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August 27, 2025
 

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Jesse Johnson
U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin speaks at the Shangri-La Dialogue security conference in Singapore on Saturday.
JAPAN
Jun 4, 2024
Upgrade for U.S. military's command in Japan gains steam
U.S. defense chief Lloyd Austin has said that basing a four-star commander in Japan is something the Pentagon is “looking at very closely.”
Visitors take pictures in a booth showing photographs before a rally to commemorate the 35th anniversary of Beijing's Tiananmen Square crackdowns, at the Library Square in Taipei on Tuesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jun 4, 2024
35 years on, Tiananmen memory eroded by Chinese censorship and Sino-U.S. rivalry
While commemorations of the crackdown are effectively banned in mainland China and in Hong Kong, events were being held in Taiwan and other locations.
A North Korean soldier is seen at a guard post inside the country in this picture taken from Paju, South Korea, near the Demilitarized Zone separating the two Koreas in June 2020.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jun 3, 2024
Seoul to suspend inter-Korean military pact with Pyongyang over balloons
South Korea said the halt will last "until mutual trust between the two Koreas is restored,” after the North sent trash-filled balloons across the border over the last week.
Philippine Coast Guard personnel aboard the BRP Bagacay observe a China Coast Guard ship during the distribution of fuel and food to fishers by a civilian-led mission in the disputed South China Sea on May 16.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jun 3, 2024
Beijing slams 'ignoble' U.S. role in South China Sea dispute
Responding to a warning by the Philippines' president, Beijing accused Washington of exploiting the issue to "drive a wedge between China and other regional countries."
A plastic bag carrying trash that crossed the inter-Korean border with a balloon believed to have been sent by North Korea is seen in Seoul in this picture released Sunday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jun 3, 2024
North Korea halts sending trash balloons over border to South
Pyongyang has threatened a resumption of the "unpleasant" practice in the event South Korean activists restart the flying of anti-regime leaflets.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks during the Shangri-La Dialogue security conference in Singapore on Sunday.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 2, 2024
Zelenskyy pillories China over reluctance to use sway to end Ukraine war
The Ukrainian president also implored Asian leaders to attend a peace conference slated for later this month in Switzerland.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrives at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore on Saturday.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 1, 2024
Zelenskyy arrives in Singapore to address key Asia security summit
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will deliver an address to the Shangri-La Dialogue Asia security conference Sunday and meet with the U.S. defense chief.
Japanese Defense Minister Minoru Kihara (left) shakes hands with Chinese defense chief Dong Jun on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue security conference in Singapore on Saturday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 1, 2024
Japan defense chief tells China counterpart of 'serious' military concerns
Defense Minister Minoru Kihara met Chinese defense chief Dong Jun on the sidelines of a major Asian security conference in Singapore on Saturday.
Chinese Defense Minister Dong Jun (center) arrives with his delegation for a bilateral meeting with U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin on the sidelines of the 21st Shangri-La Dialogue summit at the Shangri-La Hotel in Singapore on Friday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 31, 2024
U.S. and Chinese defense chiefs agree on importance of military talks
The meeting marked the first face-to-face talks by the U.S. and Chinese defense chiefs in 18 months.
A man watches a television screen showing a news broadcast with file footage of a North Korean missile test, at a train station in Seoul on Thursday.
ASIA PACIFIC
May 30, 2024
In unusual move, North Korea fires off barrage of at least 10 ballistic missiles
While the North has in the past launched multiple missiles in a single volley, the sheer number fired Thursday pointed to training for so-called saturation strikes.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visits the Academy of Defense Sciences in Pyongyang in this image released Wednesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 29, 2024
North Korea's Kim admits failure, but vows to continue building spy satellites
The satellite-carrying rocket had self-destructed Tuesday "due to an abnormality in the first-stage engine," the North Korean leader said.
A woman walks past a television at a railway station in Seoul on Tuesday showing a news broadcast with NHK footage of a projectile that exploded into a fireball a day earlier, following Pyongyang's failed attempt to put a second spy satellite in orbit.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
May 28, 2024
Pyongyang’s fiery space-race failure cold comfort as more launches expected
The launch failure was also viewed as a possible symbolic success in being disruptive just as a rare summit involving Japan, South Korea and China was concluding.
A North Korean rocket carrying a spy satellite is prepared for launch in a location given as North Gyeongsang province in this image released on Nov. 21.
JAPAN
May 27, 2024
North Korea announces plans to launch satellite by June 4
The announcement came hours before top leaders from Japan, South Korea and China gathered for a rare trilateral summit in Seoul.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida meets with Chinese Premier Li Qiang for bilateral talks in Seoul on Sunday.
JAPAN / Politics
May 26, 2024
Kishida meets China's Li and South Korea's Yoon before trilateral summit
The Japanese leader discussed improving ties with Seoul and how to stabilize Tokyo's relationship with Beijing in separate bilateral talks.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin speaks during a media briefing at the Pentagon in Washington on Monday.
ASIA PACIFIC
May 25, 2024
U.S. and Chinese defense chiefs to meet this week, as military drills around Taiwan end
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will meet his Chinese counterpart, Dong Jun, this week for the first time, the Pentagon said Friday.
Chinese military vessels sail in an unknown location around Taiwan on Thursday amid joint military drills aimed at punishing the self-ruled island and its new president.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 24, 2024
China says Day 2 of Taiwan drills tests ability to 'seize' key areas
The Chinese military said the exercises test its ability “to jointly take control of (the) battlefield and launch joint strikes, and to seize control of crucial areas.”
South Korean leader Yoon Suk-yeol (left), U.S. President Joe Biden (center) and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida walk during the Camp David summit on the outskirts of Washington last August. South Korea and Japan will be going into the summit with China more aligned than before following the Camp David meeting.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
May 24, 2024
At Japan-South Korea-China trilateral summit, a chance to manage tensions
Just holding the summit is an accomplishment amid the considerable issues that divide the three countries.
A Chinese military ship northwest of Pengjia Island, off the coast of northern Taiwan, on Thursday
ASIA PACIFIC
May 23, 2024
China's military kicks off large-scale 'punishment' drills around Taiwan
The large-scale joint military exercises come days after the self-ruled island’s new president was sworn into office.
New Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te speaks on stage during his inauguration ceremony outside the Presidential Office in Taipei on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
May 22, 2024
Japan protests Chinese envoy's 'inappropriate remarks' over Taiwan
Ambassador Wu Jianghao appeared to insinuate that the Japanese people would be “brought into the fire” of conflict over support for self-ruled Taiwan.
New Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te (right) waves alongside outgoing leader Tsai Ing-wen during the presidential inauguration ceremony at the Presidential Office in Taipei on Monday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 20, 2024
‘Cease the intimidation,’ Taiwan’s new president tells China in inaugural speech
New leader Lai Ching-te used his inauguration speech to deliver a clear message to Beijing: Taiwan will not be subordinate to China.
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
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 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.
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.
Japan ranked one of the most peaceful places in Asia as global tensions rise
Visitors look at paper cranes hung at Peace Park in Nagasaki on Aug. 8, a day ahead of the 80th anniversary of the World War II atomic bombing of the city.
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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