TOKYO

Madison Chock and Evan Bates of the United States have won their first ice dance title at the figure skating world championships.

Kaori Sakamoto has fended off a challenge from South Korea’s Lee Hae-in to become the first Japanese woman to defend her title at the figure skating world championships.

The Trevor Bauer era in Japan began Friday at an introductory news conference with the Yokohama DeNA BayStars.

This 19th-century Japanese screen of the Floating World, at Harvard Art Museums, depicts Tokyo’s notorious pleasure district, but it’s likely all imagined.

Lars Nootbaar's imaginary pepper-grinder was the talk of World Baseball Classic games in Japan, but the fun-loving gesture by the St. Louis Cardinals outfielder does not appear welcome in Japan's popular high school baseball tournament. When a player for Tohoku High School twisted his two fists together — imitating Nootbaar — after getting on first base Saturday, the umpire told him to stop. Hiroshi Sato, manager for Tohoku High School, defended his player.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida have agreed to strengthen economic and defense ties.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida says hats off to South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol for “making a difficult decision and action” by overcoming the troubled history between the two countries, pledging to work with him toward better future relations.

Shohei Ohtani pitched shutout ball into the fifth inning and sparked a four-run third with a bunt single, leading Japan over Italy 9-3 and into its fifth straight World Baseball Classic semifinal.

Lars Nootbaar's pepper-grinder gesture is catching on all across Japan, not just at the Tokyo Dome. You see people doing it on the trains, across the counter ordering a coffee and of course among the 40,000 fans who have packed the Tokyo Dome to watch Japan play in the World Baseball Classic. “I heard the pepper grinders around the country, their sales have gone up quite a bit this past week.”

The launch came just before South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol was to meet with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Tokyo.

North Korea has test-launched an intercontinental ballistic missile hours before the leaders of South Korea and Japan meet in Tokyo at a summit expected to focus on North Korean threats.

American shot put medalist Raven Saunders has been suspended for 18 months for failing to show up for doping tests.

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida are hoping to overcome historical feuds and domestic politics that have sent relations to their lowest point in decades.

Cuba advanced to the World Baseball Classic semifinals for the first time since 2006 with a 4-3 win over Australia as Alfredo Despaigne hit a tiebreaking sacrifice fly and Yoelkis Guibert followed with a two-run single in three-run fifth inning.

South Korea’s president wants to quickly overcome decades of lingering hostility left over from Japan’s colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula and forge a united front on North Korea’s nuclear threats and other regional security and economic challenges facing the neighbors.

South Korean and Japanese leaders will meet in Tokyo this week, hoping to resume regular visits after a gap of over a decade and overcome resentments that date back more than 100 years.

Stocks closed higher on Wall Street as some of the most breathtaking moves from a manic Monday reversed course.

Asian shares have fallen as investors around the world watch to see what's next following the second- and third-largest bank failures in U.S. history.

Kunwoo Park and Ha-Seong Kim hit grand slams in consecutive innings, and South Korea set a World Baseball Classic scoring record with a 22-2 rout over China in a game between already eliminated teams.

Take the case of Czech Republic teammates William Escala and Ondrej Satoria, whose team was eliminated from the WBC on Monday in a 8-3 loss to Australia. Escala crumbled to the ground writhing in pain on Saturday when Japanese pitcher Roki Sasaki thumped his left leg with a 100 mph fastball. The 21-year-old Sasaki is a top pitching prospect in Japan, and threw 21 pitches at 100 mph or more against the Czechs.

Japan on Monday dropped its request for people to wear masks after three years, but hardly anything changed in the country that has had an extremely high regard for their effectiveness at anti-virus protection. During a televised budget committee meeting at parliament, some lawmakers still wore masks, though Prime Minister Fumio Kishida wasn't wearing one when he arrived at his office Monday. Dropping the mask-wearing request is one of the last steps Japan's government is taking in easing COVID-19 rules in public places as it tries to expand business and other activity.

