Tag - japan

 
 

JAPAN

Akihiro Arimoto (left), accompanied by his wife, Kayoko, speaks during a news conference in Tokyo in 2002. Arimoto, the father of a girl who was spirited away to North Korea more than four decades ago and remains unaccounted for, died late Friday.
JAPAN
Feb 17, 2025
Akihiro Arimoto, father of girl abducted by North Korea in 1983, dies
His death at the age of 96 is a sign of how long the issue has dragged on, with most parents of abductees having now died without finding out what happened to their loved ones.
Minor Hotels and Royal Holdings executives explain their joint venture at a news conference last week in Tokyo.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 17, 2025
Thailand's Minor Hotels entering Japanese market with Royal Holdings JV
The 50-50 joint venture aims to have 21 hotels in Japan by 2035.
An F-35B stealth fighter jet loaded in the hangar of the Maritime Self-Defense Force's Kaga destroyer
JAPAN / FOCUS
Feb 17, 2025
SDF's biggest ships are being converted into de facto aircraft carriers
The Izumo and Kaga, each about 248 meters in length and 38 meters in width, are the largest vessels in the MSDF.
Taliban representatives Abdul Latif Nazari (center) and Mutiul Haq Nabi Kheel (right) attend a meeting of international special representatives in Oslo in January 2022.
JAPAN
Feb 16, 2025
Taliban officials visit Japan
The Afghan delegation left Kabul in a visit that local media said would last one week.
Hokkaido University Museum professor Yoshitsugu Kobayashi holds a news conference in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward on Dec. 18 about the launch of a crowdfunding campaign for dinosaur fossil excavation surveys.
JAPAN
Feb 16, 2025
Crowdfunding raises ¥8.3 million for dinosaur fossil excavations
Through his excavation surveys, a Hokkaido University Museum professor aims to find out how dinosaurs survived cold winters and how they traveled to and from Asia.
Group of Seven top diplomats, including Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya (second from left) and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio (right), meet on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference in the German city on Saturday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 16, 2025
Japanese FM asks U.S. counterpart to exempt Tokyo from Trump tariffs
The foreign minister also said that he had broached the issue of Trump’s planned tariffs on automobiles imported to the U.S.
The N Seoul Tower was lit up on Saturday to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic ties between South Korea and Japan.
JAPAN
Feb 16, 2025
Tokyo and Seoul towers light up to mark anniversary of ties
Ambassadors from Japan and South Korea respectively attended the lighting ceremonies in the two countries.
No South American fare is complete without empanadas, one of the traditional recipes in Kiera Wright-Ruiz's cookbook.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Feb 16, 2025
Chewing on race, culture and 'okonomiyaki' quesadillas
Kiera Wright-Ruiz’s debut cookbook serves up deep thoughts on her biracial heritage alongside delicious recipes.
South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul (left), U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio (center) and Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya meet on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference in the German city on Saturday.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 16, 2025
Japan, U.S. and South Korea top diplomats reaffirm 'unshakeable' ties
The countries' top diplomats pledged to boost security and economic ties at their first meeting since Donald Trump's election, amid concerns over the relationship's durability.
A general view of Myanmar from Thailand's side of the border, in Mae Sot district, on Feb. 5.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Feb 15, 2025
Teen says several more Japanese nationals involved in frauds in Myanmar
Thai authorities took the 16-year-old teenager into custody in Mae Sot, in northwestern Thailand, this month, and are looking into the details of the situation.
U.S. President Donald Trump meets with Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba at the White House in Washington on Feb. 7.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 15, 2025
U.S. Steel and Nippon Steel were blindsided by Trump investment talk
The proposed investment following Donald Trump's meeting with Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba wasn’t communicated to either of the steelmakers beforehand.
U.S. President Donald Trump signs an executive order in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on Friday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 15, 2025
Trump says new tariffs on autos coming around April 2
The auto threat offers to put some of the biggest brands in Japan, Germany and South Korea in Trump’s crosshairs.
The 50th ASEAN-Japan commemorative summit was held in Tokyo in December 2023. Japan has strong relations with ASEAN member countries and should continue leveraging this position to pursue its Free and Open Indo-Pacific vision.
COMMENTARY / World / Geoeconomic Briefing
Feb 14, 2025
Why ASEAN is crucial to a Free and Open Indo-Pacific
Tokyo understands ASEAN's centrality to the Free and Open Indo-Pacific vision better than Washington does and should continue leading in defending this regional order.
The U.S. Steel Mon Valley Works Edgar Thomson Plant in Braddock, Pennsylvania.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 14, 2025
Nippon Steel wants 100% of U.S. Steel, not a minority stake, report says
Last week, the deal appeared effectively dead after a meeting between Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and U.S. President Donald Trump.
Vehicles bound for shipment at a port in Yokohama. Last year, auto and auto parts made up a third of Japan’s shipments to the United States.
BUSINESS
Feb 14, 2025
Japan begins talks with U.S. to sound out Trump tariff specifics
Trump has singled out Japan and South Korea as nations he believes are taking advantage of the U.S., according to a White House official.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio (left) and Foreign Minister Iwaya Takeshi at the U.S. State Department in Washington on Jan. 21
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 14, 2025
Top Japan diplomat to hold first trilateral talks with U.S. and South Korea under Trump
The talks aim to highlight how they will continue to "unite and work together for regional peace and prosperity,” Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya said.
China frequently shifts between warming and freezing relations with Japan, driven by its domestic issues, often using softer rhetoric while masking aggressive actions.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 14, 2025
Are China-Japan relations truly 'warming,' or is this just fool’s gold again?
As the trade war between the U.S. and China heats up, Beijing is turning to its familiar playbook, using softer language to court American allies and partners while offering things like greater cooperation and more dialogue — part of its ongoing divide-and-conquer strategy.
Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya in Beppu, Oita Prefecture, on Feb. 1
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 14, 2025
Japan, China and South Korea planning foreign ministers' meeting on March 22
Japan and China are also considering holding a ministerial-level economic dialogue.
The U.S. Navy's nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (foreground), the Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyer Kaga (center) and the French Navy's Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier conduct a joint drill in the Pacific Ocean east of the Philippines on Wednesday.
JAPAN
Feb 14, 2025
Japan, U.S., France hold joint naval exercise in Pacific
The drill is the first involving MSDF vessels along with U.S. and French aircraft carriers.
U.S. Steel workers rally outside the company's headquarters in Pittsburgh in support of the takeover by Japan's Nippon Steel back in September.
EDITORIALS
Feb 14, 2025
The Nippon Steel deal’s lessons for the world
Former U.S. President Joe Biden’s stiff opposition to the deal may have created space, if not impetus, for President Donald Trump to resurrect the acquisition.

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