Tokyo/India and Japan, the only country to have been attacked by atomic bombs, Friday decided to work together for an early conclusion of the Fissile Material Cut-off Treaty (FMCT) and to fast-track negotiations on a comprehensive economic partnership...

Japan's Cabinet Friday approved a bill to extend its troops' refuelling operations in the Indian Ocean to help the US-led forces in Afghanistan by another six months till Jan 15 next year, a media report...

London, July 4 : The Walkman used to be the perfect companion for whole generation of music lovers, and now the clunky portable cassette player by Sony has been named the best musical invention of the last 50 years, by a leading...

Tokyo, July 3 : India and Japan on Friday agreed to cooperate on pressing global issues of climate change, disarmament and non-proliferation while moving ahead in negotiations to stitch a comprehensive economic partnership...

Tokyo, July 3 : India and Japan on Friday agreed to take steps to fast track work on the Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC) and the Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor...

London, July 3 : George Clooney has ended his long-standing business partnership with Warner Bros. movie studios, and has instead joined hands with...

TOKYO: Major countries should support the dollar as the key international currency, although emerging nations may discuss a new global reserve currency on the sidelines of the G8 summit next week, a...

TOKYO, July 4 (AP) - (Kyodo)—(EDS: RECASTING WITH MORE INFO) The Japanese government lodged a protest against North Korea through diplomatic channels in Beijing over its launching of multiple...

SEOUL, July 4 (AP) - (Kyodo)—(EDS: UPDATING WITH LAUNCH OF 6TH MISSILE, BACKGROUND) North Korea fired six missiles, all believed to be short- or intermediate- range types, toward the Sea of...

Japan's Nashimoto Masaki claimed the gold medal in the boys' 100m finals, while Lee Sunae from South Korea won the girls' 100m finals at the first Asian Youth Games on Friday. In the boys' 100m...

Tokyo, Jul 03 : India and Japan today said they were making progress on a 'high quality and mutually beneficial' Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) and stressed the need to conclude...

ROME — A restaurant in Rome which presented a Japanese tourist with a bill for 695 euros (nearly 100,000 yen) after a meal with his fiancee has been closed down by the authorities, Il...

TOKYO -- Japan's near-silent hybrid cars have been called dangerous by the vision-impaired and some users, prompting a government review on whether to add a noise-making device, an official said...

Japanese Emperor Akihito (left) and Empress Michiko (centre right) are escorted by Minister of Foreign Affairs Lawrence Cannon (centre left) and Minister of International Trade Bev Oda (right) as...

A station attendant measures her smile level with "Smile Scan." (Photo courtesy of Keihin Electric Express Railway Co.) Keihin Electric Express Railway Co. has introduced a "Smile Scan" system to...

Amano won the required two-third majority of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) governing board members expressing a preference, with 23 votes and one abstention in the 35-nation meeting,...

TOKYO — Six of Japan’s major automakers will resume plant operations on weekends to manufacture hybrids and other fuel-efficient cars amid nascent signs of an improvement in car demand...

NAGOYA — A Kenyan female student who belonged to a high school ekiden long-distance relay club went missing in April after being expelled from the school in Aichi Prefecture that won last...

BELGRADE, July 4 (AP) - (Kyodo)—The Japanese men's gymnastics team brought the country its first gold medal of the 2009 University Games on Friday. Takuya Nakase and Makoto Okiguchi, members of...

A mutated form of the new swine flu virus that is resistant to the drug Tamiflu was confirmed in a woman in Osaka, health officials said Thursday. It was only the second detection of such a...

NTT DoCoMo Inc. and Mizuho Bank Ltd. will start a joint service this month enabling cellphone service subscribers to conduct financial transactions to other phones via their handsets. The two...

SHIMOICHI, Nara Prefecture--Meika Tanigichi's dream of attending junior high school like other girls her age came true after the local board of education here reversed its stand on enrollment of...

The Finance Ministry said Friday it found wasteful or inefficient spending for all 57 government projects it has examined, including 11 projects that simply are not needed. The 57 projects,...

KAMAKURA, Kanagawa Prefecture--Two men who got into a brawl on an East Japan Railway Co. platform Thursday night died after the pair careened into the side of a rapid-service train departing JR Ofuna...

The Cabinet on Friday extended the Maritime Self-Defense Force's refueling mission in the Indian Ocean to Jan. 15, 2010. The six-month extension was made under the special measures law that...

