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Jesse Johnson

Japan Times

JAPAN / Politics

Oct 24, 2017

U.S. to deploy powerful F-35A stealth fighters to Okinawa's Kadena Air Base as North Korean threat grows

The U.S. Air Force has announced that it will send its version of the advanced F-35 stealth fighter jet to Okinawa's Kadena Air Base next month in the first such deployment to the Asia-Pacific region.

Japan Times

JAPAN / Politics

Oct 23, 2017

North Korea blasts Japan for using election to 'pave groundwork' for invasion

North Korea on Monday blasted "Japanese reactionaries" for working to "pave the groundwork for a reinvasion of the Korean peninsula" after Sunday's Lower House election that saw Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's ruling bloc secure a sweeping victory.

Japan Times

JAPAN / Politics

Oct 17, 2017

Trump likely to meet families of abductees to North Korea on November visit to Japan

White House releases details of U.S. president's five-nation Asian tour, set to kick off in Japan on Nov. 5.

Japan Times

WORLD / Politics

Oct 16, 2017

Diplomacy with North Korea will continue 'until the first bomb drops,' Tillerson says

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said diplomatic efforts to rein in Pyongyang's nuclear weapons program "will continue until the first bomb drops," as the U.S. and South Korean navies kicked off a massive, five-day joint military exercise Monday in the waters surrounding North Korea.

Japan Times

CULTURE / Books

Oct 14, 2017

'Asia's Reckoning': Australian journalist sheds light on Asia's fraught and complex ties

Wittingly or otherwise, Japan, the United States and China — Asia's top powers — all have their guns simultaneously trained on each other, in what Australian journalist Richard McGregor likens to a geopolitical Mexican standoff in his new book, "Asia's Reckoning."

Japan Times

JAPAN

Oct 14, 2017

Japan scrambles fighter jets less in first half, but sees uptick in 'unusual' flights by China

Japan scrambled its fighter jets in response to aircraft approaching its airspace 561 times in the first half of fiscal 2017 through September — 33 fewer than last year's record-setting figure but still the second-highest total ever for the period, the Defense Ministry has said.

Japan Times

ASIA PACIFIC

Oct 14, 2017

North Korea renews threat to target Guam ahead of joint U.S.-South Korea military exercises

North Korea renewed its threat to the American Pacific territory of Guam on Friday as the U.S. and South Korean militaries geared up for 10 days of joint naval exercises set to kick off next week.

Japan Times

JAPAN

Oct 11, 2017

MSDF drills with U.S. aircraft carrier amid North Korea tensions

The USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier was conducting joint exercises with a Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyer in the waters near Okinawa on Wednesday, the two countries' militaries said, amid rising tensions with North Korea.

Japan Times

ASIA PACIFIC

Oct 11, 2017

U.S. flies powerful bombers over Korean Peninsula as Trump discusses 'range of options'

The U.S. sent powerful B-1B bombers from Guam for joint exercises with the South Korean Air Force over the Korean Peninsula late Tuesday as President Donald Trump gathered his top national security advisers to discuss "a range of options" for dealing with North Korea's nuclear ambitions.

Japan Times

ASIA PACIFIC / ANALYSIS

Oct 8, 2017

Bluster or legit threat? Trump remarks show North Korea military option on U.S. leader's mind

Bluster or legitimate threat, U.S. President Donald Trump's latest castigation of North Korea has again left observers wondering if the leader will greenlight some kind of military action against the country in a bid to halt its seemingly inexorable march toward a credible nuclear strike capability....

Japan Times

ASIA PACIFIC

Oct 3, 2017

White House again rules out talks as North Korea threatens Japan with 'nuclear clouds'

The White House on Monday poured more cold water on potential talks with North Korea over its nuclear weapons program just days after U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Washington was in direct contact with leader Kim Jong Un's regime.

Japan Times

ASIA PACIFIC / ANALYSIS

Oct 2, 2017

Trump dismissal of U.S.-North Korea talks has some fearful of what comes next

After his curt dismissal over Twitter of talks with North Korea, U.S. President Donald Trump has left many wondering — and some fearing — what his next move against the nuclear-armed nation will be.

Japan Times

ASIA PACIFIC

Sep 26, 2017

North Korea says U.S. has 'declared war,' warns it may shoot down warplanes as risk of miscalculation grows

North Korea's foreign minister said Monday that the U.S. had "declared war" on the isolated nation, pinning the blame on President Donald Trump's incendiary words days earlier while also threatening to shoot down U.S. bombers — even if they are not in the country's airspace.

Japan Times

ASIA PACIFIC

Sep 24, 2017

North Korea foreign minister warns of 'pre-emptive action' as U.S. bombers fly off Korean Peninsula

In a fiery speech before world leaders at the U.N. on Saturday, North Korea's foreign minister vowed the country will take "merciless pre-emptive action" if it detects U.S. or allied military action against it.

Japan Times

JAPAN

Sep 22, 2017

U.S., Japanese carriers conduct drills amid soaring North Korea tensions

The Maritime Self-Defense Force conducted exercises with the U.S. Navy on Friday amid North Korea's continued nuclear and missile tests, the Defense Ministry said in a statement.

Japan Times

JAPAN / Politics

Sep 22, 2017

Kim directly warns Trump as North Korean foreign minister says response may include Pacific H-bomb test

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un calls U.S. President Donald Trump “mentally deranged” and vows to make him “pay dearly” for threatening the total destruction of his country.

Japan Times

JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS

Sep 20, 2017

Trump's fire and brimstone U.N. speech hands Abe a win on North Korea, but will victory be pyrrhic?

Experts warn that Trump's threat could reinforce Pyongyang's belief that nuclear weapons remain the sole means of securing the regime's safety.

Japan Times

ASIA PACIFIC

Sep 20, 2017

In first U.N. speech, Trump threatens total destruction of North Korea

U.S. President Donald Trump warned on Tuesday that the United States will be forced to "totally destroy" North Korea unless it halts its pursuit of nuclear weapons, mocking the isolated country's dictator, Kim Jong Un, as a "rocket man" on a suicide mission.

Japan Times

WORLD

Sep 19, 2017

Mattis hints at U.S. military options, says no need to shoot down North Korean missiles yet

U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis hinted Monday that Washington retained military options against nuclear-armed North Korea that he said would not leave Seoul at risk of devastating retaliatory strikes.

Japan Times

ASIA PACIFIC

Sep 18, 2017

U.S. sends powerful bombers, fighters over Korean Peninsula in 'show of force'

The U.S. military sent four of its most advanced stealth fighter jets, along with two heavy bombers, for joint drills with Japanese and South Korean warplanes near Japan and over the Korean Peninsula on Monday in a "show of force" after North Korea's missile launch over Hokkaido three days earlier.

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.

Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Visitors walk past Sou Fujimoto's Grand Ring, which has been recognized as the largest wooden structure in the world.

Can a World Expo still matter? Japan is about to find out.

By Tomoko Otake

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Tsukuba massif granite, one of the world’s few heritage stones

Tsukuba massif granite, one of the world’s few heritage stones

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