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May 04, 2024
 

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Ko Hirano
For Ko Hirano's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
Japan Times
JAPAN / FOCUS
Jan 5, 2021
Japan and U.S. to boost defense ties with Europe in Indo-Pacific
In 2021, the U.K. will deploy an aircraft carrier and its strike group to East Asia, France will dispatch a naval vessel to Japan and Germany will send a frigate to the Indian Ocean.
Japan Times
JAPAN / FOCUS
Sep 22, 2020
Don't pursue strike capability or NATO-like Asia, scholars tell Suga
The scholars expect Japan to take the lead in influencing China's conduct in line with international law and norms.
Japan Times
JAPAN / FOCUS
Aug 1, 2019
ASEAN nations hope Japan and U.S. can 'shape' behavior of China, Thai expert says
While the Association of Southeast Asian Nations has grown concerned about the impact on the region of trade tensions between the United States and China, the 10-member group has high hopes that Japan and China will step up cooperation in spurring the regional economy and development, according to a veteran Thai journalist.
BUSINESS / FOCUS
Jul 19, 2019
Japan to step up study of stable coin regulations following G7 concern over Facebook's Libra project
With the Group of Seven (G7) reaching agreement to push for the highest standards of regulation on Facebook Inc.'s proposed Libra digital currency, Japan plans to step up discussions on how to regulate and oversee the project that could offer faster and cheaper remittances.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
May 28, 2019
In the clear for now, Japan braces for more trade pressure from Trump after July
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe may have won some respite from U.S. pressure on trade for now, but analysts expect President Donald Trump to push Japan in a few months into making concessions on agriculture and automobiles as he looks for a major win to bolster his 2020 re-election bid.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
May 4, 2019
American-based breweries are creating their own brand of sake
With the growing demand for sake in the United States, American craft brewers are also getting in on the act — and giving Japan's 'drink of the gods' their own twist.
Japan Times
JAPAN / FOCUS
Apr 11, 2019
Can Trump keep Tokyo and Seoul united against North Korea, as Obama did?
Amid growing uncertainties caused by the breakdown of the second U.S.-North Korea summit, analysts are wondering whether U.S. President Donald Trump's administration can foster a cooperative relationship with Japan and South Korea to improve regional stability.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Apr 7, 2019
G7 pushes North Korea to continue denuclearization talks with U.S.
Foreign ministers of Group of Seven nations on Saturday pushed North Korea to continue denuclearization negotiations with the United States while vowing to maintain pressure on Pyongyang to encourage it to give up its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / FOCUS
Dec 2, 2018
Trump puts Japan in crosshairs after trade truce with China
Advocating “fair” and “reciprocal” trade, Trump has called for reducing the U.S. trade deficit with trading partners such as China, Mexico and Japan.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Nov 30, 2018
G20 finance chiefs voice concerns over downside risks to world economy
Finance chiefs from the Group of 20 major economies on Thursday shared concerns about growing downside risks to an otherwise stable global economy.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Nov 18, 2018
Australia and New Zealand team up with Japan and U.S. to curb China in South Pacific
Australia and New Zealand step up coordination with Japan and the U.S. in the face of growing Chinese influence over Pacific island states in the region.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Oct 26, 2018
As U.S. midterm elections draw near, majority of Japanese-Americans support Democrats
As the Democratic Party pushes to win back a majority in the U.S. House of Representatives on Nov. 6 it's likely to have the support of most Japanese-Americans in an apparent protest against Republican President Donald Trump's hard-line approach to immigration, a recent poll shows.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Sep 23, 2018
U.S. experts laud Abe on election win but warn against pushing for constitutional amendment
American scholars largely gave Prime Minister Shinzo Abe credit for his victory Thursday in the presidential election for the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, acknowledging his stable stewardship over the past six years and the close relationships he has developed with U.S. President Donald Trump and other world leaders.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 25, 2018
Japan House opens doors in LA as government looks to extend soft power
The facility is designed not only to spread Japanese culture but also Tokyo's political views on sensitive issues that have stirred global debate since the war.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / ANALYSIS
Jun 14, 2018
Verification key to gauging Kim's commitment to denuclearization
Now that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has pledged to work toward the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, the focus will turn to Pyongyang's willingness to actually dismantle its nuclear weapons program under robust international verification.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Apr 24, 2018
G-7 backs Japan on abductees and security ahead of U.S.-N. Korea summit
In the run-up to a planned Kim-Trump meeting, Tokyo wins broader backing for its efforts to address past abductions of Japanese by Pyongyang.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / FOCUS
Jan 29, 2018
Did a fear of 'losing out' push Trump to alter his stance on the TPP trade deal?