Asian shares have mostly fallen, shaken by a Wall Street tumble that set off worries the biggest U.S. bank failure in nearly 15 years might have ripple effects around the world.

Japan has marked the 12th anniversary of the massive earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster with a minute of silence as concerns grew ahead of the planned release of the treated radioactive water from the wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant.

China has condemned a plan by Japan to release treated radioactive wastewater from the damaged Fukushima nuclear plant into the sea, demanding that Tokyo first receive the approval of neighboring countries

China on Friday condemned a Japanese plan to release treated radioactive wastewater from the damaged Fukushima nuclear plant into the sea, demanding that Tokyo first receive the approval of neighboring countries. China has made similar complaints on a regular basis in the past, but has not said how it would respond if Japan goes ahead with the planned release. China, which Japan invaded in the first half of the last century, has been a constant critic of Tokyo and its security alliance with the U.S., with the ruling Communist Party frequently invoking historical wrongs to rally domestic support and seek to undermine Japan’s global standing.

Shohei Ohtani doubled and singled for his second straight two-hit game, and Japan overcame a three-run deficit to beat South Korea 13-4 for its second straight win at the World Baseball Classic.

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol is set to visit Japan's prime minister next week. Japan will hold a summit on strengthening ties between the two nations.

South Korea and Japan say their leaders will hold a summit next week in Japan.

Robbie Perkins hit one of Australia’s three homers to beat South Korea 8-7 on Thursday in Group B at the Tokyo Dome.

Some sushi trains are no longer running conveyor belts amid fears of customers tampering with food.

TikTok has unveiled new measures to protect European user data as it takes steps to head off further government bans on employees using the Chinese-owned video-sharing app on their work phones.

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol is defending his government’s contentious plan to use local funds to compensate Koreans enslaved by Japanese companies before the end of World War II.

Going to the bathhouse is a big part of life in Japan and South Korea. But businesses are struggling after covid and fuel price spikes caused by the war in Ukraine.

Asian shares are mostly higher in muted trading as investors assess a slew of economic data and await moves by the Federal Reserve.

South Korea has announced a plan to compensate Koreans who performed forced labor during Tokyo’s colonial rule that doesn’t require Japanese companies to contribute to the reparations.

Japan has grappled with its declining birth rate for almost a decade, culminating in the lowest on record since the country started keeping records in 1899.

The head of Japan’s wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant says details of the damage inside its reactors are only beginning to be known 12 years after it was hit by a massive earthquake and tsunami, making it difficult to foresee when or how its decommissioning will be completed

The head of Japan’s wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant says details of the damage inside its reactors are only beginning to be known 12 years after it was hit by a massive earthquake and tsunami, making it difficult to foresee when or how its decommissioning will be completed.

Asian stock markets have followed Wall Street higher after a Federal Reserve official raised hopes the U.S. central bank might not step up its anti-inflation fight as much as feared.

Asian stock markets are mixed after signs of enduring upward pressure on American prices added to expectations of higher interest rates for longer.

A new Haruki Murakami novel will be published in April and the publisher is saying little about it except that the Japanese manuscript is around 1,200 pages and the plot involves “a story that had long been sealed.”

China says a ban on the use of TikTok by official European Union institutions will harm business confidence in Europe.

Asian stock markets are mixed after signs of enduring upward pressure on American prices added to expectations of higher interest rates for longer.

Nissan is recalling more than 809,000 small SUVs in the U.S. and Canada because a key problem can cause the ignition to shut off while they’re being driven.

The Tokyo Olympic bid-rigging scandal has widened with Japanese advertising giant Dentsu and five other companies getting charged.

Canada is banning TikTok from all government-issued mobile devices, reflecting widening worries from Western officials over the Chinese-owned video sharing app.

