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A Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) surface-to-air guided missile at the Air Self-Defense Force's Miyakojima Sub Base in Okinawa Prefecture in November
JAPAN
Dec 22, 2023

In major shift, Japan eases rules on exporting defense gear

The policy change could see Japan make its first export of lethal military equipment as early as next year.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida speaks during a policy meeting on Friday.
JAPAN
Dec 22, 2023

Japan cuts spending for first time in 12 years in fiscal 2024 budget

The budget for the coming fiscal year that starts in April is estimated at ¥112.07 trillion, down 2% from the current year's initial amount.
Self-Defense Forces soldiers take part in an evacuation drill on Yonaguni island in Okinawa Prefecture in November.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 22, 2023

Japan approves record ¥8 trillion defense budget

The defense budget announced Friday includes ¥370 billion to build two new warships that will utilize the U.S.-developed Aegis missile defense system.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida meets with Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, in July.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 24, 2023

Japan is critical to linking the Indo-Pacific and the Middle East

As Japan enters the Year of the Dragon, it has an opportunity to link the Indo-Pacific and the Middle East in a way that benefits everyone.
Former Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera
JAPAN
Dec 25, 2023

Japan must further ease arms export rules, ex-defense chief says

Itsunori Onodera said he would press ahead with ruling coalition discussions on broadening the scope of allowable exports.
An artist's depiction of Japan's SLIM lunar explorer after landing on the moon's surface
JAPAN / Science & Health
Dec 26, 2023

Japan's SLIM precision moon lander enters lunar orbit, JAXA says

If successful, the touchdown would make Japan only the fifth country to have landed a probe on the moon, after the United States, Russia, China and India.
The prefectural and municipal governments of Osaka hold a meeting in the city on Dec. 14 to discuss offering a ride-hailing service at the 2025 Osaka Expo.
JAPAN
Dec 27, 2023

Local governments in Japan eye independent ride-hailing services

Some local governments are exploring the introduction of their own systems tailored to fit local circumstances, separate from the central government.
Princess Kako speaks with Japanese Peruvians in Lima on Nov. 3 during an official visit to Peru.
JAPAN
Dec 29, 2023

Japan's Princess Kako turns 29

The princess attended more events in the past year than before, reflecting the removal of COVID-19 pandemic-linked restrictions.
Global Indian International School (GIIS) Tokyo opened in 2006 with 60 students and has now grown to over 1,300, the majority of whom are Japanese.
JAPAN / Society
Dec 28, 2023

How Japan's international school landscape is evolving

With lower tuition than legacy international schools, new affordable facilities are catering to the growing communities of non-Japanese Asian communities.
Japanese model Dulmi, 24, was selected as one of eight models in Vogue Open Casting's class of 2023.
JAPAN / Society
Jan 3, 2024

Dulmi: The biracial model bringing change to modeling in Japan and beyond

In a still-rare recognition of the diversity that exists in Japan, the Osaka native was chosen for the 2023 class of Vogue's Open Casting initiative.
The torii gate at Ono-Hiyoshi Shrine in Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture, collapsed after a powerful earthquake hit the area Monday.
JAPAN
Jan 1, 2024

Strong quake prompts tsunami warning for Japan's western coast

Residents were said to be trapped in collapsed buildings following the quake, which measured a 7 on Japan's intensity scale — the highest level.
A collapsed building in Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, on Tuesday following Monday's earthquake
JAPAN
Jan 2, 2024

Dozens killed as Japan assesses damage from massive quake

The Monday afternoon quake led to the collapse of multiple buildings, caused landslides and sparked a large-scale fire in a popular tourist area.
From left: British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, U.S. President Joe Biden and Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida walk to a flower wreath laying ceremony at the Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima in May during the G7 Summit.
JAPAN
Jan 2, 2024

World leaders show readiness to support Japan after massive quake

Leaders of several countries, including the U.S., U.K., Canada and France, have expressed solidarity with Japan and are ready to offer assistance if needed.
The Shika nuclear power in Ishikawa Prefecture
JAPAN
Jan 2, 2024

Japan's nuclear power plants largely undamaged following quake

While the plants escaped serious damage, the tremor could once again spark public concern about the safety of nuclear energy.
A Japan Airlines (JAL) passenger plane burns on the tarmac at Tokyo's Haneda Airport on Tuesday.
JAPAN
Jan 3, 2024

Runway safety concerns in focus as Japan probes Tokyo crash

The collision of two airplanes at Haneda Airport comes just weeks after the global airline industry heard fresh warnings about runway safety.
Officials examine the burned wreckage of a Japan Airlines passenger plane on the tarmac at Haneda Airport in Tokyo on Wednesday.
JAPAN
Jan 3, 2024

