Japan

Myanmar President Thein Sein on Saturday began the first visit to Washington by a leader of his country in nearly 50 years as the United States throws its support behind his reforms. The former general, who initiated a wave of reforms after taking office in 2011, flew into Washington and…

Wrestling's governing body is pinning its hopes of keeping the sport in the Olympics after 2016 on rule changes designed to make matches more exciting and easier to understand. The federation, known by the acronym FILA, is also changing its constitution to include a female vice president and will increase…

An aide to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe returned home from a controversial trip to North Korea on Saturday, reportedly saying he had demanded Pyongyang's act swiftly on its kidnapping of Japanese nationals. Isao Iijima said he told senior North Korean officials that Tokyo wanted Japanese civilians kidnapped by North Korean…

Market researcher Risk Monster has released the results of its first ever “Companies the Japanese Can be Globally Proud Of” survey. Conducted Feb 25 to 27, the survey received valid responses from 1,000 men and women between the ages of 20 and 69. A total of 200 companies with annual…

Japan is embarking on its most ambitious attempt at electricity industry reform since 1951, with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe well-positioned for victory in a battle to break up powerful regional monopolies that is seen as a test of his political agenda. The time is ripe for the government's push to…

Germany's swanky resort island of Sylt has been shaken by the death of a Japanese chef following a fight with two customers who had complained about his food. Miki Nozawa died Monday from a brain hemorrhage after a brawl with the two men at a nightclub near his restaurant in…

Panasonic on June 20 will release a hybrid mirrorless interchangeable lens camera LUMIX DMC-G6 that enables you to take a high-definition still/moving images. With 16.05 million pixels, Live Mos sensor and newly developed “Venus engine” built-in, LUMIX DMC-G6 made it possible for ISO25600 high-sensitivity. And users can take full HD…

Tales of subway groping are unfortunately commonplace in Japan, and anyone committing such a pathetic and cowardly act deserves every punishment given. But what happens if you are falsely accused? Often filled well beyond capacity, there is a real possibility of such a thing happening if you ride the trains…

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad insisted he will not resign before the end of his mandate in 2014 as a car bomb exploded in the capital Damascus on Saturday killing at least three people. "To resign would be to flee," Assad said in an interview with the Argentine newspaper Clarin when…

Japan's electronics giants have suffered another dreadful earnings season with Panasonic and Sharp saying they lost a combined $12.8 billion last year as they scramble to staunch the bleeding. Rival Sony emerged as a bright spot, saying it had turned a profit after four years in the red, but its…