Hundreds at zoo in Tokyo say farewell to Lei Lei and Xiao Xiao, as China ends ‘panda diplomacy’ with JapanHundreds of people have gathered to say farewell to two popular pandas departing Tokyo for China, leaving Japan without any of the beloved bears f…
Kiyoshi Kimura will turn prized 243kg fish into sushi rolls selling for £2.4o at his restaurant chainA sushi entrepreneur has paid a record 510.3m yen (£2.4m) for a giant bluefin tuna at a prestigious auction in Tokyo’s main fish market.Kiyoshi Kimura,…
PM Sanae Takaichi joins petition asking for better facilities for women to match improved representationNearly 60 female lawmakers in Japan, including the prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, have submitted a petition calling for more toilets in the parliam…
More than a thousand people have been evacuated near forest of Ofunato in northern region of IwateMore than a thousand people have been evacuated as Japan battles its largest wildfire in more than three decades.The flames are estimated to have spread o…
Japanese police say 22-year-old woman arrested as witness describes panic after attacker ‘all of a sudden’ began swinging hammer in classroomEight Tokyo university students attacked with a hammer in a classroom were recuperating and none required hospi…
LignoSat, developed in Japan and launched from Florida, expected to reduce space junk as it burns up on re-entryThe world’s first wooden satellite has been launched into space as part of study on using timber to help reduce the creation of space junk.S…
Pen-chan defies expectations to be reunited with keeper safe and sound after swimming 30 miles in open seaA fugitive penguin in Japan has been found safe and sound two weeks after escaping into the sea and paddling for miles in what her keeper called a…
Atsuko Sato announces death of her shiba inu Kabosu, whose 2010 photo led her to be described as ‘Mona Lisa of the internet’The Japanese dog whose photo inspired a generation of oddball online jokes and the £18bn Dogecoin cryptocurrency beloved by Elon…
Takashimaya to increase security after theft of 24-carat gold teaware from unlocked display boxA golden teacup worth more than 10m yen (£52,100) has been stolen from a department store in Tokyo after being showcased in an unlocked box.The teacup, made …
Effigy recovered in 2009 after being thrown into Osaka river by jubilant fans but is in poor state and will be disposed ofA plastic statue of Kentucky Fried Chicken’s founder, Colonel Sanders, that was a lucky charm for superstitious Japanese baseball …
Effigy recovered in 2009 after being thrown into Osaka river by jubilant fans but is in poor state and will be disposed ofA plastic statue of Kentucky Fried Chicken’s founder, Colonel Sanders, that was a lucky charm for superstitious Japanese baseball …
Unmanned Slim spacecraft responds to signal from Earth after touching down at awkward angle in JanuaryJapan’s moon lander has responded to a signal from Earth, suggesting it survived the two-week lunar night, the country’s space agency has said.The unm…
Joint project with EU involves more than 500 scientists and engineers and more than 70 companiesThe world’s biggest operational experimental nuclear fusion reactor – a technology in its infancy but billed by some as the answer to humanity’s future ener…
Man detained after eight-hour standoff at building in Warabi and earlier shooting at nearby hospitalJapanese police have captured a suspected gunman who holed up at a post office and have rescued a member of staff who was held hostage, NHK television r…
Ennosuke Ichikawa detained after both parents found unconscious at his Tokyo home last monthOne of Japan’s best-known kabuki actors has been arrested on suspicion of assisting in his mother’s suicide after both parents were found unconscious at his hom…
Dozens injured amid flooding from heavy rains caused by remnants of former typhoon Mawar, with new warnings issued near TokyoHeavy rain across parts of Japan killed one person, left two missing and injured dozens more, authorities said, with thousands …
Health ministry gives green light for two-step treatment to end pregnancies up to nine weeksThe abortion pill is to become available in Japan for the first time after the health ministry approved a drug used to terminate early-stage pregnancies.Abortio…
Dentsu Group charged after arrest of Tokyo 2020 committee official accused of rigging Games-related tendersJapan’s biggest advertising agency and five other companies have been indicted for allegedly violating an anti-monopoly law, in a corruption sca…
‘Thermal effect’ of high-neck jumpers and scarves will save electricity during energy crisis, says governorThe governor of Tokyo has urged people to wear a turtleneck this winter to stay warm and reduce energy consumption.Yuriko Koike said wearing turt…
Discovery offers new support for the theory that life may have been seeded from outer spaceSpecks of dust that a Japanese space probe retrieved from an asteroid about 186 million miles (300m kilometres) from Earth have revealed a surprising component: …