The National People's Congress burst into prolonged applause when the tally showed 2,878 votes to one in favor of moving forward with legislation.

The city of Yamato in Kanagawa Prefecture plans to set an ordinance intended to prevent smartphone use while walking. Through the ordinance, the city aims to alert people to the danger of using smartphones while walking, which involves the risk of collisions with other pedestrians ...

Nissan Motor Co. reported a ¥671 billion ($6.2 billion) net loss for the latest fiscal year and unveiled a plan to turn the carmaker around by eliminating about ¥300 billion in annual fixed costs, cutting capacity and reducing the number of vehicle models. The result, ...

The city of Kitakyushu, which saw dozens of coronavirus cases from early March to late April, did not report any infections between April 30 and last Friday.

The government is expected to complete the distribution of face masks to all households in the country in the fight against the new coronavirus in mid-June, a health ministry official said Thursday. The official offered the projection at a meeting of the health, welfare and ...

A House of Representatives panel on the Constitution held its first meeting in the ongoing session of the Diet on Thursday, resuming talks on a bill to revise the national referendum law. At the Commission on the Constitution meeting, Yoshitaka Shindo of the ruling Liberal ...

Out of 11 main components, the May report downgraded the assessments of three, including exports.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said a free and open Hong Kong should be maintained under the "one country, two systems" framework.

Authorities allowed them to enter as part of efforts aimed at jump-starting the local economy, the sources said.

In early March, before the coronavirus pandemic triggered a global economic lockdown, SoftBank Group Corp. founder Masayoshi Son paid tribute to Rajeev Misra, the man who runs his $100 billion technology investment fund. Wearing a $70 (¥7,500) Uniqlo down jacket, the Japanese billionaire put ...

Businesses providing cowork spaces or private lodgings have seen a sharp decline in demand, but other businesses such as delivery services are thriving.

Economic revitalization minister Yasutoshi Nishimura and National Governors' Association Chairman Kamon Iizumi agreed Thursday to work together in promoting "a new way of living" and migration to rural areas to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus. "A growing number of people are wishing to ...

Demonstrators clashed with police and set a store alight during a second night of protests in the U.S. city of Minneapolis Wednesday over the killing of a black man by an officer who held him to the ground with a knee on his neck. Police ...

About an hour after the death of Stanley Ho, the billionaire who built the Chinese territory of Macao into the world’s biggest gambling hub, his large clan gathered in front of the Hong Kong Sanatorium & Hospital to break the news. They were also ...

Health ministry technocrats wanted to maintain a tight grip on information rather than cooperate with private institutions, critics say.

U.S. President Donald Trump could rescind that "special status” to punish China for recent moves to tighten its grip on the city.

As the novel coronavirus wreaks global havoc, Bill Gates is the new bete noire for conspiracy theorists worldwide including in Africa where a Kenyan politician's false online post has added major fuel to the spread of misinformation. While Gates's vaccine programs on the continent have ...

Boeing Co. has restarted production of its beleaguered 737 Max jetliner, ending a four-month shutdown, as the planemaker works with regulators to end a global grounding that has hurt sales and damaged its reputation. The company also said Wednesday it was eliminating more than 12,000 ...

As the value of its startups declines, the best of the giant fund's 500-strong staff might start looking for other jobs.

A student and the father of another student were killed in the attack that also injured 18 others.

Britain has shuttered its embassy in North Korea and all its diplomats have left the country, its ambassador said Thursday as Pyongyang maintains strict entry controls to try to prevent a coronavirus outbreak. The North has closed its borders and insists it has not had ...

Some parents may be shying away from taking their children to medical institutions for vaccinations due to concerns over the COVID-19 epidemic.

The renowned maker of cycling parts is benefitting from surging demand for bicycles as people embrace new modes of transport to avoid large crowds.

Among the recommendations, ghosts will be asked to observe social distancing in haunted houses and screaming on roller coasters will be discouraged.

The company amended its tax report to the Tokyo Regional Taxation Bureau but did not pay additional levies as the undeclared income was offset by losses.

The major carrier is reviewing hiring plans as the coronavirus pandemic continues to wreak havoc on the global business environment for air travel.

South Korea reported 79 new coronavirus cases on Thursday, the most since April 5 and the third straight day of rising infections, raising the specter of a second wave of the disease in a country widely praised for containing the initial outbreak. Health Minister Park ...

The government is considering accepting visitors first from the United States, China and South Korea, due to strong economic ties, and from Australia.

China plans to allow chartered flights from eight countries as it loosens restrictions on inbound travel imposed for the coronavirus pandemic, though the U.S. won’t be included amid growing tensions between the two nations, people familiar with the matter said. Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Germany, ...

The tower will open the 600-step staircase leading to the main deck so that visitors who stayed home during the virus emergency can exercise.

Shinji Aoba, 42, was arrested Wednesday by Kyoto Prefectural Police on suspicion of carrying out the attack that killed 36 people.

The nation still needs to prevent a second wave, and that will involve testing and urging people to avoid risky situations.

Deaths across the nation fell 0.7 percent in the first three months of 2020 compared with an average of the period over the past five years.

The United States has now recorded more than 100,000 coronavirus-related deaths, Johns Hopkins University reported Wednesday — a somber milestone and by far the highest total in the world. The country reported its first death about three months ago. Since then, nearly 1.7 million infections ...

The nation must now prepare for a second wave of infections.

The system derived from compensation politics has real and immediate impacts on Japan’s defense designs.

These measures can work no matter what your ideology.

Film composer Joe Hisaishi says he is writing more as a result of COVID-19, but is determined not to write about the pandemic itself.

As Tokyo moves forward with plans to reduce social distancing measures in stages, movie theaters look to draw audiences back to the silver screen.

Tokyo International Film Festival's competition programmer says that We Are One is just the start of a more digital-friendly future for festivals.

Olympic chief Thomas Bach held a series of talks with International Olympic Committee members on the potential consequences of the coronavirus pandemic, which has seen the Tokyo Games pushed back a year to 2021, sources said Wednesday. Bach was to address the 100 IOC members ...

The coronavirus has changed everything for the Ryukyu Blue Oceans, Okinawa's first-ever professional baseball team, who opened their inaugural season in January. The team in Japan's southernmost prefecture resumed training on May 21, after having being forced to suspend the 2020 season in April. But ...

Vissel Kobe became the first Japanese club to surpass ¥10 billion ($92.7 million) in annual operating revenue as the club once again topped the J. League earnings list for the 2019 fiscal year, according to figures released Wednesday. The league's financial disclosures showed Vissel, owned ...

League officials proposed the move at a meeting of club executives.

Athletes voice their outrage over death of unarmed black man.