News stories by Catherine Makino

Allegations of money laundering within the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) appear to have dashed hopes that the ruling party would distinguish itself from the scandal-plagued conservative administration that had ruled over Japan for almost half a century.

Greater interaction and integration are crucial to easing social tensions in countries that are host to a growing number of migrants, experts say.

Japan's first sex crime trial under the new lay judge system finished in September amid large-scale media attention that troubled the female victims.

Tomoko Ando and her husband divorced because she refused to quit her job as a lawyer and start a family. The shortage of daycare centres has created a dilemma for women like Ando who want to continue working, but also start a family.

Sachiko Yamada has been hoping to spend her retirement years traveling and living the good life. Today she devotes her time to taking care of her 90-year- old mother five days a week, leaving her with two days off while her mother goes to a care centre for the elderly.

There is more to Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama’s pledge last week to extend at least 500 billion yen (5.6 billion U.S. dollars) in fresh assistance to the Mekong region than meets the eye, or so observers think.

One morning nine months ago, Kenji Hamada’s colleagues were surprised to find him in their Tokyo office slumped over his desk. They thought he was sleeping, but when he did not wake up after two hours, they realised he was dead.

Hip hop. Fashion. Zen café. Animation.

The newly elected Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) plans to open government organisations to the foreign press, party member Kuniko Tanioka revealed in an interview with IPS.

The Aug 30 elections in Japan will be the most important in a generation, signifying many voters’ dissatisfaction with the current political status quo under the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP).