The health ministry on Tuesday rolled out a basic set of policies on handling COVID-19 infections as the government tries desperately to curb the spread of the disease within the limited window available. The move came amid apprehension over the growing spike in domestic cases ...

Environment Minister Shinjiro Koizumi acknowledges that international pressure is propelling the effort.

A hotel in Aichi Prefecture will file for bankruptcy due to a steep fall in customers amid the coronavirus outbreak, Tokyo Shoko Research Ltd. said Tuesday. It marks the first business failure in Japan linked to the COVID-19 outbreak, officials at the credit agency said. The ...

Chitetsu Watanabe, a 112-year-old who was recognized by Guinness World Records earlier this month as the world's oldest living man, died Sunday at the nursing home where he resided, his family said. Watanabe, who was born on March 5, 1907, died Sunday night at the ...

South Korean health authorities said on Tuesday they aim to test more than 200,000 members of a church at the center of a surge of new coronavirus cases as President Moon Jae-in said the situation was "very grave." South Korea's tally of cases of coronavirus ...

The Tokyo market’s benchmark gauge ended the day down 781.33 points, or 3.34 percent.

The Argument is a feature dedicated to promoting dialogue and deeper understanding of contentious issues by introducing various viewpoints. The issue of what to do with the treated radioactive water being stored at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant is nearing its boiling point. Despite ...

Education minister Koichi Hagiuda says the government plans to ask schools to consider closing if the coronavirus spreads in areas where they are located, even if they have yet to confirm infections among their students.

SoftBank Group Corp.'s Vision Fund 2 is investing $100 million in compliance and employee-monitoring software company Behavox, according to sources familiar with the matter. The investment, which is in the form of preferred shares, values Behavox at about $500 million, the sources said, asking not ...

The Cabinet on Tuesday approved a bill aimed at securing the supply of electricity in times of disaster. The move comes in response to massive, prolonged power outages faced by some parts of the nation in the wake of natural disasters in recent years. The bill ...

Desperate to protect themselves against the new virus that causes COVID-19 but unable to buy face masks due to shortages, people in Japan are going to unusual lengths with DIY solutions. Some in China have already been seen with workarounds such as using fruit skins, ...

Sony Corp., lagging behind its South Korean and Chinese rivals in smartphone sales, unveiled on Monday its first 5G handset, a model that also features advanced camera technology to boost its appeal for video and film professionals. Speaking via web streaming from Tokyo, Sony Mobile ...

A number of train stations in Tokyo will conduct anti-terrorism inspections during the Olympics and Paralympics using sniffer dogs and body scanners, sources said Monday. The transport ministry will revise a related law to allow railway firms to prohibit passengers from entering a train if ...

A Chinese court has sentenced Swedish book publisher Gui Minhai to 10 years in prison on charges of illegally providing intelligence abroad in a case that has rattled relations between Beijing and Stockholm. The court in the eastern city of Ningbo said Gui was convicted ...

Housewife Matsuko Mitsui had been meaning to buy a new air conditioner for years, but it took the looming consumption tax hike in October to spur the 64-year-old to finally make the purchase. Like many people in Japan, she isn't planning to splash out again ...

Australia's wildfires have destroyed more than a fifth of the country's forests, making the blazes "globally unprecedented" following a yearslong drought linked to climate change, researchers said Monday. Climate scientists are currently examining data from the disaster, which destroyed swathes of southeastern Australia, to determine ...

A long-simmering power struggle in Malaysia boiled over on Monday, with Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad kicking off a leadership race with his main coalition partner that could finally determine his successor. Mahathir abruptly submitted his resignation to the king on Monday and his party exited ...

The Cabinet approved Tuesday a reform bill to further strengthen countermeasures at its ports of entry against African swine fever. The measures against the disease spreading across Asia include increased fines for illegally bringing meat products into the country and greater authority for inspectors to ...

Intuit Inc., the software giant behind TurboTax, is buying personal finance website Credit Karma Inc. for about $7.1 billion in cash and stock. San Francisco-based Credit Karma has garnered more than 100 million users by offering free credit scores since it was founded in 2007. ...

For many of those who live on the Greek Aegean island of Samos it is absolutely clear — they want no more refugees, no new camps and to be left alone as they were before the migrant crisis broke in 2015. "We, the people who ...

Police moved in on Monday morning to clear a rail blockade by an indigenous group in eastern Canada that had been stopping freight and passenger traffic for more than two weeks on one of the country's busiest lines. Canadian National Railway Co. obtained an injunction ...

Huawei unveiled an upgrade to its folding smartphone on Monday, hoping that a faster phone with higher-quality display will encourage consumers to spend as much as $2,700 for the top-of-the-range version. The new Mate XS arrives a year after the Chinese tech giant showed off ...

Failure to contain the coronavirus outbreak could trigger a global recession, which would have an outsize impact on Japan.

He's a classic liberal Democrat.

A recent decision by Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte to terminate the Visiting Forces Agreement with the United States further embolden Beijing in the South China Sea.

This year's Asia's 50 Best Restaurant Awards, set to be hosted in Kyushu's Saga Prefecture from March 22-24, have been forced to go online only due to fears surrounding coronavirus (COVID-19), restricted travel across Asia and the Japanese government's advice to limit large-scale events. The ...

Shinjiro Koizumi joins the growing ranks of "ikumen," dads who challenge the norm of the Japanese father by taking stronger interest in raising their kids.

The structures "nagara ni" and "nagara no" are used in very specific ways in Japanese, which makes their comprehension slightly easier.

A Kyodo piece looks at the launch of a new smartphone app that is meant to alert passengers when there is a groper on the train.

Singer-songwriter Noriyuki Makihara is in hot water for alleged drug possession. What do you think needs to be done to deter people from using drugs?

Shares of Juventus Football Club S.p.A., home to star player Cristiano Ronaldo, fell as much as 14 percent in two days amid fears the coronavirus outbreak in northern Italy could lead to some top division matches being played in empty stadiums. The Italian Football Federation ...

The J. League on Tuesday announced the postponement of all four of its competitions as the COVID-19 outbreak continued to have wide-reaching effects on the sports world. All 94 matches scheduled to run through March 15 were affected by the decision, including the second through ...

National team debutant Ryan Rossiter and sharpshooter Kosuke Kanamaru provided stellar performances in Monday’s 96-57 win over Taiwan, and perhaps showcased new dimensions for the Akatsuki Five during the 2021 FIBA Asia Cup qualifier. Rossiter, who become a naturalized citizen in December, racked up 17 ...

Organizers of the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics on Tuesday marked six months until the opening of the games. Athletes and officials commemorated the milestone with a ceremony at Ariake Nishi Gakuen in Tokyo's Koto Ward, one of the elementary schools selected for the Tokyo Metropolitan Government's ...

Manchester City will be up against both Real Madrid and their reputation on Wednesday as the Champions League's biggest winners play one of its biggest underachievers at the Santiago Bernabeu. After City's win over Leicester on Saturday, Pep Guardiola said: "We will try to be ...

Former All Black Ben Franks will retire from professional rugby at the end of the 2019-20 season, English Premiership club Northampton announced on Monday. The 35-year-old prop earned 47 caps for New Zealand, winning the World Cup in 2011 and 2015. He plays with his younger ...

Khris Middleton suddenly went cold down the stretch against the Washington Wizards. Fortunately for the Milwaukee Bucks, he kept shooting. With Giannis Antetotkounmpo fouled out, Middleton bounced back from five straight misses and scored Milwaukee's final nine points and the Bucks beat Bradley Beal and the ...