North Korea on Saturday marked the birthday of late leader Kim Jong Il with no outward provocation against the United States, in the run-up to a second summit between the two countries later this month.   Flags and placards have been placed along all highways and main roads of Pyongyang in celebration of the father

U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday declared a national emergency to secure funds for a wall on the border with Mexico without congressional approval, a controversial move that appears certain to draw a court challenge from Democrats.   With the declaration, Trump is seeking to divert about $6.5 billion in funds from the military and

The Defense Ministry corrected Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s remark that prefectural governments were not cooperating in the recruitment of Self-Defense Forces members, but even the ministry’s explanation was inaccurate.   Two days later, Defense Minister Takeshi Iwaya corrected Abe’s remark and said cooperation was not forthcoming from municipal governments, rather than prefectural governments.   According

Choosing Valentine’s Day to make a heartfelt statement, gay couples will file the first- ever lawsuits in Japan challenging the constitutionality of not recognizing same-sex marriages.   The plaintiffs in the group suits are 13 same-sex couples who reside in Tokyo and seven other prefectures and range in age from their 20s to 50s. The

photo credit to: https://www.scmp.com   More than 40 percent of respondents who identify with being sexual minorities said they were harassed or felt discomfort as college students sitting for job interviews.   The finding was among the results of an online survey by ReBit, a nonprofit organization established to raise greater awareness of lesbian, gay,

The government, responding to growing interest in the death of a 10-year-old girl who was apparently terrorized by her father, called on child consultation centers and schools nationwide to immediately examine all suspected cases of child abuse.   Prime Minister Shinzo Abe chaired a meeting of Cabinet ministers involved in the issue on Feb. 8

More than 14,000 apartment dwellers across Japan face the prospect of being forced to move home after the developer of their units admitted that substandard construction practices will require it to carry out major repairs.   The company said a special urgency was needed for 7,782 residents in 641 apartment buildings who face the biggest

An app powered by artificial intelligence (AI) that can read speakers lips even if they do not enunciate words is available for those willing to collaborate in a study aimed at facilitating smooth conversation for people with speech difficulties.   The lip-reading AI technology, developed by Takeshi Saito, associate professor of intelligence information studies at

An amateur radio satellite roughly twice the dimensions of a Rubik’s Cube and engineered by students at a university based in Tokyo is now in orbit and beaming clear signals to Earth.   The satellite, one of seven developed by universities and businesses, was sent aloft Jan. 18 atop an Epsilon-4 rocket launched from the

Metropolitan Police Department investigators said last Jan. 28 they found that all seven permanent street vendor stalls operating in Yoyogi Park under the occupancy permits issued by the metropolitan government were run by individuals connected to the Kyokuto-kai, a government-designated crime syndicate.   Metropolitan government officials plan to interview all the stall operators with an