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April 06, 2025
 

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Jesse Johnson
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Apr 9, 2018
Holy smokes: South Korean envoy reportedly told Kim to kick cigarette habit
North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un, a notoriously heavy smoker, was advised by South Korean National Security Council chief Chung Eui-yong to quit smoking during their meeting early last month — an exchange that left Kim's onetime spy chief reportedly frozen in terror over how the supreme leader might...
Japan Times
WORLD
Apr 7, 2018
U.S. Homeland Security to compile database of journalists, bloggers and 'media influencers'
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is looking to create a searchable database of hundreds of thousands of news sources, journalists, bloggers and "media influencers" for the federal government, a move a DHS spokesman called "standard practice."
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / FOCUS
Apr 5, 2018
Only Pyongyang stands to gain from possible Kim-Trump summit: former U.S. envoy
Any summit between the leaders of North Korean and the U.S. — regardless of the outcome — is likely to be a big win for Pyongyang, according to the former top American diplomat for the Asia-Pacific region.
Japan Times
WORLD
Apr 4, 2018
Four presumed dead in U.S. Marine helicopter crash in Southern California
A U.S. Marine Corps CH-53E helicopter of the same type involved in two accidents in Okinawa Prefecture last year crashed Tuesday in California, leaving the entire crew of four presumed dead.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 3, 2018
Analysis disputes Japanese foreign minister's claim that North Korea is preparing fresh nuclear test
A leading North Korea-watching website has disputed Foreign Minister Taro Kono's reported remarks that Pyongyang is preparing to conduct a fresh nuclear test even as tensions on the Korean Peninsula ease ahead of a rare summit between the two Koreas.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / ANALYSIS
Apr 2, 2018
Kim Jong Un: statesman and all-around normal guy? Not quite
Kim Jong Un: statesman and all-around normal guy?
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / ANALYSIS
Mar 28, 2018
With historic meeting of leaders, North Korea and China shore up leverage as Kim-Trump talks loom
North Korea and China secured major diplomatic victories — and possibly more — this week with leader Kim Jong Un's visit to Beijing, a move that bolsters Pyongyang's leverage ahead of talks with Washington and returns Beijing to its role as a central player in the nuclear crisis roiling the Korean...
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Mar 28, 2018
Mystery no more: North Korea's Kim meets Xi, says he's 'willing' to talk with Trump
North Korea's young leader, Kim Jong Un, has made an unannounced visit to China at the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping, state media confirmed Wednesday, apparently saying for the first time just weeks before a possible meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump that he is "willing" to sit down...
ASIA PACIFIC
Mar 26, 2018
Chinese Air Force drills in South China Sea and Western Pacific, calls exercises 'rehearsals for future wars'
The Chinese Air Force has conducted a series of exercises in the contested South China Sea and the Western Pacific, where it sent fighter jets and bombers through Okinawa's Miyako Strait on Friday, labeling the exercises "rehearsals for future wars."
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Mar 24, 2018
China accuses U.S. of 'serious provocation' after American warship sails near man-made island in South China Sea
China's Defense Ministry has accused the U.S. of "serious political and military provocation" after the U.S. Navy conducted its first so-called freedom of navigation operation (FONOP) in the disputed South China Sea since January.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 22, 2018
China should prepare for 'direct military clash' over Taiwan amid U.S. moves: Chinese paper
A popular Chinese state-run newspaper has said China must prepare for "a direct military clash" over self-ruled Taiwan after a high-level U.S. official visited the island, angering Beijing.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 21, 2018
South Korea's Moon hints at possibility of three-way summit with North Korea and U.S.
South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Wednesday floated the possibility of a three-way summit involving the two Koreas and the United States in the wake of an North-South summit scheduled for next month and a possible meeting of U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un before the...
