Tag - relations

 
 

RELATIONS

Former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba (left) and Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te at the presidential office in Taipei on Tuesday
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 14, 2024
Is it fifth time's the charm for Shigeru Ishiba?
Ahead of the Liberal Democratic Party's presidential race, a short trip to Taiwan is allowing the former defense minister to burnish his foreign policy chops.
Former Kobayashi Pharmaceutical President Akihiro Kobayashi, currently director in charge of compensation, speaks during a news conference in Osaka earlier this month.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 14, 2024
Chinese shoppers’ infatuation with Japanese brands wears thin
The backlash is reminiscent of last year’s outcry over the Fukushima wastewater release
Takashi Morita, a proponent of implementing Japan's A-bomb survivors' support law overseas, died of old age at a hospital in Sao Paulo on Monday.
JAPAN / Society
Aug 14, 2024
Takashi Morita, who led efforts to help A-Bomb survivors overseas, dies at 100
Morita was exposed to radiation from the atomic bombing of Hiroshima in August 1945 when he was a military police officer.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg (second right) takes part in the inauguration ceremony for the Deep Tech Lab - Quantum in Copenhagen on Sept. 29.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 13, 2024
The growing strategic race in emerging technologies
Japan’s security and trading partners are increasingly serious about developing quantum capabilities. Japan has to do more to both keep pace.
Frederick Go, who advises the Philippine president on the economy, says Washington, Tokyo and Manila will prioritize five major projects in the Luzon Economic Corridor plan.
JAPAN
Aug 13, 2024
U.S. and Japan reportedly keen on $15 billion Philippine projects
The Philippines is seeking to leverage stronger ties with the U.S. and its allies to help unlock economic benefits.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Aug. 2
JAPAN
Aug 13, 2024
Kishida holds phone talks with Tajik and Turkmen leaders
On the call, Kishida conveyed Japan's continued commitment to strengthening relations with Central Asia and his desire to rearrange his trip to the region.
The city of Yangon in July
JAPAN
Aug 13, 2024
Japan supermarket director detained in Myanmar released: junta
Hiroshi Kasamatsu, 53, director of Aeon Orange, which runs several supermarkets in Myanmar, was detained following an investigation into rice mills and supermarkets.
Aeon has said that it will do its best to achieve the early release of a Japanese employee in Myanmar who was just given a one-year prison term.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Aug 12, 2024
Japanese employee of Aeon given one-year prison term in Myanmar
Hiroshi Kasamatsu had been charged with violating a law on daily necessities and services by selling rice at prices higher than levels set by the military regime.
Polina Oba enjoys the food in Fukuoka, but still finds herself traveling to Tokyo often as that’s where most of the decision-makers are based. 
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Aug 12, 2024
Polina Oba: ‘Try quick, fail quick, learn quick and you need to always pivot’
Networking is at the core of Polina Oba's GourmetPro startup. Not only is it great meeting new people but you'll never know where those connections may lead.
Takuya Yokota, who leads the Association of Families of Victims Kidnapped by North Korea, speaks during an event to spread awareness of the abduction issue among junior high school students on Aug. 9 in Tokyo.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 12, 2024
Government ramps up efforts to raise awareness on North Korean abductions
There are concerns that the issue, which has dragged on for decades, is slipping from the public’s awareness, particularly among younger generations.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida meets with Chinese leader Xi Jinping at a summit in Bangkok in November 2022. Despite Japan-China relations stagnating in recent years, Xi's administration presents some interesting opportunities for an overture between the two countries.
COMMENTARY / Japan / Geoeconomic Briefing
Aug 12, 2024
Will Japan and China’s relations continue to stagnate?
Japan and China have historically been at odds and relations have stagnated. This pattern can be broken by seizing the moment, one that offers some key opportunities.
Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota at a campaign rally in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 12, 2024
Tim Walz’s long relationship with China defies easy stereotypes
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz has been an outspoken critic of China's human rights record.
A Japanese protester holds a picture of the disputed islands called Takeshima in Japan and Dokdo in South Korea, during a rally in Tokyo in February 2013.
JAPAN
Aug 11, 2024
Japan protests South Korea's maritime survey near Takeshima
According to the Foreign Ministry, a South Korean survey ship was spotted on the day dropping apparent wires into waters within Japan's exclusive economic zone.
Flaring at the Cameron LNG export terminal in Hackberry, Louisiana. Flaring, a common sight at LNG plants, is a controlled burning of gas for reasons ranging from depressurizing equipment to disposing of gas that can’t be used. The practice is a "waste of money" and negatively impacts climate change and human health, says the International Energy Agency.
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET
Aug 11, 2024
Japan fuels U.S. LNG boom even as climate targets and impacts loom
For over half a century, Japan has been a sizable buyer of LNG, and its government, banks and energy companies have played a key role in continued investment.
The Kirin Holdings logo. B9 Beverages — backed by Kirin — is building a new brewing facility in the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, which, once completed, will become India’s biggest beer factory.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 10, 2024
Kirin-backed Indian brewer seeks more clout with new factory
B9 Beverages is building a new brewing facility in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, which, once completed, will become India’s biggest beer factory.
Nomura Orient International Securities, Nomura Holdings' Shanghai-based joint venture brokerage, lost 184.5 million yuan ($26 million) in 2023, marking the fourth straight year of losses since its launch.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 9, 2024
Nomura’s former China business head leaves after years of losses
Sun Dongqing joined Shenzhen-based East Asia Qianhai Securities this month, according to registration records.
Japan, once a secondary player in Southeast Asian regional integration, now needs to balance strengthening ties with ASEAN while navigating its position between the U.S. and China.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 8, 2024
Japan takes a soft diplomatic approach to ASEAN ties
Shifting dynamics in Southeast Asia are compelling Japan to carefully navigate its role amid intense U.S.-China competition.
Shiseido's sales in China are still sluggish as consumers remain reluctant to buy Japanese products over the discharge of treated water from the wrecked Fukushima nuclear power plant.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 8, 2024
Shiseido posts steepest drop since 1987 on anemic China demand
The company reported a January-June operating loss of ¥2.7 billion ($18.4 million), compared with profit of ¥13.6 billion a year earlier.
Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa, Defense Minister Minoru Kihara, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin attend the Japan-U.S. Extended Deterrence Dialogue in Tokyo on July 28.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 7, 2024
Japan-U.S. alliance transforms with concrete 'two-plus-two' talks
Despite the long and challenging history of Japan-U.S. two-plus-two meetings, this year's Tokyo meeting was truly groundbreaking.
U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel (left) attends a U.S.-Japan ministerial meeting on extended deterrence in Tokyo on July 28.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 7, 2024
Top envoys to Japan set to skip Nagasaki A-bomb ceremony after Israel not invited
Nagasaki said it decided not to invite the Israeli ambassador on the basis of security concerns.

Longform

Sociologist Gracia Liu-Farrer argues that even though immigration doesn't figure into Japan's autobiography, it is more of a self-perception than a reality.
In search of the ‘Japanese dream’