Tag - senkakus

 
 

SENKAKUS

Greenpeace activists protest next to a fake whale's tail in front of the Japanese Embassy in Berlin in 2010. The real motivation behind Japan's whaling may lie in asserting its maritime sovereignty, as the country defends its exclusive economic zone amid territorial disputes.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 19, 2024
For Japan, whaling is intertwined with maritime sovereignty
While Japan has an undeniable culture surrounding seafood, the current generation of people do not show much interest in whale meat.
The U.S. decision to suspend the use of a firing range in the Senkakus has had lasting consequences, undermining Japan's claims to the islets and sending mixed signals about U.S. support for Japanese sovereignty over the area.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 10, 2024
A restart of Senkaku firing ranges is long overdue
The suspension also had strategic consequences, depriving both U.S. and Japanese forces of vital military training ranges.
NHK President Nobuo Inaba speaks during a news conference in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN
Sep 11, 2024
NHK director resigns over Chinese staff member's controversial comments
The Chinese staff member said in Chinese-language radio news on Aug. 19 that the Japanese-administered Senkaku Islands were part of Chinese territory.
NHK's headquarters in Tokyo's Shibuya Ward
JAPAN
Aug 23, 2024
NHK chief apologizes for Senkaku Islands report on Chinese news
NHK is considering seeking damages from and filing a criminal complaint against a Chinese newscaster over the incident.
A Mexican man rescued near Uotsuri Island in the Senkaku chain in Okinawa Prefecture is believed to have drifted to the area in a canoe from the island of Yonaguni, also in Okinawa.
JAPAN
Aug 18, 2024
Japan rescues Mexican man from Senkakus
A Mexican national had gone missing from an accommodation facility on Yonaguni, and it appears this was the rescued person, officials said.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi speaks during a news conference at the Prime Minister's Office on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 6, 2024
Japan criticizes China over buoy in Pacific Ocean
The Chinese side said that the buoy is for tsunami observation and not intended to violate Japan's sovereign rights over its continental shelf.
According to the JCG's 11th regional headquarters in Naha, two Chinese ships entered Japanese waters south of Uotsuri Island in the Senkaku chain around 3:15 p.m. They were both reported to be equipped with what appeared to be cannons.
JAPAN
Jun 23, 2024
China ships enter Japan waters near Senkakus for fourth straight day
As the ships tried to approach a Japanese fishing boat, Japan Coast Guard patrol vessels secured the safety of the boat and warned the Chinese ships to leave.
A China Coast Guard vessel sails in the East China Sea near the disputed isles known as Senkaku isles in Japan and Diaoyu islands in China in December 2015.
JAPAN
Jun 22, 2024
Chinese ships enter Japanese waters near Senkakus for two days in row
It was the 21st intrusion by Chinese official ships into the Japanese waters near the Senkakus this year.
China Coast Guard vessels fire water cannons toward a Philippine resupply vessel as it made its way to the Second Thomas Shoal in the South China Sea in March.
ASIA PACIFIC
Jun 15, 2024
China Coast Guard's new 60-day detention rules take effect
The regulations allowing the arrest of foreign nationals suspected of trespassing in waters "under China's jurisdiction" have stoked fears of escalation.
Defense Minister Minoru Kihara heads to a trilateral meeting on the sidelines of the Shangri-la Dialogue security conference in Singapore on June 2. Kihara will attend the upcoming meeting with Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa, along with their Philippine counterparts.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 11, 2024
Japan and Philippines to hold ‘two-plus-two’ security talks in July
At the meeting, the two sides could sign a reciprocal access agreement to facilitate mutual visits by the Self-Defense Forces and the Philippine military.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi
JAPAN
Jun 7, 2024
Chinese armed vessels patrol waters around disputed islands, angering Japan
China's coast guard said that it had patrolled the waters with vessels carrying weapons in what it called a "routine action."
Japanese Defense Minister Minoru Kihara (left) shakes hands with Chinese defense chief Dong Jun on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue security conference in Singapore on Saturday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 1, 2024
Japan defense chief tells China counterpart of 'serious' military concerns
Defense Minister Minoru Kihara met Chinese defense chief Dong Jun on the sidelines of a major Asian security conference in Singapore on Saturday.
Japan Coast Guard patrol ships try to block the way of a China Coast Guard ship (center) near Uotsurijima in the Senkaku Islands chain on April 27.
JAPAN
May 27, 2024
Japan spots Chinese ships near Senkaku Islands for record 158 days
The territorial dispute over the Tokyo-controlled islets, known as the Diaoyu by China, is a long-running sore point between Japan and China.
The city government of Ishigaki, Okinawa Prefecture, has conducted its third marine survey around the Senkaku Islands.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 28, 2024
Okinawa's Ishigaki uses drone for first time during marine survey around Senkakus
During the survey, China Coast Guard vessels entered Japanese waters around the islands and attempted to interfere with the city's ship.
U.S. President Joe Biden escorts Philippine leader Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to their trilateral summit at the White House in Washington on Thursday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
Apr 12, 2024
Biden vows 'ironclad' defense of Philippines and Japan as China tensions rise
Biden reiterated Washington’s commitment to defending the Philippines from any attack in the South China Sea.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 2, 2024
Japanese fighter jets and U.S. bombers train over Sea of Japan and East China Sea
The joint exercises over the two waterways were seen as a show of deterrence to both Beijing and Pyongyang.
Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa shakes hands with her Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, during bilateral talks in Busan, South Korea, on Saturday evening.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 25, 2023
Japanese and Chinese top envoys eye more talks on Fukushima row
Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa met with China’s top diplomat, Wang Yi, on Saturday in Busan, South Korea, ahead of a trilateral summit.
Indian border security force soldiers stand guard at a checkpoint along a highway leading to Ladakh in Kashmir's Ganderbal district in June 2020.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 6, 2023
China-India border conflict holds lessons for Japan, too
India has learned that bilateral ties and economic interdependence do not constrain China's territorial ambitions. That is a lesson Japan should heed.
JAPAN
Jul 3, 2023
Okinawa governor visits China in latest show of regional diplomacy
Denny Tamaki's initiatives seek to increase Okinawa's diplomatic leverage, with the prefecture situated on the front line of diplomatic and military tensions.
Japan Times
JAPAN / FOCUS
Jun 13, 2023
With eye on China, Japan developing missiles to protect remote islands
The series of missile systems are designed to help Japan defend itself at greater distances and keep enemy forces away — particularly from its southwestern islands.

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Visitors to Kyoto walk along a street near Kiyomizu Temple in April. A popular tourist spot, Kyoto has seen what locals feel to be an overwhelming amount of tourists in 2024.
Is Japan ready for 60 million tourists?