Tag - east-asia

 
 

EAST ASIA

Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Yoji Muto (left), South Korean Trade Industry and Energy Minister Ahn Duk-geun (center) and Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao during a trilateral meeting in Seoul on Sunday
BUSINESS
Mar 30, 2025
Japan, South Korea and China vow to strengthen trade ties amid looming U.S. tariffs
The meeting came ahead of U.S. President Donald Trump’s expected announcement of a new round of tariffs on Wednesday.
While car production helped transform Germany, Italy and France after World War II, its influence in East Asia has been even more profound.
BUSINESS / Economy / ANALYSIS
Mar 28, 2025
U.S. auto tariffs take aim at pillar of East Asian economies
Automakers form the nucleus of vast networks of group companies that impact almost every facet of working life in Japan and South Korea.
U.S. President Donald Trump
BUSINESS
Mar 27, 2025
China, Japan and South Korea to meet as Trump tariffs take shape
South Korea’s Industry Minister Ahn Duk-geun will host the meeting with Japan’s Yoji Muto and China’s Wang Wentao.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (left), Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya (center) and South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul pose for the cameras during a trilateral meeting in Tokyo on Saturday.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 22, 2025
Japan, China and South Korea agree to promote peace and cooperation
The talks come as U.S. trade tariffs loom over the region, and as concerns mount over North Korea's weapons tests.
Japan, despite facing multiple territorial disputes, lacks a dedicated university program on the issue, unlike Western countries, and would benefit from an interdisciplinary academic initiative to foster expertise.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 17, 2025
Japan needs academic programs focused on territorial issues
While many countries have territorial disputes with their neighbors — in fact, there are at least 150 active disputes worldwide — Japan faces issues with nearly all its neighbors.
Supporters of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol protest in Seoul on Tuesday. The previous leaders of the U.S. and Japan, along with Yoon, focused on strengthening alliances and regional stability through cooperation whereas newly elected U.S. President Donald Trump’s approach to foreign policy may prioritize transactional relationships.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 24, 2025
Japan and South Korea were stable U.S. allies. Not anymore.
Political paralysis in the U.S., Japan and South Korea has left a leadership vacuum in the Indo-Pacific.
Just over a year ago, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and U.S. President Joe Biden celebrated their historic summit at Camp David, but Yoon's controversial policies and martial law attempt have undermined that progress.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 17, 2024
Yoon's impeachment widens East Asia fault lines
leadership changes in Seoul, Tokyo and Washington add to the instability, raising concerns about the future of this critical alliance.
Shigeru Ishiba, newly-elected leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, speaks at a news conference after winning the party's leadership election in Tokyo on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 27, 2024
China, Taiwan and South Korea weigh in on Ishiba victory
All three of Tokyo's neighbors said they hoped for improved relations under the former defense chief, who is set to be named prime minister in the coming days.
Tokyo's Asakusa area, a popular location among foreign tourists
JAPAN
Sep 12, 2024
Japan, China, South Korea set 40 million tourist target
The number of foreign visitors to Japan hit a monthly high of some 3.29 million in July, with about half being from China and South Korea.
Suspected intervention to drag the yen off a 34-year low against the dollar is already seen as unlikely to have a lasting effect if Japan continues alone.
BUSINESS / Markets
May 13, 2024
Yen’s fragility raises specter of a new currency war in Asia
A destabilizing slump in the yen could be the trigger that forces Japan’s neighbors to take extreme action.
Taiwan Air Force members at the Pingtung air base in Pingtung, Taiwan, on Jan. 30. Taiwan's president has promised to stick to the status quo concerning the island’s relations with China.
COMMENTARY / World / Geoeconomic Briefing
Apr 9, 2024
How to stop the dominoes of war from falling in East Asia
Conflicts elsewhere have implications for East Asia's powder kegs — the Taiwan Strait and the Korean Peninsula.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump holds a campaign rally ahead of the Republican caucus in Las Vegas on Jan. 27.
COMMENTARY / World / Geoeconomic Briefing
Feb 22, 2024
How East Asia should prepare for a possible Trump comeback
Questions over defense funding and military support could potentially return to the fore for U.S. allies.
A car carrying the body of a man who claimed to be Satoshi Kirishima is seen in Fujisawa, Kanagawa Prefecture, on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Feb 7, 2024
Body of man who claimed to be Satoshi Kirishima sent to crematorium
Kirishima allegedly committed a series of bombings targeting companies in Japan between 1974 and 1975.
Taiwan's election results reflect the democratic aspirations of its citizens but is a cause for disappointment in Beijing.
EDITORIALS
Jan 19, 2024
The winner of Taiwan's election was democracy
The biggest disappointment was felt in Beijing, where inducements, threats and warnings failed to sway Taiwan’s voters.
The Democratic Progressive Party's presidential candidate, Lai Ching-te, the eventual winner, casts his vote during the island's election in Tainan, Taiwan, on Saturday.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 18, 2024
Taiwan's election and its potential impact on East Asian politics
China tried to interfere in the Taiwanese elections through the systematic use of "cognitive warfare," but failed.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida (center) arrives for a trilateral summit at Camp David, Maryland, on Aug. 18.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 3, 2023
Deterrence is not enough in Northeast Asia
Forging closer ties with Japan is crucial for Yoon to achieve his foreign-policy goal of making South Korea a pivotal global player.
Rough guidelines on gifting cash at a Japanese wedding recommended between ¥10,000 and ¥50,000, depending on your own financial standing and your relationship to the married couple.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Sep 2, 2023
The unwritten rules around cash at Asian weddings
Should a gift reflect the cost of your banquet meal? How do you put a numerical value on a friendship?
Walter F. Hatch sheds light on how Japan's actions during World War II continue to haunt the country in "Ghosts in the Neighborhood."
CULTURE / Books
Aug 27, 2023
‘Ghosts in the Neighborhood’ illuminates a path to reconciliation
Asian politics expert Walter F. Hatch sheds light on the role multilateral institutions can play in Japan coming to terms with its World War II past.
U.S. President Joe Biden, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and South Korean leader Yoon Suk-yeol meet during the Group of Seven summit in Hiroshima in May.
EDITORIALS
Aug 18, 2023
A trilateral summit to reshape Northeast Asia
The summit follows years of hard work to overcome bitter historical legacies, most stemming from Japan’s colonization of the Korean Peninsula.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 12, 2023
Are they Asian values or just Chinese dreams?
Beijing is pushing for so-called Asian values in the region — but how that should work differs with each country.

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