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April 30, 2024
 

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Jesse Johnson
For Jesse Johnson's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
A North Korean rocket carrying a military spy satellite is launched in this undated photo released Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Nov 22, 2023
North Korea calls spy satellite launch a success, but questions linger
A rocket carrying the payload passed over the Japanese archipelago late Tuesday, but Tokyo said it had not confirmed the veracity of Pyongyang's claims.
A man walks past a TV broadcasting a news report on North Korea firing a space rocket, at the main railway station in Seoul in August.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 21, 2023
North Korea says it could launch satellite as early as Wednesday
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s office said it had "strongly demanded" that North Korea halt preparations for the launch.
Defense Minister Minoru Kihara speaks with reporters at the Defense Ministry on Monday evening after holding a teleconference with his British and Italian counterparts.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 21, 2023
Japan joint fighter development group planned for fiscal '24
The 'control tower' will oversee the countries’ requirements for the joint development of the fighter by 2035.
Taiwanese Vice President Lai Ching-te (left), presidential candidate from the Democratic Progressive Party, introduces Hsiao Bi-khim, Taiwan's de facto envoy to the United States, as his running mate in the 2024 election, during a news conference at Lai's campaign headquarters in Taipei on Monday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Nov 20, 2023
Taiwan presidential front-runner taps U.S. envoy as running mate
Lai Ching-te tapped Hsiao Bi-khim, a fluent English speaker who had been Taiwan's de facto ambassador to the U.S., to join him on the DPP ticket.
Hwasong-17 intercontinental ballistic missiles take part in a nighttime military parade to mark the 90th anniversary of the founding of the Korean People's Revolutionary Army in Pyongyang in this undated photo released in April 2022.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Nov 19, 2023
North Korea marks missile holiday with silence as Kim absent 29 days
Missile Industry Day was not mentioned in state-run media on Sunday, as leader Kim Jong Un remained out of the public spotlight for nearly a month.
The U.S. Navy guided-missile cruiser USS Monterey fires a Tomahawk land attack missile in April 2018.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 18, 2023
U.S. approves deal to sell long-range Tomahawk missiles to Japan
The Pentagon said Friday that the U.S. State Department had signed off on the estimated $2.35 billion deal for 400 Tomahawk missiles.
U.S. President Joe Biden greets Chinese President Xi Jinping before a meeting during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders week in Woodside, California, on Wednesday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Nov 16, 2023
Biden and Xi agree to pick up the phone to avert crisis. But now what?
Agreed measures are unlikely to be enough to improve bilateral ties, as neither side appeared willing to tackle fundamental differences head on.
U.S. President Joe Biden shakes hands with Chinese leader Xi Jinping at Filoli estate in Woodside, California, on Wednesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Nov 16, 2023
Xi and Biden agree to restart high-level military-to-military talks
The leaders of the two superpowers looked to stabilize a relationship that has been in freefall amid fears it could devolve into outright conflict.
This undated picture released Wednesday shows the first ground combustion test of a high-power solid-fuel engine for a new intermediate-range ballistic missile, at an undisclosed location in North Korea.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 15, 2023
North Korea eyes surprise attack ability with missile engine test
The new engines for the intermediate-range ballistic missiles would give Pyongyang another means of targeting Japan.
U.S. President Joe Biden meets with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Group of 20 leaders summit in Bali, Indonesia, on Nov. 14, 2022.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / FOCUS
Nov 14, 2023
Biden and Xi look to put floor under strained U.S.-China ties
The two leaders will have a laundry list of concerns to discuss, but the talks are unlikely to yield any dramatic breakthroughs.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa speak as they wait for a group photo session during the Group of Seven foreign ministers meeting in Tokyo on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 8, 2023
G7 top diplomats call for ‘humanitarian pauses’ in Israel-Hamas war
The statement didn’t mention a cease-fire, only noting the necessity of humanitarian action.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping and U.S. President Joe Biden meet on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit in Nusa Dua, on the Indonesian resort island of Bali, in November last year.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Nov 7, 2023
Biden wins global vote of confidence over China's Xi, survey finds
A survey has found that nearly two-dozen countries are nearly three times more likely to the U.S. president more positively than the Chinese leader.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu points to a red line he drew on the graphic of a bomb used to represent Iran's nuclear program as he addresses the United Nations General Assembly at the U.N. headquarters in New York in September 2012.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Nov 6, 2023
Israeli minister's Gaza nuclear comments spotlight opaque arsenal