Japan is easing its coronavirus border measures for tourists from China beginning Wednesday by testing only random passengers

A Japanese air force serviceperson filed a lawsuit against the government on Monday, saying it had failed to protect her from verbal sexual harassment from a male colleague and then systematically covered up the problem for more than a decade. The plaintiff, who was only identified as a current member of the Air Self Defense Force, faced verbal sexual abuse starting as soon as she was assigned to Naha air base on the southern island of Okinawa in 2010, her lawyers said. The plaintiff is seeking about 11.7 million yen ($85,800) in damages from the government for failing to protect her from the harassment and failing to create a better working environment, and for not countering the criticism she received for speaking out, causing her to suffer for more than 10 years, lawyer Daisuke Tabuchi told reporters.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and other Group of Seven leaders have adopted a set of additional sanctions against Russia over its war on Ukraine at an online G-7 summit to mark the one-year anniversary of the start of the invasion.

Asian shares are trading mostly lower after U.S. markets were closed for Presidents Day, a national holiday.

Japan, the poster child for aging society, promises radical spending to boost its birthrate. That’s unlikely to fix the issue.

A Saudi sovereign wealth fund now holds 8.26% of the stock in the video game maker Nintendo, making it the largest outside investor in the Japanese gaming company.

A trial looking into bribery at the Tokyo Olympic organizing committee has begun

Japan’s space agency has aborted the launch of the first of its new flagship series H3 rockets, which was carrying an observation satellite also fitted with an experimental infrared sensor that could detect missile launches

Some sociologists say the approach adopted by Japan's largely older, male leaders ignores the real problem.

Shares have slipped in Asia after benchmarks on Wall Street took their biggest hit in four weeks as investors registered disappointment over an inflation reading that came in hotter than expected.

BlackRock, the world's largest asset manager, cut Japanese stocks to "underweight" – as Japan is set to appoint a new governor to lead its central bank.

Asian shares are edging higher, cheered by a stronger reading than expected on U.S. retail sales that set off a Wall Street rally.

Does New York City seems big? These cities make the Big Apple feel small, quaint even. Here are the top 10 most populous cities in the world.

In the 1980s it became a custom for females to buy chocolate to hand out to male co-workers and bosses. Many are "glad it's over."

Ueda would replace current central bank chief Governor Haruhiko Kuroda, who was first appointed in March 2013. His current five-year term will end on April 8.

Koji Sato, appointed the next president at Japan’s top automaker Toyota, has outlined a management team that he says will lead an aggressive push on electric vehicles.

Solo travelers might be hesitant to stay at a Japanese love hotel, but my room at Sweets Hotel Ruby in the Shibuya district was big, clean, and quiet.

The Japanese yen pushed higher against both the euro and U.S. dollar after a Nikkei report said Kazuo Ueda would be the next Bank of Japan governor.

Asian shares have fallen after Wall Street retreated for a second day as market watchers considered earnings reports and various indicators about whether inflation is waning in the U.S. and elsewhere.

Nissan has reported a 55% jump in its October-December profit, as the Japanese automaker gears up for a less bumpy journey with its French alliance partner Renault.

More than two years since it was greenlighted by Congress, the panel established to probe the inner workings of the U.S. Olympics has yet to conduct a formal interview because of bureaucratic red tape in Washington.

Shares have fallen in Asia after Wall Street gave back some of its recent gains on persisting uncertainty over interest rates and inflation.

A senior official with the Tokyo Olympic organizing committee and three company executives have been arrested in an ongoing bid-rigging scandal related to the Games.

Japanese investor SoftBank Group has sunk into a deep loss for the October-December quarter, slammed by the global plunge in technology shares.

A handful of "sickening" videos showing people tampering with items on Japan's ubiquitous sushi conveyor belts have caused shockwaves.

Honda and the U.S. government are urging owners of about 8,200 older vehicles not to drive them until dangerous air bag inflators are replaced.

A sharp drop in the value of the U.S. dollar against the yen weighed on the value of Japan's Government Pension Investment Fund's foreign assets.

Sony has appointed a company veteran as its president to lead the Japanese electronics and entertainment conglomerate through times of change.

Honda is expanding the use of hydrogen to trucks and construction equipment, electricity for buildings and even in outer space, not just cars on roads, to step up on sustainability efforts.

