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April 01, 2025
 

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Gabriel Dominguez
Tongan dancers performing a traditional dance at the closing ceremony of the 53rd Pacific Island Forum leaders' meeting in Nuku'alofa, Tonga, on Friday. Taiwan said it signed a pact with the forum's secretariat on Friday that will see it continue its support for the strategically important region until 2027.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Sep 2, 2024
Taiwan staves off exclusion with Pacific island cooperation pact
The signing of the pact will see the self-ruled island continue its support for the Pacific islands until 2027.
Wang Yi, the director of the Communist Party's Central Foreign Affairs Commission Office (right), speaks before talks with White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan at Yanqi Lake in Beijing on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 29, 2024
U.S. and China agree to leaders’ call but keep talking past each other
Although the two sides agreed to a "leader-level call" in the coming weeks, disagreements on the most contentious issues suggest ties will remain rocky.
A China Coast Guard ship is seen from the Philippine Coast Guard vessel BRP Cabra during a supply mission to Sabina Shoal in disputed waters of the South China Sea on Monday.
ASIA PACIFIC / FOCUS
Aug 27, 2024
China-Philippine tensions center on new flash point: Sabina Shoal
Clashes between the countries’ vessels have become more frequent and intense as the two sides vie for control over the disputed South China Sea atoll.
Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto speaks during an interview with The Japan Times in Tokyo on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 26, 2024
Interoperability with Japan ‘crucial,’ Italian defense chief says
Engagement between the two partners is already paying dividends, including in terms of lessons for the future deployment of F-35Bs from MSDF carriers.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi embrace at the entrance of the Mariinskyi Palace ahead of their meeting in Kyiv on Friday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
Aug 24, 2024
After Russia, Modi visits Ukraine as he walks diplomatic tightrope
The Indian leader reiterated the need for “dialogue and diplomacy” to end the war, during talks in Kyiv with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The Italian Navy's aircraft carrier ITS Cavour at the Yokosuka naval base on Thursday. The 244-meter, 27,100-ton Italian flagship arrived at the base in Kanagawa Prefecture Thursday morning for a port call.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 22, 2024
Italy-Japan ties enter ‘new era’ amid deepening alignment, top envoy to Tokyo says
Underscoring this rapidly expanding partnership was the 244-meter, 27,100-ton flagship's visit to the Yokosuka naval base in Kanagawa Prefecture.
Defense Minister Minoru Kihara (left) and Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa (second from left) pose for a photo with Indian defense chief Rajnath Singh and External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar in New Delhi on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Aug 21, 2024
Japan and India to update key document on security cooperation
Tokyo is also looking to provide New Delhi with advanced naval antennas and exploring the possibility of repairing Japanese warships in India.
Berlin's growing military engagement with Indo-Pacific allies and partners is meant to signal that Germany "stands firmly at the side of those countries that are committed to complying with international law and do not accept it being called into question," German Navy chief Vice Adm. Kaack told The Japan Times.
JAPAN
Aug 20, 2024
Sea lane fears drive German military's Asian engagement, navy chief says
Developments in the Indo-Pacific, both economic and geopolitical, have direct implications for the security and prosperity of Germany, Vice Adm. Jan Christian Kaack says.
Philippine Defense Minister Gilberto Teodoro (right) speaks during a joint press conference with German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius at a hotel in Makati, Metro Manila, Philippines, on Aug. 4.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Aug 14, 2024
Manila looks beyond Asia for defense support
Germany is the latest Western power to announce plans to deepen security ties with the Philippines amid Manila's escalating territorial disputes with China.
The U.S. Democratic vice presidential nominee, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, speaks at Temple University in Philadelphia on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Aug 7, 2024
Walz pick shines spotlight on U.S. VP's possible foreign policy role
Walz brings to the table a strong background on China issues as well as a number of foreign policy stances that line up with that of Harris.
U.S. President Joe Biden escorts Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to their trilateral summit at the White House in Washington in April.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Aug 6, 2024
As U.S. ‘minilateral’ diplomacy grows, Japan emerges as key actor
As geopolitical tensions in the region rise, the breakout of any conflict would put Tokyo on the front lines alongside Washington.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi attend a ceremony to decorate India's leader with the Order of St. Andrew the Apostle the First-Called following their talks at the Kremlin in Moscow on July 9.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
Jul 31, 2024
India emerges as player in bid to mediate end to Ukraine war
India has become more vocal in its calls for a negotiated solution, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi reportedly considering a visit to Kyiv in August.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin (left), U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken (second from left), Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo (second from right), and Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro pose for a photo ahead of the allies' "two-plus-two" meeting at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City, Metro Manila, on Tuesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
Jul 30, 2024
Philippines gets 'unprecedented' aid — and reassurances — during talks with U.S.
