Jesse Johnson - The Japan Times

August 28, 2025

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Jesse Johnson

JAPAN

Jul 29, 2017

Ability to strike more of U.S. feared as North Korean ICBM test splashes down off Hokkaido

North Korea's latest missile test confirms the hermit state now has the capability to strike most of the United States with a nuclear missile of some sort.

Japan Times

ASIA PACIFIC

Jul 25, 2017

North Korea threatens U.S. with 'nuclear hammer' after CIA chief appears to hint at regime change

North Korea vowed Tuesday to strike the U.S. with a "powerful nuclear hammer" after CIA chief Mike Pompeo hinted last week that Washington was open to the possibility of regime change.

Japan Times

ASIA PACIFIC

Jul 24, 2017

Chinese fighter jets intercept U.S. spy plane in latest close encounter between two militaries

Two Chinese J-10 fighter jets have intercepted a U.S. Navy surveillance plane in an "unsafe" and "unprofessional" manner in international airspace over the East China Sea, the Pentagon said Monday, in the latest such incident involving the two militaries.

Japan Times

ASIA PACIFIC

Jul 23, 2017

China opens movie theater on disputed island in South China Sea

Chinese soldiers and residents on one the islands the country controls in the contested South China Sea can now visit the cinema after the first movie theater in the strategic waterway opened its doors Saturday, according to state media.

Japan Times

ASIA PACIFIC

Jul 22, 2017

Australia spots Chinese spy ship near joint military exercises

The Australian Defence Department confirmed reports Saturday that a Chinese spy ship has been operating off the country's northeast coast in the vicinity of joint military exercises involving Australian, U.S., Japanese and other troops.

Japan Times

ASIA PACIFIC

Jul 22, 2017

U.S. to ban Americans from traveling to North Korea after Warmbier death

The United States will ban Americans from traveling to North Korea in the coming weeks due to the "serious risk of arrest and long-term detention," the U.S. State Department said Friday, a month after U.S. college student Otto Warmbier died following his imprisonment by the isolated nation.

ASIA PACIFIC

Jul 16, 2017

Chinese Air force conducts 'several' long-range drills near Japan as military tells Tokyo to 'get used to it'

China's air force said Saturday that its warplanes had conducted long-range drills over the Bashi Channel and the Miyako Strait "several times" over the past week, just a day after the country's Defense Ministry told Japan that it should "get used to" the military exercises.

Japan Times

ASIA PACIFIC

Jul 12, 2017

U.S. THAAD test hits intermediate-range target missile for first time

The United States on Tuesday announced a successful test of its Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) anti-missile system against an intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) over the Pacific Ocean in a demonstration likely aimed at reassuring Asian allies nervous about surging tensions with...

Japan Times

ASIA PACIFIC

Jul 11, 2017

North Korean ICBM 'likely' to be able to strike San Diego within two years, analysis says

North Korea's new long-range ballistic missile will "likely" be able to strike targets on the U.S. West Coast — including San Diego — with a 500-kilogram nuclear warhead in the next one to two years, the U.S.-based monitoring group has said in an analysis.

Japan Times

ASIA PACIFIC / Politics

Jul 10, 2017

China says U.S. has apologized for mistakenly labeling Xi president of Taiwan

The United States has apologized for mistakenly identifying Chinese President Xi Jinping as the leader of Taiwan in a statement, China's Foreign Ministry said Monday.

Japan Times

ASIA PACIFIC

Jul 8, 2017

Bombers buzz Korean Peninsula as U.S. says it is 'ready to unleash full lethal capability of allied air forces'

The U.S. sent two B-1B bombers from Guam to buzz the Korean Peninsula following the isolated nation's test this week of an intercontinental ballistic missile that analysts say is capable of striking Alaska.

Japan Times

ASIA PACIFIC

Jul 8, 2017

U.S. bombers challenge Beijing with South China Sea flyover

The U.S. has flown two B-1B bombers over the South China Sea, the air force said Friday, part of operations intended to demonstrate Washington's commitment to freedom of navigation in the contested waters and airspace.

Japan Times

ASIA PACIFIC

Jul 6, 2017

U.S. ready to use military force against North Korea if necessary, says diplomatic window is closing

The United States has said it would resort to using military force, if necessary, to defend itself and its allies — including Japan — against North Korea's increasingly threatening nuclear and missile programs.

Japan Times

ASIA PACIFIC

Jul 5, 2017

Commander of U.S. forces in South Korea says 'self-restraint' only thing preventing war against North

In a stark warning to North Korea after its successful test of a long-range missile, the top U.S. military commander in South Korea insinuated Wednesday that Seoul and Washington were willing to go to war if provoked.

Japan Times

ASIA PACIFIC / Politics

Jul 5, 2017

North Korea ICBM poses 'global threat' as Japan, allies weigh options

North Korea's new intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) represents "a new escalation of the threat to the United States," Japan and South Korea, the U.S. said, as dictator Kim Jong Un pledged not to give up his isolated country's burgeoning nuclear weapons capabilities while continuing to dole out...

Japan Times

JAPAN / Politics

Jul 4, 2017

North Korean claim of successful ICBM test likely to raise alarm in Tokyo — and Anchorage

North says it “can strike any place in the world” after missile fired on u2018lofted' trajectory splashes down in Sea of Japan

Japan Times

ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS

Jul 3, 2017

Beijing lambastes U.S. warship patrol in South China Sea as tensions rise over waterway, North Korea

Beijing issued a scathing rebuke Monday of a U.S. warship's patrol a day earlier near a contested island occupied by Chinese troops in the South China Sea — the latest irritant in the two powers' increasingly fraught relationship.

Japan Times

JAPAN / Politics

Jul 3, 2017

Abe, Trump agree to step up pressure on North Korea as it heads down 'dangerous path'

The leaders of Japan and the United States agreed in telephone talks Monday on the need to heap more pressure on nuclear-armed North Korea as it heads down what the White House termed a "dangerous path."

Japan Times

ASIA PACIFIC

Jul 3, 2017

U.S. warship sails near Chinese-occupied island in disputed South China Sea, angering Beijing

The Pentagon sent a warship near a disputed island in the South China Sea occupied by China on Sunday, U.S. defense officials told The Japan Times, following a series of moves that appeared to highlight the White House's growing frustration with Beijing.

Japan Times

ASIA PACIFIC

Jul 2, 2017

Taiwan scrambles jets as Chinese aircraft carrier passes through strait en route to Hong Kong

Taiwan scrambled military jets Sunday as China's first aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, passed through the 180-km-wide strait separating the two rivals while en route to Hong Kong to mark the 20th anniversary of the former British colony's return to Beijing.

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

Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

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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