Shoplifting accounted for nearly 10 percent of all criminal offenses recognized by police in 2012, up for the 11th straight year, a National Police Agency survey has shown. By age group, the number...

WASHINGTON (Bloomberg)—Stanley Fischer, said to be the leading candidate for the No. 2 job at the U.S. Federal Reserve Board, offers crisis-fighting experience and a dose of skepticism about efforts...

TORONTO (AP)—Canada’s postal service said Wednesday it will phase out home delivery within urban centers within the next five years as it begins to post significant financial losses due to growin...

SYDNEY (Jiji Press)—Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott has urged Toyota Motor Corp. to stay in Australia after news that General Motors Co. plans to withdraw from the country, leaving Toyota as t...

The dollar climbed above ¥102.50 in Tokyo trading late Thursday, but its topside proved limited due to a slump in global stock markets. At 5 p.m., the dollar stood at ¥102.79-82, up from ¥102.48...

Sharp Corp. and Sanyo Electric Co. said they have settled patent infringement suits brought by Sanyo over liquid crystal displays at the Tokyo District Court. According to their settlement terms, t...

WASHINGTON (AP)—The U.S. government ran a much smaller deficit through the first two months of the budget year than the same period last year, signaling further improvement in America’s finances....

NEW YORK (AP)—Facebook will join the Standard & Poor’s 500 stock index, replacing technology supplier Teradyne Inc., while Abercrombie & Fitch was downgraded from the benchmark index. S&P Dow J...

Japan’s first national security strategy and new National Defense Program Guidelines for the next decade, which focus on enhancing the combination of the ground, maritime and air branches of the Se...

The Supreme Court has upheld the petition of a female-to-male transgender man to be recorded on the official family registry as the father of a boy born to his wife after the use of semen from a dono...