A collision, a jet on fire and a 'miracle' evacuation in Tokyo

Passengers and aviation experts are crediting the disciplined response of both staff and travelers for what’s being called a miracle evacuation.
A man looks out at the burnt wreckage of a Japan Airlines passenger plane on the tarmac at Haneda Airport in Tokyo on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 4, 2024

Japan Airlines estimates loss of about $105 million from collision

The loss of the aircraft will be covered by insurance, the company said, adding it was assessing the impact on its fiscal 2023 earnings forecast.
A damaged sake store in the town of Himi, Toyama Prefecture, following a major earthquake on Monday
JAPAN / First person
Jan 4, 2024

How Japan's violent New Year's quake felt in Toyama

What it feels like to be near a quake that shifts a house left and right, forward and backward.
Authorities examine the burned wreckage of a Japan Airlines passenger plane at Haneda Airport in Tokyo on Thursday.
JAPAN
Jan 4, 2024

Details emerge about moments before deadly Haneda Airport collision

Key questions remain unanswered as transcript sheds light on communications between control tower and the two jets involved in the accident.
Officials work on Tuesday near what appears to be the wreckage of a Japan Coast Guard aircraft that collided with a Japan Airlines plane at Haneda Airport.
JAPAN
Jan 5, 2024

Coast Guard plane stopped on runway for 40 seconds before collision

The coast guard aircraft proceeded onto the runway although it did not gain permission from an air traffic controller, sources said.
A screen next to a police station in the city of Okayama featuring a road safety campaign video in November.
JAPAN
Jan 5, 2024

Japan sees rise in traffic deaths for first time in eight years

Japan still saw the third-lowest death toll on record, with data dating back to 1948.
Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa and her Ukrainian counterpart, Dmytro Kuleba, hold a news conference in a bomb shelter in Kyiv, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, on Sunday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 7, 2024

Japan foreign minister promises aid for Ukrainian anti-drone system

Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa said Tokyo to provide the war-torn country with a drone detection system via a contribution to a NATO fund.
Smoke rises from the wreckage of a Japan Airlines passenger jet that collided Jan. 2 with a Japan Coast Guard plane at Haneda Airport in Tokyo.
JAPAN
Jan 7, 2024

Stop lights out of service at time of Haneda airport collision

The Haneda Airport's C runway has been closed since the accident. It will be reopened Monday, Japan's transport ministry said.
Self-Defense Force personnel taking part in the earthquake-relief efforts help residents in an isolated village in Ishikawa Prefecture on Saturday.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 9, 2024

The U.S. role in Japan's domestic disaster relief

The U.S. pledge for support offers another example of how the U.S.-Japan alliance contributes to Japan's domestic disaster relief.
The Shika nuclear plant in Shika, Ishikawa Prefecture, on Jan. 4
JAPAN
Jan 10, 2024

Three-meter tsunami recorded at Japan nuclear plant after quake

The plant is 11 meters above sea level and protected by a 4-meter seawall built after the 2011 Fukushima disaster.
Akio Mimura, honorary chairman of Nippon Steel and head of a private panel focused on depopulation, submits the group's proposal to Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Society
Jan 10, 2024

Japan should aim to maintain population of 80 million by 2100: panel

A group comprising academics and business leaders say a higher target than the projected 63 million is needed to maintain economic growth.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida meets with U.S. President Joe Biden in Tokyo in May 2022.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 11, 2024

A critical year for the Japan-U.S. alliance

The foundation of the Japan-U.S. partnership is a belief in the need to support and maintain the rules-based global order.
The Somei-Yoshino sample cherry tree used to declare the official start of the cherry blossom season in Sapporo comes into bloom on April 15, 2023, the earliest blossoming since record-keeping began in 1953.
JAPAN / Society
Jan 12, 2024

Japan's 2024 cherry blossom season expected to arrive earlier than usual

Due to higher-than-usual temperatures in November and December, western and eastern Japan will most likely see cherry blossoms bloom early.
Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken during talks in Washington on Friday
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 13, 2024

China and Taiwan focus of top U.S. and Japanese diplomats' talks

Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken “stressed the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait."
A H2-A rocket carrying an information gathering satellite takes off from the Tanegashima Space Center in Kagoshima Prefecture on Friday.
JAPAN
Jan 13, 2024

Spy satellite race in Asia heats up with Japan rocket launch

The probe will monitor North Korean missile sites, according to Mitsubishi Heavy, and the launch comes amid a busy period for spy satellite launches in Asia.

Longform

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