Cats are beloved in Japan, as they have been for thousands of years. From old mythological tales of feline yokai like the smart shape-shifting bakeneko to the Hello Kitties and lucky maneki-nekos of ...

FILE - In this Nov. 29, 2016, file photo, Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike speaks at the IOC debriefing meeting in Tokyo. Japan wants to start using the traditional order for Japanese names in English in ...

If you go to Japan, there’s a chance you might meet someone with an unusual name – such as “Nike,” “Pikachu” or “Pudding.” While still a minority, these names have grown in popularity over recent ...