Same-sex couples in Japan are awaiting the results of a debate in a Tokyo local assembly that may give them what their Western counterparts have long had: a chance to step out of the shadows.
A former adviser to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has praised apartheid as a model for how Japan could expand immigration, prompting the government's top spokesman on Friday to emphasize that Japan's immigration policy was based on equality.
A push by Japan to correct perceived bias in accounts of the country's wartime past is creating a row that risks muddling the positive message in a mammoth public relations campaign to win friends abroad.
Officials in Australia and Japan on Monday expressed scepticism and confusion over a pledge by Prime Minister Tony Abbott to give an Australian state-owned shipbuilder the option to tender for a major submarine contract, heightening the uncertainty around the project.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Monday he wanted to debate the possibility of Japan's military rescuing Japanese citizens abroad, a day after Islamic State militants said they had beheaded a Japanese journalist.
Efforts by Japan and Jordan to secure the release of two of their nationals held captive by Islamic State militants remain "deadlocked" and the situation remains highly unpredictable, Japanese officials said.
The United States would welcome a move by Japan to extend air patrols into the South China Sea as a counterweight to a growing fleet of Chinese vessels pushing Beijing's territorial claims in the region, a senior U.S. Navy officer told Reuters.
Jordan said on Wednesday it had received no assurance that one of its pilots captured by Islamic State insurgents was safe and that it would go ahead with a proposed prisoner swap only if he was freed.
Japan said on Friday it was still trying to secure the release of two Japanese hostages held by Islamic State militants after a deadline to pay ransom for their release passed.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Tuesday condemned as "unacceptable" the threat to the lives of two Japanese purportedly taken captive by Islamic State militants, and said the international community should not give in to terrorism.
A Israeli beauty queen's selfie has caused a stir in Lebanon, with some Lebanese saying their country's contestant at the Miss Universe pageant should be stripped of her title for consorting with the enemy.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe warned on Saturday that the world would suffer an "immeasurable loss" if terrorism spreads in the Middle East and pledged about $200 million in non-military assistance for countries battling Islamic State.
Japanese Transport Minister Akihiro Ohta said on Friday his ministry was considering whether to revise existing laws to beef up oversight of auto parts suppliers in the wake of massive recalls of auto parts maker Takata Corp's air bags.
The operator of McDonald's in Japan said on Wednesday it had found no link between a Thai plant and the plastic found in a chicken nugget earlier this month that sparked an uproar over product safety at the fast-food chain.
Antitrust penalties rose to a record in Asia last year as watchdogs got tough on cartels and bid-rigging, emboldened by maturing competition laws across the region and growing government clampdowns on corruption.
A former executive of Japan's Toyoda Gosei Co Ltd has agreed to plead guilty to price fixing and rigging bids for auto parts made for cars sold in the United States, the Justice Department said on Tuesday.
Japan's financial regulator is running stress tests to see if too much cash in the system is stifling smaller banks' ability to earn, unlike regulatory tests elsewhere that have been designed to see whether lenders had enough capital to cope with financial shocks.
Japan has proposed basing benchmark interest rates on actual trades as part of global efforts to improve the transparency of this process following a series of rate-fixing scandals.
A ban on online taxi services in India, following the arrest in New Delhi of an Uber driver accused of rape, has brought uncertainty to the millions of dollars of international investment pumped into Uber's Indian rivals Ola and TaxiForSure.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's ruling coalition cruised to a big election win on Sunday, but feeble turnout could weaken his claim of a mandate for policies including reflationary steps to revive the economy.
China and Japan should set aside hatred and not allow the minority who led Japan to war to affect relations now, Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Saturday, as the country marked its first national memorial day for the Nanjing Massacre.
