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Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
Oct 3, 2018

High-stakes denuclearization talks in balance as U.S. announces top diplomat's visit to North Korea

The White House's high-stakes talks with Pyongyang over its nuclear program have entered a crucial phase, with the negotiations likely to hinge on a scheduled meeting Sunday between U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Oct 3, 2018

Top U.S. diplomat Mike Pompeo to meet North Korea's Kim on Sunday

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is due to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Sunday, the State Department said Tuesday as high-stakes talks over Pyongyang's nuclear weapons program enter a crucial phase.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Oct 2, 2018

Pyongyang says declaring end to Korean War can't be bargaining chip for denuclearization: KCNA

North Korea said on Tuesday that declaring the end of the 1950-53 Korean War "can never be a bargaining chip" for getting North Korea denuclearized, and said the country "will not particularly hope for it" if the United States does not want the end of war, according to state media Korean Central News...
Japan Times
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Aug 15, 2018

Overseas tours an unfortunate victim of sumo's recent popularity

The world of sumo has seen many changes over the past decade.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Aug 4, 2018

'The Emissary': Power, poison, pain and joy inside its DNA

In her latest work, 'The Emissary,' Yoko Tawada joins the ranks of other Japanese writers who use their writing to comment on the catastrophic and irrevocable effects of environmental disasters on society.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 11, 2018

North Korea calls Abe 'kingpin of corruption,' blasts leader for denuclearization push

The newspaper of North Korea's ruling party lambasted Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Wednesday as a "kingpin of corruption" over his alleged roles in two graft scandals that had in recent months pulled down his approval ratings.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jun 26, 2018

Dissent surfaces as China begins to question its readiness for trade war with U.S.

Chinese President Xi Jinping vowed to match U.S. President Donald Trump blow for blow in any trade war. Now as one gets closer, some in Beijing are starting to openly wonder whether China is ready for the fight — an unusually direct challenge to the leadership of the world's second-largest economy....
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 26, 2018

North Korea says it will ignore Japan until Tokyo scraps military drills, other measures

North Korea will continue to ignore Japan unless Tokyo halts hostilities against its neighbor, such as large-scale military drills and efforts to boost military readiness, the isolated nation's state media has said.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
May 30, 2018

North Korea urges South to scrap military intelligence-sharing deal with Japan

North Korea has called for the scrapping of a military intelligence-sharing agreement between South Korea and Japan, calling it a "hurdle" to realizing the goals of the historic Panmunjom Declaration signed between the two Koreas on April 27.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
May 7, 2018

Singapore likely to host Trump-Kim summit in mid-June, reports say

Singapore has become the most likely site for a landmark summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in mid-June, reports have said, as the two nations move closer to formally announcing a date and location.
Reader Mail
Mar 16, 2018

Pro-summit view is fatally flawed

In his March 13 commentary, "What critics of North Korea summit get wrong," Peter Van Buren adduces four errors on the part of those who criticize U.S. President Donald Trump's proposed summit with North Korea's Kim Jong Un. Sadly, each of his arguments is fatally flawed.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / TELLING LIVES
Feb 28, 2018

Florian Busch, the architect who floated the Tokyo 2020 Olympic stadium

Japan-based German architect warns that Tokyo risks squandering a historic chance to offer an ambitious, sustainable vision in 2020.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Feb 10, 2018

Trump picks U.S. Pacific Command chief Harry Harris to be ambassador to Australia

U.S. President Donald Trump has chosen Pacific Command chief Adm. Harry Harris — known for his strident views on China's military expansion and nuclear-armed North Korea — to be the United States' next ambassador to Australia.
Japan Times
CULTURE / TV & Streaming
Feb 8, 2018

'Ainori' teaches lessons in love ... and soft power

Netflix Japan's reboot of the reality show "Ainori" features plenty of drama — most of it interpersonal, but some geopolitical.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jan 22, 2018

Top Chinese newspaper says U.S. forcing China to accelerate South China Sea deployments

China's top newspaper, decrying Washington as a troublemaker, said on Monday that U.S. moves in the South China Sea like last week's so-called freedom of navigation operation will only cause Beijing to strengthen its deployments in the disputed waterway.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Markets
Jan 15, 2018

