On Dec. 27, the top three executives of Japan Post Holdings Co. announced they would be resigning on Jan. 5 over the insurance sales scandal that first came to light more than a year and a half ago. The announcement comes on the heels ...

Sleep. Those to whom it comes effortlessly can't imagine the yearning it inspires. The more you yearn for it, the further it recedes. The further it recedes, the more you yearn for it. It becomes everything in life. All other goals pale beside it. Oh, ...

It’s hard to associate Tokyo with anything else besides people, buildings and cars, but a closer inspection of the city and its outskirts reveal otherwise. From 2014 to 2016, there were sightings of masked palm civets in many of the city’s 23 wards. Public health ...

Kim Jong Un's personal relationship with U.S. President Donald Trump may not be enough to salvage stalled nuclear talks between Pyongyang and Washington, a senior North Korean official said Saturday. Kim Kye Gwan, an adviser to the North's Foreign Ministry, said in a statement carried ...

The government's Casino Regulatory Commission held its first meeting Friday against the backdrop of a high-profile bribery scandal related to so-called integrated resorts featuring casinos. At the closed-door meeting, the five members of the commission, including its head, Michio Kitamura, former chief of the Fukuoka ...

Iran announced Saturday that its military "unintentionally" shot down the Ukrainian jetliner that crashed early Wednesday, killing all 176 aboard, after the government had repeatedly denied Western accusations that it was responsible. The plane was shot down hours after Iran launched a ballistic missile attack ...

Out of Japan and free to speak to the media, a fugitive Carlos Ghosn is proving to be a fresh headache for his old firm Nissan Motor Co. as it struggles to rebuild its reputation.

Two wildfires merged to form a massive inferno in southeast Australia on Saturday, near where a man suffered serious burns protecting a home during a night of treacherous conditions during the nation's unprecedented fire crisis. Authorities were assessing the damage after firefighters battled flames fanned ...

Two P-3C Maritime Self-Defense Force patrol planes leave Okinawa for the Middle East in what will be the SDF’s first long-term intelligence-gathering mission abroad.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe embarks on a five-day trip to three Middle East nations as part of Tokyo’s efforts to help reduce tensions in a region that is critically important for resource-poor Japan.

Fugitive former Nissan Motor Co. boss Carlos Ghosn said Friday he has "plenty of documents" to prove he is innocent of financial misconduct charges. "I have proofs, I have facts and I hope I will have witnesses also of people talking about the collaboration between ...

Prince Harry and his wife Meghan can expect less intense local media scrutiny than they have faced in Britain should they move to Canada, experts said on Friday, though international press attention will be impossible to avoid. Meghan returned to Canada to be with their ...

Oman's Sultan Qaboos bin Said, the Mideast's longest-ruling monarch who seized power in a 1970 palace coup and pulled his Arabian sultanate into modernity while carefully balancing diplomatic ties between adversaries Iran and the U.S., has died. He was 79. The state-run Oman News Agency ...

Boeing Co's ousted chief executive officer, Dennis Muilenburg, is leaving the company with $62 million in compensation and pension benefits but will receive no severance pay in the wake of the 737 MAX crisis. Muilenburg was fired in December as Boeing failed to contain the ...

U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Friday she intends to transmit articles of impeachment against Donald Trump to the Senate next week, moving to end a taut standoff with Republicans over terms of the president's trial. The top Democrat's announcement virtually assures that a historic ...

Leaders of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan and the Democratic Party for the People have failed to reach an accord in their negotiations on the proposed merger of the major opposition parties. "We agreed to discuss the process and results of our merger negotiations ...

The White House is considering dramatically expanding its much-litigated travel ban to additional countries amid a renewed election-year focus on immigration by President Donald Trump, according to six people familiar with the deliberations. A document outlining the plans — timed to coincide with the third ...

Allowing some royals to step away from "senior" status makes sense if you think of the British monarchy as a business.

How much single-use plastic do you think you consume in an average week living in Japan? What if you were to collect all the plastic bottles, shopping bags, food cartons, hand wipe wrappers, straws, cutlery, packaging, packaging-within-packaging and packaging-within-packaging-within-packaging that you accumulate in a week, ...

An Irish reel set on a compilation CD of world music set in motion and obsession that led Haruaki Saito to Cork, Ireland.

