Like many construction projects supported by the public sector, the new U.S. Marine Corps air base being built in the Henoko district of Nago, Okinawa Prefecture, has seen its budget skyrocket since it was first proposed and its completion date postponed. When the project ...

Japan's three leading newspapers, disagreeing on much, agree on this: Japan's democracy is in crisis. "Democratic politics in Japan has become frayed," the Mainichi Shimbun said in an editorial on Jan. 1. "The recent deterioration of Diet deliberations is intolerable," the Yomiuri Shimbun said on Jan. ...

At some point in the past decade, the international notion of “weird Japan” — a view in which the country produces more quirky and wacky trends than many other nations, regardless if said example is actually widespread — took a back seat to “boring but ...

Japanese travel agencies and local governments gathered at the New York Times Travel Show on Friday in the hope of drawing more American tourists to the country ahead of the Tokyo Olympics. However, the rapid spread of a new coronavirus believed to have originated from ...

The health ministry confirms that a woman visiting the country from China is the third person to test positive for the new deadly coronavirus in Japan.

A powerful earthquake has killed at least 21 people and injured more than 1,000 in eastern Turkey, and rescue teams were searching for survivors amid the rubble of collapsed buildings on Saturday. The Turkish government's disaster and emergency management agency, AFAD, said in a series ...

With public transportation services suspended in Wuhan, anxiety is mounting over Japanese who might be trapped in the city at the origin of the deadly new coronavirus, which was confirmed in a third patient in Japan on Saturday. Many Japanese companies operating in China have ...

A government committee outlines the possibilities of coastal areas experiencing tsunami of different heights if a quake with a magnitude of 8 to 9 occurs in the Nankai Trough.

A senior U.S. State Department official says that Japan is among the countries that should contribute greater funding to its security alliance with Washington, adding Tokyo is “not a dependent” but an “ally.”

Suzuki Motor Corp. has received an order from Dutch automobile regulators to report on alleged diesel emissions falsifications regarding its sport utility vehicles. The regulators suspect the automaker used improperly modified software to control the diesel engines of its Vitara and S-Cross models and made ...

Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Friday hailed "a new chapter" in Britain's history as he signed its divorce treaty with the EU, clearing another hurdle before the country exits the bloc next Friday. It allows Britain to end its decades-long membership of the European Union ...

Former Northern Ireland Deputy First Minister Seamus Mallon, one of the architects of the 1998 Good Friday peace agreement, died on Friday at age 83, drawing tributes from across a political divide he helped to bridge. Mallon was a major political figure in Northern Ireland ...

Mitsubishi Aircraft Corp. plans to push back the first delivery of its small passenger jet to next year or later in its sixth schedule delay, a source familiar with the matter has said. The Mitsubishi SpaceJet, previously Mitsubishi Regional Jet, was scheduled to be delivered ...

In a major break with Japanese tradition, Environment Minister Shinjiro Koizumi expresses support for enabling married couples to use different family names.

U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper said on Friday that China's Communist Party had created a surveillance state that uses artificial intelligence to repress Muslim minorities and pro-democracy demonstrators. China has faced an outcry from activists, scholars, foreign governments and U.N. rights experts over what they ...

Authorities bolster health screenings at airports and urge companies to clamp down on business travel as throngs of Chinese tourists land in Japan wearing masks.

The new decade kicked off with images of Australia in flames. As the country's bushland has burned over the past few months, more than an estimated 10 million hectares have already been reduced to ash. At least 28 people and more than a billion animals ...

In the past, gyōza dumplings were a simple side dish — now, they're the star of the plate. Here are five of The Japan Times' favorite gyōza spots, some old-school, some new and innovative.

Inspired by manga featuring New York, Francis Ford Coppola's "The Godfather" and the diversity of Western cities, Hiroko Tanahashi moved to the U.S. and Germany to pursue multimedia arts.

Japanese folk toys popular from the Edo Period through the Meiji Era (1603-1912) are meticulously crafted and imbued with meaning.

Patissier Akihito Kakimoto has competed in the world's most prestigious chocolate competitions. But his path to the world of chocolate sculpture-making was anything but straightforward.

Two prominent Japanese beverage companies are offering consumers a choice: something entirely new, or a revived Showa Era flavor.

Tokyo-based actor and writer Clive Davies on what, exactly, a saigen reenactment drama is, the hardest thing he's ever done for a shoot and his film reviews — all 7,000-plus of them.

With more and more Japanese novels in translation achieving commercial and critical success, Nicolas Gattig and Damian Flanagan argue over whether a new wave of writers are transcending Japan's literary past.

Shuntaro Fujita brings "Tempo 12-nen no Shakespeare" to Tokyo, modernising a story that encompases elements from each of the Bard's 37 plays.

From Vladimir Tatlin's "Monument to the Third International" (1920) to Zaha Hadid's plan for the New National Stadium of Japan, "Impossible Architecture: The Architects' Dreams" eulogizes aborted artistic conceptions — some that technically would have been possible, others purposely preposterous.

Feb. 1-March 22 Born in Saitama Prefecture, the early 20th-century artist Tsunetomo Morita (1881-1933) began his artistic career as a yōga (Western-style) painter. After graduating from the Tokyo Art School (present day Tokyo University of the Arts), he also began drawing manga and illustrations ...

Feb.4-29 Photographer Hal began taking images of couples in 2004 and has since exhibited internationally and published several photo books, including "Pinky & Killer" (2004) and "Flesh Love Returns" (2016). Most of his works involve couples or explore themes of love, challenge, individuality, intimacy, communication ...

Feb. 1-April 5 Though the victim of a tragic boat accident at the early age of 36, Naoki Suwa (1954-1990) continues to inspire and influence artists today. He was acclaimed during the late 1970s and '80s for his works that utilized traditional Japanese painting ...

Keita Sano modeled the Yokohama BayStars' new visitors' uniform on a slightly windy Saturday night at Osanbashi Pier in Yokohama. While all the BayStars will be wearing the new "Yokohama Blue" threads this year, Sano's will have an extra touch the others won't. A captain's ...

Alvark Tokyo guard Seiya Ando didn't participate in the B. League All-Star Game on Jan. 18 in Sapporo, but he's demonstrated time after time that he's one of the league's top guards. By all accounts, Ando's overall impact has been profound for the two-time defending ...

The Panasonic Wild Knights and Toshiba Brave Lupus maintained their unbeaten starts to the Japan Rugby Top League season on Saturday with wins over the Mitsubishi Sagamihara Dynaboars and Honda Heat, respectively. Panasonic made it three bonus-point wins from as many games as it thrashed ...

Unheralded Tokushoryu stands one win away from an improbable championship at the New Year Grand Sumo Tournament after beating Shodai in a battle of the joint overnight leaders on Saturday. Occupying the lowest rung of sumo's top division, the No. 17 maegashira took the outright ...

In 1991, though most people didn't realize it at the time, the Oshima stablemaster made a decision that would dramatically alter the course of sumo over the next several decades. The former ozeki brought six young men from Mongolia into his stable and began a ...

World champion South Africa on Friday named Jacques Nienaber as the new Springboks head coach, replacing Rassie Erasmus who led the squad to victory in the last Rugby World Cup. "Jacques is highly experienced and has worked with the Springboks on three separate occasions now ...

Olympic champion Kosuke Hagino admits he was swimming “slower than the women” during a rut after the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, but has backed himself to win gold at this year’s Tokyo Ggames. The 25-year-old swept to the Olympic title in the 400-meter individual ...