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April 04, 2025
 

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Jesse Johnson
News of a North Korean missile launch is shown at a the main rail station in Seoul on May 30.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jun 25, 2024
State-run think tank makes rare call for Seoul to consider own nukes
While discussions have grown about Seoul deploying or building it own nuclear weapons, it is extremely unusual for a state-run body to broach the issue.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un toast during a reception at the Mongnangwan Reception House in Pyongyang on Wednesday following summit talks.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
Jun 21, 2024
New Kim-Putin pact sparks unease — and talk of more aid for Ukraine
An opaque new treaty signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un this week could end up bolstering U.S.-allied cooperation.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin walk past children during a welcoming ceremony in Pyongyang's Kim Il Sung Square on Wednesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jun 19, 2024
Putin and Kim sign mutual defense pact in dramatic upgrade of ties
The North Korean and Russian leaders inked a "strategic partnership treaty," upgrading ties to a level that Kim said was on par with a formal alliance.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un shakes hands with Russian President Vladimir Putin during their meeting at the Vostochny Cosmodrome in Russia's Amur region last September.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jun 18, 2024
Putin pledges to take Russia-North Korea ties to 'a higher level'
The Russian leader is expected to ask for even more weapons, while Kim will seek continued military tech support and cash to keep his regime afloat.
The Philippines' BRP Sierra Madre, which was intentionally grounded on the contested Second Thomas Shoal in the South China Sea in 1999, is home to one of the country's military outposts.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jun 18, 2024
China appears to adopt new tactic in maritime clash with Philippines
Manila has claimed that Chinese vessels had engaged in “dangerous maneuvers” in the South China Sea, including attempting to tow a Philippine ship.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visit the Vostochny Cosmodrome in Russia's far east Amur region on Sept. 13, 2023.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / FOCUS
Jun 17, 2024
Putin to visit North Korea from Tuesday for meeting with Kim
The Russian president is expected to ask Kim Jong Un for even more weapons, adding to an influx of arms in the wake of a summit last year.
China Coast Guard vessels fire water cannons toward a Philippine resupply vessel as it made its way to the Second Thomas Shoal in the South China Sea in March.
ASIA PACIFIC
Jun 15, 2024
China Coast Guard's new 60-day detention rules take effect
The regulations allowing the arrest of foreign nationals suspected of trespassing in waters "under China's jurisdiction" have stoked fears of escalation.
Tourists rest in the shade at the Tsukiji outer market in Tokyo on Wednesday.
JAPAN
Jun 12, 2024
Japan marks first 'extremely hot day' of 2024
The temperature hit 35 degrees Celsius in Fukushima Prefecture and rose above 30 C in parts of Tokyo, the Meteorological Agency said.
South Korean soldiers work on a loudspeaker that is set up for propaganda broadcasts during a military drill near the Demilitarized Zone separating the two Koreas in Paju, South Korea, in this image released Sunday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jun 10, 2024
Pyongyang floats more balloons amid vows of retaliation against Seoul
Kim Yo Jong, the sister of North Korea's leader, promised a strong response to South Korea's restarting of its loudspeaker broadcasts for the first time in years.
U.S. President Joe Biden has said he has “made clear” to Chinese leader Xi Jinping long-standing U.S. policy that refrains from endorsing Taiwanese independence, but has said the U.S. will defend the island “if China unilaterally tries to change" the status quo.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jun 5, 2024
Biden says he won't rule out use of U.S. military to defend Taiwan
The U.S. president, in an interview with Time magazine, delivered another broadside to Beijing on its most sensitive issue.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin speaks at the Shangri-La Dialogue security conference in Singapore on Saturday.
JAPAN
Jun 4, 2024
Upgrade for U.S. military's command in Japan gains steam
U.S. defense chief Lloyd Austin has said that basing a four-star commander in Japan is something the Pentagon is “looking at very closely.”
Visitors take pictures in a booth showing photographs before a rally to commemorate the 35th anniversary of Beijing's Tiananmen Square crackdowns, at the Library Square in Taipei on Tuesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jun 4, 2024
35 years on, Tiananmen memory eroded by Chinese censorship and Sino-U.S. rivalry
While commemorations of the crackdown are effectively banned in mainland China and in Hong Kong, events were being held in Taiwan and other locations.
