A survey finds a large majority of Japanese believe the nation needs to create a more welcoming environment for foreign residents.

Christel Takigawa, a freelance TV newscaster and wife of Environment Minister Shinjiro Koizumi, gave birth to a boy early Friday morning. "I'm happy and reassured to say a healthy baby boy was born early today," Koizumi told members of the press Friday morning. "Thankfully, both ...

The Tokyo Organising Committee of the 2020 Games will begin accepting applications Wednesday for the second ticket lottery for the Paralympics. The application period will run from early Wednesday until 11:59 a.m. on Jan. 29 for residents of Japan. Applicants will know the results Feb. ...

For many 20-year-old women and those close to turning 20, Monday was a busy day that involved waking up early to apply makeup, arrange their hair and don a furisode, a style of kimono distinguished by its long sleeves. But above all, once preparations are ...

A year has passed since the lifeless body of a Bhutanese exchange student was discovered hanging from a tree in a public park in Fukuoka. Sonam Tobgay, 24, was a student in the Learn and Earn Program, an exchange program created by the Bhutanese labor ...

The character "rei" (令) — as used in the era name of Reiwa, which has been translated to mean "beautiful harmony" — was chosen as kanji of the year, the Japan Kanji Aptitude Testing Foundation announced Thursday. The character garnered 30,427 votes, the largest share ...

Tokyo's busy Ginza Line, which runs from Shibuya to Asakusa on a route that connects two of the capital's top spots for tourists, will be partially suspended over the New Year's holiday due to construction of a new platform at Shibuya Station, operator Tokyo ...

Japan's three biggest commercial banks are the world's top financiers of new coal plants, according to research released Thursday in Spain at the United Nations Climate Change Conference. Mizuho Financial Group, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group together accounted for 32 percent ...

Nagano became the first prefecture to declare a climate emergency Friday, joining a growing coalition of nations, regions and local municipalities around the world in vowing to take action that reflects the urgency of the crisis. A Climate Emergency Declaration is a nonbinding promise to ...

Organizers for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games unveiled the inside of two major venues to the media Thursday as they near completion, touting them as world-class facilities. Four out of six permanent venues for the games have been completed. The Tokyo Aquatics Centre, located ...