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August 28, 2025
 

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Jesse Johnson
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 19, 2017
Amid North Korea threat, Tillerson hints that 'circumstances could evolve' for a Japanese nuclear arsenal
U.S. secretary of state says possibility of Japanese atomic weapons may have to be considered as tensions on Korean Peninsula surge.
ASIA PACIFIC
Mar 19, 2017
North Korea hails test of powerful new rocket engine
North Korea heralded the successful development of a new "high-thrust engine" during a visit to the country's rocket test site by leader Kim Jong Un, the reclusive nation's state media said Sunday.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Mar 17, 2017
Tillerson's tough talk on North Korea garners mixed reviews
U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson issued bold proclamations during his Asia visit, saying that “all options are on the table” in dealing with nuclear-armed North Korea.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Mar 17, 2017
China planning 'monitoring station' on hotly contested South China Sea shoal
China is planning to build an "environmental monitoring station" on a hotly disputed reef at the center of an ongoing territorial row over the South China Sea, according to a top official who administers Beijing's regional island claims.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Mar 14, 2017
U.S. to deploy attack drones to South Korea amid surging tensions with Pyongyang
The U.S. has announced that it will permanently deploy attack drones to South Korea to help counter the growing threats posed by North Korea's nuclear and missile programs — including to U.S. military bases in Japan.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / ANALYSIS
Mar 13, 2017
Chinese defense spending stokes concern, debate as military ramps up operations in air and sea near Japan
China's plan to boost defense spending this year by around 7 percent — the slowest pace since 1991 — will raise concerns and stoke debate in Japan and the U.S. over their own capabilities as Beijing ramps up operations in the waters and airspace of the East and South China seas, experts say.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 8, 2017
North Korean missile drill simulated targeting Iwakuni base, analysis shows
A new open-source intelligence analysis of North Korean media by missile experts has shown what appears to be the hypothetical target of Monday's test-launches: the U.S. base at Iwakuni.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 7, 2017
North Korea says missile launches were training for striking U.S. bases in Japan
North Korea said Tuesday its launch exercise a day earlier involving multiple missiles simulated an attack on U.S. bases — a type of saturation attack that experts say could leave Japan vulnerable.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 6, 2017
Abe says latest North Korean missile launch represents 'new level of threat'
North Korea demonstrated its growing military capabilities with the launch of four ballistic missiles Monday, three of which fell into the Sea of Japan, in what Prime Minister Shinzo Abe characterized as "a new level of threat."
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Mar 4, 2017
China to boost defense spending by 'about 7%' in 2017 amid 'outside meddling' in maritime disputes
China will boost its defense budget by "around 7 percent" this year, a top official said Saturday, as Beijing seeks to inject more cash into its increasingly modern military amid "outside meddling" in territorial disputes in the East and South China seas.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 3, 2017
ASDF scrambles jets as China sends more fighters and bombers through Miyako Strait
Japan scrambled fighters jets Thursday after China's navy carried out a large-scale drill through a strategic entryway into the Western Pacific between the islands of Miyako and Okinawa — part of Beijing's growing push to project its military clout farther into the Pacific.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Mar 1, 2017
In speech to Congress, Trump urges military allies to do more — a demand Abe may welcome
In U.S. President Donald Trump's first address to Congress, he used the speech to remind security allies — including Japan — they must “pay their fair share” of the alliances' costs.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / ANALYSIS
Feb 26, 2017
Did North Korea kill Kim Jong Nam with VX nerve agent to send a signal to its enemies?
Last week's stunning revelation that the deadly VX nerve agent was used to kill the estranged half brother of North Korea's leader at a crowded air terminal in Malaysia has thrown a spotlight on Pyongyang's chemical weapons arsenal — and raised questions of whether the operation was a purposeful but...
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / ANALYSIS
Feb 24, 2017
Beijing continuing 'steady pattern of militarization' in South China Sea
New satellite imagery appears to confirm a report earlier this week that China has nearly completed structures intended to house surface-to-air missile systems on its three largest outposts in the disputed Spratly chain of the South China Sea — "part of a steady pattern of Chinese militarization" there....
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Feb 23, 2017
North Korean state media lambastes key ally China for 'dancing to tune of U.S.'
North Korean state-run media on Thursday served up a scathing critique of China over its recent rebuke of Pyongyang's first missile test of the year and Beijing's decision to halt imports of coal from the hermit nation, saying the moves showed China "is dancing to the tune of the U.S."
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Feb 21, 2017
In first official comments, Beijing voices displeasure with U.S. carrier patrols in South China Sea
China voiced its opposition Tuesday to freedom of navigation patrols in the South China Sea by foreign countries that it says threaten its sovereignty — the first official comments by Beijing since a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier strike group began patrols in the strategic waterway.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Feb 19, 2017
U.S. carrier group begins 'routine patrol' of tense South China Sea
In a move likely to stoke the ire of Beijing, the U.S. Navy's Carrier Strike Group 1, which includes the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson, began what the navy called "routine operations" in the contested South China Sea on Saturday.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Feb 18, 2017
China eyes law to bar some foreign ships from passing through territorial waters
In a move that could have ramifications for U.S. "freedom of navigation" operations in the disputed South China Sea, Beijing is set to revise a key maritime law to bar some foreign ships from passing through Chinese territorial waters.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Feb 16, 2017
China warns U.S. against more patrols in disputed South China Sea
Beijing warned Washington on Wednesday not to challenge its sovereignty in the South China Sea amid reports that the U.S. Navy was gearing up to sail more warships near China's man-made islands in the contested waters.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 15, 2017
Ties to Japan may factor in Kim Jong Nam's mysterious murder
Fears by Kim Jong Un over his legitimacy as North Korea's hereditary leader due to his grandfather's work in a Japanese military factory may have had a role in brother's murder.
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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