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October 30, 2025
 

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Benjamin Kang Lim
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / FOCUS
May 1, 2019
China's vast fleet seen tipping the balance of power in the Pacific
A generation ago, from mid-1995 into early 1996, China lobbed missiles in the waters around Taiwan as the self-governing island prepared to hold its first fully democratic presidential election. Washington forcefully intervened to support its ally, sending two aircraft carrier battle groups to patrol...
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / FOCUS
Apr 28, 2019
New missile gap leaves U.S. scrambling to counter China, in shift that leaves Japan at risk
China's powerful military is considered to be a master at concealing its intentions. But there is no secret about how it plans to destroy American aircraft carriers if rivalry becomes war.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / FOCUS
Apr 26, 2019
How China is replacing America as Asia's military titan
In 1938, in the midst of a long campaign to bring China under Communist Party rule, revolutionary leader Mao Zedong wrote: "Whoever has an army has power."
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Feb 27, 2018
With eye on U.S., China to revamp top tier of diplomats, sources say
China is expected to announce a reshuffle of its top diplomats at an annual meeting of parliament in March, aiming to deal with U.S. President Donald Trump's growing suspicion of Beijing, several sources familiar with the plan said.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Sep 2, 2017
Xi takes steps to lifelong sole leadership on a par with Mao
A recent scene at a dusty Inner Mongolia military base provided evidence of Chinese President Xi Jinping's consolidation of political power even as he faces pushback in his ruling Communist Party ahead of a critical gathering next month.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 5, 2017
China anti-graft overhaul paves way for Xi to retain ally — and sets precedent for him to stay on beyond 2022
China's sweeping overhaul of its anti-corruption architecture could enable President Xi Jinping to justify retaining his key ally and top graft buster Wang Qishan beyond retirement age, sources with ties to the leadership say.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jan 2, 2017
China considering strong measures to contain Taiwan: sources
China's military has become alarmed by what it sees as U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's support of Taiwan and is considering strong measures to prevent the island from moving toward independence, sources with ties to senior military officers said.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Nov 20, 2016
China sees THAAD deployment as 'weather vane' under Trump
Whether President-elect Donald Trump goes through with a deployment of a U.S. anti-missile system in South Korea will be a key indicator to how political ties unfold with China, sources with ties to the leadership in Beijing said.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Oct 2, 2016
Duterte visit to China may lead to changing alliances in East Asia
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte will travel to China this month on a visit that could redraw alliances in East Asia after his incendiary comments about the United States and active courting of Washington's chief rivals.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Oct 2, 2016
Xi said consolidating grip on power in China by curbing rival bloc, giving allies more power
One year before a Communist Party conclave that could decide who will eventually replace him as China's next leader, President Xi Jinping is maneuvering to reduce the power of a rival political bloc while seeking to get members of his own faction onto the country's top ruling body, according to three...
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Aug 1, 2016
Emboldened Chinese military presses Xi for stern response to South China Sea ruling
China's leadership is resisting pressure from elements within the military for a more forceful response to an international court ruling against Beijing's claims in the South China Sea, sources said, wary of provoking a clash with the United States.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jul 19, 2016
Trove of documents from purged Chinese leader Zhao Ziyang, smuggled to Hong Kong, to be published
A collection of documents from Zhao Ziyang, who was China's reformist Communist Party chief until he was toppled in 1989 for opposing the Tiananmen crackdown, has been smuggled out of the country and will be published in Hong Kong this month, according to a publishing house that is turning them into...
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jan 12, 2016
Source says North Korea seeks China's aid on treaty with U.S., tests to continue without one
North Korea is seeking a peace treaty with the United States, China and South Korea to formally end the Korean War, and it will not stop its nuclear tests until one is achieved, a person who relayed the same message from North Korea to China has said.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jan 11, 2015
Fear and retribution rule amid Xi's crackdown on corruption in China
Chen Zhenggao, a member of the Communist Party's elite Central Committee, clearly has enemies.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jan 11, 2015
Scrutinized Chinese officials frozen in headlights of Xi's anti-graft campaign
The sustained scrutiny of Chinese President Xi Jinping's anti-corruption campaign has been traumatic for many Communist Party and government officials who have grown rich on their power to dispense favors. With so much attention on their lifestyles, spending, travel, entertainment and networks of friends...
