While Lake Biwa played a key role in the establishment of a domestic freshwater pearl industry, farmers are now facing a bleak future.

Deborah Grow reflects on her journey as a 'judo mom' and her son Sanshiro's dream to become an Olympian.

The importance of bees to Japan's agricultural sector certainly isn't lost on domestic hobbyists.

Nonprofit turns neglected land into productive farmland and brings together foreign volunteers and local people.

Parents of international children share their diverse stories from inside and outside Japan's state school system.

Time will tell whether new legislation kills or culls the golden-egg-laying goose that Airbnb has become for hosts and travelers.

In the opening poem of "Kokin Wakashu" ("Collection of Japanese Poems of Ancient and Modern Times"), the Emperor writes about harvesting sansai (wild plants). The emperors of the Heian and Nara periods made it a rule to seek sansai in the forests in order ...

Asians who crossed land bridges into today's Ryukyu Islands more than 30,000 years ago encountered plenty of game. In addition to deer and boar, they hunted elephant and steppe bison until the larger mammals were hunted to extinction in Japan about 17,000 years ago. Meanwhile, ...

Perhaps fearing that the entire council could fall apart, some neighborhood associations resort to drastic measures to keep members active and in line. The culture clash is not foreigner vs. Japanese, but traditional vs. modern.

According to the Mormon version of postbiblical events, Joseph Smith, guided by an angel in 1823, found sacred golden plates buried in Manchester, New York, outside Rochester. The plates are claimed to have been buried around the year 400, having been brought from Central ...