The country has long had a policy of ambiguity as to whether it has nuclear weapons, though it is widely believed to possess a sizable number.
Japanese evacuees from Israel arrive at Tokyo's Haneda Airport via an Air Self-Defense Force flight on Friday night.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 3, 2023
SDF plane evacuates 46 from Israel as Japan's top diplomat visits
The evacuation came as Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa visited Israel for talks with her Israeli and Palestinian counterparts.
Maritime Self-Defense Force Chief of Staff Ryo Sakai speaks during a news conference Tuesday at the Defense Ministry in Tokyo.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 31, 2023
Defense chief condemns ‘outrageous’ response in SDF harassment case
A male perpetrator of sexual assault was forced to apologize directly to the female victim despite her wishes not to see him.
China's powerful vice chairman of the Central Military Commission, Zhang Youxian (left), and Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu arrive for the Beijing Xiangshan Forum in the Chinese capital on Monday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Oct 30, 2023
Chinese military No. 2 slams U.S. but signals defense channel reopening
While criticizing the U.S., China's Gen. Zhang Youxia also indicated an openness to resuming high-level military talks with the Pentagon.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping meets with U.S. President Joe Biden on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit in Nusa Dua, on the Indonesian resort island of Bali, on Nov. 14, 2022.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / FOCUS
Oct 29, 2023
U.S. and China agree to work toward Biden-Xi meeting next month
U.S. President Joe Biden emphasized the need to manage the U.S.-China rivalry "responsibly” during a rare meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrive to speak to the press prior to meetings at the State Department in Washington on Thursday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Oct 27, 2023
Top U.S. and China envoys seek 'in-depth' dialogue to stabilize ties
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken for talks that could pave the way for a meeting of the two countries' leaders.
Then-Chinese Defense Minister Li Shangfu attends the 20th IISS Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore in June.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
Oct 25, 2023
Chinese defense chief’s ouster opens door to better military ties with U.S.
Although questions remain over Li Shangfu’s fate, his firing has opened an avenue for resuming high-level military talks with the U.S.
Chinese Defense Minister Li Shangfu salutes before delivering a speech during the 20th Shangri-La Dialogue summit in Singapore on June 4.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Oct 24, 2023
China ousts defense chief and removes ex-top envoy from Cabinet
Chinese Defense Minister Li Shangfu has been removed from his positions as defense chief and state councilor, state-run media said.
When will Japan intervene to support the yen?
Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki has reiterated the government's readiness to take an appropriate action as the yen continues to slide against the U.S. dollar.
'So hot you can't breathe': Extreme heat hits the Philippines
A pedestrian cools himself with a folding hand fan as he waits for a ride along a road in Manila on Wednesday, as extreme heat hit the Philippines.
Raising kids in Japan as a single parent? It takes a village.
Making things work as a foreign, single mother in Japan isn't easy, but these tips and tricks can help you through the hardest parts.
Yen rebounds strongly after first slide past ¥160 since 1990
The yen dropped to ¥160.245 per dollar on Monday before heading into the other direction to ¥155.01 amid speculation of an intervention by Japanese currency authorities.
JAL cancels international flight after captain gets drunk at Dallas hotel
A Japan Airlines' flight from Dallas to Tokyo was canceled last week after its captain got drunk at a local hotel.
Climate change, chalky grains and the risks for Japan’s rice farmers
A farmer plants seedlings in Satsumasendai, Kagoshima Prefecture. Japan’s self sufficiency rate for rice is nearly 100%, compared with 38% for food overall, on a calorie basis.
Japan wants you to spend more with ‘luxury tourism’
Performers play a traditional drum unique to Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, in the prefectural capital of Kanazawa on March 16 to mark the extension of the Hokuriku Shinkansen line to Tsuruga Station in Fukui Prefecture.
Theaster Gates’ ambitious ‘Afro-Mingei’ brings Black Chicago to Tokyo
Theaster Gates' “A Heavenly Chord” lines up church pews before seven speakers and a Hammond B3 organ, a type of electric organ prevalent in Black American churches.
Casa del Cibo: A thriving jewel born from Tohoku’s harsh past
When chef Ryohei Ikemi moved to Hachinohe, Aomori Prefecture, and opened Casa del Cibo in 2011, it was the first proper Italian restaurant in the city.
Town to block view of Mount Fuji in response to overtourism
The town government of Fujikawaguchiko, Yamanashi Prefecture, decided to set up a 2.5-meter-high screen to prevent tourists from taking pictures of Mount Fuji looming behind a convenience store.

Podcast

From easily navigable train stations to the helpfulness of its municipal staff, Tokyo has earned high praise for its commitment to accessibility for disabled travelers.
[Rebroadcast] Japan is doing better on accessibility than you may think

Longform

When trying to trace your lineage in Japan, the "koseki" is the most important form of document you'll encounter.
Climbing the branches of a Japanese family tree
By Alex K.T. Martin

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Students ‘study abroad’ on island of Suo Oshima
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