Manila will receive $500 million in security assistance, months before the U.S. votes in a contentious presidential election.
Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar (left) speaks with Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa (center left) as Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong (center right) is greeted by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken (right) after the four delivered remarks to the media after their "Quad" ministerial meeting at the Iikura Guest House in Tokyo on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 29, 2024
'Quad' top diplomats decry situation in South China Sea
The top diplomats from Japan, Australia, India and the U.S. also pledged to boost maritime security in the Indo-Pacific region.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin (left to right), U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa and Defense Minister Minoru Kihara prior their "two-plus-two" talks at the Iikura Guest House in Tokyo on Sunday
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Jul 28, 2024
In historic move, U.S. to upgrade military command structure in Japan
The move — one of the most significant in the alliance's history — comes as Washington and Tokyo overhaul military ties in the face of an increasingly assertive China.
South Korean Defense Minister Shin Won-sik (left to right), Defense Minister Minoru Kihara and U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin pose for a photo at the Defense Ministry Sunday.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Jul 28, 2024
U.S., Japan and South Korea ink deal to 'institutionalize' security ties
The move — just months before the U.S. presidential election — is seen as part of a bid to make the trilateral relationship more difficult to reverse.
A German Air Force Eurofighter jet takes off from Chitose Airbase in Hokkaido during Germany and Japan's first-ever bilateral fighter exercise, which ran from Monday to Thursday.
JAPAN
Jul 25, 2024
Japan and Germany elevate ties with first joint fighter exercise
Named Nippon Skies, the aerial maneuvers took place in the airspace around the Air Self-Defense Force’s Chitose Air Base in Hokkaido.
A computer-generated image shows the new refined design of a next-generation fighter aircraft being co-developed by Japan, Britain and Italy.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Jul 24, 2024
Japan has ‘no concerns’ over rumored hitch in joint fighter jet plans
While experts agree there are currently no indications that the U.K. might drop out of the program, the multilateral project still faces a number of challenges.
A full-scale model of the new design of a next-generation fighter that Japan, Italy and Britain plan to develop together is showcased Monday by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Leonardo and BAE Systems — the projects’ lead system integrators — at the Farnborough International Airshow near London on Monday.
JAPAN
Jul 23, 2024
Japan and partners unveil design for cutting-edge new joint fighter
While unlikely to be the final design, the refined concept features major changes in the wing and aft fuselage areas ostensibly meant to improve its aerodynamics.
Two Air Self-Defense Force F-15s (right) escort two German Air Force Eurofighter jets and an A330MRTT aerial tanker on their arrival in Japan Friday. The ASDF is conducting training exercises with the German, French and Spanish air forces this weekend.
JAPAN
Jul 19, 2024
German, French and Spanish fighter aircraft arrive in Japan for joint drills
The stopover in Japan is part of a two-month, trinational Pacific Skies deployment that will also take the three countries’ air forces to Australia, India and Hawaii.
Japan's biggest beef bowl chain Sukiya to shut nearly 2,000 stores after rat and bug contamination
Zensho Holdings, operator of fast-food chain Sukiya, said it will close all of its stores in Japan, except for a small number in shopping centers, between Monday and Friday following recent contamination incidents.
Alert raised for volcano in southwestern Japan
Shinmoedake, a volcano located between Miyazaki and Kagoshima prefectures, in November 2019
Japan considers all possible options as Trump threatens new auto tariffs
Subaru cars awaiting export at a port in Yokohama on Thursday.
Nankai Trough earthquake could kill 298,000 people, government says
Residents participate in an evacuation drill held with West Japan Railway in Shirahama, Wakayama Prefecture, in January 2024 to prepare for a Nankai Trough earthquake and a possible tsunami following the quake.
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.
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.
Tokyo tech failures lean into misfortune, mistakes and missteps
Tsuyoshi Domoto in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward on March 28. As an entrepreneur, Domoto experienced plenty of setbacks but maintains a positive attitude and continues to pursue his dreams.
Who among the opposition would join the ruling coalition?
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba enters his office in Tokyo on Friday.
Traveling the Three-Star Road, the tourist route made from thin air
Scenes like this snow-covered bridge leading to the village of Shirakawa-go are what make the Three-Star Road worth traveling — its name notwithstanding.
Recent spate of wildfires in Japan and South Korea linked to climate change
Smoke and flames rise from a wildfire in Andong, South Korea, on Tuesday.

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