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Japan Times

ASIA PACIFIC

Jan 20, 2016

Vietnam warns China over oil rig in disputed waters

Vietnam warned China on Tuesday against drilling in disputed waters in the South China Sea after Beijing steered an oil rig that was the subject of a previous standoff into an area where jurisdiction is unclear.

Japan Times

ASIA PACIFIC

Jan 20, 2016

North Korea nuclear test did not increase its technical capability, U.S. military says

North Korea's Jan. 6 nuclear test did not expand its technical capability, but the U.S. government is keeping a close eye on Pyongyang's efforts to develop a thermonuclear warhead capable of reaching the United States, the head of the U.S. Missile Defense Agency said Tuesday.

ASIA PACIFIC

Jan 19, 2016

Beijing says Manila exaggerating tensions with aircraft claim

China accused the Philippines on Tuesday of deliberately trying to scare people by saying China had warned a small civilian plane carrying Philippine officials it was trespassing as they inspected an island in the disputed South China Sea.

Japan Times

ASIA PACIFIC

Jan 19, 2016

North Korean propaganda drops into defector's yard in South

The irony wasn't lost on Lee Min Bok when he spotted propaganda leaflets fluttering down in front of his home just south of the border dividing the Korean peninsula: it was airborne pamphlets flown the other way that convinced him to defect from the north more than two decades ago.

Japan Times

ASIA PACIFIC

Jan 19, 2016

Nuclear test seen as move to boost Kim's legitimacy as Pyongyang readies for rare party congress

By Ju-min Park and James Pearson

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's recent nuclear weapon test was designed to boost his domestic legitimacy ahead of a rare ruling party conference in May that could formalize market-based economic experiments in the isolated country, analysts say.

ASIA PACIFIC / Society

Jan 19, 2016

Radicals seen easily spreading jihadi word in Indonesia's poorly run prisons

Afif was an inmate in a high-security Indonesian jail when he transformed from aspiring radical Islamist to soldier for Islamic State, ready to sacrifice his life for a group based thousands of miles away in the Middle East.

Japan Times

ASIA PACIFIC / Politics

Jan 18, 2016

K-pop agency says did not force Taiwan star to apologize over flag incident

A South Korean entertainment agency behind a 16-year-old singer who triggered a fresh rift between China and Taiwan by holding a Taiwan flag said Monday it did not force her to apologize.

Japan Times

ASIA PACIFIC

Jan 18, 2016

As Xi heads into Middle East feud, China says aims for balance

China intends to retain a balanced stance in the Middle East, a senior Chinese diplomat said on Monday, as President Xi Jinping prepared to leave on an unusual visit this week to Saudi Arabia and Iran, regional powers currently locked in a bitter dispute.

Japan Times

ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal

Jan 18, 2016

Indonesia's Jokowi under pressure to revamp terrorism laws following Jakarta attack

The first Islamic State-linked attack on the world's most populous Muslim nation puts more pressure on Indonesian President Joko Widodo to give the military a bigger role and add legal heft to anti-terrorism efforts.

ASIA PACIFIC / ANALYSIS

Jan 18, 2016

South China Sea? For Beijing, Taiwan is the No. 1 security issue

By Ben Blanchard

For China, whose President Xi Jinping is already taking an increasingly muscular approach to claims in the East and South China seas, the question of Taiwan trumps any other of its territorial assertions in terms of sensitivity and importance.

Japan Times

ASIA PACIFIC / Society

Jan 18, 2016

Promise of clever children in year of monkey may boost births in China

Those born in the year of the monkey are said to be crafty, clever and charming. That has spurred some couples in China to delay parenthood until the less-auspicious sheep year ends — a balm for companies offering fertility products and obstetric services.

ASIA PACIFIC

Jan 18, 2016

Vietnam to pick new leaders as nation balances ties with China, U.S.

When Vietnam starts the process of picking its new leadership this month, the Communist Party is set for a tense behind-the-scenes debate: Opt for officials who want to preserve ties with neighbor China, or for those who would steer the country closer to the United States.

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

Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

A sinkhole in Yashio, which emerged in January, was triggered by a ruptured, aging sewer pipe. Authorities worry that similar sections of infrastructure across the country are also at risk of corrosion.

That sinking feeling: Japan’s aging sewers are an infrastructure time bomb

By Alex K.T. Martin

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