Author: MARI YAMAGUCHI Associated Press

TOKYO — Japanese Empress Masako said the Nobel Peace Prize awarded to Nihon Hidankyo, an organization of survivors of the U.S. atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, was a key event of this year that impressed and reminded her of the importance of global peace efforts. Masako, the wife of Emperor Naruhito, said she thought […]

CHIBA, Japan — A Japanese court on Wednesday sentenced an Australian woman who says she was tricked amphetamines into the country to six years in prison, despite accepting her testimony that she was the victim of an online romance scam. The Chiba District Court said it found Donna Nelson from Perth, Australia, guilty of violating […]

TOKYO — Japan’s military said it dispatched a surveillance plane and a navy ship Tuesday after spotting a Russian submarine off the coast of a southwestern island near Taiwan. The Russian Kilo-class submarine was sighted just 50 kilometers (31 miles) south of Yonaguni Island, Japan’s westernmost territory just east of Taiwan, the Japanese Joint Staff […]

TOKYO — Japan’s popular Princess Aiko turned 23 on Sunday, as she takes on more official duties even while her future in the imperial family remains in doubt. Aiko, the only child of Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako, graduated from university earlier this year and has since been participating in official duties and palace rituals […]

TOKYO — Embattled Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, who survived as leader after a major election loss by his governing coalition, promised Friday to work closely with the long-ignored opposition that is now the only way his minority government can stay in power. Ishiba’s Liberal Democratic Party and its junior partner Komeito together lost a […]

SADO, Japan — Japan is holding a memorial ceremony on Sunday near the Sado Island Gold Mines, which were listed this summer as a UNESCO World Heritage site after the country settled years of historical disputes with South Korea and reluctantly acknowledged the mines’ dark history. At these mines, hundreds of Koreans were forced to […]

TOKYO — Japanese officials said Wednesday they are closely watching to see if China keeps its promise to prevent further violations of Japan’s airspace after explaining that an incursion by a Chinese military aircraft nearly three months ago was unintentional and caused by turbulence. Tokyo protested and sought an explanation from Beijing after a Chinese […]

CHIBA, Japan — An Australian woman accused of smuggling amphetamines in a suitcase appeared in a Japanese court on Monday nearly two years after her arrest, saying she is innocent and that she was tricked into carrying them as part of an online romance scam. Donna Nelson from Perth, Australia, was arrested at Japan’s Narita […]

TOKYO — Japanese Princess Yuriko, the wife of wartime Emperor Hirohito’s brother and the oldest member of the imperial family, has died after her health deteriorated recently, palace officials said. She was 101. Yuriko died Friday at a Tokyo hospital, the Imperial Household Agency said. It did not announce the cause of death, but Japanese […]

TOKYO — Japan’s fleet of hybrid-helicopter military aircraft have been cleared to resume operations after being grounded following an accident last month. A V-22 Osprey tilted and hit the ground as it was taking off during a joint exercise with the U.S. military on Oct. 27. An investigation has found human error was the cause. […]