Search - japan

 
 
Komeito leader Natsuo Yamaguchi waits ahead of a high-level meeting with Chinese Communist Party officials at Beijing's Great Hall of the People in December 2017.
JAPAN
Jul 15, 2023

Japan ruling bloc lawmakers facing hurdles to China visit plans

Trips to China by Komeito leader and senior LDP official both put on ice over Chinese anger at planned release of treated Fukushima water.
JAPAN / Society
Jul 24, 2023

Japan prepares for an evacuation scenario involving residents on remote islands

Commercial airplanes and ships are supposed to be used for an evacuation, but weather and other conditions could make it difficult.
U.S. President Joe Biden, Prime Minister Kishida Fumio and South Korean leader Yoon Suk-yeol greet each other ahead of a trilateral meeting during the Group of Seven summit in Hiroshima on May 21.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 29, 2023

U.S. announces trilateral summit with Japan and South Korea

The leaders of the three countries will use the summit at the Camp David presidential retreat to expand trilateral cooperation “across the Indo-Pacific and beyond.”
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida meets with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, last month.
JAPAN
Aug 12, 2023

Saudi Arabia seeks to join fighter jet project involving Japan

Riyadh’s push to partner in the program is creating strains within the alliance, as the U.K. and Italy are open to the prospect while Japan is resistant.
U.S. President Joe Biden, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and South Korea’s President Yoon Suk-yeol meet during the Group of Seven Summit in Hiroshima on May 21.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 13, 2023

U.S. and Japan set to announce pact on missile interceptors, report says

The U.S. and Japan earlier this year said they plan to strengthen defense cooperation on growing concern about the challenges posed by China and Russia.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Aug 16, 2023

Man charged in Brazil for allegedly murdering family in Japan

The 34-year-old has been charged over the murder of his wife and child in Osaka, allegedly because he feared divorce.
U.S. President Joe Biden walks with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and South Korean leader Yoon Suk-yeol as the three arrive for a joint news conference during a trilateral summit at Camp David, near Thurmont, Maryland, on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 19, 2023

Japan, South Korea and U.S. inaugurate a 'new era' of cooperation

The three countries' leaders also announced a plan to create a hotline for coordinating responses to regional challenges and threats.
JAPAN / Society
Aug 29, 2023

Hokkaido hit hard by China's ban on Japan seafood imports

Chinese demand for products like scallops and sea cucumbers provides a crucial source of revenue for the prefecture.
A sign reading "Suspend the sale of all fish products imported from Japan" is seen in an area of Japanese restaurants in Beijing on Aug. 27.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 2, 2023

Japan rebuts China's criticism of Fukushima water release

The criticism has included claims that run counter to the view of the International Atomic Energy Agency.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 5, 2023

Japan OKs additional fisheries aid and ups pressure on China

Support for the industry now tops ¥100 billion, as the government struggles to soothe fears over contaminated water at home and abroad.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Sep 8, 2023

New COVID variant detected in Japan amid wave of infections

While there’s no evidence so far that it causes more severe illness, experts say it may be more capable of infecting people who have been infected before.
A man receives a COVID-19 vaccination  at Aoyama University in Tokyo in August 2021.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Sep 9, 2023

Japan to end free COVID-19 vaccinations in March

From fiscal 2024, the country will provide a COVID-19 shot once a year between to people aged 65 or over who are at high risk of severe symptoms.
A vial of the Moderna COVID-19 booster vaccine targeting BA.4 and BA.5 omicron subvariants. Japan will roll out an updated version targeting the XBB variant on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Explainer
Sep 19, 2023

Japan to begin COVID vaccine drive targeting XBB subvariant

The free shots will be offered until March next year to prepare residents for an expected uptick in infections during the winter.
People visit the area near Sensoji Temple, a popular tourist destination, in Tokyo's Asakusa district on Sept. 7.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Sep 25, 2023

Japan's schools face double whammy of the flu and COVID-19

In the period between Sept. 11 and 17, the average national influenza case count rose to over 7.03 per medical institution from just 4.48 the week prior.
JAPAN
Oct 6, 2023

