Japan's foreign minister on Tuesday labelled as "very regrettable" an incident in Beijing in which the national flag was ripped off a car carrying Japan's ambassador, fanning diplomatic tensions.
North Korea and Japan this week hold their first direct talks in four years with attention focused on whether they can show progress in overcoming deep-rooted suspicions that have hamstrung ties.
One of the most powerful typhoons in decades churned towards the Korean peninsula Monday after lashing Japan's Okinawa with heavy rains and wind, leaving at least five injured.
Anti-Japan protests broke out in more than a dozen Chinese cities including Beijing and Hong Kong on Sunday as authorities allowed thousands of people to vent anger over an escalating territorial row.
Japan should strengthen its coast guard to defend disputed islands, the ruling party policy chief said Saturday, a day after Tokyo deported pro-Beijing activists who had sailed there.
Genetic mutations have been found in three generations of butterflies from near Japan's crippled Fukushima nuclear plant, scientists said Tuesday, raising fears radiation could affect other species.
Japanese Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba said Saturday that Tokyo was considering asking the International Court of Justice to settle a bitter row with South Korea over a disputed island group.
An unpopular bill to double Japan's sales tax and partially plug its gaping debt hole is set to be passed by lawmakers Friday in a triumph for the prime minister that could also herald the end of his job.
Top Japanese automaker Toyota plans to invest $495 million dollars to build an engine plant in Brazil, the company's president said Wednesday after meeting Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff.
Tens of thousands of people marked the anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima on Monday, as a rising tide of anti-nuclear sentiment swells in post-Fukushima Japan.
The euro stayed bearish against other currencies in Asia trade Friday after taking a hit from the European Central Bank's announcement of no immediate measures to fight the debt crisis.
Japan's judo coaches have admitted their Olympic Games team has performed below expectations after claiming just one gold medal over the first four days of competition.
A Japanese paper firm whose factory was at the centre of deadly weekend protests in China said Monday it was concerned about the demonstration, but rejected pollution claims as "groundless".
Koyuki Higashi is slim, articulate and intelligent, things that make a would-be wife attractive to many in Japan. But Higashi knows she will probably never marry because she is a lesbian.
Toyota Motor has returned to the top of the global carmakers' league, Japanese media reported on Thursday, after the firm said it had sold almost five million vehicles in the first half of the year.
Japanese customs officials who impounded 200 pens more than a year ago said Friday the writing implements needed a weapons import licence because they were shaped like bullets.