One of the first actions U.S. President Donald Trump took after being sworn in on Jan. 20 last year was to "permanently withdraw" the United States from the Trans-Pacific Partnership, then a 12-nation free trade agreement that he blasted as costing American jobs.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 7, 2018
Soka Gakkai expert casts light on Buddhist group's struggles since enactment of 2015 security laws
Canadian scholar Levi McLaughlin remembers the intensive Sunday rehearsals he had in the early 2000s with a men's orchestra run in Tokyo by the lay-Buddhist organization Soka Gakkai.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Nov 7, 2017
U.S. experts urge Japan to gain strike capability against North Korea missile threat
The United States has welcomed Japan's planned introduction of a land-based variant of the Aegis ballistic missile defense system, but there are growing calls in Washington for Tokyo to acquire strike capability to further boost deterrence against North Korea's nuclear and missile threat.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Oct 29, 2017
Trump and Abe expected to focus on North Korea rather than spar over FTA: experts
U.S. President Donald Trump is unlikely to push Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to accept Washington's calls to begin negotiations on a bilateral free trade agreement.
Biden calls ally Japan ‘xenophobic’ along with rivals China and Russia
U.S. President Joe Biden speaks in Syracuse, New York, on April 25.
Yen swings stir talk that Japan is in the FX market once again
An electronic screen in Tokyo displays the yen exchange rate against the U.S. dollar and the graph showing its recent swings, on Thursday.
Harajuku strives to reclaim its former glory — and surpass it
Laforet Harajuku, which celebrated its 45th anniversary last year, has been a witness to the district's evolution over the years.
Weak yen fattens tourist wallets in Japan
People visit the Ameya Yokocho market in Tokyo's Ueno district during the Golden Week holiday on Tuesday.
Japan's May 1 intervention may have cost ¥3.66 trillion, BOJ data suggests
An electronic screen displays a graph showing Japanese yen exchange rates surging against the dollar amid signs of intervention by authorities, in Tokyo on Thursday.
Kishida sets sights on energy and climate in South America trip
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will use a policy speech in Sao Paulo to set out his vision for ties between Japan and South America, almost 10 years after former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe advocated for stronger ties between the two in the same city.
Yellow sand allergy: A health issue made worse by climate change
A screenshot of the Meteorological Agency's satellite image of clouds and yellow sand (in pink) on Sunday.
Climate change, chalky grains and the risks for Japan’s rice farmers
A farmer plants seedlings in Satsumasendai, Kagoshima Prefecture. Japan’s self sufficiency rate for rice is nearly 100%, compared with 38% for food overall, on a calorie basis.
Japan wants you to spend more with ‘luxury tourism’
Performers play a traditional drum unique to Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, in the prefectural capital of Kanazawa on March 16 to mark the extension of the Hokuriku Shinkansen line to Tsuruga Station in Fukui Prefecture.
Theaster Gates’ ambitious ‘Afro-Mingei’ brings Black Chicago to Tokyo
Theaster Gates' “A Heavenly Chord” lines up church pews before seven speakers and a Hammond B3 organ, a type of electric organ prevalent in Black American churches.

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