Mystery Twitter user 'Okasanman' has vast, and growing, following of Japan traders

On a day when billions in profits and losses would be determined by split-second trades, the salaried professionals of Japan's financial markets were glued to their news terminals. Another group was staring at the feed of an anonymous Twitter account.
ASIA PACIFIC
Dec 11, 2017

China's top paper blasts Australian media reports as racist, paranoid

Australian media reports on Chinese interference in Australia are racist and paranoid, China's top newspaper said Monday, stepping up a war of words over concerns in Australia about Chinese influence in the country.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 20, 2017

North Korea threatens to make Japan and U.S. bases 'disappear'

North Korea on Monday issued veiled threat of a nuclear strike on Japan, vowing to make the country "disappear at once" if Tokyo continues with what Pyongyang termed "war hysteria."
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 7, 2017

MSDF holds rare trilateral exercises with Indian and U.S. vessels in Sea of Japan

The Maritime Self-Defense Force has held three days of rare trilateral exercises with vessels from the Indian and U.S. navies, including the Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture-based USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier, the Defense Ministry said Tuesday.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Nov 5, 2017

After Trump begins Asia visit, North Korea warns him against making any 'reckless remarks'

Hours after U.S. President Donald Trump touched down in Japan on the first leg of his Asia tour on Sunday, North Korea warned him against making any "reckless remarks."
ASIA PACIFIC
Nov 3, 2017

North Korea dismisses as 'misinformation' Japanese report that scores died in nuclear test site accident

North Korea lashed out at Japan on Thursday, dismissing as "misinformation" a report earlier this week that more than 200 people were feared dead after a tunnel collapse at the North's main nuclear test site following the country's sixth atomic test in early September.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Nov 2, 2017

Xi says China hopes to promote ties with North Korea

Newly empowered Chinese President Xi Jinping has reached out to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in an apparent bid to promote stable ties with the isolated country days ahead of a visit to the region by U.S. President Donald Trump, the official Korean Central News Agency said Thursday.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 1, 2017

Xi's new power won't stop dissent

The Chinese president's choice to strengthen authoritarian rule rather than loosen it will prove to be a large error, for himself, his country and beyond.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Oct 16, 2017

Diplomacy with North Korea will continue 'until the first bomb drops,' Tillerson says

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said diplomatic efforts to rein in Pyongyang's nuclear weapons program "will continue until the first bomb drops," as the U.S. and South Korean navies kicked off a massive, five-day joint military exercise Monday in the waters surrounding North Korea.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Oct 14, 2017

North Korea renews threat to target Guam ahead of joint U.S.-South Korea military exercises

North Korea renewed its threat to the American Pacific territory of Guam on Friday as the U.S. and South Korean militaries geared up for 10 days of joint naval exercises set to kick off next week.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Oct 3, 2017

White House again rules out talks as North Korea threatens Japan with 'nuclear clouds'

The White House on Monday poured more cold water on potential talks with North Korea over its nuclear weapons program just days after U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Washington was in direct contact with leader Kim Jong Un's regime.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Sep 10, 2017

North Korean leader praises nuclear scientists, urges bolstered nuclear force

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has lauded the country's nuclear scientists and technicians behind its sixth nuclear test last week — purportedly of a hydrogen bomb — with a banquet and other events, urging them to continue their work building what state media on Sunday called "the strongest nuclear...
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Aug 30, 2017

White House considering Pacific Command chief Harry Harris for Australian ambassador post: report

Amid surging tensions in the Asia-Pacific region — including over Chinese moves in the East and South China seas and North Korea's nuclear program — the White House is reportedly considering naming the top U.S. military commander in the region to be ambassador to Australia.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Jun 3, 2017

Special counsel to probe ex-Trump aide Flynn's Turkey ties

Robert Mueller, the special counsel investigating possible ties between the Trump election campaign and Russia, is expanding his probe to assume control of a grand jury investigation into former national security adviser Michael Flynn, three sources said.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
May 22, 2017

Tanka help Japanese express emotions

Tanka are one of the oldest forms of poetry in the world with a 1,300-year history.

Longform

People in cities across Japan will pop into their local convenience store for any number of products they believe will help them with a night of drinking.
Hangover cures are everywhere in Japan — but do they work?