Japan News

Two of the suspects in the kidnapping and killing of Japanese aid worker Kazuya Ito told investigators they wanted to drive out foreigners from Afghanistan…

SUITA, Osaka -- One of the first-generation Shinkansen bullet trains built in the early 1960s will find a new home -- a museum.

KOFU -- The tourist association of Shosenkyo, a scenic spot in Yamanashi Prefecture that promotes itself as "Japan's most beautiful valley," has been receiving many complaints from visitors due to unkempt trees spoiling the view.

KABUL, Afghanistan -- A man under arrest in Afghanistan in connection with the abduction of a Japanese man who was later killed said his group committed the crime for political reasons, a senior local police officer has told the Mainichi.

Average yearly expenses related to sports per household in Japan, which had been decreasing year by year after the Sydney Olympics, had been rising since Japan's success at the Athens Olympics, a recent government survey has found.

Many people were probably stunned to learn that the agriculture minister is at the center of yet another scandal after it was revealed Tuesday that the office expenses reported by Agriculture Minister Seiichi Ota's political organization are problematic.

The Taliban's admission that it was involved in the abduction and murder of a Japanese NGO worker shocked an ethnic majority group in Afghanistan.

Chiyoda Ward officials, retailers and residents of Akihabara met on Wednesday to discuss whether or not to reopen the so-called “pedestrian paradise” in the area,…

The government will subsidize operators of inns and public bathhouses if they separate methane gas from hot springs for recycling as an energy source, government sources said.

A police officer who was arrested for stealing underwear belonging to a female police officer at a police academy in Togane City, Chiba Prefecture, resigned…

What's the future plan for sports in Japan? The Beijing Games that closed on Aug.

A 15-year-old junior high school student was arrested Thursday for allegedly killing his mother's common-law husband at her apartment in Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture. Following an…

A 2-year-old boy who had been missing since Tuesday was found by rescue workers Wednesday afternoon on a mountain in Shizuoka Prefecture. He was not…

Nikon Corp.

FUKUSHIMA -- Prosecutors are close to dropping an appeal against the acquittal of a doctor who was charged over the death of a 29-year-old woman during a Caesarean section operation, it has been learned.

Mt Fuji saw snow at its peak on Aug. 9, the earliest day snow has been recorded there since observations began in 1894, the Kofu…

A new building complex that West Japan Railway Co will erect in spring 2011 on the north side of its Osaka Station will feature environment-friendly…

Men's cosmetics maker Mandom Corp said Wednesday it will hold a dance contest for Asian students with the aim of promoting cultural exchanges among young…

A giant panda cub has been born at a Japanese zoo, the first to be successfully bred in Japan through artificial insemination in two decades,…