The Japanese custom of stamping official documents with "hanko" carved seals is believed to have been imported from China in the latter half of the seventh century. The custom was part of the ...

Hanko is ubiquitous in Japanese society, used in at least 10,000 government processes, including driver's license applications and tax returns. Its use is mandated by law in some of these cases ...

Elton Ilirjani, the Albanian supermodel, LGBT activist, and trailblazing genderbending fashion icon, made a striking a ...

Japanese companies are increasingly trying to implement work-from-home policies. But some say the use of traditional seals, called hanko or inkan, as proof of agreement is hampering their efforts.

The central government has resigned itself to realizing that its effort to pry "hanko" out of the public's hands is unlikely to succeed anytime soon. So, it has decided to keep allowing the use ...