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Jesse Johnson
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Feb 8, 2017
Task force report highlights 'precarious' Sino-U.S. ties, urges visit to Japan, China to help repair relations
To better signal that the U.S. has not backed away from its role as an Asia-Pacific nation amid China's rise, President Donald Trump and his senior advisers should visit U.S. ally Japan as soon as possible, according to a new report by an expert task force detailing China policy recommendations for the...
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Feb 7, 2017
Behind the scenes, Tillerson tones down rhetoric on South China Sea
U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson appears to have toned down his unexpectedly stern words on China's actions in the disputed South China Sea made during his confirmation hearings, an apparently leaked document has shown.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
Feb 5, 2017
North Korea offers first foreign test to Trump administration
As U.S. President Donald Trump grapples with domestic crises and transition issues, the country that is widely seen as representing his largest foreign policy challenge is gearing up some 10,000 km away to test an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) capable of striking the United States.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jan 31, 2017
Mattis reaffirms pledge to defend South Korea against 'evolving' North Korean threat
U.S. defense chief James Mattis spoke with his South Korean counterpart over the telephone Monday to reaffirm Washington's commitment to defending its Asian ally, the Pentagon said in a statement, amid concerns over North Korea's nuclear program.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jan 28, 2017
North Korea appears to have restarted plutonium reactor, think tank says
North Korea appears to have restarted plutonium production for its nuclear weapons program at its main Nyongbyon reactor complex, commercial satellite imagery released by a think tank showed Friday.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / GAUGING TRUMP
Jan 23, 2017
Under Trump, Asia 'pivot' security plank may rise from the ashes
With the ascension of Donald Trump to the White House, former U.S. President Barack Obama's "pivot" to Asia appears to have been burned to the ground. Its remains must yet cool, but what may ultimately emerge from the ashes could prove reassuring to Asian allies fearful of an American retreat amid China's...
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jan 18, 2017
Top Trump adviser Bolton backs U.S. forces in Taiwan, says move could lessen Okinawa burden
Amid increasingly tense Sino-U.S. ties, John Bolton, a former American ambassador to the U.N. and a top adviser to President-elect Donald Trump, has called for a closer U.S. military relationship with Taiwan to help counter a "belligerent" Beijing.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jan 16, 2017
Former U.N. chief Ban throws weight behind THAAD deployment
Former United Nations chief and presumptive South Korean presidential candidate Ban Ki-moon has backed the deployment later this year of a U.S. anti-missile system to the country amid North Korea's progress in its nuclear and missile programs.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jan 16, 2017
Chinese state media lambastes Trump on Taiwan, calls issue 'Pandora's box of lethal potential'
Chinese state-run media have lashed out at U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's recent comments on Taiwan, with one newspaper calling the issue a "Pandora's box of lethal potential" that could upend the two powers' relationship.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jan 15, 2017
Beijing says 'one-China' policy can't be bargaining chip after Trump calls principle negotiable
China has pushed back against U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's suggestions that the "one-China" policy on Taiwan is negotiable, with the Foreign Ministry in Beijing urging the incoming administration to "recognize the high sensitivity of the Taiwan question."
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jan 13, 2017
China, Russia take aim at U.S. anti-missile system planned for deployment in South Korea
China and Russia have agreed to take unspecified "countermeasures" in response to the planned U.S. deployment of an anti-missile system to South Korea — a move that came as Defense Minister Tomomi Inada inspected a version of the system on the U.S. territory of Guam on Friday.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jan 11, 2017
China sends aircraft carrier into Taiwan Strait
Taiwan's Defense Ministry said Wednesday that China's only aircraft carrier had transited the Taiwan Strait amid soaring tensions between Beijing and Taipei.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / ANALYSIS
Jan 10, 2017
U.S. carrier's deployment to turbulent Asia could be test of Trump's China, North Korea policies
Will the symbols of American and Chinese naval might meet in the waters of the disputed South China Sea soon? Probably not.
JAPAN
Jan 9, 2017
Japan scrambles fighters as Chinese bombers transit Tsushima Strait for first time since August
Air Self-Defense Force fighter jets were scrambled Monday after a number of Chinese People's Liberation Army Air Force bombers and reconnaissance planes were detected flying over the East China Sea and Sea of Japan, the Defense Ministry's Joint Staff Office in Tokyo said.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 8, 2017
'Star Wars' actor Mark Hamill gives Trump tweet the Joker treatment
The joke appears to be on Donald Trump.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 21, 2016
U.N.'s Ban offers strongest hint yet of run at South Korean presidency
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon gave his strongest signal yet on Tuesday that he will seek the South Korean presidency next year as a corruption scandal that reached the highest level of government continues to roil the country.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Dec 20, 2016
China returns seized U.S. drone at center of diplomatic row
Beijing has returned a U.S. underwater drone seized last week in the South China Sea by a Chinese Navy vessel after "friendly" talks between the two countries, China's Defense Ministry said in a short statement posted to its website Tuesday.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / ANALYSIS
Dec 20, 2016
Undersea arms race: Seizure of U.S. drone shines spotlight on China's nuclear submarine strategy
With its controversial seizure and return of a U.S. underwater drone, Beijing may have inadvertently thrust into the spotlight one of the main motivations behind its ramped-up moves in the South China Sea: the quest to create a safe-haven for its sea-based nuclear deterrent.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Dec 18, 2016
China says it will return seized U.S. undersea drone but accuses Washington of hyping incident
China will return a U.S. drone that was scooped up by its navy in the disputed South China Sea, both countries confirmed Saturday as the row drew in U.S. President-elect Donald Trump.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Dec 17, 2016
Beijing throws down the gauntlet, seizes U.S. undersea drone in South China Sea
China's navy has seized a U.S. underwater survey drone in international waters in the South China Sea, prompting a formal diplomatic protest and a demand for its return Friday, in a confrontation likely to exacerbate already rising tensions.

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