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Jesse Johnson
Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa speaks during a news conference after a Group of Seven foreign ministers meeting in Tokyo on Nov. 8.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 25, 2023
Japan, South Korea and U.S. envoys seek united front on North Korea
The three countries' top diplomats strongly condemned North Korea’s launch of a military spy satellite and vowed to boost trilateral security cooperation.
Defense Minister Minoru Kihara speaks to reporters in Tokyo on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 24, 2023
Japan says North Korean ‘object’ orbiting Earth after launch
"We need to continue to carefully analyze the details, including whether the satellite is orbiting the Earth as intended," the defense minister said.
Pedestrians walk past a screen displaying North Korean leader Kim Jong Un celebrating after the launch of a military reconnaissance satellite, in Tokyo's Akihabara district on Wednesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Nov 23, 2023
North Korea ends 2018 military accord with South after launch
Pyongyang said its first military spy satellite is in orbit, with the rocket passing over the Japanese archipelago late Tuesday.
A North Korean rocket carrying a military spy satellite is launched in this undated photo released Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Nov 22, 2023
North Korea calls spy satellite launch a success, but questions linger
A rocket carrying the payload passed over the Japanese archipelago late Tuesday, but Tokyo said it had not confirmed the veracity of Pyongyang's claims.
A man walks past a TV broadcasting a news report on North Korea firing a space rocket, at the main railway station in Seoul in August.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 21, 2023
North Korea says it could launch satellite as early as Wednesday
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s office said it had "strongly demanded" that North Korea halt preparations for the launch.
Defense Minister Minoru Kihara speaks with reporters at the Defense Ministry on Monday evening after holding a teleconference with his British and Italian counterparts.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 21, 2023
Japan joint fighter development group planned for fiscal '24
The 'control tower' will oversee the countries’ requirements for the joint development of the fighter by 2035.
Taiwanese Vice President Lai Ching-te (left), presidential candidate from the Democratic Progressive Party, introduces Hsiao Bi-khim, Taiwan's de facto envoy to the United States, as his running mate in the 2024 election, during a news conference at Lai's campaign headquarters in Taipei on Monday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Nov 20, 2023
Taiwan presidential front-runner taps U.S. envoy as running mate
Lai Ching-te tapped Hsiao Bi-khim, a fluent English speaker who had been Taiwan's de facto ambassador to the U.S., to join him on the DPP ticket.
Hwasong-17 intercontinental ballistic missiles take part in a nighttime military parade to mark the 90th anniversary of the founding of the Korean People's Revolutionary Army in Pyongyang in this undated photo released in April 2022.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Nov 19, 2023
North Korea marks missile holiday with silence as Kim absent 29 days
Missile Industry Day was not mentioned in state-run media on Sunday, as leader Kim Jong Un remained out of the public spotlight for nearly a month.
The U.S. Navy guided-missile cruiser USS Monterey fires a Tomahawk land attack missile in April 2018.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 18, 2023
U.S. approves deal to sell long-range Tomahawk missiles to Japan
The Pentagon said Friday that the U.S. State Department had signed off on the estimated $2.35 billion deal for 400 Tomahawk missiles.
U.S. President Joe Biden greets Chinese President Xi Jinping before a meeting during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders week in Woodside, California, on Wednesday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Nov 16, 2023
Biden and Xi agree to pick up the phone to avert crisis. But now what?
Agreed measures are unlikely to be enough to improve bilateral ties, as neither side appeared willing to tackle fundamental differences head on.
U.S. President Joe Biden shakes hands with Chinese leader Xi Jinping at Filoli estate in Woodside, California, on Wednesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Nov 16, 2023
Xi and Biden agree to restart high-level military-to-military talks
The leaders of the two superpowers looked to stabilize a relationship that has been in freefall amid fears it could devolve into outright conflict.
This undated picture released Wednesday shows the first ground combustion test of a high-power solid-fuel engine for a new intermediate-range ballistic missile, at an undisclosed location in North Korea.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 15, 2023
North Korea eyes surprise attack ability with missile engine test
The new engines for the intermediate-range ballistic missiles would give Pyongyang another means of targeting Japan.
U.S. President Joe Biden meets with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Group of 20 leaders summit in Bali, Indonesia, on Nov. 14, 2022.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / FOCUS
Nov 14, 2023
Biden and Xi look to put floor under strained U.S.-China ties
The two leaders will have a laundry list of concerns to discuss, but the talks are unlikely to yield any dramatic breakthroughs.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa speak as they wait for a group photo session during the Group of Seven foreign ministers meeting in Tokyo on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 8, 2023
G7 top diplomats call for ‘humanitarian pauses’ in Israel-Hamas war
The statement didn’t mention a cease-fire, only noting the necessity of humanitarian action.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping and U.S. President Joe Biden meet on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit in Nusa Dua, on the Indonesian resort island of Bali, in November last year.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Nov 7, 2023
Biden wins global vote of confidence over China's Xi, survey finds
A survey has found that nearly two-dozen countries are nearly three times more likely to the U.S. president more positively than the Chinese leader.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu points to a red line he drew on the graphic of a bomb used to represent Iran's nuclear program as he addresses the United Nations General Assembly at the U.N. headquarters in New York in September 2012.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Nov 6, 2023
Israeli minister's Gaza nuclear comments spotlight opaque arsenal
The country has long had a policy of ambiguity as to whether it has nuclear weapons, though it is widely believed to possess a sizable number.
Japanese evacuees from Israel arrive at Tokyo's Haneda Airport via an Air Self-Defense Force flight on Friday night.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 3, 2023
SDF plane evacuates 46 from Israel as Japan's top diplomat visits
The evacuation came as Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa visited Israel for talks with her Israeli and Palestinian counterparts.
Maritime Self-Defense Force Chief of Staff Ryo Sakai speaks during a news conference Tuesday at the Defense Ministry in Tokyo.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 31, 2023
Defense chief condemns ‘outrageous’ response in SDF harassment case
A male perpetrator of sexual assault was forced to apologize directly to the female victim despite her wishes not to see him.
China's powerful vice chairman of the Central Military Commission, Zhang Youxian (left), and Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu arrive for the Beijing Xiangshan Forum in the Chinese capital on Monday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Oct 30, 2023
Chinese military No. 2 slams U.S. but signals defense channel reopening
While criticizing the U.S., China's Gen. Zhang Youxia also indicated an openness to resuming high-level military talks with the Pentagon.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping meets with U.S. President Joe Biden on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit in Nusa Dua, on the Indonesian resort island of Bali, on Nov. 14, 2022.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / FOCUS
Oct 29, 2023
U.S. and China agree to work toward Biden-Xi meeting next month
U.S. President Joe Biden emphasized the need to manage the U.S.-China rivalry "responsibly” during a rare meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

Longform

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