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August 29, 2025
 

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Jesse Johnson
ASIA PACIFIC / ANALYSIS
Dec 18, 2019
The Shandong, China's first homegrown aircraft carrier: More than just a symbol of prestige
The commissioning puts China in a small group of nations with multiple aircraft carriers as it reportedly continues to work on building a third.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Dec 18, 2019
Top U.S. general says North Korean 'Christmas gift' likely long-range missile test
A top U.S. Air Force general on Tuesday said he expects North Korea's "Christmas gift" to the United States to be a long-range missile test, after Pyongyang delivered an ominous threat ahead of a unilateral year-end deadline for progress in nuclear talks.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Dec 17, 2019
China's first domestically built aircraft carrier enters service 'at doorstep of South China Sea'
China announced the delivery and commissioning Tuesday of its second aircraft carrier — the first built domestically — while also revealing its name, the Shandong, state-run media reported.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Dec 14, 2019
North Korea conducts another 'crucial test' at long-range rocket site
North Korea announced Saturday that it has conducted "another crucial test" at its Sohae long-range rocket site, claiming that the move will bolster its "reliable strategic nuclear deterrent."
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Dec 12, 2019
North Korea says U.S. criticism has helped it make decision on stalled nuclear talks
North Korea took aim at the United States on Thursday for convening a U.N. Security Council meeting, saying the "provocative act" had helped it decide which path to take in deadlocked nuclear talks.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Dec 11, 2019
One year on, China hints at espionage trials for two detained Canadians
China said Tuesday that its investigative process has wrapped up for two Canadians detained in the communist country over vague espionage-related charges, hinting at the possibility of trials, exactly one year since they were first arrested.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / ANALYSIS
Dec 10, 2019
U.S. and North Korea trade barbs, but both keeping options open as deadline looms
Insults and threats are again being hurled between the United States and North Korea as tensions soar to heights unseen in the last two years ahead of a unilateral year-end deadline set by Pyongyang for progress in nuclear talks.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 9, 2019
Trump says Kim risks losing 'everything' after North Korea carries out 'very important test'
U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday warned North Korean leader Kim Jong Un that he risks losing "everything" through hostility toward the United States, a day after Pyongyang said it had carried out a major new weapons test.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Dec 8, 2019
North Korea carries out 'very important' test at long-range rocket site
Nuclear-armed North Korea said it had carried out "a very important test" at its Sohae long-range rocket site, state meda reported Sunday, after U.S. President Donald Trump said he doesn't think Pyongyang will engage in hostile acts and interfere with the upcoming presidential election.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Dec 5, 2019
North Korea vows 'corresponding actions at any level' after Trump talks of military action
In response to remarks by U.S. President Donald Trump, North Korea warned late Wednesday that if the United States takes any military action against the regime of leader Kim Jong Un, Pyongyang will take "prompt corresponding actions at any level."
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / ANALYSIS
Dec 4, 2019
As nuclear talks falter, next move for North Korea's Kim may be missile test over Japan
Kim Jong Un is back in the saddle — literally — and apparently ready to make a decision on what kind of "Christmas present" North Korea will offer the U.S. as a year-end deadline for progress in nuclear talks with Washington approaches.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 3, 2019
Trump plays up 'good relationship' with North Korea's Kim, but hints at possibility of military action
U.S. President Donald Trump, well-known for his off-the-cuff remarks, hinted Tuesday at the possibility of military action against North Korea if necessary, despite emphasizing his "good relationship" with leader Kim Jong Un.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Dec 3, 2019
North Korea warns it's up to the U.S. to decide what 'Christmas gift' it will get
North Korea has one question for the United States: Naughty or nice?
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 30, 2019
North Korea warns Japan it could see missile overflying country 'in the not distant future'
