Tag - foreign-ministry

 
 

FOREIGN MINISTRY

Passengers line up at Narita Airport to board a flight to Seoul on Wednesday.
JAPAN
Dec 5, 2024
Japanese companies weigh impact of South Korea's martial law chaos
The Foreign Ministry estimates that over 40,000 Japanese nationals reside in South Korea, with around 3,000 Japanese companies maintaining local offices.
The Foreign Ministry has said that the next beneficiaries of Japan’s official security assistance framework are likely to be the Philippines, Indonesia, Mongolia and Djibouti.
JAPAN
Dec 2, 2024
Japan to offer ¥5 billion in military aid to four countries
The next beneficiaries of Japan’s official security assistance framework are likely to be the Philippines, Indonesia, Mongolia and Djibouti.
Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya visits the Saint Michael's Cathedral in Kyiv on November 16.
JAPAN
Nov 24, 2024
Japan's foreign minister may visit China within this year
It would be Iwaya's first China visit since he took office in October, and he would be the first top Japanese diplomat to visit the Asian neighbor since Yoshimasa Hayashi
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy welcomes Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya before their meeting in Kyiv on Saturday.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 17, 2024
Top Japan diplomat makes surprise visit to Ukraine
The trip comes amid growing fears about the conflict’s expansion following North Korea’s dispatch of troops to Russia for combat operations.
In a group interview at the Foreign Ministry in Tokyo on Thursday, Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya declined to make predictions about the Liberal Democratic Party’s approach to any revisions to the Status of Forces Agreement, but said he believes “some wisdom will probably come about” from planned talks within the party.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 4, 2024
Top diplomat says Foreign Ministry will ‘quietly examine’ revising SOFA pact
Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya says finding a "mutually acceptable" solution to issues in the pact governing the U.S. military presence in Japan is key.
United Nations' vehicles escort a damaged truck that was reportedly used by workers of the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, in Gaza last week.
JAPAN
Oct 28, 2024
Japan and others concerned over Israeli bill against UNRWA
The bill, now being debated by Israel's parliament, is aimed in part at revoking UNRWA's privileges and immunities.
The Japan International Cooperation Agency is responsible for most of Japan's overseas aid known as official development assistance.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Oct 16, 2024
JICA staffer suspected of leaking info on Philippines railway project
The employee is thought to have intended to secure a contractor in advance to prevent delays to the ¥38.1 billion project.
Smoke rises over Beirut amid the ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, as seen from Sin El Fil, Lebanon.
JAPAN
Oct 4, 2024
Two Japanese nationals flee Lebanon on chartered ship
The Japanese government aided the evacuation following an escalation of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah.
Newly appointed Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya speaks during his first news conference as Japan's top diplomat at the Foreign Ministry in Tokyo on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 3, 2024
Japan's new top diplomat calls 'Asian NATO' an idea for the future
Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya hinted that such a grouping would be open to all countries and partners in the region — including rivals such as China.
Defense Minister Gen Nakatani, 66, has experience as the onetime head of Japan’s former Defense Agency before it became a full-fledged ministry and is seen as a pair of steady hands.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Oct 2, 2024
Ishiba looks to 'defense tribe' to fill key Cabinet positions
The new prime minister has named four former defense ministers to key posts — most notably, the defense and foreign affairs portfolios.
Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa announces her candidacy in the Liberal Democratic Party presidential election in Tokyo on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 11, 2024
Yoko Kamikawa banks on overseas experience in LDP leadership race
Her candidacy could increase attention on foreign policy questions in a race so far dominated by party reform and domestic economic issues.
Japanese Defense Minister Minoru Kihara (left), Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong (center left), Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa (center right) and Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles gather for their two-plus-two meeting in Queenscliff, Australia, on Thursday.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Sep 5, 2024
Japan and Australia look to closer cooperation to deter China
The quasi-allies have committed to coordinate their national security policies “more closely than ever before.”
The Foreign Ministry in Tokyo
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 30, 2024
Japan's Foreign Ministry seeks ¥66.2 billion to fight false info
The total amount of funds sought in the budget request for fiscal 2025 is ¥814.6 billion, up 12.3% from the initial budget for the previous year.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi speaks at a news conference at the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN / ANALYSIS
Aug 27, 2024
Japan calls Chinese military aircraft incursion 'unacceptable' threat to safety
Officials are grappling with the rationale for and response to the entry into Japanese airspace off Nagasaki Prefecture.
U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel has asked Japan to name its representatives for a joint task force on disaster relief hub.
JAPAN
Aug 22, 2024
U.S. urges Japan to name disaster relief hub task force members
U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel asked Japan's foreign and defense ministers to provide the names of four officials at its "earliest convenience."
Defense Minister Minoru Kihara (left) and Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa (second from left) pose for a photo with Indian defense chief Rajnath Singh and External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar in New Delhi on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Aug 21, 2024
Japan and India to update key document on security cooperation
Tokyo is also looking to provide New Delhi with advanced naval antennas and exploring the possibility of repairing Japanese warships in India.
Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa and her South Korean counterpart, Cho Tae-yul, shake hands during talks on the sidelines of Association of Southeast Asian Nations meetings in Vientiane, Laos, on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 27, 2024
Japan and South Korea top diplomats pledge even stronger cooperation
The pair reaffirmed the importance of cooperation in order to maintain and strengthen a free and open Indo-Pacific region.
Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa speaks at a news conference on Friday over sexual assault incidents involving U.S. service members.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 14, 2024
Japan lawmakers criticize U.S. for failing to report military assault cases
Meanwhile, the Japanese government has not protested the failure or demanded improvements, saying there was no problem with the U.S. side.
Ground Self-Defense Force personnel take part in a joint amphibious landing exercise with Philippine and U.S. troops in San Antonio, in the Philippines' Zambales province, in October 2018.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Jul 8, 2024
Japan and Philippines ink key military pact in defense ties upgrade
The agreement — Tokyo's first with a Southeast Asian nation — will facilitate mutual military visits.
Children sit near a flooding seawall during high tide in Serua, Fiji, in 2022.
JAPAN
Jul 6, 2024
Japan to share weather data with Pacific island nations
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will announce the plan at the July 16-18 summit in Tokyo with Pacific island leaders.

Longform

Yasuyuki Yoshida stirs a brew in a fermentation tank at his brewery in Hakusan.
The quake that shook Noto's sake brewing tradition