Tuesday in rebel-held northwestern Syria in a spike in casualties from relentless daily strikes in recent months, witnesses and rescuers said. The northwest corner of the country, including the Idlib region, is the last ...

The future of the RCEP depends on how Tokyo will approach India's withdrawal.

It's not exactly a secret that the war hasn't been going well for the U.S.

The focus on traditional artisanship is still strong, as is the global obsession with minimalism, but what about sustainability and ethical consumption?

Hwang In-beom scored the only goal as South Korea beat Japan to capture the East Asian Football Federation E-1 Championship on Wednesday. The Vancouver Whitecaps midfielder scored in the 28th minute as the tournament host finished with a perfect 3-0 record. After being outhustled and outplayed ...

Practice for the Japan Championships began at Yoyogi Gymnasium in Tokyo on Wednesday and Daisuke Takahashi did not disappoint as he heads into his final competition as a singles skater. Takahashi worked on steps and choreography during a run-through of his new short program to ...

The J. League's season only wrapped up on Saturday, but it's already time to get out the calendars. The league on Monday announced its dates for the 2020 campaign, which will see teams getting back into action earlier than ever to accommodate the upcoming Tokyo ...

When you think of sumo, what's the first word that comes to mind? Certainly, for anyone who has ever set foot inside the ring, "painful" would be right up there. Traditional, ritualistic, historical — there are any number of adjectives you could use to describe Japan's ...

The Japanese owner of Taiwan's first foreign-owned pro baseball club unveiled the new name and uniform of the team on Tuesday, hoping to apply his experience in Japan to attract more fans to the team's home stadium in Taiwan. Hiroshi Mikitani, founder of e-commerce giant ...

Japan beat South Korea 1-0 on Tuesday, securing its third EAFF E-1 Women's Football Championship title. Yuka Momiki converted a penalty in the 88th minute at Busan Gudeok Stadium as Japan finished the four-team East Asian Football Federation tournament with a perfect 3-0 record. South Korea ...