Fast Retailing Co., the parent company of major retailer Uniqlo, has put out the welcome mat for Japan's small number of recognized refugees, offering job opportunities for some who might dream of careers in fashion or sales. Even so, for most refugees, language barriers and ...

Ubiquitous throughout Japan, convenience stores have come a long way since the first customer walked into the nation's first 7-Eleven outlet more than 43 years ago and made the inaugural purchase. What did he buy? Was it a beverage, rice ball, bento or other food ...

A campaign is underway to create emergency response teams across Japan to provide aid for pets and livestock during natural disasters, following the establishment of such services in a number of prefectures. Formed in the wake of failures following the 2011 earthquake and tsunami that ...

Success is hard won in the world of elite motorcycle racing, something rider Hikari Okubo learned the hard way on his path to one of the world's premier production bike categories. Despite having no race wins to show from his first year in the Supersport ...

With plans afoot to lower the age of adulthood to 18 from 20, following the drop in the legal voting age last year, many Japanese, particularly those in their late teens, seem unprepared for the societal shift. In fact, a majority of Japan's teenagers do ...

A marine sports facility built exclusively to cater to people with disabilities is making waves as a place where wheelchair users can have the "zero gravity" experience of floating freely in the sea. The all-inclusive, barrier-free facility located near a tranquil beach with crystalline coral ...

Saga Prefecture has long ranked low among domestic tourist destinations in Japan, but local officials and residents believe this is all down to a bad rap that is quite unearned. The prefecture in northwestern Kyushu, they argue, suffers because it lacks a signature image to ...

When a U.S. drone strike killed her grandmother in a tribal region of Pakistan in October 2012, everything went dark, Nabila Rehman recalls. She was only 8 at the time but the memory still haunts her today. On a recent trip to Japan, Nabila had ...

They received letters of encouragement after the 2011 earthquake and tsunami, and now people from Tohoku are themselves extending that sentiment to survivors of quake-struck Nepal. In recent months the Himalayan nation was shaken by two major earthquakes and is still struggling to get back ...

Defying data showing a disappointingly low level of entrepreneurship in Japan, seminars aimed at fostering people who start their own firms are proving popular. The events have drawn attention from government officials, academics and corporate executives eager to spark entrepreneurship as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's ...