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Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the State Department in Washington on Tuesday
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 24, 2025

Japan's foreign minister vows to take ties with U.S. to new heights

The minister said he will work to take the two countries' cooperation to new heights by building a strong relationship of trust with the Trump administration.
A memorial stone listing the names of 183 people who lost their lives in the flooding accident at Chosei coal mine in the city of Ube in Yamaguchi Prefecture in 1942, photographed in December
JAPAN
Jan 27, 2025

Survey to begin at western Japan site of 1942 undersea mine accident

The remains of 136 people from the Korean Peninsula and 47 Japanese nationals still lie in the flooded Chosei coal mine in Ube.
Defense Minister Gen Nakatani speaks to reporters at the parliamentary building on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 31, 2025

Top U.S. and Japan defense officials agree to beef up military ties

The newly appointed U.S. Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, confirmed that the U.S.-Japan defense treaty covers the uninhabited Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea.
U.S. President Donald Trump delivers remarks during an 'Unleashing American Energy' event at the Department of Energy in Washington in June 2017.
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 31, 2025

Japan weighs Alaska LNG pipeline pledge to win Trump's favor

President Trump may raise the project when he meets Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba for the first time in Washington as soon as next week.
Tupolev Tu-95MS strategic bombers perform a flypast during the victory day parade in Moscow in June 2020.
JAPAN
Jan 31, 2025

Japan scrambles jets as Russian bombers fly over high seas

Russia reportedly announced that its long-range strategic bombers flew over international waters in the Sea of Japan and the Sea of Okhotsk.
The front page of The Japan Times on Feb. 21, 1925, carried news of clashes in the streets over the debate of extending voting rights to Japanese males over the age of 25.
JAPAN / History / Japan Times Gone By
Feb 1, 2025

Japan Times 1925: Tokyo factions ready to fight over manhood suffrage bill in Diet

Objections from the country's 1% came as Japan debated extending voting rights to all men over the age of 25.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba raised North Korea's past abduction of Japanese nationals during his first face-to-face meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House in Washington on Friday.
JAPAN
Feb 9, 2025

Head of abductees' families relieved over Japan-U.S. talks

Takuya Yokota, 56, is a brother of Megumi Yokota, who was abducted by North Korea in 1977 when she was just 13 years old.
U.S. President Donald Trump welcomes Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba at the White House in Washington on Friday. The two leaders expressed views opposing China's military actions in the South and East China seas.
JAPAN
Feb 10, 2025

China complains to Japan about 'negative' references in joint statement

According to a joint statement, the U.S. and Japanese leaders expressed views opposing China's military actions in the South and East China seas.
An unmanned Hamadori drone developed by Japanese company Space Entertainment Laboratory and equipped with various sensor options for surveys is displayed at the Japan Drone 2020 exhibition at Makuhari Messe in the city of Chiba in September 2020.
JAPAN
Feb 11, 2025

Japan exploring drone production capabilities for military aid program

Tokyo has begun asking local firms about their capabilities to determine which systems it could provide under the next tranche of security assistance in fiscal 2025 and beyond.
Japanese Ambassador to the Philippines Kazuya Endo (third from left) joins a tour of the BRP Melchora Aquino, the BRP Melchora Aquino, last May. The Philippine Coast Guard ship was provided to Manila under Japan's official development aid program.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 11, 2025

Japan exploring more defense transfers to Philippines, envoy says

As Tokyo revises its export guidelines to ease defense equipment transfers, the partners expect more security cooperation on the horizon.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 12, 2025

China removes buoy in Japan's EEZ near Senkakus amid warming ties

The buoy’s removal comes as Beijing looks to further improve relations with Tokyo — and drive a wedge between the U.S. and Japan.
Nancy Gordon, Australia's commissioner-general for the Osaka Expo, in Canberra <i>on Monday</i>
JAPAN
Feb 12, 2025

Australia aims to use Osaka Expo to work more with Japan on decarbonization

Canberra also aims to promote collaboration in the field of space technology, with its expo pavilion slated to hold an event with JAXA.
The Maritime Self-Defense Force's Mogami stealth frigate, of the class of the same name, takes part in an international fleet review to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the foundation of MSDF in Sagami Bay, south of Tokyo, in November 2022.
JAPAN
Feb 13, 2025

With eye on contract, Japan to send Mogami-class frigate to Australia for drills

The dispatch comes as Japan vies with Germany for a lucrative contract to build new frigates for Canberra.
Defense Minister Gen Nakatani holds a news conference at the Defense Ministry on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 13, 2025

Japan and U.S. defense chiefs to meet as early as March

The two top defense officials may together attend a Japan-U.S. joint memorial service on March 29 on the Pacific island of Ioto, also known as Iwo Jima.
Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya in Beppu, Oita Prefecture, on Feb. 1
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 14, 2025