North Korea warns that Japan could again see missiles overflying the country again after Prime Minister Shinzo Abe calls Pyongyang's latest test a “ballistic missile” launch.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Nov 26, 2019
China bests U.S. with largest global diplomatic network as Japan quietly rises, study finds
In the highly competitive arena of global diplomacy, it is Beijing that now stands atop the podium.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Nov 23, 2019
GSOMIA lives, but what's next for Japan and South Korea ties?
After South Korea's surprise announcement to remain a party to a key intelligence-sharing pact with Japan, wartime labor, the issue at the heart of strained bilateral ties, remains far from being resolved.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Nov 22, 2019
U.S. sends warships near South China Sea isles after Beijing demands it 'stop flexing muscles'
The U.S. Navy has sent warships on two occasions in recent days near islands claimed by Beijing in the disputed South China Sea, the military told The Japan Times on Friday.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Nov 21, 2019
Hopes for 11th-hour deal dim as deadline for Japan-South Korea intel pact looms
As the clock ticks closer to the deadline for renewing the pact, Tokyo and Seoul appear no closer to bridging significant gaps.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
Nov 20, 2019
Kim looks to turn tables on Trump with own 'maximum pressure' push
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is believed to still be angling for a nuclear deal with U.S. President Donald Trump, experts say, but there are growing signs that the young dictator is preparing to slap his own version of "maximum pressure" on the American president if things don't go his way.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Nov 18, 2019
North Korea throws cold water on Trump's hint of third summit with Kim
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's bromance with U.S. President Donald Trump may be on its last legs, as an end-of-year deadline set by Kim for progress fast approaches.
Philippine bid to acquire used Japanese warships gains steam
Tokyo is looking to transfer Abukuma-class vessels to the Philippines as part of broader efforts to boost the defense capabilities of like-minded neighbors amid growing Chinese military assertiveness in the region.
Koshien’s dark summer forces reckoning for high school baseball
Koryo High School players greet their cheering section after beating Hokkaido’s Asahikawa Shiho in the first round of Summer Koshien on Aug. 7. The school withdrew three days later as a bullying scandal enveloped the team.
Akazawa's trip to Washington for tariff talks abruptly canceled
Ryosei Akazawa, Japan's chief tariff negotiator, had been set to fly to Washington on Thursday.
Confusion over Japan’s ‘hometown’ plan overshadows African development event
First Lady Yoshiko Ishiba (center, in white and blue dress) hosts an event on Japanese culture with the first ladies of African leaders on the sidelines of the Tokyo International Conference on African Development in Yokohama on Aug. 21.
Mitsubishi’s wind-power retreat a blow to Japan's alternative-energy goals
Wind turbines in the town of Happo in Akita prefecture. Wind power is a key part of Japan's alternative energy drive.
Koshien’s dark summer forces reckoning for high school baseball
Koryo High School players greet their cheering section after beating Hokkaido’s Asahikawa Shiho in the first round of Summer Koshien on Aug. 7. The school withdrew three days later as a bullying scandal enveloped the team.
Is Kishida plotting a return of the king? Or would he rather stay a kingmaker?
Former Prime Minister Fumio Kishida chairs a plenary session at the Ninth Tokyo International Conference on African Development in Yokohama on Aug. 21.
Japanese prefectures break with labor ministry on minimum wage
The ministry of labor has suggested a 6% minimum wage increase, but most prefectures reporting so far are opting to go slightly higher.
Philippines quietly deepening ‘unofficial’ defense ties with Taiwan
Filipino soldiers take part in a flag-raising ceremony on Mavulis Island during a visit by the Philippines' Armed Forces chief of staff, in Batanes, the Philippines, in June 2023. Batanes, a group of idyllic islands at the country’s northernmost tip, sits about 160 kilometers from Taiwan.
Are 'coolcations' the answer for Japan's heat-weary tourists?
Hikers on a trail in Hakuba, Nagano Prefecture. As extreme heat continues to grip Japan, a tectonic shift may be underway in the nation’s summer tourism scene as more people gravitate toward cooler destinations.

Podcast

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

Longform

Tetsuzo Shiraishi, speaking at The Center of the Tokyo Raids and War Damage, uses a thermos to explain how he experienced the U.S. firebombing of March 1945, when he was just 7 years old.
From ashes to high-rises: A survivor’s account of Tokyo’s postwar past
By Alex K.T. Martin

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