A new form of drug drastically improves survival rates of pre-menopausal women with the most common type of breast cancer, researchers said on Saturday, citing the results of an international clinical trial. The findings, presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of … | Continue reading
A Japanese university and a medical venture said Thursday a smartphone app they have developed has proved effective in helping people stay away from smoking. Keio University and CureApp Inc said they plan to obtain government approval for the app as a medical tool possibly next s … | Continue reading
Amazon.com Inc's Japanese unit and one of the country's major supermarket chains Life Corp said Thursday they will join forces to sell fresh foods online starting later this year, aiming to attract elderly and time-poor customers. In Amazon's first tie-up with a Japanese supermar … | Continue reading
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Thursday called for other Asian leaders to jointly address the global challenges of reducing plastic trash in the oceans and promoting free trade. In a speech delivered at a conference on the future of Asia, Abe said Japan will establish an internatio … | Continue reading
Japan announced 132.6 billion yen ($1.2 billion) in aid to Bangladesh on Wednesday that will go toward economic development, a high-speed railway and other projects. The assistance, announced during a visit by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, also will go to Japanese companies doing … | Continue reading
An overwhelming majority of Japanese firms have no plans to use 5G mobile networks by China's Huawei or other foreign firms, preferring instead to rely on domestic telecom carriers due to security concerns, a Reuters poll showed. The Corporate Survey results come amid Washington' … | Continue reading
As cancer rates rise worldwide, researchers predict a shortage of specialists who can deliver chemotherapy, according to a new study. World Health Organization projections suggest that the number of people who will need chemotherapy will rise steadily over coming decades. Unless … | Continue reading
East Japan Railway Co has begun a test trial of two AI robots designed to guide passengers at Tokyo Station. The robots -- Pepper of SoftBank Robotics Corp and SEMMI of German railway company Deutsche Bahn AG -- are deployed at an information desk in a shopping and dining center… | Continue reading
Toyota Industries Corp has installed the H2Plaza, which charges fuel-cell (FC) forklifts with hydrogen produced by using solar electricity, at its Takahama Plant in Takahama City, Aichi Prefecture. The H2Plaza has functions to produce, compress, store and supply hydrogen. It supp … | Continue reading
Sony Corp sees the smartphone business as indispensable to its brand portfolio, its CEO said, bucking calls from some investors that the Japanese electronics firm should scrap the money-losing business. The smartphone business reported an operating loss of 97.1 billion yen ($879. … | Continue reading
Mayors from the world’s largest economies urged their national leaders to work together to “leverage the tremendous potential of our cities as hubs of diversity and innovation for the purpose of tackling global challenges.” Cities from G20 member states, known as the Urban 20 (U2 … | Continue reading
Rakuten has begun offering a new live video streaming service known as “Rakuten LIVE”. Rakuten LIVE is a live video streaming service that allows artists, celebrities and general users to live stream videos and communicate with viewers in real-time as “LIVE streamers1.” Viewers c … | Continue reading
Japan's health ministry has warned medical personnel of a potential side effect of breast cancer drug Verzenio on the lungs after 14 patients in the country taking the drug developed a serious lung disease and three of them died. Of the 14 cases, the drug's adverse effects were s … | Continue reading
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has asked Tokyo Gov Yuriko Koike to back efforts to end the ivory trade in Japan before the 2020 Summer Olympics, a U.S. animal welfare society said. "Tourists and participants may unknowingly engage in the illegal ivory trade by bringing h … | Continue reading
German schoolteacher Verena Brunschweiger decided shortly after her marriage not to have children - not because she did not want them but because she felt she could not justify the climate damage caused by adding to the planet's population. She is part of a growing movement of wo … | Continue reading
Japan and China agreed Friday to boost their relations ahead of a planned visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping to Japan in June, his first since coming to power in 2013. China's top diplomat, Yang Jiechi, told Prime Minister Shinzo Abe that the timing is appropriate for the two … | Continue reading
Peer-to-peer flea market trading apps, frequently used by young people in Japan, are becoming increasingly popular with the elderly as they look to clear away a life's worth of clutter. Once considered taboo, end-of-life preparations, or shukatsu, are being embraced by more and m … | Continue reading
