Following the assassination of Dr. Tetsu Nakamura in Afghanistan earlier this month, the government of Afghanistan held a memorial ceremony for him as his body was delivered to the airplane that would take it out of the country. President Ashraf Ghani was one of ...

Almost everyone who voluntarily relocates to a country besides the one they grew up in enjoys some kind of honeymoon phase in their new surroundings. Everything about their adopted home feels shiny and praiseworthy, with all of the memories of one’s past suddenly looking ...

The girl was 15, the teacher in his early 30s. He recognized her ability, encouraged her, befriended her, seduced her. He took her to a love hotel and said, "This is what grown-ups do." The story appeared in the Asahi Shimbun last month in a ...

Focus Tomoyuki Tachikawa Christmas has passed without any "gift" from North Korea, despite intensifying concern that it would launch an intercontinental ballistic missile on the most widely celebrated holiday in the United States. Behind Pyongyang's refraining from firing a longer-range missile on Christmas Day may be the ...

In another attempt by Beijing to show goodwill to Taiwan ahead of elections there on Jan. 11, China's largely rubber-stamp parliament on Saturday revised a law to simplify investment procedures for Taiwanese companies. China is Taiwan's favorite investment destination. Taiwanese companies have invested more than ...

The Mars 2020 rover, which will set off for the red planet next year, will search for traces of ancient life and also pave the way for human missions, NASA scientists said Friday as they unveiled the vehicle. The rover has been constructed in a ...

Nissan Motor Co. picks Hideyuki Sakamoto, an executive vice president, as a candidate for director after accepting the resignation of its No. 3 executive.

Iraqis were divided Friday by their president's threat to quit his job rather than accept a pro-Iran coalition's candidate for prime minister, with some saying it was unconstitutional but others praising his civic-mindedness. Barham Saleh has resisted attempts by a pro-Iran coalition to put forward ...

Experts term the decision to send Maritime Self-Defense Force personnel to the Middle East for independent information-gathering a ‘product of compromise.’

Civilians on Friday packed a road leading out of a flash point town in northwest Syria, where two weeks of heightened regime and Russian bombardment has displaced 235,000 people. Pick-up trucks carrying mattresses, clothes and house-hold appliances ferried entire families out of southern Idlib province, ...

People heading to their hometowns or going abroad for the New Year’s holidays crowd train stations, airports and roads in the Tokyo metropolitan area.

Doctor Tetsu Nakamura, who was killed in Afghanistan earlier this month, was posthumously awarded on Friday a decoration for his contribution to the development of the central Asian country. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe delivered the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette, and ...

The Kawasaki Summary Court orders a man to pay a ¥300,000 fine for making derogatory and racist remarks against a Korean resident of Japan on Twitter.

In recent years, much of the commentary about climate change has gone from sternly serious to wildly despairing. A new report from the United Nation's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change warns that the effects of climate change are accelerating and that the world has barely ...

Japan's vegan temple food, shōjin ryōri, is rooted in hundreds of years of tradition. What keeps the practice alive and relevant today?

After four years of traveling the world, poet Soramaru Takayama finds Vancouver a welcoming place for creativity and veganism.

Jeffrey Montgomery began collecting mange (Japanese folk crafts) about 40 years ago and has now accumulated more than 800 pieces. He believes mingei is an important part of humanity's shared heritage.

Convenience stores have your cravings covered this new year with a selection of festive fruit- and cheese-based sweets.

There's never a better time to catch sunrise in Japan than at new year. From Tokyo Tower to the coast of Chiba Prefecture, here are 10 of the best places to see the first sunrise of the year near Tokyo.

Jan. 9-March 8 After leading the New York fashion photography industry during the 1950s and '60s, Saul Leiter (1923-2013) chose to focus on personal works and closed his commercial photography studio in the 1980s. Though a pioneer of color photography and known for his background in ...

Jan. 4-March 31 During World War II, Takeji Iwamiya (1920-1989), a keen photographer, was sent to Manchukuo (present-day Manchuria) to document the war. When he returned to Japan, he continued to pursue photography, winning first prize at the Fuji Photo Contest in 1954 with his ...

Jan. 11-March 1 The architect Toemon Takenaka (1877-1965) was an independent contractor, entrepreneur and politician during the late Meiji Era (1868-1912) to early Showa Era (1926-1989). In 1899, he officially founded Takenaka Corporation, one of Japan's major contractors. His family, however, had been building shrines ...

Since the season began in October, the SeaHorses Mikawa have struggled to pile up victories. As the year comes to an end, the SeaHorses have started to turn things around. Mikawa coach Kimikazu Suzuki's club defeated the Yokohama B-Corsairs 83-78 on Saturday afternoon, earning its third ...

Jockey Yuichi Fukunaga steered Contrail to the horse's first Grade 1 victory on Saturday at the 36th running of the Hopeful Stakes, the final major race of the year. The top favorite finished the 2,000-meter turf race for 2-year-olds in 2 minutes, 1.4 seconds, beating ...

Ohka Gakuen survived reigning champion Gifu Girls' late surge and recaptured the Winter Cup title with a 72-67 victory on Saturday at Musashino Forest Sports Plaza. For Ohka Gakuen, the All-Japan High School Tournament crown was the 22nd title — and first in three years ...

Pitcher Shun Yamaguchi has signed a deal with the Toronto Blue Jays, the team said on its official website on Friday. The 32-year-old right-hander was the first-ever player posted to the majors by the Yomiuri Giants when the NPB team made him available for negotiation ...

Since becoming the Canadian Football League's 14th commissioner in 2017, Randy Ambrosie has set a new goal for the nation's domestic pro league: globalization of the CFL and football. Having seen the success of the Premier League, MLB, NBA, NHL and NFL to expand their ...

The Feb. 22 rematch between WBC heavyweight world titleholder Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury will take place at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, promoters announced on Friday. Top Rank and Premier Boxing Champions said tickets for the highly anticipated bout were to go on ...