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Jesse Johnson
U.S. President Joe Biden meets with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Lima on Saturday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Nov 17, 2024
Trump's shadow looms as Xi and Biden hold final meeting
The talks focused broadly on efforts by Washington and Beijing to ease the countries’ tense relationship.
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy welcomes Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya before their meeting in Kyiv on Saturday.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 17, 2024
Top Japan diplomat makes surprise visit to Ukraine
The trip comes amid growing fears about the conflict’s expansion following North Korea’s dispatch of troops to Russia for combat operations.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol on Saturday during their meeting on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Lima
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 17, 2024
Ishiba and Yoon unite on 'strong concerns' over North Korean troops in Russia
Tokyo and Seoul have stressed that, with the involvement of North Korea in the Ukraine war, the conflict has expanded to include Asia.
U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel makes a speech aboard the USS George Washington aircraft carrier during Freedom Edge trilateral exercise between the United States, Japan and South Korea in the East China Sea on Thursday.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 16, 2024
U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel weighs bid for DNC chair: report
Such a move would come as the Democratic Party tries to regroup after an election that saw Republicans win control of the White House, Senate and House.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba attends a meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden and South Korean leader Yoon Suk Yeol on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Lima on Friday.
JAPAN
Nov 16, 2024
Ishiba meets Biden and Yoon, as Trump's White House return looms
The three sought to further cement ties by announcing the creation of a “trilateral secretariat” to better coordinate and implement their goals.
Then-U.S. President Donald Trump is interviewed by "Fox and Friends" co-host Pete Hegseth at the White House in Washington in April 2017. Trump nominated Hegseth to be the next U.S. defense secretary on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 13, 2024
Trump's picks: A Fox News host, an ex-spy chief and the world's richest man
The U.S. president-elect announced a spate of unconventional picks for key posts — including his defense and CIA chiefs — in his next government.
Then-U.S. Rep. John Ratcliffe speaks to members of the media during a break of the Senate impeachment trial against then-President Donald Trump at the U.S. Capitol  in Washington in January 2020.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 13, 2024
Trump picks John Ratcliffe to be CIA director
The pick signals that the second Trump White House will get even more hawkish on China — and prove reassuring for American allies such as Japan.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump greets Sen. Marco Rubio during a campaign rally in Raleigh, North Carolina, on Nov. 4. Trump is expected to name Rubio, a loyalist who Trump passed over as his vice presidential running mate, as secretary of state.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 12, 2024
Trump diplomacy and security picks likely to anger China but reassure Japan
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump is expected to select Sen. Marco Rubio to be his secretary of state and Rep. Mike Waltz to be national security adviser.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba appears to doze off as Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi (center) looks on before the first round of a parliamentary vote to nominate a prime minister following the Oct. 27 general election, during a special session of parliament in Tokyo on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 12, 2024
Ishiba’s apparent dozing in parliament due to cold, top spokesman says
Video showing Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba appearing to doze off during a key session of parliament went viral on social media.
The bow of the Maritime Self-Defense Force's Ukushima minesweeper is seen early Monday after most of the ship was submerged in waters off Fukuoka Prefecture following a fire that erupted in its engine room.
JAPAN
Nov 11, 2024
One crew member missing after fire sinks MSDF minesweeper
The MSDF and the Japan Coast Guard are working together to search for the missing sailor, with divers taking part in the effort.
Houses in the countryside outside the North Korean city of Kaesong are seen across the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) from the Ganghwa Peace Observatory, on the South Korean island of Ganghwa on Friday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Nov 9, 2024
North Korea launches GPS interference, affecting airplanes and ships
South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said that the attacks impacted "several" ships and "dozens" of airplanes.
Onlookers watch a broadcast of Republican candidate Donald Trump addressing his election night watch party, in Times Square, New York, on Wednesday. Trump has been elected the 47th president of the United States, pulling off a stunning political comeback in one of the most polarized contests for the White House in U.S. history.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Nov 7, 2024
U.S. allies and partners gird for return of ‘transactional’ Trump
Trump is expected to raise his demands at every turn, a scenario that could very well play out with Japan, especially if Tokyo remains mired in political turmoil.
Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. President Donald Trump points to supporters as he holds hands with his wife, Melania, before claiming victory in the 2024 U.S. presidential election during a rally at the Palm Beach County Convention Center in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 7, 2024
Trump defeats Harris, returning U.S. to era of uncertainty
Kamala Harris congratulated her rival on a win expected to have a dramatic impact on the United States' relationships with allies like Japan and rivals like China.
A man watches a news broadcast about a North Korean missile test, at the main rail station in Seoul on Thursday.
JAPAN
Nov 5, 2024
North Korea fires off missiles hours before U.S. voters head to polls
Pyongyang launched at least seven short-range missiles that flew about 400 kilometers each before splashing down in waters outside Japan's exclusive economic zone.
Monday was the third day in a row that a large number of Chinese military aircraft had been reported around Taiwan, with the Defense Ministry in Taipei saying the earlier instances had been part of exercises that saw them head into the West Pacific for long-distance flights.
ASIA PACIFIC
Nov 4, 2024
Taiwan sees surge in Chinese military activity ahead of U.S. election
Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said that it had detected 44 Chinese military aircraft around the self-ruled island on Nov. 4.
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and Kamala Harris, the Democratic candidate, face off in an election Tuesday that will have wide-ranging implications for Japan.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Nov 3, 2024
Status quo or disruption? Breaking down the U.S. election's impact on Japan
Regardless of who wins, Washington is likely to have limited bandwidth to change tack in a significant way with its most important Asian ally.
The Meteorological Agency said that, as of 2:10 p.m Saturday, a total of 188 observation points in western and central Japan had recorded their largest-ever 24-hour rainfall for November
JAPAN
Nov 2, 2024
Western and central Japan drenched by record rainfall for November
The heavy rains saw the city of Matsuyama, Ehime Prefecture, issue the highest-level alert and urge nearly 190,000 residents to evacuate to shelters.
A man at a rail station in Seoul watches a news broadcast on Thursday with file footage of a North Korean missile test.
ASIA PACIFIC
Oct 31, 2024
North Korea fires off ICBM with longest flight time yet
The missile, which flew for 86 minutes, fell outside Japan's exclusive economic zone, landing in waters some 300 kilometers west of Hokkaido's Okushiri Island.
North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui attends a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Jan. 16.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 30, 2024
North Korea's top diplomat heads to Moscow as troops gear up for fight
The Pentagon has said there are indications troops deployed to Russia by Pyongyang could be used in an infantry role in the Ukraine war.
North Korean special forces soldiers march and shout slogans during a military parade marking the 105th anniversary of the birth of the country's founding father, Kim Il Sung, in Pyongyang in April 2017.
ASIA PACIFIC / ANALYSIS
Oct 29, 2024
North Korean troops in Russia could have dangerous ramifications for Asia
Kim Jong Un's decision to send soldiers amid the war in Ukraine highlights the gamble he appears to be willing to take in his strategic relationship with Moscow.

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Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?