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Mar 21, 2018
Taiwan shadows China carrier through narrow strait after warning by Xi: report
Taiwan has sent ships and aircraft to shadow a Chinese aircraft carrier group through the narrow Taiwan Strait, its Defense Ministry said Wednesday.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Mar 20, 2018
Toned-down U.S.-South Korea military drills set for April 1 amid North Korea thaw
The U.S. and South Korea announced Tuesday that a toned-down version of annual joint military drills would begin April 1 amid a potentially monumental thaw in ties with nuclear-armed North Korea that could see the allies' two leaders hold separate summits with North Korea's Kim Jong Un.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 19, 2018
Top South Korean diplomat says Kim has 'given his word' on denuclearizing
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has "given his word" that he is committed to denuclearizing, South Korea's top diplomat said Sunday, a key condition for a potential summit with U.S. President Donald Trump planned for May.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 18, 2018
North Korea says Japan 'may not get a ticket for Pyongyang' if pressure policy continues
North Korea threatens Japan over Tokyo's policy of pressuring it and says it “may not get a ticket for Pyongyang” if it continues.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 18, 2018
In rare direct message, North Korea's Kim congratulates China's Xi on re-election as president
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has sent a congratulatory message to China's Xi Jinping on his re-election as president, state-run media said Sunday, in a rare direct message between the two Asian leaders.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Mar 17, 2018
'Oh, konnichiwa': U.S. interior secretary's remark to lawmaker of Japanese descent draws fire
U.S. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke came under fire this week for what critics said was a "flippant" and "juvenile" use of a Japanese greeting when responding to a question from a congresswoman of Japanese descent during a House committee hearing.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / ANALYSIS
Mar 14, 2018
New top U.S. diplomat's hawkish views on Iran put North Korea detente in question
U.S. President Donald Trump has again cleaned house, this time firing his top diplomat and replacing him with his hawkish spy chief in a move that could have wide-ranging implications for a planned summit between the American and North Korean leaders slated to take place sometime before the end of May....
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 13, 2018
U.S. aircraft carrier and MSDF helicopter destroyer conduct joint exercises in disputed South China Sea
The USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier strike group has kicked off bilateral exercises with the Maritime Self-Defense Force, including one of the largest vessels in Japan's fleet, in the disputed South China Sea, the U.S. Navy said Tuesday.
3D printer used to construct train station building in Japan
A train station building (front) is assembled from parts printed using 3D printer technology, in Arida, Wakayama Prefecture, on Wednesday.
Nissan says it will not take new U.S. orders for Mexican-built Infiniti SUVs
A Nissan manufacturing complex in Aguascalientes, Mexico. Nissan says it will not take new orders from the United States for two Mexican-built Infiniti SUVs following new auto tariffs levied by the U.S.
Japan digs deep to address 'national crisis' caused by Trump tariffs
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks during a news conference at the Prime Minister's Office on April 1. He has said that Japan is facing a "national crisis" following the introduction of new tariffs by the United States.
Tokyo’s KK Line to close for decadelong overhaul as public greenway
People enjoy running and yoga on Tokyo Expressway’s KK Line, a 2-kilometer elevated expressway cutting through the capital’s commercial Ginza district, when it was opened as a pedestrian space in May last year.
Japan promises 'bold and speedy' response to Trump’s surprise 24% tariffs
U.S. President Donald Trump unveils new U.S. tariffs at the White House in Washington on Wednesday.
‘Let’s make it practical’: NATO chief eyes greater defense-industrial ties with Japan
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte plans to visit Japan on Tuesday and Wednesday — his first to the Indo-Pacific region since taking office in October, as he seeks to implement lessons from the ongoing war in Ukraine.
Tottori takes a bold leap forward in the arts
The city of Kurayoshi in Tottori Prefecture celebrated the opening of its public art museum with festivities such as a parade that drew 1,000 revelers.
Haruki Murakami TV adaptation revisits 30 years of watershed moments
Though Haruki Murakami's trademark whiff of offbeat existentialism is threaded throughout NHK's "After the Quake," the final episode — conceived as a sequel to the story "Super-Frog Saves Tokyo" — is the most stylized, featuring an anthropomorphic talking frog (voiced by Non) and his erstwhile associate Katagiri (Koichi Sato).
Nintendo to launch the Switch 2 on June 5
The controllers for the Switch 2 will attach to the console magnetically rather than sliding on rails as with the original device.
A new human trafficking trend emerges from Myanmar scam centers
Victims of scam centers who were tricked or trafficked into working in Myanmar gather at a compound inside KK Park, a fraud center on the country's border with Thailand, after a multinational crackdown in February.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Professional cleaner Hirofumi Sakurai takes a moment to appreciate some photographs in a Gotanda apartment whose occupant died alone.
The last cleanup: Life and death in a lonely Japan
By Johan Brooks

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