"China is not our adversary," Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said, "but we must understand the scale of the challenge and work together to address it."

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has sharply criticized China for “bullying its neighbors and threatening Taiwan” and stressed the need for Japan and other democracies to work together with the alliance to defend the international order.

Japanese officials were waiting to confirm the identities of the victims in the off-piste disaster at a resort in Nagano.

Japanese rescuers have found two foreign men who were hit by an avalanche while backcountry skiing

Nissan and Renault have agreed to make their mutual cross-shareholdings equal at 15%, ironing out a source of conflict in the Japan-French auto alliance.

China says it’s resuming issuing visas for Japanese travelers beginning Sunday, ending its nearly three-week suspension in an apparent protest of Tokyo’s tougher COVID-19 entry requirements for Lunar New Year tourists from China

Asian stock markets are mixed amid hopes Western economies can avoid a recession despite higher interest rates to cool inflation.

University of Wisconsin System officials say they will prohibit the use of TikTok on system devices.

The central bank governor and the market are talking at cross-purposes. It shows a country that’s both badly understood and a poor communicator.

The so-called lost decade has now stretched to three. What went wrong, asks Rupert Wingfield-Hayes.

The Japanese currency weakened against the U.S. dollar after the Bank of Japan surprised markets by keeping its yield curve tolerance band unchanged.

Japan's central bank will meet this week amid soaring bond yields and a strong yen, with some economists expecting it to scrap its yield curve control policy.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is looking to Canada to help his country wean itself off fossil fuels from places such as Russia

The tennis star showed an ultrasound of her baby and vowed to be back in the Australian Open next year.

After saying, "I'm Japanese and I didn't know it" about her response to Harajuku culture in an interview this week, Gwen Stefani sparked backlash.

The Marine Corps is creating a new regiment based in Okinawa and will be equipped with advanced capabilities, such as firing missiles at Chinese ships in the event of a Taiwan conflict.

Onigiri Bongo has served the humble onigiri, or rice ball, for 60 years. The current owner is the widow of the original owner, whom she married after discovering the restaurant as a newcomer to Tokyo.

Trying to arrest rural depopulation, Japan wants people to quit its greatest metropolis. How about creating new ones instead?

The Japanese government will give families up to 1 million yen ($7,670) per child if they opt to move out of Tokyo, according to multiple media reports.

Japan’s Emperor Naruhito and his family have waved to throngs of New Year’s well-wishers at the Imperial Palace in a celebration halted for the past two years by the pandemic

Naruhito offered prayers for people’s happiness and world peace in the appearance Monday beside his wife, Empress Masako, and their daughter. Princess Aiko, who turned 21 in December, was appearing in her first New Year’s public greeting. Legal adulthood is 20 in Japan and a condition for taking part in some events featuring the emperor’s family.

A landslide has destroyed about a dozen homes in northern Japan, leaving at least two people missing, and troops are on their way to help in the rescue

Japan is offering families 1 million yen (approximately $7,627) per child to move out of Tokyo in hopes of reducing overcrowding. With a population of 125.7 million, 28 percent of Japan's population (approximately 35 million) is focused in Tokyo and its neighboring areas of Kanagawa, Saitama and Chiba. In 2019, Japan’s Headquarters for Earthquake Research Promotion emphasized a 47 percent chance of a strong earthquake in Tokyo within the next 30 years.

Japan has started requiring COVID-19 tests for all passengers arriving from China as an emergency measure against surging infections there and as Japan faces rising case numbers and record-level deaths at home

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced Tuesday that Japan will tighten border controls for COVID-19 by requiring tests for all visitors from China starting Friday as a temporary emergency measure against the surging infections there. The announcement comes days after the World Health Organization said it was very concerned about rising reports of severe cases across China after the country largely abandoned its “zero-COVID” policy. The quantitative antigen test that is already conducted on entrants suspected of having COVID-19 will be mandatory for all people arriving from mainland China.