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November 21, 2024
 

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Jesse Johnson
Defense Minister Gen Nakatani, 66, has experience as the onetime head of Japan’s former Defense Agency before it became a full-fledged ministry and is seen as a pair of steady hands.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Oct 2, 2024
Ishiba looks to 'defense tribe' to fill key Cabinet positions
The new prime minister has named four former defense ministers to key posts — most notably, the defense and foreign affairs portfolios.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks during a news conference at the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 2, 2024
Ishiba holds first phone call with Biden as prime minister
In their talks, Ishiba noted that the U.S.-Japan alliance “has been strengthened considerably” under his predecessor, and pledged “to continue along that path.”
Taiwanese soldiers exit an amphibious assault vehicle to another position during a landing drill as part of the Han Kuang military exercise in Pingtung, Taiwan, in July 2022. Under the 1979 Taiwan Relations Act, the U.S. is bound by law to sell arms to Taiwan for its self-defense.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Sep 30, 2024
U.S. announces $567 million military aid package for Taiwan
The order means the U.S. will directly ship its own weapon stocks to Taiwan, a move it has employed often to support Ukraine’s war effort.
Shigeru Ishiba, newly elected leader of the Liberal Democratic Party, speaks at a news conference after winning the party's leadership election in Tokyo on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Sep 29, 2024
Ishiba's foreign policy vision to face immediate tests as he takes helm
The new Japanese leader will be greeted immediately with the challenge of reining in escalating regional tensions and building up the U.S. alliance.
The Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyer Sazanami leaves Sasebo Naval Base in Saikai, Nagasaki Prefecture, in April 2012.
ASIA PACIFIC
Sep 28, 2024
Japan and U.S. partners hold dueling military drills with China in South China Sea
The first MSDF warship to transit the Taiwan Strait joined naval and air forces from Australia, New Zealand, the Philippines and the U.S. for the exercises.
A series of satellite images from Planet Labs appears to show cranes at the Wuchang shipyard in Wuhan, China, on June 15.
ASIA PACIFIC
Sep 27, 2024
China's newest nuclear-powered submarine sank this year, U.S. says
It was not clear if the sub was carrying nuclear fuel, but the accident has dealt a major blow to Beijing as it seeks to showcase its growing military prowess.
The Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyer Sazanami arrives in Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean during a scheduled port visit in July. The Sazanami became the first Japanese warship to sail through the Taiwan Strait on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Sep 26, 2024
Japan MSDF warship sails through Taiwan Strait for first time
The transit on Wednesday, which follows a spate of Chinese military moves near Japan, drew a strongly worded warning from Beijing.
Yonaguni Mayor Kenichi Itokazu speaks to a Ground Self-Defense Force soldier at the town hall on Yonaguni, Japan's westernmost inhabited island in Okinawa Prefecture last November.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 26, 2024
Deterring Taiwan conflict is top priority for Japan's ‘front-line’ mayor
The mayor believes the U.S. and Japan must do away with "strategic ambiguity" over Taiwan if they intend to keep China in check.
Chinese military vehicles carrying DF-41 intercontinental ballistic missiles travel past Beijing's Tiananmen Square during a military parade marking the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, on Oct. 1, 2019.
ASIA PACIFIC
Sep 25, 2024
China fires long-range missile into Pacific Ocean in rare test
Tokyo said it had not received advance notification from the Chinese side of the launch, which Beijing said was part of annual military training.
A Maritime Self-Defense Force P-1 patrol plane fires off flares during a demonstration at an international fleet review ceremony in November 2022. The firing of flares is intended to confuse heat-seeking missiles but they are also commonly deployed to warn away other aircraft.
JAPAN / ANALYSIS
Sep 24, 2024
Moscow and Beijing unlikely to stop testing Tokyo's limits
Tokyo’s unprecedented decision to fire flares as a warning after a Russian military plane entered Japanese airspace may not be enough to prevent a recurrence.
Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa (left) holds talks with China's top diplomat, Wang Yi (right center), during their 55-minute meeting at United Nations headquarters in New York on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 24, 2024
China urges Japan to deal with stabbing 'calmly' as details of motive elude
Beijing has been trying to prevent the stabbing of the 10-year-old Japanese boy from spiraling into a wider diplomatic row between the Asian powers.
A Russian IL-38 patrol aircraft is seen in this image taken by the Air Self-Defense Force on Monday.
JAPAN
Sep 23, 2024
Japan fighters fire flares after Russian military plane enters airspace
