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October 15, 2024
 

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Kathleen Benoza
A U.S. military helicopter made an emergency landing on a beach in Chigasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture, on Thursday.
JAPAN
Oct 10, 2024
U.S. helicopter makes emergency landing on Chigasaki beach
Around noon, a report was received through the fire department that a U.S. helicopter made a “precautionary landing” on a beach in the city.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba (center) ahead of an extraordinary Cabinet meeting at the Prime Minister's Office on Wednesday
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 9, 2024
Ishiba dissolves Lower House for snap election
The new prime minister has stressed the importance of winning a mandate from the public following his LDP leadership victory late last month.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has floated an idea of creating an Asian version of the NATO security framework.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Oct 8, 2024
Ishiba's 'Asian NATO' dead on arrival as new PM set for diplomatic debut
Many Asian countries maintain delicate ties with China, making the creation of any defense group aimed at countering Beijing's influence difficult.
A damaged road in Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, on Jan. 6, after a major earthquake struck the area on New Year's Day
ENVIRONMENT / Earth science / OUR PLANET
Oct 6, 2024
Important tool or alarmism? Japan experts split on megaquake advisories.
Supporters say the advisories are about reducing risk, but critics see a system that isn’t based on science and one in which the cons outweigh the pros.
Newly appointed Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya speaks during his first news conference as Japan's top diplomat at the Foreign Ministry in Tokyo on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 3, 2024
Japan's new top diplomat calls 'Asian NATO' an idea for the future
Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya hinted that such a grouping would be open to all countries and partners in the region — including rivals such as China.
Defense Minister Gen Nakatani, 66, has experience as the onetime head of Japan’s former Defense Agency before it became a full-fledged ministry and is seen as a pair of steady hands.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Oct 2, 2024
Ishiba looks to 'defense tribe' to fill key Cabinet positions
The new prime minister has named four former defense ministers to key posts — most notably, the defense and foreign affairs portfolios.
The deep-sea drilling vessel Chikyu is docked at the Port of Shimizu on Sept. 5 ahead of a 106-day expedition by researchers from the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Oct 2, 2024
Japan's deep-sea vessel digs for answers to 2011 earthquake
In a hundred-day expedition, scientists aboard the Chikyu aim to piece together the earthquake's story and assess the potential for another temblor to be triggered.
Shigeru Ishiba, newly elected leader of the Liberal Democratic Party, speaks at a news conference after winning the party's leadership election in Tokyo on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Sep 29, 2024
Ishiba's foreign policy vision to face immediate tests as he takes helm
The new Japanese leader will be greeted immediately with the challenge of reining in escalating regional tensions and building up the U.S. alliance.
Troops from the Ground Self-Defense Force take part in the 05JX military exercises on the island of Tokunoshima in Kagoshima Prefecture last November. While Japan's overall ranking in the 2024 Asia Power Index dropped, it scored improvements in the defense and security sphere.
JAPAN
Sep 23, 2024
Japan falls behind India to No. 4 in new Asia power survey
The 2024 Asia Power Index highlights shifting power dynamics in the region, with the U.S. still dominant but facing rising military pressure from China.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and U.S. President Joe Biden meet at Biden's home in Wilmington, Delaware, on Saturday.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 22, 2024
Biden and Kishida affirm strong ties ahead of leadership transition in both nations
The leaders agreed to "advance cooperation" on a range of security, economic and diplomatic issues as both leaders prepare to leave office.
A stranded car is seen on a mud-covered road following heavy rain in the city of Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, on Sunday.
JAPAN
Sep 22, 2024
Six dead and six more missing after 'unprecedented' rains in quake-hit Ishikawa
Authorities called for continued vigilance due to the risk of landslides and flooding in rivers and low-lying areas.
The street where a 10-year-old boy is said to have been stabbed with a knife, on Thursday in Shenzhen in southern China.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Sep 19, 2024
Japanese school student stabbed in Shenzhen dies
The assault echoes an earlier incident of violence in June, when a man attacked a bus used by a Japanese school in Suzhou, China.
Candidates for the Liberal Democratic Party presidential election take part in a debate in Tokyo on Saturday. On Monday evening, they took part in an online debate, during which they each made a case for what the top priority should be for Japan's next prime minister.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 17, 2024
LDP presidential hopefuls lay out priorities for PM in online debate
Regional revitalization, work-life balance and the clarification of the Self-Defense Forces' position in the Constitution count among candidates' top policy concerns.
Former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba, a candidate in the LDP presidential election, speaks during a televised debate in Tokyo on Saturday.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 15, 2024
LDP presidential front-runners Koizumi and Ishiba split on snap election
While the two front-runners vie to be Japan’s next prime minister, conservative firebrand Sanae Takaichi gains momentum in the polls.