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Oct 16, 2014
China likely set to expel disgraced security chief from party
China's disgraced former domestic security chief, Zhou Yongkang, looks set to be expelled from the ruling Communist Party at a key meeting next week, sources said, possibly paving the way for his formal prosecution.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Sep 21, 2014
With crash probe, China turns up heat on ex-security chief Zhou
Little is known about the exact circumstances in which Wang Shuhua was killed. What has been reported, in the Chinese media, is that she died in a road accident sometime in 2000, shortly after she was divorced from her husband. And that at least one vehicle with a military license plate may have been...
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jul 30, 2014
China ex-leaders OK'd Zhou probe
Two former Chinese leaders gave their consent to investigate ex-domestic security chief Zhou Yongkang, a sign the corruption probe won't open a rift in the Communist Party.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / ANALYSIS
Jul 30, 2014
Massive graft, rivalry behind purge of China's oil mandarins
Oil executive Jiang Jiemin rose to power in communist China in time-honored fashion: by hitching his star to a mighty mentor.
Japan Times
WORLD / Society / FOCUS
Jul 1, 2014
Beijing quietly tightening grip on Hong Kong
Since Britain handed back colonial Hong Kong in 1997, retired primary school teacher and Falun Gong devotee Lau Wai-hing has fully exercised the freedoms China promised this city of 7.2 million.
Inside Tokyo's 'phantom' stations — and the stories they tell
Mamoru Iwai, stationmaster of Keisei Ueno Station, says that, other than earthquake-proofing, the former Hakubutsukan-Dobutsuen (Museum-Zoo) Station has remained untouched.
At first summit with Trump, Takaichi pledges 'new golden age' for alliance
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi raises her fist as U.S. President Donald Trump delivers a speech in front of U.S. Navy personnel on board the U.S. Navy's USS George Washington aircraft carrier at the American naval base in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, on Tuesday.
Abe shooting suspect Yamagami pleads guilty to murder
Members of the media gather outside the Nara District Court in the city of Nara on Tuesday hours before the start of the trial of Tetsuya Yamagami, the man accused of fatally shooting former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in July 2022.
Takaichi buys time and builds trust with ‘near-perfect’ Trump summit
U.S. President Donald Trump walks with Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi aboard the USS George Washington aircraft carrier during a visit to the U.S. Navy's Yokosuka base in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, on Tuesday.
JPYC, world’s first yen stablecoin, is issued
Noritaka Okabe, head of Japanese startup JPYC, at a news conference for the first yen stablecoin in Tokyo on Monday
At Japan Mobility Show, BYD gears up to conquer Japan's EV market
BYD Auto Japan President Atsuki Tofukuji unveils the Racco at the Japan Mobility Show in Tokyo on Wednesday.
Oasis returns to Tokyo: Rain, rapture and rock
Fans wait to get into the Oasis show at Tokyo Dome on Saturday. While lining up in the rain, some broke into impromptu versions of the British rock group's hits.
Kyushu banzuke sets the stage to cement 2025’s sumo narratives
Onosato ahead of his bout against Aonishiki at The Grand Sumo Tournament at the Royal Albert Hall in London on Oct. 18
Tokyo Film Festival opens with global stars and a spotlight on Asian storytelling
Director Junji Sakamoto (left) walked the Tokyo International Film Festival red carpet with Sayuri Yoshinaga (center) and Non (right), who both play mountaineer Junko Tabei, the first woman to summit Mount Everest, in the biopic "Climbing for Life."
Spanish artist and Japanese writer duos diversify the manga talent pool in Japan
"Menheim” is a dark fantasy manga with a story that centers on a girl’s quest to find a cure for her ill brother.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Mamoru Iwai, stationmaster of Keisei Ueno Station, says that, other than earthquake-proofing, the former Hakubutsukan-Dobutsuen (Museum-Zoo) Station has remained untouched.
Inside Tokyo's 'phantom' stations — and the stories they tell
By Alex K.T. Martin

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