TOYAMA--Hidenobu Ha-shimoto and his wife, the only residents of a mountainous community here, will soon rely on old-fashioned technology for their energy needs: a water wheel. They are in the...

The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare said Friday that initial production of vaccines for the new swine flu is way below the number projected. However, it cautioned that there was no reason...

Jeffrey Irish, who first arrived in Japan in 1980, has an unusual vocation. More than a decade ago, the California-born writer moved to a remote community in the mountains of southern Kyushu, where...

CHICAGO--The Chicago Cubs were happy to say so long to June. So was Kosuke Fukudome. The Cubs were 11-14 in June, their first losing month since August of 2007. And Fukudome batted just .169...

Official campaigning kicked off Friday for the Tokyo metropolitan assembly election, widely seen as a bellwether for the Lower House ballot that could be held as early as next month. Speaking on...

The June 30 deadline for American troops to leave Baghdad and other Iraqi cities and towns has been met. This represents the first step of U.S. President Barack Obama's promised withdrawal of all...

Passers-by gaze at a rainbow of Tanabata Matsuri (star festival) streamers in a shopping mall near JR Hiratsuka Station in Kanagawa Prefecture as the 59th Shonan Hiratsuka Tanabata Matsuri, one of...

As a professional boxer, Tatsuki Kawasaki faced plenty of tough opponents. His hardest battle, however, was fought not in the boxing ring, but within his own mind and body, as he struggled to...

Nippon Daemon is the name of a bandit leader in the Kabuki play "Shiranami Gonin Otoko" (Five men of the white waves). In the climactic scene, police surround Daemon, demanding he reveal his name. ...

Asahi Shimbun reporter Atsushi Yamada interviewed Jeffrey Irish in Japanese at his home in Kyushu. Excerpts follow: * * * Yamada: How did you become interested in Japan? Irish: I saw...

Sony Corp.'s employee Rumi Yamaguchi smiles in front of a special display commemorating the Sony Walkman's 30th anniversary that opens Wednesday, July 1, 2009, at Sony Archive building in Tokyo,...

Japan's Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko arrived in Ottawa Friday afternoon for an official visit to Canada. Foreign Minister Lawrence Cannon and International Co-operation Minister Bev Oda...

Their Majesties Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko of Japan are on a 10-day state visit to Canada starting July 3, 2009 that will take them through Quebec, Ontario and...

BETHESDA, Md. (AP) Anthony Kim is regaining a lot of his strength and a little of his swagger. He can only hope his record start Thursday at the AT&T National will allow him to get rid of some...

SENDAI (Kyodo) Takeya Nakamura hit his Japanese baseball-leading 26th homer and Takahiko G.G. Sato added a go-ahead double in a four-run eighth inning as the Seibu Lions rallied to beat the Tohoku...

OITA (Kyodo) Oita Trinita, currently bottom of the J. League first division, are set to acquire striker Fernandinho from Brazilian second-division side Vasco da Gama, it was learned...

Trading places: Free agent Ron Artest (right) will leave the Houston Rockets to play for the Los Angeles Lakers next season, while Trevor Ariza (left) will do the opposite. AP...

Branyan rebounded from a frustrating string of strikeouts with a mammoth homer over Monument Park, and the Seattle Mariners beat CC Sabathia 8-4 on Thursday night to snap the New York Yankees'...

As in, who's the best? Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant, a four-time NBA champion? Or the basketball legend to whom he is most often compared, Michael Jordan, who retired as a six-time champ with...

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SINGAPORE: India and Japan on Friday agreed to sustain and possibly expand their “canvas of cooperation” in the bilateral and international domains. Japanese Foreign Minister Hirofumi...

The election campaign for the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly that kicked off Friday is the preliminary battle for the looming Lower House election and could determine the fate of Prime Minister Taro Aso...

A new law offering relief to Minamata disease patients cleared the Lower House Friday, a day after the ruling and opposition camps officially agreed to loosen the eligibility requirements for...

The focus is on whether the Liberal Democratic Party-New Komeito ruling bloc will retain its majority or if the Democratic Party of Japan becomes the leading party, boosting expectations that it will...

The southern England club said Thursday that Gardner will become the new chairman, returning to soccer for the first time since leaving United after the Glazer family's...