Hidakawashi Co. President Hiroyoshi Chinzei holds up Japanese paper with a thickness of just 0.02 millimeters in Hidaka, Kochi Prefecture. (Mainichi/Masatoshi Maekawa) HIDAKA, Kochi -- In this ...

From sculptural floor lamps and mid-century-inspired options to artful, iridescent sconces, there's a little something for ...

(Mainichi/Norihisa Ueda) FUKUOKA -- Though cleaning toilet seats with flushable paper at hand sounds easy and convenient, Japanese toilet maker Toto Ltd. is urging consumers not to do so ...

Coffee giant Starbucks has introduced biodegradable straws made from plant-based materials in Japan to cut plastic use and waste. Five years after ditching plastic for paper, Starbucks Japan is ...

Some shouted “banzai” — “long live” — while others waved small paper Japanese flags. “I feel for those who are still greatly suffering,” Naruhito said, referring to the quake in ...

Roughly five years ago, Starbucks Japan switched from plastic straws to paper ones, in an effort to be more environmentally friendly. But while this change was made in order to make Mother Nature ...