From five holy basil seeds, an oregano plant, a few stems of orange mint, six fig tree cuttings and a handful of butterfly pea seeds, Marie-Josee Laforest's sprouts have grown to become a 200-hectare organic permaculture farm in the mountains Oita Prefecture.

In Jeffrey Montgomery's Lake Lugano home, items that are no longer used in everyday life in Japan, or that might even be at risk of being thrown away, find new purpose and bring new charm.

Three businesswomen who sell award-winning marmalades made using Ehime's citrus fruits are determined to further raise the fruits' profile abroad while also helping revitalize their hometowns.

Sake is enjoying a new wave of popularity, thanks to improvements in quality, an ever-expanding variety of styles and the spread of sake education programs. Now, younger brewers are being encouraged to enter the market.

Lawson's Japan Flavors series of desserts, debuted in summer with a handful of citrus-flavored ice bars, and now the convenience store chain has rolled out two new varieties for winter in the form of grape and strawberry ice pops.

As a professor of art and design, Yuko Kikuchi has some surprising things to say about mingei (Japanese folk art).

Named for its temple, history and legend flow through Kokubunji.

"Japanese Woodblock Prints" exhibits classic ukiyo-e artwork in near-original size, allowing readers to examine them in all their splendid detail. Its 200 reproductions embrace the entire history of the genre and also cover the new print movements of the early 20th century.

Autobiographies tend to reveal only as much as the subject chooses to share. Here, Junichiro Tanizaki is surprisingly forthright in detailing his inner life, especially those pertaining to the germination of his sexuality.

"The Honjin Murders" is a classic murder mystery in which a newly married couple are found butchered by a Japanese sword inside a room locked from the inside.

Switzerland's Corinne Suter won the women's fog-hit downhill on Saturday, her maiden victory on the World Cup circuit. The 25-year-old reigning world downhill silver medalist, clocked 1 minute, 18.79 seconds, coming in 0.29 seconds ahead of Italy's Nicol Delago. Olympic combined champion Michelle Gisin rounded ...

The dynamic duo of Sebastian Saiz and Ryan Kelly guided the Sunrockers Shibuya to their first Emperor's Cup gold-medal game with a 96-69 win over the Shiga Lakestars in the All-Japan Basketball Championship semifinals at Saitama Super Arena on Saturday. Saiz, a 205-cm Spaniard, collected ...

It took some on-the-spot shot-making genius to get captains and players from both teams applauding, and to separate Novak Djokovic from Daniil Medvedev in the deciding third set of a victory that earned Serbia a spot in the ATP Cup final. Second-ranked Djokovic dominated the ...

Wilson Kipsang Kiprotich, the former world record holder for the men's marathon, has been provisionally suspended for doping violations. The 37-year-old Kenyan was charged with two breaches of anti-doping rules, the Athletics Integrity Unit said on Friday. "The AIU confirms a provisional suspension against Wilson Kipsang ...

Scotland's Oliver McBurnie fired Sheffield United into fifth place in the Premier League as a calamitous mistake and more VAR drama condemned West Ham to a 1-0 defeat at Bramall Lane on Friday. McBurnie clinched the points in the second half when the striker took ...

Kento Momota lost the second game on Friday but recovered to beat China's Huang Yu Xiang 21-13, 19-21, 21-9 to book a semifinals berth at the Malaysia Masters. The world No. 1 is set for a last four showdown against Malaysia's Lee Zii Jia, who ...

The Memphis Grizzlies are on their longest winning streak of the season, defeating teams above them in the standings and relying on youthful excitement in their drive for a spot in the postseason. Jaren Jackson Jr. scored 24 points, Ja Morant added 22 points and ...

Right-hander Noah Syndergaard on Friday agreed to a $9.7 million, one-year deal with the New York Mets to avoid salary arbitration. Syndergaard is coming off a fairly disappointing season in which he made $6 million. He went 10-8 with a 4.28 ERA and 202 strikeouts ...

Japanese Olympic Committee President Yasuhiro Yamashita was elected a member of the International Olympic Committee at its general assembly on Friday. Yamashita, a 62-year-old former judoka and 1984 Los Angeles Games gold medalist, was voted in at the IOC Session. He becomes the second ...