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They’re sweaty, they’re chubby and they love pushing each other around. But enough about the folks at my family reunion, let’s talk about sumo. This quintessentially Japanese sport is a lot of fun to witness with kids, and the Ryogoku neighborhood surrounding Tokyo’s Kokugikan sumo stadium has several other places worth visiting, too. Each sumo tournament lasts two weeks, and the next one in Tokyo starts Sept. 15. Tickets cost upward of ¥10,000 to sit near the dohyō (sumo arena), but I prefer the general admission section. These are the cheapest seats in the house — the very last row...

<p>BEIJING -- The operator of the tsunami-damaged nuclear plant at Fukushima, Japan, said Tuesday that 300 tons of highly radioactive water had leaked from one of its storage tanks, the worst in a number of similar leaks since the catastrophic 2011 earthquake and tsunami.</p>

Japanese researchers have detected high levels of toxic polychlorinated biphenyls in mongooses found near two U.S. military bases in Okinawa in a recent study. The team of researchers from Ehime University and Okinawa’s Meio University told Kyodo News the source of the pollution was probably transformers or other equipment containing PCBs, and said further studies are necessary, given that nearby residents and other animals could be contaminated as well. The discovery points to the need for a thorough investigation into how equipment containing PCBs has been and is currently used. U.S. bases in Okinawa are said to have a lot...

Puddles of water with extremely high radiation levels have been found near water storage tanks on the premises of the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, nuclear regulators and plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. said Monday. The radiation level, measured around 50 cm above the toxic water, stood at about 100 millisieverts per hour, Tepco said, while acknowledging that the water likely came from the tanks. It is possible that around 120 liters of water has so far leaked out. Tepco denied that toxic water had flowed into the Pacific Ocean, but the Nuclear Regulation Authority ordered the...

Meet Matt, a software engineer in Silicon Valley, California, who recently married his college girlfriend from the University of Southern California. Her name is Miho. The pair are both in their late 30s and there was a 10-year period after university when he didnÂ’t lay eyes on Miho or feel any interest in Japanese women, and lived the life of a true-blue Californian whose only bond to Japan was his Toyota Prius. Then the stars aligned, he and Miho ran into each other again at a sushi party thrown by a mutual friend and Matt fell in love, all over...

Sakurajima, one of Japan's most active volcanoes, experienced one of its most powerful eruptions in decades Sunday, sending an ash plume thousands of feet into the air. The volcano, located in the far southwestern part of Japan's mainland on the island of Kyushu, began to erupt at 4:31 p.m. local time Sunday (3:31 a.m. EDT U.S. time). The smoke plume eventually reached a height of 5,000 meters (approximately 16,000 feet), according to the Kagoshima Local Meteorological Observatory. Public broadcaster NHK reported it was the volcano's tallest ash plume since records began in 1955. (MORE: WATCH: Ash Turns Day Into Night)...

Japan's trade deficit worsened in July, almost doubling from a year ago, as a weak yen boosted import costs. The deficit for the month rose to 1.02tn yen ($10.5bn; £6.7bn), as imports surged 19.6% from a year ago. The yen has fallen nearly 25% against the US dollar since November 2012, as policymakers unveiled a series of aggressive measures to revive growth. Analysts said that despite the growing deficit, the government was likely to stick to its aggressive policies, "In the short term the government will focus on its weaker yen policy as its priorities are very clear," Junko Nishioka,...

(Reuters) - Tokyo's busy Haneda airport is the latest battleground for Japan's two big carriers, Japan Airlines Co Ltd (9201.T) and ANA Holdings (9202.T), in a politically-charged fight over $400 million worth of landing rights. The two carriers have locked horns for decades at home, but this clash threatens to take on an international dimension by embroiling British Airways (ICAG.L) and other foreign carriers. At issue are 20 new landing slots at Haneda, the world's fourth busiest airport, which according to industry experts, can generate around $20 million each in annual operating profit. With no new runways or airports planned...

SINGAPORE/TOKYO, Aug 19 (Reuters) - Japanese oil refiners will cut their capacity to the lowest in four decades next year to meet a government deadline, slashing the country's Middle East imports and tightening regional fuel supplies. Imports of crude by the world's No. 3 oil consumer could fall by up to 320,000 barrels per day (bpd) -- down nearly 9 percent on last year -- with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Qatar bearing the brunt of the cuts. The contraction in one of the world's biggest oil markets adds to falling demand from the United States as...

The Yomiuri ShimbunToday marks the 68th anniversary of the end of World War II for Japan. It is the day on which the nation commemorates its war dead and renews its pledge for peace so that the tremendous suffering caused by war will never be repeated. This summer, an animated movie titled “Kaze Tachinu” (The wind has risen) has been attracting attention. Its protagonist is modeled after Jiro Horikoshi, a brilliant designer for the Imperial Japanese Navy who helped create Zero fighters. Postwar steps applauded The movie’s protagonist is drawn to the beauty of airplanes as a boy, but after...

