Major department store operators in Japan reported a drop in duty-free sales during the Lunar New Year holiday amid China's ban on all outbound group travel to stop the spread of a deadly coronavirus. Three out of the nation's four major operators, including Takashimaya Co., ...

Police on Sunday arrested a man for allegedly firing several shots with a handgun at a home belonging to the second-in-command of the Yamaguchi-gumi, the nation's largest yakuza group, in Kuwana, Mie Prefecture. No injuries were reported in the shooting. The man — believed to be ...

A number of companies across Japan have disclosed in turn moves to try and prevent further spread of 2019-nCoV, the new coronavirus that originated in China, with the postponement of celebrity meet-and-greet events and suspension of services such as makeup application at cosmetics stores. Oriental ...

The new facility will be a departure from the Harry Potter attraction in Osaka.

A lawmaker at the heart of a bribery scandal involving a Chinese gambling operator seeking to enter Japan's forthcoming casino market was indicted Monday on a fresh bribery charge. Tsukasa Akimoto, 48, is alleged to have received ¥2 million ($18,450) from the Chinese firm, 500.com ...

Both opposition and ruling party lawmakers have chided the government, saying that its initial response has been slow.

Embassy officials from nearly two dozen countries are told about the plan to release tritium-tainted water from Fukushima No. 1.

A former assistant nurse convicted of murdering a patient in 2003 was set to be exonerated Monday after prosecutors chose not to contest new evidence presented by her defense team during the first hearing of her retrial. Mika Nishiyama, 40, was found guilty in 2005 ...

The iconic “The Great Wave off Kanagawa” as well as other pieces from the series “Thirty-six views of Mount Fuji” will be printed onto the pages as an anti-forgery measure.

Hiroshima-based Liberal Democratic Party Diet member Anri Kawai admitted in January to receiving ¥150 million from LDP headquarters prior to the July 2019 Upper House election. Kawai, a novice in national politics, is also the wife of disgraced former Justice Minister Katsuyuki Kawai, who ...

An annual bean-throwing event was held Monday at Naritasan Shinshoji, a major Buddhist temple in Narita, Chiba Prefecture, to mark setsubun, the day before the start of spring according to Japan's ancient calendar. On setsubun, people traditionally throw soybeans, chanting "oni wa soto" ("demons out") ...

Aircraft flew low-altitude routes Sunday over central Tokyo, that are set to be introduced for flights into and out of Haneda Airport, the transport ministry has said. The flights operated between 4:20 p.m. and 6 p.m., to test out conditions for the new routes that ...

As a shortage of face masks continues in Japan amid the spread of the new coronavirus originating in China, their prices are shooting up on online flea markets. Some people are apparently cornering masks at drugstores and other shops and selling them at excessively high ...

A volcano on an island in Kagoshima Prefecture erupted early Monday, the Meteorological Agency said, with no immediate reports of injuries. Pyroclastic flows — observed there for the first time since Jan. 29 last year — reached around 900 meters southwest of the crater, while ...

Chinese shares tumbled and the yuan weakened as traders returned from an extended holiday amid the worsening coronavirus outbreak. Support measures from China's government helped stem losses somewhat in Asia, while U.S. futures rose and Treasuries slipped. Stocks in Shanghai opened almost 9 percent lower, ...

Australia's Prime Minister Scott Morrison will on Tuesday front parliament for the first time in three months as he seeks to repair his standing with voters angry by his response to the country's bush fire crisis and a scandal over sports funding. Morrison secured re-election ...

Upopoy, a new national facility intended to revitalize and develop the culture of Japan's indigenous Ainu people, is facing challenges attracting attention ahead of its opening on April 24 in Shiraoi, Hokkaido. The new complex may miss the annual goal of 1 million visitors set ...

Since taking power, Chinese President Xi Jinping has effectively made himself "chairman of everything." The coronavirus scare is showing all the risks involved with that strategy. Xi last week took direct control of the response to the outbreak, showing the high stakes in a crisis ...

Nidec Corp. plans to more than triple its revenue over the next five years by focusing on electric vehicle powertrains and buying specialists in motor technologies, according to two people familiar with the matter. The world's leading maker of precision motors and a supplier of ...

Nearly a month after Iran launched a rare direct military attack against United States forces in Iraq, an uneasy quiet has settled across the Middle East. Watching fighter jets roar off the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman, the top U.S. ...

Activists occupied Germany's newest power plant on Sunday to protest against a law passed last week to end coal electricity generation, but which environmental groups argue is insufficient. Police said more than 100 protesters entered the site of the Datteln 4 coal-fired power plant in ...

A man recently released from prison after serving time for terrorism-related offenses strapped on a fake bomb and stabbed two people on a busy London street Sunday before being shot to death by police, officials said. Deputy Assistant Commissioner Lucy D'Orsi said police identified the ...

Thanks to the coronavirus outbreak, working from home is no longer a privilege, it's a necessity. While factories, shops, hotels and restaurants are warning about plunging foot traffic that is transforming city centers into ghost towns, behind the closed doors of apartments and suburban homes ...

Japanese automaker Nissan Motor Co. has drafted a contingency plan to focus on its Sunderland plant in the U.K. and cut European production if a hard Brexit leads to tariffs on car imports from the continent, the Financial Times reported, citing two people involved ...

Al-Qaida's branch in Yemen claimed responsibility Sunday for last year's deadly shooting at the Naval Air Station Pensacola by an aviation student from Saudi Arabia. The shooter, 2nd Lt. Mohammed Saeed Alshamrani, was a member of the Saudi Air Force in training at the base. ...

