author

 
 

Meta

Twitter

@jljzen

Jesse Johnson
Philippine, Australian, Japanese and U.S. warships take part in the four nations' first-ever joint military drills in the South China Sea on Sunday.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 7, 2024
Philippines, U.S., Australia and Japan hold joint military drills in disputed South China Sea
The exercises came as the Chinese military held a “joint maritime and aerial combat patrol” in an unspecified area of the waterway.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping and U.S. President Joe Biden on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Woodside, California, on Nov. 15
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Apr 3, 2024
Biden-Xi call highlights stabilizing ties, but also hints at lingering divide
The nearly two-hour telephone call saw the leaders of the world's two largest economies discuss a range of other issues, from TikTok to Taiwan.
A woman walks past a TV showing a news broadcast with file footage of a North Korean missile test, at the main railway station in Seoul on March 18.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Apr 2, 2024
North Korea launches intermediate-range missile as elections loom for South
The Defense Ministry said the weapon had traveled some 650 kilometers before splashing down in waters outside Japan's exclusive economic zone.
Cherry blossoms bloom at Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward on Friday.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Mar 31, 2024
Tokyo marks final day of March with record high temperature for month
Cherry blossoms in the capital finally burst into bloom on Friday, marking the latest blooming in over a decade.
Blue pipelines to transport seawater, part of the facility for releasing treated radioactive water to sea from the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, are seen during a treated water dilution and discharge facility tour for media, in Futaba, Fukushima Prefecture, last August.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 31, 2024
Experts from Japan and China discuss Fukushima water release
The two Asian powerhouses have spared over the issue since Japan began releasing the water into the Pacific Ocean last August.
Kim Jong Un and his daughter Kim Ju Ae attend the opening ceremony of the Gangdong Greenhouse in North Korea in this picture released on March 16.
JAPAN / Politics / EXPLAINER
Mar 27, 2024
North Korea reaches for familiar playbook in talks with Japan
Pyongyang blowing hot and cold on a potential leaders summit is meant to gain the upper hand in negotiations to realize such a meeting.
Kim Yo Jong, who serves as a top adviser to her brother, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, said Tuesday that Pyongyang had ruled out holding a leaders' summit with Japan.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 26, 2024
North Korea rules out summit with Japan and rejects more talks
The sister of leader Kim Jong Un said that a meeting was not of interest to the North, alluding to Tokyo's unyielding stance on the abductions issue.
The Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani delivers a statement during a news conference at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles on Monday.
BASEBALL / MLB
Mar 26, 2024
Ohtani denies betting on baseball and accuses ex-interpreter of lying and theft
The baseball star expressed shock over the gambling scandal involving his long-time ex-interpreter, in his first public comments on the matter.
A U.S. Marine prepares to demonstrate the use of night vision goggles to Ground Self-Defense Force troops at the GSDF's Camp Somagahara in Gunma Prefecture in March 2017.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 25, 2024
U.S. eyes revamped military command in Japan, reports say
The allies are expected to announce the landmark agreement when Prime Minister Fumio Kishida visits the White House next month.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's powerful sister said Monday that Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has requested a summit with her brother, hinting that any meeting was unlikely without a policy shift by Tokyo.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 25, 2024
Japan reaching out to North Korea for Kim-Kishida summit
The sister of leader Kim Jong Un said any summit would hinge on whether Japan was willing to make a "political decision" — likely on the abductee issue.
A screenshot from a video taken and released Saturday shows China Coast Guard ships deploying water cannons against a Philippine military-chartered civilian supply boat near the Second Thomas Shoal in disputed waters of the South China Sea.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 24, 2024
After clash, China warns Philippines over escalation in South China Sea
China's Defense Ministry issued the warning a day after Manila accused Beijing of damaging a Philippine vessel and injuring its crew with water cannons.
A screenshot from a video taken and released Saturday shows China Coast Guard ships deploying water cannons against a Philippine military-chartered civilian supply boat near the Second Thomas Shoal in disputed waters of the South China Sea.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 23, 2024
Philippines says China Coast Guard again injured crew with water cannon in South China Sea
Chinese vessels severely damaged a Philippine civilian resupply ship as it headed for a military base in the flashpoint Second Thomas Shoal.
U.S. Indo-Pacific Command chief Adm. John Aquilino said that since he took command in 2021, the PLA has added over 400 advanced fighter aircraft and more than 20 major warships, and has more than doubled its inventory of ballistic and cruise missiles.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 21, 2024
China on track to be ready to invade Taiwan by 2027, U.S. commander says
All signs point to the People's Liberation Army meeting President Xi Jinping’s preferred timeline, U.S. Indo-Pacific Command chief says.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un observs a ground test of a solid fuel engine for a new intermediate-range hypersonic missile, at the Sohae Satellite Launching Ground on North Korea’s western coast in this digitally altered image released Wednesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 20, 2024
North Korea's Kim oversees hypersonic missile engine test
The isolated country's leader compared "the military strategic value" of the new weapon as being on par with its powerful long-range missiles.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Philippine Secretary of Foreign Affairs Enrique Manalo attend a working luncheon at the Sofitel Hotel in Manila on Tuesday. Blinken’s trip, which also touched upon economic cooperation, followed a trade mission visit by U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo a week earlier.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 19, 2024
Blinken pledges closer U.S.-Philippine security ties ahead of trilateral summit with Japan
The top U.S. diplomat and his Philippine counterpart also signaled the allies were eyeing ways to "operationalize" security cooperation with Tokyo.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and his wife, Yuko, welcome Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. and his wife, Louise Araneta, at the Akasaka Palace state guest house in Tokyo last December.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 19, 2024
Biden, Kishida and Marcos to hold first trilateral summit in April
The summit comes as economic and security ties continue to grow and the partners cast wary eyes on China.
People walk past a television showing a news broadcast of a past North Korean missile test, at the main railway station in Seoul on Monday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 18, 2024
North Korea launches three ballistic missiles as top U.S. diplomat visits Seoul
The latest launches came as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Seoul for a multinational democracy summit.
A concept model of the Global Combat Air Programme's fighter jet is displayed at the DSEI Japan defense show at Makuhari Messe in Chiba in March 2023.
JAPAN
Mar 15, 2024
Japan's ruling coalition approves export of future joint fighter jet
The step removes a potentially critical hurdle for the multinational Global Combat Aircraft Program involving the U.K. and Italy.
A U.S. Marine Corps MV-22 flies near Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Ginowan, Okinawa Prefecture, on Thursday morning.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 14, 2024
U.S. military resumes Osprey flights in Japan
The resumption came after Washington last week lifted a worldwide flight ban on the aircraft following a deadly crash last year.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who is also LDP president, told an Upper House budget committee meeting that the government would put in place rigorous hurdles that must be cleared before the fighter jet’s export is approved.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 13, 2024
Kishida agrees on need for strict rules to export of fighter jet
Concessions by the LDP president could pave the way for a deal with junior coalition partner Komeito on a revision to Japan's defense export guidelines.

Longform

Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?