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August 29, 2025
 

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Jesse Johnson
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jan 8, 2019
Did China just reveal Kim Jong Un's birth date, one of North Korea's most closely guarded state secrets?
About 30 activists gathered after a petition urging U.S. President Donald Trump to halt the work accumulated more than 195,000 signatures in 30 days.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
Jan 8, 2019
With hopes of sanctions-related gifts from Beijing, Kim spends birthday in China
As Kim Jong Un spent his birthday in Beijing on Tuesday, the young North Korean leader was likely hoping to take home more than just a few gifts during his three-day visit to the Chinese capital.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jan 8, 2019
North Korea's Kim travels to Beijing for meeting with Xi after warning of alternative path
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was spending his birthday in Beijing after arriving in the Chinese capital Tuesday — which was believed to be his 35th birthday — for his fourth summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping as talks on a second meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump gather steam.
JAPAN
Jan 7, 2019
Queen guitarist Brian May latest to sign anti-Henoko base petition as organizer readies for White House rally
Legendary Queen guitarist Brian May became the latest celebrity to weigh in Sunday on controversial construction work associated with the relocation of U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Okinawa Prefecture, a project that opponents say will endanger rare coral species.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jan 7, 2019
Trump says North Korea sanctions to remain 'in full force and effect' until U.S. sees 'very positive' results
In comments ahead of U.S. President Donald Trump's planned second meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, Trump said Sunday that crippling sanctions imposed on nuclear-armed North Korea will remain "in full force and effect" until the United States sees "very positive" results.
ASIA PACIFIC
Jan 6, 2019
China releases first video of a Sky Hawk, its latest stealth drone, in flight
China has for the first time released video showing its latest stealth drone in flight, state media said Sunday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 6, 2019
¥1 million to 100 people? Zozo chief Maezawa to dole out total of ¥100 million in cash for retweets
In the latest headline-grabbing move by Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa, the founder and CEO of major online fashion mall operator Zozo Inc. has announced a plan to dole out ¥1 million to 100 individuals to mark a successful New Year's sale.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jan 6, 2019
China's Xi urges military to be ready for war amid 'risks and challenges' in 2019
Just days into the new year, Chinese President Xi Jinping has ordered his country's military to improve its combat readiness and prepare for the possibility of war while also warning of "unprecedented risks and challenges" in 2019.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
Jan 1, 2019
Kim says North Korea could take 'new path' if U.S. maintains sanctions
In a seemingly Oval Office-esque setting, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Tuesday delivered a much-anticipated annual New Year's speech, saying his country remained firmly committed to denuclearization and that he was ready to meet again with U.S. President Donald Trump at any time, while also warning...
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Dec 19, 2018
Chinese bombers, fighter jets and warships drill in first military exercise near Taiwan in months
Taiwan's Defense Ministry has said that Chinese bombers, fighter jets and warships were spotted near the self-ruled island nation, the first such reported activity in several months.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
Dec 18, 2018
U.S. and North Korea in holding pattern ahead of Kim New Year's address and second leaders' summit
The United States and North Korea have reached a holding pattern in denuclearization talks as both sides seek the upper hand ahead of a key New Year's address by leader Kim Jong Un and a second summit between Kim and U.S. President Donald Trump next year. But criticism out of Pyongyang has been emerging...
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 17, 2018
North Korea says U.S. stance on sanctions could derail denuclearization talks
In a sign of Pyongyang's growing impatience with stalled nuclear talks with Washington, North Korea has warned the United States that its stance on crippling sanctions could "block the path to denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula forever."
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 11, 2018
Five U.S. Marines missing in aircraft collision off Kochi Prefecture declared dead
Search operations, which included vessels from the Self-Defense Forces, had been underway since a KC-130 tanker plane collided with an F/A-18 fighter jet during training Thursday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 8, 2018
U.S. Marines ID pilot who died in tanker-fighter crash off Kochi; five still missing
Jahmar Resilard of Miramar, Florida, was an F/A-18 pilot with Marine All Weather Fighter Attack Squadron 242 based in Iwakuni, Yamaguchi Prefecture, when his plane went down off Kochi Prefecture.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 6, 2018
Two rescued, five missing after 'mishap' involving U.S. Marine tanker and fighter jet off Kochi
Tokyo said the crash had occurred around 100 km off Cape Muroto in Kochi Prefecture.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 6, 2018
U.S. warship conducts Sea of Japan operation in challenge to Russia's 'excessive maritime claims'
The U.S. Navy has conducted a so-called freedom of navigation operation (FONOP) near disputed waters in the Sea of Japan, it said Thursday, to challenge "excessive maritime claims" made by Russia in the area.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 2, 2018
Trump says three sites under consideration for January or February meeting with North Korea's Kim
A second U.S.-North Korea summit is expected to be held in either January or February, with three sites currently under consideration, U.S. President Donald Trump said Saturday.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Nov 30, 2018
U.S. sends warship near South China Sea islets ahead of G20 summit
The U.S. Navy has sent a warship near disputed islands in the South China Sea, the U.S. Pacific Fleet said Friday, ahead of key meeting between the leaders of China and the United States at the Group of 20 summit in Argentina.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Nov 28, 2018
Chinese state media confirms country's third aircraft carrier is in the works
China has for the first time confirmed it is building a third aircraft carrier — a move that came ahead of an announcement by Tokyo that is considering transforming one of its helicopter destroyers into an aircraft carrier that can accommodate fighter jets.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Nov 28, 2018
North Korea's Kim reportedly open to inspections at main Nyongbyon nuclear complex
Exactly a year since nuclear-armed North Korea last tested a missile — its most powerful to date — news has emerged that leader Kim Jong Un is open to inspections at his country's main nuclear complex.
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.
Japan Post to stop accepting some parcels for shipment to the U.S.
Japan Post's UGX will still be available for many rejected packages.
Japan aims to tighten rules for business manager visas from October
The number of foreign residents with business management residency status had reached a record 41,615 as of the end of 2024.
Tokyo releases AI-generated video of Mount Fuji erupting
A screenshot from an AI-generated video showing what could happen to Tokyo if Mount Fuji erupted
Character-crazed Japan has little appetite for Labubu
A pop-up advertisement for the newly opened Chiikawa Park in Tokyo's Ikebukuro neighborhood demonstrates how the country is chockful of cute characters — to the detriment of trends like Labubu.
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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