A North Korean soldier is seen at a guard post inside the country in this picture taken from Paju, South Korea, near the Demilitarized Zone separating the two Koreas in June 2020.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jun 3, 2024
Seoul to suspend inter-Korean military pact with Pyongyang over balloons
South Korea said the halt will last "until mutual trust between the two Koreas is restored,” after the North sent trash-filled balloons across the border over the last week.
Philippine Coast Guard personnel aboard the BRP Bagacay observe a China Coast Guard ship during the distribution of fuel and food to fishers by a civilian-led mission in the disputed South China Sea on May 16.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jun 3, 2024
Beijing slams 'ignoble' U.S. role in South China Sea dispute
Responding to a warning by the Philippines' president, Beijing accused Washington of exploiting the issue to "drive a wedge between China and other regional countries."
A plastic bag carrying trash that crossed the inter-Korean border with a balloon believed to have been sent by North Korea is seen in Seoul in this picture released Sunday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jun 3, 2024
North Korea halts sending trash balloons over border to South
Pyongyang has threatened a resumption of the "unpleasant" practice in the event South Korean activists restart the flying of anti-regime leaflets.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks during the Shangri-La Dialogue security conference in Singapore on Sunday.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 2, 2024
Zelenskyy pillories China over reluctance to use sway to end Ukraine war
The Ukrainian president also implored Asian leaders to attend a peace conference slated for later this month in Switzerland.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrives at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore on Saturday.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 1, 2024
Zelenskyy arrives in Singapore to address key Asia security summit
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will deliver an address to the Shangri-La Dialogue Asia security conference Sunday and meet with the U.S. defense chief.
Japanese Defense Minister Minoru Kihara (left) shakes hands with Chinese defense chief Dong Jun on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue security conference in Singapore on Saturday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 1, 2024
Japan defense chief tells China counterpart of 'serious' military concerns
Defense Minister Minoru Kihara met Chinese defense chief Dong Jun on the sidelines of a major Asian security conference in Singapore on Saturday.
Chinese Defense Minister Dong Jun (center) arrives with his delegation for a bilateral meeting with U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin on the sidelines of the 21st Shangri-La Dialogue summit at the Shangri-La Hotel in Singapore on Friday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 31, 2024
U.S. and Chinese defense chiefs agree on importance of military talks
The meeting marked the first face-to-face talks by the U.S. and Chinese defense chiefs in 18 months.
A man watches a television screen showing a news broadcast with file footage of a North Korean missile test, at a train station in Seoul on Thursday.
ASIA PACIFIC
May 30, 2024
In unusual move, North Korea fires off barrage of at least 10 ballistic missiles
While the North has in the past launched multiple missiles in a single volley, the sheer number fired Thursday pointed to training for so-called saturation strikes.
As ‘Buy Canadian’ grows, more U.S. firms say retailers turning away products
Empty shelves with "Buy Canadian Instead" signs are seen in the American Whiskey section of the BC Liquor in Vancouver, British Columbia, on March 10.
U.S. tourist arrested after bringing a handgun into Japan
Hyogo police believe the handgun a U.S. tourist inadvertently brought into Japan slipped through security procedures at Kansai International Airport in Osaka Prefecture.
Trump unveils 10% global tariff, with Japan levy set at 24%
Trump tosses a MAGA hat to the crowd during an event in which he unveiled new tariffs in the White House on Wednesday.
Meiji says sayonara to bottled milk, a staple of Japan's bathhouses
Meiji bottled milk lined up in a fridge at Kosugiyu, a bathhouse in Tokyo. The sticker urges patrons to enjoy the milk one last time before it’s gone.
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.
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).
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.
Meiji says sayonara to bottled milk, a staple of Japan's bathhouses
Meiji bottled milk lined up in a fridge at Kosugiyu, a bathhouse in Tokyo. The sticker urges patrons to enjoy the milk one last time before it’s gone.
A Canadian made a weekend trip to Costco a Japanese pastime
Under the watchful eye of Ken Theriault, Costco representative director and Japan country manager, the American membership-model wholesaler has flourished in Japan.
On defense, Japan may avoid Trump's worst impulses — for now
Defense Minister Gen Nakatani and U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth chat after reviewing an honor guard during a welcome ceremony at the Defense Ministry in Tokyo on Sunday.

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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