“Hamburger shops are a dime a dozen in Tokyo these days, but there are very few places doing barbecue,” said Lauren Shannon, owner of Bulldog Barbeque (www.bulldogbbq.jp). By barbecue, Shannon doesn’t mean any old thing thrown on a grill, but rather the tradition of the American South of slow-cooked, smoked meats. If you don’t know it, you’re missing out on some seriously good, authentically American food. If you do know it, you’ve probably lamented that it is so hard to come by in Tokyo. “It’s the exact opposite of fast food. It takes days of salt rubs, hours of smoking....

JERUSALEM – A senior Israeli government official has posted online comments on Facebook saying he is “sick” of commemorations for the victims of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombings, a local newspaper reported. “I am sick of the Japanese, ‘Human rights’ and ‘Peace’ groups” over holding their “annual self-righteous commemorations for the Hiroshima and Nagasaki victims,” the Haaretz daily quoted Daniel Seaman, a deputy director general at the Ministry of Public Diplomacy and Diaspora Affairs, as writing in his Facebook post. Seaman, a key Israeli online public relations official, also wrote on the social networking site: “(The bombings of) Hiroshima...

Hokkaido, Japan's second largest and northernmost island, is known for its beautiful wild nature, delicious seafood, and fresh produce. Now another specialty is taking root: Large-scale megasolar power plants that take advantage of the island's unique geography. A new renewable energy incentive program has Japan on track to become the world's leading market for solar energy, leaping past China and Germany, with Hokkaido at the forefront of the sun power rush. In a densely populated nation hungry for alternative energy, Hokkaido is an obvious choice to host projects, because of the availability of relatively large patches of inexpensive land. Unused...

Veteran Japanese rockers Mr. Children attracted so many fans to this year’s edition of the Summer Sonic music festival that they made Smashing Pumpkins’ frontman Billy Corgan upset. “Thank-you for the warm reception,” he said sarcastically in Osaka on Saturday, in response to the legions of Mr. Children fans who crowded the area just ahead of the Japanese group’s set. Ah, the trials of being an opening act. Despite Corgan’s rage, Mr. Children’s supporters were one of the reasons the 14th Summer Sonic, held simultaneously in Chiba (representing Tokyo) and Osaka, sold out both legs of the event (as well...

(Reuters) - The most ambitious radiation clean-up ever attempted has proved costly, complex and time-consuming since the Japanese government began it more than two years in the wake of the Fukushima nuclear meltdown. It may also fail. Doubts are mounting that the effort to decontaminate hotspots in an area the size of Connecticut will succeed in its ultimate aim - luring more than 100,000 nuclear evacuees back home. If thousands of former residents cannot or will not return, parts of the farming and fishing region could remain an abandoned wilderness for decades. In many areas, radiation remains well above targeted...

Last Tuesday, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe took part in a ceremony marking the anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima in 1945, an event which, combined with the following atomic bombing of Nagasaki, compelled Japan to surrender nine days later on Aug. 15, ending the Second World War. Also on Tuesday last week, Japan launched its largest warship since the war. The vessel was launched at Yokohama, where Commodore Mathew Perry came with his U.S. Asiatic fleet in 1853 to open Japan to the West. The 250-meter-long Izumo looks like an aircraft carrier, though officially it is a destroyer. Well,...

(Reuters) - Japan should delay a planned hike in the sales tax in order to ensure that the economy emerges from deflation, said Nobuyuki Nakahara, a former Bank of Japan board member and close confidant of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Nakahara told Reuters the sales tax hike, scheduled in April, should wait until the autumn of next year, when inflation will likely have taken root. "(The scheduled tax hike) would have a serious negative impact similar to the Bank of Japan's 2006 exit from quantitative easing and zero interest rates," he said. He also warned that the pursuit of fiscal...

Japan’s temperature hit 40-degrees over the weekend, reaching a record high in 6 years and claiming the lives of four people. Back in August 2007, the Japan Meteorological Agency reported two cities reaching an all-time high of 40.9 degrees. Last month also caused more than 700 people hospitalized and one dead because of heatstroke. On Saturday, two senior citizens from western Japan passed away due to the intense heat. A 66-year old man and an 84-year old woman were both reported to have collapsed in the fields. The weather bureau warned 39 prefectures early Sunday of another past-35 degree temperature....

(Reuters) - Japan's core machinery orders fell in June and companies expect them to fall further in the current quarter, another sign that government stimulus has yet to boost capital spending as debate intensifies over how to address massive and growing public debt. Weak capital spending is a source of concern for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who faces a tough decision on whether or not to go ahead with a sales tax increase to lift revenues and is reportedly now considering a cut in corporate taxes. The 2.7 percent fall in core orders, which excludes those of ships and electric...

The results of a Pew Opinion survey released in July 2013 found that the public mood in Japan is improving but remains “mostly one of dissatisfaction.” However, that dissatisfaction is 10 percent lower than the level registered in 2007 during Shinzo Abe’s first spell as premier. Pew conducted the survey in March-April 2013, and its results also show that 71 percent of Japanese think economic conditions are bad, with just 40 percent expecting improvement in the national economy in the next year. A mere 12 percent think their own situation will improve, while only 15 percent expect that today’s children...