Fast Retailing Co said Tuesday personal information from 461,091 customer accounts for the shopping websites of its Uniqlo and GU brands may have been leaked through unauthorized access. The operator of the two fast-fashion brands said the two online store websites were hacked be … | Continue reading
Nissan Motor Co, reeling from the arrest of its former chairman Carlos Ghosn, reported Tuesday that annual profit nose-dived 57.3 percent to less than half of what it earned the previous year, and forecast even dimmer results going forward. Nissan's profit for the fiscal year end … | Continue reading
Japan enacted legislation Friday making preschool education free as part of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's drive to expand child care support and stem the country's falling birthrate. The government will use revenue from the planned consumption tax hike in October to run the free ed … | Continue reading
A Dublin-based company plans to erect "mechanical trees" in the United States that will suck carbon dioxide (CO2) from the air, in what may be prove to be biggest effort to remove the gas blamed for climate change from the atmosphere. The company, Silicon Kingdom Holdin … | Continue reading
Japan's working population shrank further last year with its ratio to overall population dropping to a record low, while the pace of increase in the number of foreigners accelerated, government data showed Friday. The annual data from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communic … | Continue reading
A rocket carrying a satellite on a mission to deliver the world's first artificial meteor shower blasted into space on Friday, Japanese scientists said. A start-up based in Tokyo developed the micro-satellite for the celestial show over Hiroshima early next year as the initial ex … | Continue reading
Tokyo Skytree is taking a new measure to prevent snow and ice falling from the 634-meter-high tower this winter. Since construction began nine years ago through last year, 13 cases involving damage to cars and homes in the vicinity from falling ice or snow have been reported. The … | Continue reading
A cafe featuring robot waiters remotely controlled from home by people with severe physical disabilities opened Monday in Tokyo's Minato Ward. Five robots, 1.2 meters tall, controlled by disabled people with conditions such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a form of motor neuron … | Continue reading
Carlos Ghosn, chairman of the alliance of Nissan Motor Co, Renault SA and Mitsubishi Motors Corp, was arrested Monday on suspicion of understating his salary by a total of 5 billion yen ($44 million) over five years from 2011 in violation of a Japanese financial law, investigativ … | Continue reading
A Japanese minister in charge of cyber security has provoked astonishment by admitting he has never used a computer in his professional life, and appearing confused by the concept of a USB drive. Yoshitaka Sakurada, 68, is the deputy chief of the government's cyber security strat … | Continue reading
A Japanese company has developed an artificial intelligence-powered automated teller machine to prevent fraudulent money transfers, the first of its kind in the country. The system, which can recognize the appearance and movement of ATM users through an embedded camera, aims to h … | Continue reading
Japan is launching its first survey on "overtourism," or the phenomenon of a popular destination becoming overrun with tourists in an unsustainable way, to counter nuisances such as noise and congestion that disrupt locals' lives, according to officials. The Japan Touri … | Continue reading
Tokyo fishmongers gathered before dawn Saturday for one final tuna auction at the world-famous Tsukiji market before it closes its doors and moves to a new site. It was an emotional moment for veterans of the market, which many acknowledge is now too rundown to support its mammot … | Continue reading
A large white and blue truck pulls up outside a stadium in central Japan and slowly expands into a place of worship. Welcome to the Mobile Mosque. As Japan prepares to host visitors from around the world for the 2020 Summer Olympics, a Tokyo sports and cultural events company has … | Continue reading
French wine lovers have risen up in revolt after a Japanese couple who make "outstanding" wine in southern France were threatened with deportation. More than 42,000 have already signed a petition protesting the "crazy, moronic and shameful decision", with wine … | Continue reading
While Japan is a very safe place in terms of violent crime and wild animal attacks, the country’s climate and geography give it the potential for a number of natural disasters. Earthquakes and typhoons are two of the most common, and with torrential rains causing more than 100 de … | Continue reading
In Japan, as in many countries, science and technology tend to be predominantly male pursuits, at both the academic and professional levels. Critics argue, though, that an educational background in those fields, and access to their associated careers, is becoming increasingly imp … | Continue reading