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April 23, 2024
 

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Ben Blanchard
For Ben Blanchard's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
A demonstrator holds flags of Taiwan and the United States in support of Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen during an stopover after her visit to Latin America, in Burlingame, California, in January 2017.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Apr 4, 2024
'Staunch friend' of Taiwan to become top U.S. envoy in Taipei: sources
Sources have said that Raymond Greene, currently deputy chief of mission at the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo, will take on the role.
Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen and Taiwan Navy chief Tang Hua attend the delivery ceremony of six made-in-Taiwan Tuo Chiang-class corvettes at a port in Yilan, Taiwan, on Tuesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 30, 2024
Taiwan's navy chief to visit U.S. next week, sources say
Tang Hua will visit the United States from next week to attend a military ceremony and discuss how to boost bilateral naval cooperation.
Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen visits army bases ahead of the Lunar New Year in Hsinchu, Taiwan, on Feb. 6.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 21, 2024
Citing safety risk, Taiwan president skips South China Sea visit
The official said the South China Sea had been highly militarized, and that the trip may cause international controversy.
Taiwan President-elect Lai Ching-te speaks at a meeting at the presidential palace in Taipei on Feb. 22.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 1, 2024
Taiwan faces steady 'drip' of pressure as China tightens pre-inauguration squeeze
Officials in Taipei fear Beijing could further squeeze the island's room to maneuver without resorting to direct conflict.
Taiwan's coast guard said it would continue to use radar, surveillance and patrols to ensure the "harmony and safety" of the waters near the Taiwan-controlled Kinmen islands, which are close to China's shores.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Feb 21, 2024
Taiwan drives away Chinese coast guard boat as tensions rise
The Chinese coast guard vessel had entered Taiwan's waters near Kinmen a day after officers from the agency boarded a Taiwanese tourist boat.
China announced on Sunday that its coast guard would begin regular patrols and set up law enforcement activity around the Taiwan-controlled islands of Kinmen.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Feb 20, 2024
China coast guard 'triggers panic' by boarding Taiwanese tour boat
A Taipei minister said such vessels — both Chinese and Taiwanese — were not illegal and that they commonly enter the other side's waters by accident.
A Chinese warship takes part in a military drill across from the Taiwan-controlled Matsu Islands in April 2023. The Taiwanese defense ministry reported the presence of 24 Chinese air force planes carrying out "joint combat readiness patrols" with Chinese warships near the island on Wednesday
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jan 18, 2024
Taiwan reports first major Chinese military activity after polls
Warplanes and warships carried out "joint combat readiness patrols" near the island on Wednesday, the Taiwanese defense ministry said.
An empty flag pole where Nauru's flag used to fly at the Diplomatic Quarter, which houses embassies in Taipei, on Monday
WORLD / Politics
Jan 16, 2024
U.S. decries Nauru dropping Taiwan and warns on China's promises
U.S. officials have previously expressed concern at China whittling away at Taiwan's allies, especially in Central America.
Supporters hoist a giant Taiwan national flag during a campaign rally for Kuomintang ahead of Taiwan's presidential election, in Taipei on Saturday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 27, 2023
Whisky and a coal 'shack': Taiwan election is not only about China
The candidates are exchanging blows over everything from property disputes to whether drinking whiskey is out of touch.
Taiwan's vice president and the ruling Democratic Progressive Party's presidential candidate Lai Ching-te. China has rebuked Lai as a dangerous separatist.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 21, 2023
To China, all candidates are separatists, says Taiwan front-runner
The Jan. 13 presidential and parliamentary elections will define Chinese-claimed Taiwan's ties with Beijing.
Wang Chih-chuan, 93, a Korean war prisoner who came to Taiwan and eventually fought in Kinmen, joined the Chinese army when he was 13, which he said was a result of press-ganging.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 14, 2023
Taiwan's last generation to fight China
Veterans' vivid memories of war make them more likely to cling to their Chinese identity to avert another conflict, unlike most of Taiwanese society.
Lai Ching-te (left), Taiwanese presidential candidate from the Democratic Progressive Party, introduces Hsiao Bi-khim (right), former Taiwan representative to the United States, as his running mate in the 2024 election, during a news conference at Lai's campaign headquarters in Taipei on Monday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Nov 21, 2023
Taiwan poll about whether to embrace China or not, front-runner says
Taiwan has to choose whether the island keeps moving forward on the road to democracy or "walks into the embrace of China," Lai Ching-te said.
Taipei Economic and Cultural Office representative Hsiao Bi-khim waits to be introduced during the opening ceremony of the first ever Taiwan Expo in Washington on Oct. 12, 2022.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Nov 16, 2023
