The director Miyazaki Hayao and other leading anime creators have a surprising number of connections to Nagano in central Japan. The prefecture’s Suwa region, steeped in prehistoric Jōmon culture, is home to one of Japan’s oldest Shintō shrines.

Despite administrative efforts to cut overtime, a recent survey finds that unreduced workloads mean most schoolteachers in Japan continue to put in long shifts.

Japanese ghosts are known for holding a grudge. These phantasms tend to be portrayed in the white garments used to clothe the dead.

Bottled water topped a ranking of the sources Japanese people mainly use for drinking water, with convenience as the most popular reason for doing so.

The temple Kōfukuji in Nara is home to a three-faced, six-armed masterpiece created some 13 centuries ago. A look at the lasting brilliance of the Ashura statue and its evocative expressions.