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August 28, 2025
 

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Jesse Johnson
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / ANALYSIS
Apr 15, 2018
As Kim-Trump summit approaches, Syria strikes evoke memories of Gadhafi's gruesome fate for North Korea
Could the decision to strike Syrian targets after a recent chemical weapons attack impact the planned landmark summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un?
JAPAN
Apr 14, 2018
Chinese military aircraft flew over strategic waterway record number of times in fiscal 2017, Japan Defense Ministry says
Chinese military aircraft flew through a strategic waterway between Okinawa's main island and the island of Miyakojima a record 36 times in fiscal 2017, the Japanese Defense Ministry has announced, as China seeks to extend its reach further into the Western Pacific with what it calls "regular" exercises....
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Apr 13, 2018
Mike Pompeo optimistic on Kim-Trump summit, but ‘America first’ remarks likely to trigger concern in Tokyo and Seoul
U.S. Secretary of State-designate Mike Pompeo voiced cautious optimism in President Donald Trump's ability to negotiate a nuclear deal with Pyongyang, but also struck a tone on the issue that was likely to trigger concern in Tokyo and Seoul, during a Senate confirmation hearing Thursday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Apr 13, 2018
Xi shows off China's naval might with largest fleet review since 1949
Chinese President Xi Jinping has emphasized the "urgent" need to build a robust navy as he oversaw the country's largest naval fleet review since 1949, while the government announced live-fire military drills would take place in the Taiwan Strait next week.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 11, 2018
Former U.S. defense chief William Perry urges Trump to learn from past successes and failures on North Korea
As one of the key individuals who brought the United States and North Korea closer than ever before to a deal on Pyongyang's nuclear weapons, former U.S. defense chief William Perry has a lot to say about dealing with the regime of Kim Jong Un and a planned landmark summit with President Donald Trump...
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / ANALYSIS
Apr 11, 2018
North Korea and Trump's dangerous perception gap on denuclearization
Washington's acknowledgment this week that Pyongyang is ready to discuss the "denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula" may sound like a step toward ridding North Korea of its hard-won nuclear weapons, but experts and observers say such a move is extremely unlikely in the near-term and highlights a potentially...
ASIA PACIFIC
Apr 10, 2018
China defends military buildup in disputed South China Sea
Beijing defended its construction of what it called defensive facilities in the disputed South China Sea on Tuesday, saying the moves were not directed at any specific country, according to a Defense Ministry spokesman.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Apr 10, 2018
North Korea's Kim breaks silence on talks with U.S.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has made his first direct acknowledgment of the prospect of talks with the U.S., addressing the issue at a meeting of the ruling party's Politburo, state-run media reported Tuesday.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Apr 9, 2018
Holy smokes: South Korean envoy reportedly told Kim to kick cigarette habit
North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un, a notoriously heavy smoker, was advised by South Korean National Security Council chief Chung Eui-yong to quit smoking during their meeting early last month — an exchange that left Kim's onetime spy chief reportedly frozen in terror over how the supreme leader might...
Japan Times
WORLD
Apr 7, 2018
U.S. Homeland Security to compile database of journalists, bloggers and 'media influencers'
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is looking to create a searchable database of hundreds of thousands of news sources, journalists, bloggers and "media influencers" for the federal government, a move a DHS spokesman called "standard practice."
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / FOCUS
Apr 5, 2018
Only Pyongyang stands to gain from possible Kim-Trump summit: former U.S. envoy
Any summit between the leaders of North Korean and the U.S. — regardless of the outcome — is likely to be a big win for Pyongyang, according to the former top American diplomat for the Asia-Pacific region.
Japan Times
WORLD
Apr 4, 2018
Four presumed dead in U.S. Marine helicopter crash in Southern California
A U.S. Marine Corps CH-53E helicopter of the same type involved in two accidents in Okinawa Prefecture last year crashed Tuesday in California, leaving the entire crew of four presumed dead.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 3, 2018
Analysis disputes Japanese foreign minister's claim that North Korea is preparing fresh nuclear test
A leading North Korea-watching website has disputed Foreign Minister Taro Kono's reported remarks that Pyongyang is preparing to conduct a fresh nuclear test even as tensions on the Korean Peninsula ease ahead of a rare summit between the two Koreas.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / ANALYSIS
Apr 2, 2018
Kim Jong Un: statesman and all-around normal guy? Not quite
Kim Jong Un: statesman and all-around normal guy?
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / ANALYSIS
Mar 28, 2018
With historic meeting of leaders, North Korea and China shore up leverage as Kim-Trump talks loom
North Korea and China secured major diplomatic victories — and possibly more — this week with leader Kim Jong Un's visit to Beijing, a move that bolsters Pyongyang's leverage ahead of talks with Washington and returns Beijing to its role as a central player in the nuclear crisis roiling the Korean...
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Mar 28, 2018
Mystery no more: North Korea's Kim meets Xi, says he's 'willing' to talk with Trump
North Korea's young leader, Kim Jong Un, has made an unannounced visit to China at the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping, state media confirmed Wednesday, apparently saying for the first time just weeks before a possible meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump that he is "willing" to sit down...
ASIA PACIFIC
Mar 26, 2018
Chinese Air Force drills in South China Sea and Western Pacific, calls exercises 'rehearsals for future wars'
The Chinese Air Force has conducted a series of exercises in the contested South China Sea and the Western Pacific, where it sent fighter jets and bombers through Okinawa's Miyako Strait on Friday, labeling the exercises "rehearsals for future wars."
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Mar 24, 2018
China accuses U.S. of 'serious provocation' after American warship sails near man-made island in South China Sea
China's Defense Ministry has accused the U.S. of "serious political and military provocation" after the U.S. Navy conducted its first so-called freedom of navigation operation (FONOP) in the disputed South China Sea since January.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 22, 2018
China should prepare for 'direct military clash' over Taiwan amid U.S. moves: Chinese paper
A popular Chinese state-run newspaper has said China must prepare for "a direct military clash" over self-ruled Taiwan after a high-level U.S. official visited the island, angering Beijing.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 21, 2018
South Korea's Moon hints at possibility of three-way summit with North Korea and U.S.
South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Wednesday floated the possibility of a three-way summit involving the two Koreas and the United States in the wake of an North-South summit scheduled for next month and a possible meeting of U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un before the...
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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