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Jesse Johnson
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Nov 28, 2018
North Korea's Kim reportedly open to inspections at main Nyongbyon nuclear complex
Exactly a year since nuclear-armed North Korea last tested a missile — its most powerful to date — news has emerged that leader Kim Jong Un is open to inspections at his country's main nuclear complex.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Nov 22, 2018
U.S. to scale back major joint military exercise in bid to keep North Korean nuclear diplomacy on track
In a bid to keep Washington's ongoing denuclearization talks with North Korea from faltering, U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said Wednesday that a major joint military exercise with South Korea would be scaled back.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Nov 21, 2018
Japan-based U.S. carrier visits Hong Kong as air force flies B-52 bombers over South China Sea
The U.S. Navy's Japan-based aircraft carrier arrived in Hong Kong on Wednesday, the military said in a statement, a day after the air force flew two B-52 bombers near disputed islands in the South China Sea.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Nov 20, 2018
Japan-based carrier USS Ronald Reagan set to make port call in Hong Kong amid U.S.-China tensions
The U.S. Navy's Kanagawa-based aircraft carrier, the USS Ronald Reagan, is due to make a port call in Hong Kong on Wednesday, a notice posted to the website of the city's maritime authority said, nearly two months after China denied a request by another U.S. warship to visit the city amid rising tensions...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 19, 2018
Mr. Bean arrested? Twitter meme trends after scandal envelops Nissan chairman
As news surrounding Nissan Motor Co. Chairman Carlos Ghosn’s arrest on suspicion of having understated his income dominated social media in Japan, a curious phenomenon was emerging on Twitter: Mr. Bean, the goofball lead character played by Rowan Atkinson in the namesake British sitcom, was trending...
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Nov 16, 2018
North Korea's Kim inspects testing of newly developed 'tactical' weapon
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has overseen the test of a new "ultramodern tactical weapon," the North's state-run media reported Friday in the first mention of such a test in months.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Nov 14, 2018
Freedom of navigation? Defiant U.S. Vice President Mike Pence flies over disputed South China Sea
Vice President Mike Pence has undertaken a kind of "freedom of navigation" operation of his own over the disputed South China Sea, an interview published Tuesday revealed ahead of Pence's visit to Singapore for a series of meetings in the region.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / ANALYSIS
Nov 13, 2018
North Korean missile bases housing weapons capable of striking much of Japan still up and running, think tank says
A U.S. think tank says it has uncovered 13 of an estimated 20 North Korean missile operating bases inside the country — including those believed to house ballistic missiles capable of striking anywhere in Japan and the U.S. — highlighting the difficult road ahead for ridding Pyongyang of its nuclear...
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Nov 13, 2018
Top military officer confirms Chinese Air Force plan to 'extend reach into space'
The Chinese Air Force intends to expand its presence into space as part of its plan to become a "world-class force," state-run media reported Tuesday, quoting top military officers.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 13, 2018
Emigration — not immigration — one of top Japanese concerns amid shrinking population: Pew poll
With Japan's population of 127 million expected to shrink to 88 million by 2065, many appear unsettled by the perceived balance between emigration and immigration.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Nov 10, 2018
In first, Washington calls on Beijing to remove missiles from South China Sea
The United States has for the first time urged China to remove missile systems deployed to contested man-made islands in the South China Sea, the Pentagon said Friday.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Nov 7, 2018
Top U.S. diplomat delays meeting with North Koreans, raising questions about ongoing nuclear talks
A planned meeting between U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and the right-hand man to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in New York has been postponed, the State Department said in a short statement just two days before the meeting had been scheduled to be held.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Nov 6, 2018
Top U.S. diplomat to meet senior North Korean official in New York on Thursday amid denuclearization acrimony
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will meet with the right-hand man of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Thursday in New York to discuss denuclearization, just days after Pyongyang hinted that it could resume building up its nuclear program if crippling sanctions are not lifted.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Nov 3, 2018
North Korea warns it could restart nuclear weapons development if sanctions aren't lifted
North Korea has warned that it could revive its scrapped policy of building up its nuclear arsenal if the U.S. does not remove harsh economic sanctions as part of reciprocal measures Pyongyang has demanded in ongoing denuclearization talks.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Oct 31, 2018
North Korea preparing nuclear test site for international inspectors: report
North Korea may be preparing for a visit by international inspectors to its shuttered Punggye-ri nuclear test site, South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported Wednesday, citing the country's spy agency.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Oct 30, 2018
Top U.S. diplomat expected to meet Kim's right-hand man next week, report says
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is expected to meet with a top North Korean official next week as they seek to arrange a second summit between the two countries' leaders, according to a South Korean report.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Oct 28, 2018
Chinese state media claims Pittsburgh mass shooting highlights need for 'anti-extremism education' similar to that of Xinjiang camps
Chinese state-run media has pointed to the mass shooting Saturday at a synagogue in Pittsburgh as highlighting the need for "anti-extremism education" measures similar to the widely criticized internment camps it operates in the country's far-west Xinjiang region.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Oct 28, 2018
North Korean hospital director says Otto Warmbier torture allegations 'total distortion' of truth
The director of the Pyongyang Friendship Hospital, which treated American student Otto Warmbier, who died last year after being detained for months in the country, has dismissed new allegations that his death resulted from torture.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Oct 24, 2018
Human rights situation in North Korea 'has not changed' despite Pyongyang's warming ties with Seoul and Washington, U.N. investigator says
The ongoing detente between North Korea and the United States has done little, if anything, to improve Pyongyang's abysmal rights record, the U.N. independent investigator on human rights in the nuclear-armed country said Tuesday, just weeks before the expected passage of a Japan-led resolution condemning...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Oct 23, 2018
North Korea blasts Japan's role in pushing U.N. human rights resolution amid nuclear talks
North Korea has singled out Japan, criticizing Tokyo's leading role in crafting a U.N. resolution condemning human rights violations and the abductions of foreign nationals by the nuclear-armed country, amid its ongoing thaw with the outside world.

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A woman passes an "akichi" (vacant lot) in Bunkyo Ward, Tokyo. The capital is littered with such small lots in part because of Japan's aging and shrinking population.
Dealing with rising land vacancies as Japan shrinks