Boris Johnson plans to say he's prepared to quit talks over the U.K.'s future trade relationship with the European Union if he doesn't get what he wants. In his first speech since Britain formally left the EU, the prime minister will spell out to business ...

While much of the political world is focused on Iowa and its caucuses Monday kicking off the election season, President Donald Trump has his mind on a Democratic candidate who's skipping the early-voting state. Trump used part of a Super Bowl pregame interview with Fox ...

Somalia declared the worst desert locust invasion in a quarter-century a national emergency that's posing a major threat to an already fragile food situation. Swarms of the insects are breeding in Djibouti, Eritrea and Sudan and have also spread to neighboring Kenya and Ethiopia, where ...

Air strikes by the Syrian regime and its Russian ally on Sunday killed 14 civilians in the last major opposition bastion of Idlib in the country's northwest, a war monitor said. Moscow-backed government forces have upped their deadly bombardment of the jihadi-dominated region in recent ...

Twitter Inc. has banned financial market website Zero Hedge from the social media platform after it published an article linking a Chinese scientist to the outbreak of the fast-spreading coronavirus last week. Zero Hedge said it received a notification from Twitter on Friday, accusing it ...

Sri Lanka's president ordered a fresh investigation Sunday into a multi-billion dollar aircraft purchase involving the island's loss-making national carrier, days after Airbus settled corruption probes in Europe and the U.S. A French court on Friday approved a deal allowing Airbus to pay €3.6 billion ...

The risk of further contraction in the Hong Kong economy, which was buffeted by anti-government protests last year, has increased due to the coronavirus epidemic, Financial Secretary Paul Chan on Sunday. "As it (the economy) enters 2020, it has not shaken off the risk of ...

The real test is how countries adapt to the realities of a 5G world, a world in which Huawei is just the most obvious and immediate risk.

Sometimes strong mandatory but temporary measures are needed to protect the collective interests of a democracy.

Will China be forced into 'hibernation' amid the epidemic?

The U.S. president's peace plan is a shameless ploy to violate international law, Palestinian human rights and basic principles of fairness.

Comparisons between Beijing's handling of the coronavirus and the Soviet response to the world's worst nuclear disaster are tempting, but misguided.

Countries will be more resilient if they stick together.

Chef Kei Kobayashi is speaking his mind — something he says it took moving to France to learn. Less than 24 hours after he became the first-ever Japanese cook to win the maximum of three Michelin stars in France, the phones are ringing off the ...

The DualShock 4 gets extra buttons; Persona 5 faces a Dynasty Warriors makeover; while Street Fighter V remains a champ of fighting games.

Hilmneh Tegegn came to Japan from Ethiopia 11 years ago seeking refugee status here and seemed to do everything right. After more than a decade of waiting, he finally got a visa — to the United States.

Frostini is a pretty fellow who came to ARK when he was still tiny, almost seven long years ago. He was extremely timid at first, a trait that can have dire consequences at a shelter. "Frosty," as staff affectionately calls him, had friends that fought ...

Japanese manga artist Yoshiharu Tsuge was honored at the Angouleme International Comics Festival in France on Saturday. Tsuge, 82, received a standing ovation at an award ceremony and said he was very honored, according to a post from the festival's official Twitter account. A special exhibition ...

One Japanese major publisher and producer is seeking to capitalize on YouTube influencers with a highly unusual approach: inviting non-Japanese anime YouTubers to live and produce content within Tokyo.

Refusing to be bound by tradition or convention, Hokusai bent rules and sought inspiration from all corners — but how did such audacity influence his own students and followers?

The head of the French skating federation will be grilled Monday by the country's sports minister following a string of accusations of sexual abuse and rape by a coach on underage skaters. Didier Gailhaguet is not directly targeted by the claims but will be asked ...

Novak Djokovic returned to No. 1 in the ATP rankings Monday after winning his eighth Australian Open title, while Sofia Kenin's first Grand Slam trophy boosted her to a career-high No. 7 — and made her the leading American — on the WTA list. Djokovic's ...

Andy Reid hugged Patrick Mahomes early, and everyone else moments later. Good practice, because all of Kansas City wants to hug him now. Reid wasn't about to let this Super Bowl slip away. Not with the brilliant Mahomes under center, and not after 21 years ...

The Milwaukee Bucks have lost 28 games since the start of last season. Only once did they follow one defeat with another. Giannis Antetokounmpo had 30 points and 19 rebounds, and the Bucks rebounded yet again by beating the Phoenix Suns 129-108 Sunday — two ...

FIFA's six months in control of African soccer appeared to end when Fatma Samoura's temporary leadership of the continent's governing body was not extended on Sunday. Samoura, the FIFA secretary general, was dispatched to the Confederation of African Football (CAF) in August with the task ...

France came out fighting in the rain and pinned tournament favorite England onto the back foot in their Six Nations opener, leading the World Cup runner-up 24-0 then defending resolutely for a 24-17 win on Sunday. Fabien Galthie's new-look side confounded expectations in style. This ...

Pep Guardiola doesn't forget. After Manchester City failed to cut into Liverpool's 22-point lead by losing 2-0 at Tottenham on Sunday, Guardiola's mind turned back to 2018 and irritation at comments from the Premier League leadership. Guardiola's team winning the league by 19 points prompted Richard ...

Patrick Mahomes needed just the waning minutes of Super Bowl 54 to end a whole lot of frustration. A championship 50 years in the making for the Kansas City Chiefs. A two-decade wait for an NFL title for coach Andy Reid. All it took was falling behind ...