Justin McCurry

Rested but famished bears emerging from hibernation in Japan are already coming into contact with humans, with the pace of sightings outstripping that seen in 2025, a record year for bear attacks

Japan's famously conscientious but overburdened baggage handlers will soon be joined by extra staff at Tokyo's Haneda airport – although their new colleagues will need to take regular recharging breaks.

Japanese leader Sanae Takaichi has called for discussions to revise the constitution, saying it should ‘reflect the demands of the times’

Many pharmaceutical giants use monkeys to test drugs and vaccines. But since China banned the export of primates in 2020, prices have skyrocketed, fuelilng an international black market.

Half of all households in South Korea's capital Seoul have just one inhabitant. That trend is likely to continue, with more than 40 percent of men

Half of all households in South Korea's capital Seoul have just one inhabitant. That trend is likely to continue, with more than 40 percent of men and women aged 25 to 49 saying they do not want to get…

The sailors aboard the navy vessel Hashidate know what's for lunch long before the telltale aromas escape from the galley.

Thought to have been introduced by Anglo-Indian officers in the Royal Navy in the 1800s, the dish has since spiralled into a national obsession

Their influence is evident in every corner of society, the imperial family owns some, and Tokyo even has its own ‘cat town’

Feline features stare out from the covers of umpteen novels, they have an officially designated day devoted to their mystique and popularity, and have outnumbered dogs as pets for a decades.