The Japanese government prevented a Chinese corporation from getting operating rights at a port in El Salvador to be built with a concessional loan from Tokyo, diplomatic sources said Monday. The government warned of withdrawing its plan to provide ¥11.2 billion ($102 million) in official ...

A Chinese company executive who allegedly bribed lawmaker Tsukasa Akimoto over a plan to open a casino resort in Japan had told his head office in Shenzhen, China, that he would "need funds for bribery," sources close to the matter said Monday. Sources also said ...

The government asked the literary scholar who proposed "Reiwa" as the current era name to come up with a candidate from the "Manyoshu," Japan's oldest known poetry anthology, just nine days before the name was to be announced, according to sources. The sources also said ...

A rom-com about a lesbian flight attendant and a romance in a gay spa are among the shows featured on Asia's first LGBT-focused streaming service, which is pushing boundaries in an often highly conservative region. GagaOOLala brings more than 1,000 feature films, shorts, web series ...

After evangelical publication Christianity Today published a blistering editorial on what it called U.S. President Donald Trump's "grossly immoral character," some church leaders and the president himself denounced the criticism as elitist and out of touch. The Dec. 19 editorial sparked a Christmas holiday debate ...

Three decades ago, the fall of the Berlin Wall and the Malta Summit signified the end of the Cold War and the defeat of left-wing forces, including the socialists and communists. The communists lost power in the East, and the socialist parties in the West ...

Older managers are failing to recognize changing expectations among a younger workforce.

David Bowen and his wife, Yoko, thought the worst that 2019 had to offer must have passed after Typhoon Faxai blew away part of the roof of their house in September. But in a year ripe with disasters in Japan, particularly in Chiba Prefecture, the ...

The last quarter of 2019 has been painful for yen bulls, but if history is any guide, good times may be just around the corner. January has typically proved to be a favorable month for Japan's currency, bringing gains against the dollar in seven of ...

The store owner made headlines earlier this year for halting round-the-clock operations because he couldn’t find anyone willing to work late hours.

Hong Kong's economy is set to contract in the fourth quarter as the city reels from six months of violent social unrest, the financial chief said Sunday. "Based on the situation of these few months, it is inevitable that negative growth will continue," Financial Secretary ...

The honor is for achieving the “lowest altitude by an Earth observation satellite in orbit.

A total of 656 candidates are preparing to run in the next election for the House of Representatives, amid speculation that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe may dissolve the chamber for a snap election early next year, a survey by Jiji Press released Sunday showed. The ...

Helicopter cash, climate crises, smart cities and the space economy — investors have all those possibilities ahead as they enter the third decade of the 21st century. They go into the new decade with a spring in their step after watching world stocks add over ...

Yu Zhirong was an officer on the first vessel. He says the order came directly from the central government based on a plan devised in 2006.

A NASA robotic rover is nearing completion ahead of a journey next year to search for evidence of past life on Mars and lay the groundwork for the space agency's mission to send humans into deep space. The U.S. space agency Friday showed off its ...

Ghana is determined to join a new West African currency, called the Eco, which is expected to replace the CFA Franc as early as 2020, according to a statement from the presidency. "It will help remove trade and monetary barriers, reduce transaction costs, boost economic ...

A three-day strike by workers at Lisbon airport led to the cancellation of several flights over the weekend, with more likely before the action ends on Sunday, the workers' union and Portuguese airport authority said. EasyJet, Brussels Airlines, Eurowings, Transavia France, and Wizz Air UK ...

2020 promises to be a challenging year for Abe as Japan's top diplomat.

Japan should focus on major currents and not be misled by less important events or episodes in the coming year.

The limitations of recycling and repurposing materials frees the imagination for unusual, amusing and clever design in Japan.

When the Typhoon Hagibis floods hit Nagano, it near-destroyed the apple farms for which the area is famous, with contaminants in the floodwaters making it impossible to salvage any of the surviving fruit.

One new year tradition that has managed to stick around is making mochi, just make sure to watch your hands while you do it.

Tenri, who was first featured here in June of 2018, has found a home with the Shimaoka family of Hyogo Prefecture: father, Kenji, and his three children Kentaro, Yuna and Himari. The petite brown tabby has since been rechristened Latte and came to the family ...

Italian first-division club Roma on Monday confirmed negotiations with U.S. billionaire Dan Friedkin to buy the Italian club. "The Friedkin Group are in negotiations related to a potential transaction involving NEEP Roma Holding Spa and its subsidiaries — including AS Roma," the club said in ...

Kei Nishikori said Sunday he will miss next year's Australian Open as he is "still not 100 percent" ready to compete with the world's best following the right elbow surgery he underwent in October. Nishikori, who last played on Aug. 31 in the U.S. Open ...

The Tokyo metropolitan government said Monday it will take urgent measures after asbestos was discovered in the structure of a swimming center to be used for water polo at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. The material, considered a health risk, was found in fire resistant ...

Hearts' Ryotaro Meshino scored his third goal of the season Sunday with a superb opener but his team had to settle for a 1-1 draw with Aberdeen which sent them further adrift at the foot of the Scottish first division. The 21-year-old, on loan from ...

Ryoyu Kobayashi secured his third World Cup win of the season on Sunday as the reigning overall title holder comfortably won the Four Hills Tournament opener in Oberstdorf. Having become only the third jumper in history to sweep all four events at a Four Hills ...