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Gabriel Dominguez
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visits O Jin U Artillery Academy in the country on Friday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Sep 9, 2024
After U.S.-South Korea nuclear drills, North girds for ‘long-term’ faceoff
Pyongyang vows to take “practical measures” after accusing Washington and Seoul of deploying nuclear-capable assets to the region and staging drills.
U.K. Ambassador to Japan Julia Longbottom says the Indo-Pacific region offers a unique opportunity to not only tackle shared security concerns but also to generate new sources of economic growth.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 9, 2024
U.K. envoy to Japan pushes back on Indo-Pacific disengagement concerns
The region — and Japan — remain “critical" to Britain's interests, Ambassador Julia Longbottom told The Japan Times.
Japanese Defense Minister Minoru Kihara (left), Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong (center left), Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa (center right) and Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles gather for their two-plus-two meeting in Queenscliff, Australia, on Thursday.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Sep 5, 2024
Japan and Australia look to closer cooperation to deter China
The quasi-allies have committed to coordinate their national security policies “more closely than ever before.”
Tongan dancers performing a traditional dance at the closing ceremony of the 53rd Pacific Island Forum leaders' meeting in Nuku'alofa, Tonga, on Friday.  Taiwan said it signed a pact with the forum's secretariat on Friday that will see it continue its support for the strategically important region until 2027.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Sep 2, 2024
Taiwan staves off exclusion with Pacific island cooperation pact
The signing of the pact will see the self-ruled island continue its support for the Pacific islands until 2027.
Wang Yi, the director of the Communist Party's Central Foreign Affairs Commission Office (right), speaks before talks with White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan at Yanqi Lake in Beijing on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 29, 2024
U.S. and China agree to leaders’ call but keep talking past each other
Although the two sides agreed to a "leader-level call" in the coming weeks, disagreements on the most contentious issues suggest ties will remain rocky.
A China Coast Guard ship is seen from the Philippine Coast Guard vessel BRP Cabra during a supply mission to Sabina Shoal in disputed waters of the South China Sea on Monday.
ASIA PACIFIC / FOCUS
Aug 27, 2024
China-Philippine tensions center on new flash point: Sabina Shoal
Clashes between the countries’ vessels have become more frequent and intense as the two sides vie for control over the disputed South China Sea atoll.
Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto speaks during an interview with The Japan Times in Tokyo on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 26, 2024
Interoperability with Japan ‘crucial,’ Italian defense chief says
Engagement between the two partners is already paying dividends, including in terms of lessons for the future deployment of F-35Bs from MSDF carriers.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi embrace at the entrance of the Mariinskyi Palace ahead of their meeting in Kyiv on Friday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
Aug 24, 2024
After Russia, Modi visits Ukraine as he walks diplomatic tightrope
The Indian leader reiterated the need for “dialogue and diplomacy” to end the war, during talks in Kyiv with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The Italian Navy's aircraft carrier ITS Cavour at the Yokosuka naval base on Thursday. The 244-meter, 27,100-ton Italian flagship arrived at the base in Kanagawa Prefecture Thursday morning for a port call.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 22, 2024
Italy-Japan ties enter ‘new era’ amid deepening alignment, top envoy to Tokyo says
Underscoring this rapidly expanding partnership was the 244-meter, 27,100-ton flagship's visit to the Yokosuka naval base in Kanagawa Prefecture.
Defense Minister Minoru Kihara (left) and Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa (second from left) pose for a photo with Indian defense chief Rajnath Singh and External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar in New Delhi on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Aug 21, 2024
Japan and India to update key document on security cooperation
Tokyo is also looking to provide New Delhi with advanced naval antennas and exploring the possibility of repairing Japanese warships in India.
Berlin's growing military engagement with Indo-Pacific allies and partners is meant to signal that Germany "stands firmly at the side of those countries that are committed to complying with international law and do not accept it being called into  question," German Navy chief Vice Adm. Kaack told The Japan Times.
JAPAN
Aug 20, 2024
Sea lane fears drive German military's Asian engagement, navy chief says
Developments in the Indo-Pacific, both economic and geopolitical, have direct implications for the security and prosperity of Germany, Vice Adm. Jan Christian Kaack says.
Philippine Defense Minister Gilberto Teodoro (right) speaks during a joint press conference with German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius at a hotel in Makati, Metro Manila, Philippines, on Aug. 4.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Aug 14, 2024
Manila looks beyond Asia for defense support
Germany is the latest Western power to announce plans to deepen security ties with the Philippines amid Manila's escalating territorial disputes with China.
The U.S. Democratic vice presidential nominee, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, speaks at Temple University in Philadelphia on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Aug 7, 2024
Walz pick shines spotlight on U.S. VP's possible foreign policy role
Walz brings to the table a strong background on China issues as well as a number of foreign policy stances that line up with that of Harris.
U.S. President Joe Biden escorts Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to their trilateral summit at the White House in Washington in April.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Aug 6, 2024
As U.S. ‘minilateral’ diplomacy grows, Japan emerges as key actor
As geopolitical tensions in the region rise, the breakout of any conflict would put Tokyo on the front lines alongside Washington.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi attend a ceremony to decorate India's leader with the Order of St. Andrew the Apostle the First-Called following their talks at the Kremlin in Moscow on July 9.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
Jul 31, 2024
India emerges as player in bid to mediate end to Ukraine war
India has become more vocal in its calls for a negotiated solution, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi reportedly considering a visit to Kyiv in August.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin (left), U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken (second from left), Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo (second from right), and Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro pose for a photo ahead of the allies' "two-plus-two" meeting at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City, Metro Manila, on Tuesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
Jul 30, 2024
Philippines gets 'unprecedented' aid — and reassurances — during talks with U.S.
Manila will receive $500 million in security assistance, months before the U.S. votes in a contentious presidential election.
Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar (left) speaks with Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa (center left) as Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong (center right) is greeted by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken (right) after the four delivered remarks to the media after their "Quad" ministerial meeting at the Iikura Guest House in Tokyo on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 29, 2024
'Quad' top diplomats decry situation in South China Sea
The top diplomats from Japan, Australia, India and the U.S. also pledged to boost maritime security in the Indo-Pacific region.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin (left to right), U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa and Defense Minister Minoru Kihara prior their "two-plus-two" talks at the Iikura Guest House in Tokyo on Sunday
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Jul 28, 2024
In historic move, U.S. to upgrade military command structure in Japan
The move — one of the most significant in the alliance's history — comes as Washington and Tokyo overhaul military ties in the face of an increasingly assertive China.
South Korean Defense Minister Shin Won-sik (left to right), Defense Minister Minoru Kihara and U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin pose for a photo at the Defense Ministry Sunday.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Jul 28, 2024
U.S., Japan and South Korea ink deal to 'institutionalize' security ties
The move — just months before the U.S. presidential election — is seen as part of a bid to make the trilateral relationship more difficult to reverse.
A German Air Force Eurofighter jet takes off from Chitose Airbase in Hokkaido during Germany and Japan's first-ever bilateral fighter exercise, which ran from Monday to Thursday.
JAPAN
Jul 25, 2024
Japan and Germany elevate ties with first joint fighter exercise
Named Nippon Skies, the aerial maneuvers took place in the airspace around the Air Self-Defense Force’s Chitose Air Base in Hokkaido.

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A store clerk tries to cool things down in front of their shop by spraying a hose.
Is extreme weather changing the way Japan shops?