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Passengers of the urban railway line that opened in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, on Sunday
JAPAN
Dec 23, 2024

Vietnam's first subway opens with help from Japan

The project's total cost was estimated at ¥212 billion.
Former Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga (right) and Sen. William Hagerty, former U.S. Ambassador to Japan, hold talks in Washington on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 9, 2025

Japan to deepen U.S. alliance, former Prime Minister Suga says in Washington

Former Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga spoke during a meeting with Sen. William Hagerty, who served as U.S. ambassador to Japan during the first Trump administration.
The air-to-surface standoff missiles have a range of about 900 kilometers, enabling strikes from beyond enemy firing ranges.
JAPAN
Jan 16, 2025

U.S. approves sale of air-to-surface missiles to Japan

The move comes in response to the Japanese government's request to purchase up to 16 Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missiles with Extended Range.
A training session for a new reporting system that the Japan Coast Guard began operating on Saturday
JAPAN
Jan 18, 2025

Japan Coast Guard launches emergency video reporting system

The coast guard hopes the new system will improve life-saving measures in the event of emergencies at sea.
A monument erected near Ulaanbaatar to remember Japanese nationals who died in Mongolia after being detained by the former Soviet Union during World War II
JAPAN
Jan 30, 2025

Japan's emperor and empress will likely visit Mongolia in July

This would be the couple's third overseas goodwill trip since the emperor's accession to the throne in 2019.
The Immigration Services Agency says it is unclear whether application fee price hikes will lead to shorter processing times, but would “continue its efforts to improve efficiency to minimize any inconvenience to applicants.”
JAPAN
Jan 31, 2025

Japan's immigration processing fees to rise starting April 1

The Immigration Services Agency has cited rising prices and personnel costs for its first price hikes — of as much as 50% — in over four decades.
Britain is the second country after the United States to launch a "two-plus-two" economic dialogue with Japan.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 18, 2025

Japan and Britain to hold economic talks on March 7

Britain will be the second country after the United States to hold a "two-plus-two" dialogue with Japan.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is greeted by Abdulla bin Touq Al Mari, the UAE's minister of economy, during a reception in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, on Monday.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jul 20, 2023

Kishida's Middle East visit creates an opportunity for Japan

Kishida visit shows Japan's policy vis-a-vis the Middle East is shifting from the traditional energy-securing economic diplomacy to a more strategic foreign policy.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin and Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi pose for a photo during their meeting in Jakarta on Friday.
JAPAN
Jul 15, 2023

U.S., Japan and South Korea condemn North Korean missile launch

The condemnation came after North Korea fired a powerful long-range missile that flew for a record 74 minutes to an altitude of 6,000 kilometers.
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
Jul 14, 2023

Japan calls on China to approach Fukushima water release in 'scientific manner'

The issue of the water release took up a substantive amount of the hourlong talks between the nations' top diplomats, but the two did not come to a clear agreement on the matter.
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.
JAPAN / Society
Jul 25, 2023

Low flights of U.S. Ospreys over Japan's mainland raise safety concerns

In June last year, an Osprey aircraft crashed in the United States, leaving five dead.
Two F-15 fighter aircraft from the ASDF fly alongside two Rafale jets and an A400M transport aircraft from the French Air and Space Force as the two forces kicked off Wednesday their first-ever joint fighter exercise in Japan
JAPAN
Jul 26, 2023

France and Japan expand defense ties with first joint fighter jet drills

The drills are scheduled to run from Wednesday to Saturday in the airspace around the Kanto region and the ASDF’s Nyutabaru Air Base in Miyazaki Prefecture.
A screen displays Chinese leader Xi Jinping, at the Military Museum of the Chinese People's Revolution in Beijing last October.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 28, 2023

China eyes accelerated plan for ‘world-class military,’ Japan says

An annual defense white paper said the world was facing its greatest test since World War II amid China's military buildup and the Ukraine war.
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.”
JAPAN / Science & Health
Aug 1, 2023

Japan panel endorses first domestically developed COVID vaccine

The shot is based on the original strain of the coronavirus, making it unlikely that it will be used in Japan or elsewhere.
Tanks containing water from the disabled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant are seen at the plant in the town of Okuma, Fukushima Prefecture, in March.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 1, 2023

Japan and China clash in Vienna over Fukushima water plan

China told a meeting for the 2026 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty review conference that the international community is concerned about the plan.
Four Italian Air Force F-35 fighter jets are lined up next to an Air Self-Defense Force F-15 fighter shortly after arriving at Komatsu Air Base in Ishikawa Prefecture on Friday evening in this image posted to the base's official X social media account.
JAPAN
Aug 4, 2023

Japan and Italy to elevate ties with first joint fighter drills

The drills highlight how Rome and Tokyo are expanding defense and security ties as their strategic interests in the Indo-Pacific converge.
Taro Aso, a former prime minister and current vice president of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, speaks during the Ketagalan Forum in Taipei on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 8, 2023

Taiwan situation ‘tilting toward emergency,’ former Japan PM says

Taro Aso said this shift was “definitely not out of the blue” but was now “more evident,” pointing to military exercises by China around Taiwan.
The Pentagon on Tuesday looked to soften the blow of an explosive report that Chinese hackers had infiltrated Japan's most sensitive defense networks, saying that it was "confident” about sharing intelligence with Tokyo.
JAPAN
Aug 9, 2023

U.S. ‘confident’ in Japan intel sharing, but Taiwan concerns linger

The Pentagon has moved to soften the blow of a report that said that “shockingly bad” hacking had been uncovered by the U.S. in the fall of 2020.
Visitors at the Todaiji temple in Nara in June
JAPAN / Society
Aug 10, 2023

China lifts pandemic-era ban on group tours to Japan

The decision marks the first time since January 2020 that groups of Chinese tourists will be allowed to visit Japan.
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.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Aug 13, 2023

Japan Wind Development chief likely to admit bribing lawmaker Akimoto

It was newly found that Akimoto received ¥30 million, separately from the suspected bribe, from around 2019 for applying to the Japan Racing Association.
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.
Tourists walk along the road that leads to Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto on Friday.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Aug 14, 2023

New coronavirus variant EG.5 gains momentum in Japan

The prevalence of EG.5, called Eris by health experts, nearly doubled in July to account for 22% of cases in Tokyo.
South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol delivers a speech during a ceremony marking the 78th anniversary of the end of Japanese colonial rule over the Korean Peninsula in Seoul on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 15, 2023

South Korea’s Yoon calls Japan a partner ahead of summit with U.S.

Yoon said he sees a summit this week with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and U.S. President Joe Biden as setting a new milestone of cooperation.
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. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel arrives for a photo opp on the day of a trilateral engagement at the Group of Seven summit in Hiroshima on May 21.
JAPAN
Aug 17, 2023

As U.S. envoy to Japan, Rahm Emanuel puts China in cross-hairs

The U.S. ambassador also heaped praise on Tokyo’s new muscular approach to defense.
An Air Self-Defense Force F-35A fighter aircraft
JAPAN
Aug 17, 2023

Japan F-35 fighters to fly to Australia in first deployment abroad

Four F-35As, supported by an aerial tanker and transport aircraft, will take part in a long-range navigation and refueling exercise starting next Monday.

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