A Japan Freight Railway train passes through a train station in Osaka in 2017. JR Freight on Thursday resumed operations for all of its freight trains after a temporary halt following the discovery of data tampering and other irregularities.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 12, 2024
JR Freight resumes train operations after discovery of data tampering
The freight operator had suspended operations on Wednesday to inspect container cars suspected to have been affected.
This handout photo from Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings taken in July shows a set of pipes used for removing radioactive debris from the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant in the town of Okuma, Fukushima Prefecture.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Sep 10, 2024
Tepco starts extracting radioactive fuel debris at Fukushima No. 1 plant
The move is a key step in the decommissioning of nuclear reactors crippled by a triple meltdown in the wake of the March 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake.
A screenshot taken from video footage shows a China Coast Guard ship colliding with the Philippine Coast Guard's BRP Teresa Magbanua near the Sabina Shoal in disputed waters of the South China Sea on Saturday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Sep 1, 2024
China comes under fire in latest South China Sea clash with Philippines
Japan and the U.S. have criticized China after a coast guard vessel repeatedly struck a Japanese-made Philippine Coast Guard ship in the waterway over the weekend.
Typhoon Shanshan is the sixth typhoon to form in August, with the Meteorological Agency forecasting strong winds and potentially severe weather for a broad swath of the country from Tuesday as it approaches.
JAPAN
Aug 25, 2024
Typhoon Shanshan set to become a 'very powerful' storm later this week
JR Central, JR West and JR East have all warned that the storm could prompt suspensions or significant delays for some shinkansen operations.
Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako attend a government-hosted national memorial service for World War II casualties at the the Nippon Budokan hall in Tokyo on Thursday.
JAPAN
Aug 15, 2024
Japan marks 79 years since World War II surrender
Events were held across Japan to honor the around 3.1 million people who died in the war.
High water levels in the Nagauchi River in the city of Kuji, Iwate Prefecture, on Monday　
JAPAN
Aug 12, 2024
Tohoku on alert as Tropical Storm Maria moves over region
Level 5 is the highest alert level, indicating a life-threatening situation and that residents should take immediate action to protect their lives.
Taiwan spots Chinese carrier as video says military 'prepared for battle'
Visitors hold their mobile phones in front of exhibits showing the Chinese Navy's first aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, during an exhibition on China's achievements marking the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China at the Beijing Exhibition Center, in September 2019.
Israeli envoy criticizes Japanese atomic survivor's Gaza comparison
The co-chair of the Nihon Hidankyo atomic bomb survivors' group, Toshiyuki Mimaki, who lived through the 1945 atomic bombing of Hiroshima, attends an online news conference from the city on Saturday.
Amid skepticism, CDP faces once-in-a-lifetime opportunity in Oct. 27 polls
Constitutional Democratic Party (CDP) leader Yoshihiko Noda speaks to reporters in Tokyo on Thursday.
Challenges remain six months to go before Osaka Expo
The Osaka Expo site under construction. The expo is scheduled to take place on Yumeshima, an artificial island, from April 13 through Oct. 13 of next year.
Rising sex tourism exposes loopholes in Japan's anti-prostitution law
While financial misfortunes during the COVID-19 pandemic may have driven some women to work the streets, others simply want more money to spend — or want to pay off their debts — at host clubs.
Nihon Hidankyo members hope surprise Nobel win cements nuclear taboo
Toshiko Hamanaka (left), the assistant secretary-general of Nihon Hidankyo, and the organization's co-chair, Terumi Tanaka, during a news conference in Tokyo on Saturday, the day after the group was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
Bank of Japan vows better messaging to avoid more market turmoil
The Bank of Japan's surprise rate increase on July 31 led to Japanese stocks plummeting into bear-market territory, with the benchmark 225-issue Nikkei average falling 12.4% on Aug. 5 alone.
Peter Barakan’s Live Magic! takes its final bow
Annual festival Peter Barakan’s Live Magic! was born a decade ago when Barakan (left) decided to create a platform to share his love of roots music, which he attributes to growing up in 1960s England.
Spate of sumo tour dropouts highlights need to rethink wrestlers' health
Shonannoumi hits the dirt at the hands of Kotozakura during a bout in Tokyo in May. Shonannoumi is among the many top wrestlers who have dropped out of this month's regional tour due to injury.
Japan pushes fossil fuel tech in Asia carbon neutrality initiative
Coal-fired power plants in Bataan, the Philippines, in June 2023. A third of the 158 agreements signed under the Japan-led Asia Zero Emission Community are linked to fossil fuel technologies, a recent study by a climate research group has found.

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