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August 28, 2025
 

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Jesse Johnson
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Nov 12, 2017
'Old' Trump takes shot at 'short and fat' Kim Jong Un — but also floats prospect of friendship
U.S. President Donald Trump, in his latest jab at North Korea's Kim Jong Un, taunted the isolated country's leader Sunday over his height and weight before pondering if the two could eventually be friends.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Nov 11, 2017
North Korea brands Trump a 'warmonger' who 'begged for nuclear war'
North Korea unleashed a verbal onslaught at U.S. leader Donald Trump on Saturday, blasting him as "a warmonger" who "begged for a nuclear war," in Pyongyang's first official comments on his ongoing visit to Asia.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 11, 2017
Japan sends warships to join three U.S. carriers for show of force in waters near Korean Peninsula
Japan is sending a massive helicopter destroyer — one of the largest warships in its fleet — for joint military exercises Sunday with three U.S. aircraft carriers in the waters near the Korean Peninsula.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Nov 9, 2017
U.S. Navy to run rare three-carrier military exercise in Pacific as Trump visits region
The U.S. Navy announced Wednesday that it will commence rare three-carrier strike force exercises in the Western Pacific starting this weekend and coinciding with the final leg of President Donald Trump's Asia tour.
JAPAN
Nov 7, 2017
MSDF holds rare trilateral exercises with Indian and U.S. vessels in Sea of Japan
The Maritime Self-Defense Force has held three days of rare trilateral exercises with vessels from the Indian and U.S. navies, including the Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture-based USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier, the Defense Ministry said Tuesday.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Nov 7, 2017
Satellite images spot increased activity at North Korean nuclear test site tunnel complex
Significant activity has been spotted at North Korea's main atomic test site's west portal — an as-of-yet unused tunnel complex where little or no activity had been observed over the past several months — raising the possibility of preparations for a fresh nuclear test, an analysis of new satellite...
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Nov 5, 2017
After Trump begins Asia visit, North Korea warns him against making any 'reckless remarks'
Hours after U.S. President Donald Trump touched down in Japan on the first leg of his Asia tour on Sunday, North Korea warned him against making any "reckless remarks."
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Nov 5, 2017
Pentagon says securing North Korean nukes would require U.S. ground invasion
A top Pentagon official has said the only sure way of eliminating North Korea's nuclear weapons capabilities would be by putting U.S. boots on the ground — a move that some worry could prompt Pyongyang to use biological, chemical and even nuclear weapons against Japan and South Korea.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Nov 4, 2017
China unveils massive 'magic island-maker' dredging vessel
China has shown off its largest and most advanced dredging vessel — which it calls "a magic island-maker" — state-run media reported Saturday.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 4, 2017
Trump warns China it could face 'big problem' with 'warrior nation' Japan over North Korea
Taking a page from former U.S. leader Richard Nixon, current President Donald Trump has warned China that it must do more to rein in North Korea's nuclear ambitions or face "a big problem" with "warrior nation" Japan.
ASIA PACIFIC
Nov 3, 2017
North Korea dismisses as 'misinformation' Japanese report that scores died in nuclear test site accident
North Korea lashed out at Japan on Thursday, dismissing as "misinformation" a report earlier this week that more than 200 people were feared dead after a tunnel collapse at the North's main nuclear test site following the country's sixth atomic test in early September.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Nov 3, 2017
U.S. sends heavy bombers for training over South Korea ahead of Trump visit
The U.S. Air Force has again flown heavy B-1B bombers over the Korean Peninsula, this time just days ahead of Donald Trump's inaugural visit to Asia as president, with Japan set to be his first stop on Sunday.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Nov 2, 2017
Xi says China hopes to promote ties with North Korea
Newly empowered Chinese President Xi Jinping has reached out to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in an apparent bid to promote stable ties with the isolated country days ahead of a visit to the region by U.S. President Donald Trump, the official Korean Central News Agency said Thursday.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Nov 2, 2017
Two deadly U.S. Navy warship collisions were 'avoidable,' report concludes
The U.S. Navy unveiled a damning report Wednesday on collisions between two Japan-based destroyers and commercial vessels in the western Pacific that left 17 crew dead this summer, calling the accidents "avoidable" and faulting leadership shortcomings and an erosion of sailors' basic standards.
ASIA PACIFIC
Nov 1, 2017
China and ASEAN members hold joint maritime rescue drills as South China Sea tensions ease
In an apparent sign of easing tensions over maritime disputes between China and members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the two held a joint maritime rescue drill in the South China Sea, Chinese state-run media said.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Nov 1, 2017
At least 200 feared dead after North Korean nuclear test site tunnel collapses: report
More than 200 people are believed to have died when a tunnel at North Korea's main nuclear test site collapsed in September after the country's sixth and most powerful atomic test — an accident that could have far-reaching implications for the North's nuclear weapons program.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Oct 29, 2017
U.S. sends nuclear-capable B-2 stealth bomber on mission in Pacific ahead of Trump visit to Asia
The U.S. military sent a nuclear-capable B-2 stealth bomber from Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri on a long-range mission to the Pacific area of operations over the weekend, it said Sunday, a day after Pentagon chief Jim Mattis highlighted rival North Korea's "accelerating" atomic weapons program...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 24, 2017
U.S. to deploy powerful F-35A stealth fighters to Okinawa's Kadena Air Base as North Korean threat grows
The U.S. Air Force has announced that it will send its version of the advanced F-35 stealth fighter jet to Okinawa's Kadena Air Base next month in the first such deployment to the Asia-Pacific region.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 23, 2017
North Korea blasts Japan for using election to 'pave groundwork' for invasion
North Korea on Monday blasted "Japanese reactionaries" for working to "pave the groundwork for a reinvasion of the Korean peninsula" after Sunday's Lower House election that saw Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's ruling bloc secure a sweeping victory.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 17, 2017
Trump likely to meet families of abductees to North Korea on November visit to Japan
White House releases details of U.S. president's five-nation Asian tour, set to kick off in Japan on Nov. 5.
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.
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.
Alicia Keys closed Summer Sonic, but J-pop owned it
Summer Sonic’s 2025 lineup demonstrated its strength, showcasing the latest in J-pop, including “new kawaii” act Fruits Zipper.

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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