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August 28, 2025
 

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Jesse Johnson
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / ANALYSIS
May 23, 2018
U.S. and North Korea engage in diplomatic dance amid shifting prospects for Singapore summit
With less than three weeks to go before the first-ever planned U.S.-North Korea summit, both sides are engaging in a delicate diplomatic dance, claiming that the landmark event might not even be held while also serving up concessions to draw the other back to the negotiating table.
JAPAN / Politics
May 23, 2018
U.S. bolsters missile defense in Japan as cutting-edge Aegis destroyer arrives ahead of Trump-Kim summit
An advanced U.S. destroyer equipped with cutting-edge ballistic missile defense technology arrived at its new home port at the Yokosuka naval base in Kanagawa Prefecture on Tuesday, as the U.S. Navy's Japan-based 7th Fleet looks to bounce back from two deadly accidents less than a year ago while also...
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 21, 2018
Top U.S. senator says Trump looking to end North Korea crisis in first term
U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham said in an interview Sunday that President Donald Trump would seek to resolve the North Korean nuclear crisis in his first term, adding that if Pyongyang backs out of a landmark summit scheduled for next month, the two countries would be "on the path to conflict."
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
May 19, 2018
China lands bombers on South China Sea outpost for first time
China has landed heavy bombers on one of its outposts in the South China Sea for the first time, part of an operation intended to provide "experience for Air Force bomber units to use islands as their bases," according to the Defense Ministry.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
May 19, 2018
Trump nominates Pacific Command chief Harry Harris to be South Korean ambassador
The White House formally nominated Pacific Command chief Adm. Harry Harris on Friday to fill the long-vacant post of ambassador to South Korea, as the U.S. gears up for the planned first-ever talks between a sitting American president and a North Korean leader on June 12 in Singapore.
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 16, 2018
North Korean ruling party newspaper rips Japan as 'desperate' amid detente, urges end to 'hostile policy'
North Korea's ruling party newspaper, the Rodong Sinmun, has lashed out at attempts by Tokyo to urge Washington to address its nuclear and missile programs at a planned U.S.-North Korea summit, calling the moves "desperate efforts" by a "trouble-maker creating only complexities" on Wednesday.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
May 16, 2018
North Korea threatens to cancel Trump-Kim summit over U.S. push for 'unilateral' denuclearization
North Korea abruptly threatened to cancel the summit between Kim Jong Un and U.S. President Donald Trump if the U.S. presses ahead with demands Pyongyang unilaterally relinquish its nuclear arsenal.
ASIA PACIFIC
May 15, 2018
Satellite imagery shows first evidence of buildings being dismantled at North Korean nuclear test site, monitor says
New commercial satellite imagery has provided the first definitive evidence that North Korea is dismantling its Punggye-ri nuclear test site ahead of a scheduled ceremony next week to mark the event, U.S. researchers said Monday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 14, 2018
Top U.S. diplomat Pompeo stokes concern over North Korea as Abe seeks to avoid being shut out of diplomatic process
Worries are running high in Tokyo that the mercurial Trump will leave Japan in the lurch.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
May 13, 2018
North Korea wants the world to watch as it blows up its nuclear test site, but are there ulterior motives?
North Korea wants the world to watch as it blows up its Punggye-ri nuclear test site, the country has said, announcing that it will hold a "ceremony" between May 23 and May 25, inviting foreign journalists to witness what it said would be a "transparent" event.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
May 13, 2018
China's first homemade aircraft carrier begins sea trials in demonstration of growing military prowess
China's first indigenously built aircraft carrier began inaugural sea trials on Sunday, in a display of the Asian giant's growing technological prowess and as it seeks to expand the reach of its navy further into the Pacific.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
May 10, 2018
Trump welcomes three Americans freed by North Korea in diplomatic win for U.S. president
U.S. President Donald Trump welcomed home three Americans who had been detained by North Korea, greeting the trio at an air base outside Washington early Thursday after they were released hours earlier by Pyongyang. The release gives Trump a key diplomatic victory ahead of a highly anticipated summit...
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
May 10, 2018
North Korea's Kim calls planned summit with Trump a 'historic' opportunity
North Korea has made official mention for the first time of a planned summit between leader Kim Jong Un and U.S. President Donald Trump, telling visiting Secretary of State Mike Pompeo that it would be a "historic" opportunity, state media said Thursday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 9, 2018
Kim, Xi talk denuclearization as North Korean leader makes second secret visit to China
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un told Chinese President Xi Jinping that he was committed to giving up his nuclear weapons if security guarantees were met, during a surprise visit to the Chinese port city of Dalian just weeks ahead of a planned summit between Kim and U.S. President Donald Trump, Chinese...
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
May 7, 2018
Singapore likely to host Trump-Kim summit in mid-June, reports say
Singapore has become the most likely site for a landmark summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in mid-June, reports have said, as the two nations move closer to formally announcing a date and location.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
May 3, 2018
Trump hints at imminent release of Americans held in North Korea
U.S. President Donald Trump has hinted at the imminent release of Americans detained in North Korea, just weeks ahead of a planned summit between him and the North's leader, Kim Jong Un.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
May 3, 2018
China installs cruise missiles on key South China Sea outposts, report says
China has secretly installed anti-ship cruise missiles and surface-to-air missile systems on three of its fortified outposts in the South China Sea, a report said Wednesday, as Beijing seeks to further project power in the disputed waters.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
May 2, 2018
Environmental group looks to carve Trump's face into arctic iceberg
In a move that some may consider cold-hearted, a Finnish nongovernmental organization is aiming to raise €400,000 ($480,000) to carve U.S. President Donald Trump's face on an arctic iceberg to highlight global warming.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
May 2, 2018
South Korea's Moon says peace deal wouldn't mean U.S. troops' withdrawal
South Korean President Moon Jae-in delivered a denial Wednesday that U.S. troops stationed in the country would withdraw following the possible signing of a peace treaty to end the Korean War, saying that they should stay even if a deal is reached.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
May 1, 2018
Is a Nobel Prize in the cards for Trump? Depends who you ask
After months of threats and insults directed at North Korean leader Kim Jong Un that fueled fears of nuclear war, is a Nobel Peace Prize now in the cards for a more conciliatory Donald Trump?
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.
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.
Germany's first sakemaker offers a bold brew of ideas
Reigen, Germany's first sake brewery, makes a diverse, nontraditional range of sake that includes fruit-flavored sips and wine barrel-aged renditions.

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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