Japan and South Korea hold first strategic dialogue in nine years

The meeting was attended by Vice Foreign Minister Masataka Okano and Chang Ho-jin, South Korea's first vice foreign minister.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 15, 2023

Japan evacuates eight citizens from Israel as 51 others arrive in Seoul

An SDF aircraft will remain on standby in Djibouti for the possibility of airlifting additional Japanese nationals.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 17, 2023

South Korea, Japan and U.S. set up three-way security hotline

he hotline comes at a time of military tensions with North Korea and China's growing regional influence.
Palestinians react at the site of Israeli strikes on houses, as the conflict between Israel and Hamas continues in the Gaza Strip on Thursday.
JAPAN
Oct 26, 2023

Japan urges Israel to pause assault on Gaza

The Japanese government is repotedly making final arrangements to send Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa to Israel and Jordan on Nov. 2-5.
The European Union and Japan concluded an agreement Saturday on cross-border data flows, a deal that could benefit companies across a range of sectors, including financial services, transport, machinery and e-commerce, allowing them to handle data without cumbersome and costly administration.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 28, 2023

EU and Japan conclude agreement on data flows

The deal on cross-border data flows should drive business and may help shape global rules for data, the European Commission said.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. review an honor guard during a welcome ceremony in Manila on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 3, 2023

Japan and Philippines to start talks on reciprocal troops pact

Japan will pledge to provide defense equipment to the Philippine military under a new aid framework.
The Norwegian Embassy in Tokyo has launched a campaign to promote more salmon eating.
JAPAN
Nov 12, 2023

Norway pushes Japan to eat more salmon with creative preparation ideas

Norway started a blitz to sell salmon for sushi to Japan under a national strategy in the 1980s, making it more popular than it already was at the time.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 12, 2023

U.S., Japan and South Korea defense chiefs to share North Korea missile data

The defense chiefs of the U.S. and South Korea met in Seoul on Sunday with Japan's defense minister joining the meeting online.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Nov 13, 2023

Japan urges China to release national jailed on spy charges

Since China's amended anti-espionage law went into effect in 2015, at least 17 Japanese people have been detained by Chinese authorities.
Three of Shield AI’s V-Bat drones, which can fly both autonomously and as swarm with a program called hivemind, are seen during testing near Devils Lake, North Dakota, last June.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 14, 2023

Japan joins U.S.-led effort to regulate military use of AI

Japan and 44 other countries have endorsed a U.S.-led initiative aimed at setting guardrails around the military use of this cutting-edge technology.
Trade Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura has said that trade talks with China could help stabilize relations.
JAPAN
Nov 15, 2023

Japan and China to hold regular talks on trade, media reports say

Trade Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura said the talks could help stabilize relations.
A residential building damaged by a Russian missile strike in the Serhiivka, in Ukraine's Odesa region, in July 2022. Daria Krokva, a doctor, fled Ukraine for Japan in April 2022 after being advised to evacuate by a cousin in Kobe.
JAPAN
Nov 23, 2023

Ukrainian doctor aims for national license in Japan

Daria Krokva is working hard on her Japanese proficiency in order to qualify for taking the national examination for medical practitioners.
The number of syphilis cases in Japan totaled 13,251 this year as of Sunday, hitting a record high for the third consecutive year, national data showed Friday.
JAPAN
Nov 24, 2023

Syphilis cases hit record high for third straight year in Japan

The total exceeded the previous annual record of 13,228 cases reported in the entire year of 2022.
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.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Nov 28, 2023

Japan approves first domestically developed COVID-19 XBB vaccine

The XBB-adapted coronavirus vaccine will be available as a booster under the nation’s free COVID-19 vaccination program beginning next week.
U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel (left) and tourism minister Tetsuo Saito sign a memorandum of cooperation on tourism promotion on Wednesday in Tokyo.
JAPAN
Nov 30, 2023

Japan and U.S. designate 2024 as tourism promotion year

Under the initiative, the two countries will hold travel campaigns for the general public and host events for travel agencies.

Longform

Tokyo Koon stands at the forefront of tackling the so-called 2025 issue, also known as the “Magnetic Tape Alert.”
The race to save 20th-century history