A Russian IL-38 patrol aircraft violated Japanese airspace off Hokkaido’s Rebun Island three times, with the ASDF firing flares for the first time in response.
A China Coast Guard ship (left) collides with the Philippine Coast Guard ship BRP Teresa Magbanua near the Sabina Shoal, in disputed waters of the South China Sea, on Aug. 31.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
Sep 22, 2024
'Quad' cements ties with coast guard patrols amid China concerns
China has long objected to the Quad, calling it part of a concerted effort to encircle and contain Beijing.
A stranded car is seen on a mud-covered road following heavy rain in the city of Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, on Sunday.
JAPAN
Sep 22, 2024
Six dead and six more missing after 'unprecedented' rains in quake-hit Ishikawa
Authorities called for continued vigilance due to the risk of landslides and flooding in rivers and low-lying areas.
A car is seen in a crevice that opened up in a road amid heavy rains in Suzu, Ishikawa Prefecture, on Saturday.
JAPAN
Sep 21, 2024
'Unprecedented' rains in quake-hit Ishikawa leave at least one dead
Rain across a swath of the Noto Peninsula — still recovering from the Jan. 1 earthquake — triggered floods and landslides that also left a handful of people missing.
China's Liaoning aircraft carrier sails in waters near Okinawa Prefecture on Wednesday.
JAPAN
Sep 19, 2024
Chinese carrier sails between Japanese islands near Taiwan for first time
China's Liaoning aircraft carrier passed through a narrow waterway between Yonaguni and Iriomote islands in Okinawa Prefecture.
North Korean leader Kim Jong inspects the training base of the special operation armed force of the Korean People's Army at an undisclosed location in the country on Sept. 11.
ASIA PACIFIC
Sep 18, 2024
North Korea fires off 'multiple' ballistic missiles in latest show of force
The Defense Ministry in Tokyo said the latest launches saw the missiles splash down into waters outside Japan's exclusive economic zone.
A screenshot from video taken on Aug. 31 shows a China Coast Guard ship colliding with the Philippine Coast Guard ship BRP Teresa Magbanua near Sabina Shoal in the South China Sea.
ASIA PACIFIC
Sep 16, 2024
Philippines vows continued presence after South China Sea reef pullout
Manila denied it has given up on Sabina Shoal, a day after it withdrew a ship that had been stationed there amid a five-month standoff with China.
Candidates for Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party presidential election stand together onstage at the Japan National Press Club in Tokyo on Saturday.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 15, 2024
LDP presidential hopefuls outline approach to U.S. and China concerns
The nine candidates jostled over the best way to resolve Nippon Steel's contentious bid for U.S. Steel, while also grappling with the Chinese military challenge.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un tours a facility for producing weapons-grade nuclear materials at an undisclosed location in North Korea, in this photo released Friday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Sep 13, 2024
North Korea unveils images of uranium enrichment facility for first time
The pictures could give outside experts a better understanding of how many and what types of nuclear weapons the North has produced.
Ishiba delays meeting with Trump, citing legal restrictions
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba waves upon arrival for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, in Callao, Peru, on Friday.
Two of America’s biggest debt holders are dumping Treasurys
The U.S. Treasury building in Washington. Investors in Japan and China sold a pile of U.S. debt in the last quarter, just before the U.S. presidential election.
Rising sex tourism exposes loopholes in Japan's anti-prostitution law
While financial misfortunes during the COVID-19 pandemic may have driven some women to work the streets, others simply want more money to spend — or want to pay off their debts — at host clubs.
Japan ranks last in romance satisfaction for second straight year
In a survey of 31 countries, Japan ranked last in terms of those who felt loved, with just 51% of respondents saying so.
Ruling coalition and DPP strike last-minute deal over economic policy
DPP policy chief Makoto Mahaguchi speaks at the party's policy gathering in Tokyo on Wednesday.
Japan, U.K. and Italy discuss inviting more countries to joint fighter project
A new concept model of a next-generation fighter jet to be jointly developed by Japan, Britain and Italy is on display in Farnborough, Hampshire, in July.
Haruki Murakami's 'The City and Its Uncertain Walls' gives deep deja vu
For “The City and Its Uncertain Walls,” translated into English by Philip Gabriel, Haruki Murakami confronts the ghosts who won't leave him alone.
Japanese expats in Asia find community through rugby
The Taiwan Fivewoods celebrate their victory at the 2023 Asian Japanese Rugby Cup in December of last year.
In Fukushima, a weekend of prose, poetry and translation
Aomori-based writer JJ Carter presented on tabletop gaming as creative inspiration for building characters and narratives.
For Dr. Nakamats, aging is just experience in action
Though he didn't win the recent gubernatorial election in Tokyo, the 96-year-old Dr. Nakamats' run was seen as inspirational in Japan's aging society.

Podcast

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