Taiwan presidential frontrunner taps U.S. envoy as running mate
Born in Japan to a Taiwanese father and American mother, Hsiao Bi-khim has been Taiwan's de facto ambassador to the U.S. since 2020.
Kuomintang head Eric Chu, Hou Yu-ih, the party's presidential candidate, former Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou and the People’s Party chief Ko Wen-je posing for a group photo in Taipei on Wednesday. The two parties have agreed to team up to take on the ruling Democratic Progressive Party in the January election.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Nov 15, 2023
Taiwan opposition unite to challenge presidential front-runner
The island's two main opposition parties have vowed to renew talks with China even as the ruling party decries interference from Beijing.
Taiwan Vice President and presidential candidate Lai Ching-te
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Oct 24, 2023
Taiwan presidential front-runner assails China's Foxconn probe
The major Apple supplier is facing a tax probe in China, two sources close to the company said Monday, confirming a report in Chinese state-run media.
Chinese aircraft carrier Shandong (left) while being monitored by a Taiwanese Keelung class warship (right) at sea. Taiwan said on Wednesday that it had detected numerous Chinese warplanes around the island.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Sep 13, 2023
Taiwan reports 28 Chinese air force planes in its air defense zone
Taipei said that war planes, including J-10 fighters, had flown into the southwestern corner of the island's air defense identification zone, or ADIZ.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech
Jul 11, 2023
Foxconn exits $19.5 billion venture with Vedanta to build chip plant in India
The world's largest contract electronics manufacturer signed a pact with its Indian partner last year to set up semiconductor and display production plants in the state of Gujarat.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jul 4, 2023
China buzzes Taiwan's median line as Taipei officials caution against alarm
Taiwan, which China claims as its own territory despite the island's strong objections, has over the past three years reported almost daily missions by Chinese military aircraft nearby.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jun 9, 2023
Taiwanese foreign minister to make trip to Europe next week, sources say
Central and Eastern European countries have been particularly keen to show support for Taiwan — especially following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Apr 12, 2023
Trip shows Taiwan determined to safeguard freedom and democracy, Tsai says
'Faced with continued authoritarian expansionism, it is even more critical for democracies to actively unite,' she said.
Japan’s cannabis market growing rapidly amid regulatory shift
The legality of products that contain cannabinoids, a group of substances derived from the cannabis plant, has been somewhat murky in Japan.
Philippines wants U.S. and Japan to take over rail deal eyed by China
Delfin Lorenzana
'Sugar Baby Riri' gets nine-year prison term over romance scam
Mai Watanabe, who went by the moniker “Sugar Baby Riri,” dated older men and swindled them out of money by telling them fictitious heartbreaking stories about herself to gain their sympathy.
At least one dead, seven missing after two MSDF helicopters crash off Izu Islands
Contact was lost with the two SH-60K helicopters, each carrying four crew, in an area east of Torishima in the Izu Island chain during anti-submarine warfare training Saturday night.
Tokyo Rainbow Pride lights up capital as organizers celebrate 30 years
Rainbow flags were flown through the capital's busy Shibuya and Harajuku areas for Tokyo Rainbow Pride events this weekend as organizers hailed 30 years of one of Asia's largest LGBTQ celebrations.
'Sugar Baby Riri' gets nine-year prison term over romance scam
Mai Watanabe, who went by the moniker “Sugar Baby Riri,” dated older men and swindled them out of money by telling them fictitious heartbreaking stories about herself to gain their sympathy.
A craft beer crawl through Tokyo’s top bars, brewpubs and dives
If all you drink is Asahi, Sapporo and Kirin, you're depriving yourself of some of the best craft beer Tokyo has to offer — and there sure is a lot of it out there.
Tsukiji 2030s: A stadium, culinary center and transportation hub
A computer-generated image shows redevelopment plans for the former site of the Tsukiji fish market in Tokyo.
Hearing the impact of climate change in Okinawa, one bird call at a time
Toshihiro Kinjo (center), a research support technician at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology, inspects an audio recording device in Ginowan, Okinawa Prefecture, on April 3 as Masako Ogasawara, a research support specialist at OIST, looks on.
Japan’s cannabis market growing rapidly amid regulatory shift
The legality of products that contain cannabinoids, a group of substances derived from the cannabis plant, has been somewhat murky in Japan.

Podcast

From easily navigable train stations to the helpfulness of its municipal staff, Tokyo has earned high praise for its commitment to accessibility for disabled travelers.
[Rebroadcast] Japan is doing better on accessibility than you may think

Longform

Later this month, author Shogo Imamura will open Honmaru, a bookstore that allows other businesses to rent its shelves. It's part of a wave of ideas Japanese booksellers are trying to compete with online spaces.
The story isn't over for Japan's bookstores
By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Vol. 34: Tokyo, a vanguard city for sustainability
Vol. 34: Tokyo, a vanguard city for sustainability

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