Japan, China and South Korea planning foreign ministers' meeting on March 22

Japan and China are also considering holding a ministerial-level economic dialogue.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio (left) and Foreign Minister Iwaya Takeshi at the U.S. State Department in Washington on Jan. 21
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 14, 2025

Top Japan diplomat to hold first trilateral talks with U.S. and South Korea under Trump

The talks aim to highlight how they will continue to "unite and work together for regional peace and prosperity,” Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya said.
South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul (left), U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio (center) and Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya meet on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference in the German city on Saturday.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 16, 2025

Japan, U.S. and South Korea top diplomats reaffirm 'unshakeable' ties

The countries' top diplomats pledged to boost security and economic ties at their first meeting since Donald Trump's election, amid concerns over the relationship's durability.
Taliban representatives Abdul Latif Nazari (center) and Mutiul Haq Nabi Kheel (right) attend a meeting of international special representatives in Oslo in January 2022.
JAPAN
Feb 16, 2025

Taliban officials visit Japan

The Afghan delegation left Kabul in a visit that local media said would last one week.
A Taliban security personnel stands guard as Afghan men wait to receive winter aid packages in Kandahar in January.
JAPAN
Feb 19, 2025

Japan urges Taliban officials to cooperate with international society

The Taliban officials came to Japan at the invitation of the nonprofit Nippon Foundation.
A visitor feeds the deer at Nara Park in Nara on Jan. 27. The monthly number of foreign visitors to Japan hit a record high in January.
JAPAN
Feb 19, 2025

Monthly number of visitors to Japan hit record high in January

The number of inbound visitors is estimated to have risen 40.6% from a year before to 3,781,200, exceeding 3 million for the fourth consecutive month.
While upholding his "America First" policy and transactional diplomacy, U.S. President Donald Trump has been emphasizing the importance of the U.S.-Japan relationship since his first term, from 2017 to 2021.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 20, 2025

Marking 80th year since Battle of Iwo Jima, Trump touts U.S.-Japan alliance

The bloody battle fought on the Pacific island between February and March of 1945 claimed some 21,900 lives on the Japanese side and about 6,800 among American forces.
Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya attends the Group of 20 foreign ministers' meeting at the Nasrec Expo Center in Johannesburg on Thursday.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 21, 2025

At G20, Japan FM vows to continue support for Ukraine amid Trump tensions

The top diplomat reiterated the importance of standing up to Moscow, calling the war in Ukraine a “major challenge to the rule of law."
Ukrainian Ambassador to Japan Sergiy Korsunsky speaks during an interview at the Ukrainian Embassy in Tokyo on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 21, 2025

As Ukraine rift emerges, Kyiv's envoy says Japan must take on bigger global role

The remarks by Ukrainian Ambassador to Japan Sergiy Korsunsky came amid what appears to be a dramatic reversal in years of U.S. support for Ukraine since Russia's invasion.
U.S. Marines during training in Okinawa last month.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 22, 2025

U.S. Marines start to leave Japan, decades behind schedule

The U.S. base on Okinawa has relocated 105 Marines. But an agreement to move 9,000 in total is colliding with the perceived threat from a rising China.
Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro assists Defense Minister Gen Nakatani as he signs a guest book prior to their bilateral meeting at a hotel in Manila on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 24, 2025

Japan and Philippines to establish high-level defense gear framework

The two sides also agreed to establish a “strategic dialogue” between the Self-Defense Forces and the Philippine Armed Forces to deepen operational collaboration.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba addresses Group of Seven leaders during a teleconference from the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo late Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 25, 2025

Japan urges G7 to avoid 'wrong lessons' in Ukraine peace process

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has urged leaders to be careful in backing any Ukraine peace process that could validate the use of force to change borders.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa at a news conference following the Group of 20 foreign ministers' meeting in Johannesburg on Feb. 20
JAPAN / FOCUS
Feb 26, 2025

Japan's soft power may hold key to African development as U.S. cuts aid

Businesses linked to Japanese food and anime, for example, may play an important role in investments to Africa from Japan.
A rendering of a next-generation, high-speed landing craft for the Self-Defense Forces to be built by Japan Marine United and British-based maritime design and consultancy firm BMT
JAPAN
Feb 27, 2025

In rare move, Japan to jointly develop and design SDF landing craft with U.K.

Japan Marine United and Britain's BMT have secured a multimillion-dollar contract to build the next-generation, high-speed vessels for the SDF.
The latest "Captain America" movie depicts a conflict between the U.S. and Japan over a newly discovered element, but the premise seems implausible and likely reflects a late-stage decision to replace China with Japan to avoid alienating Chinese audiences.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 28, 2025

A U.S. war with Japan? Only in ‘Captain America.’

It’s clear that Japan must be a stand-in for China — possibly a late-stage replacement in a movie that became notorious for its multiple rewrites and reshoots.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba answers questions during a Lower House Budget Committee meeting at parliament on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 3, 2025

Ishiba says Japan won't take sides in U.S. row with Ukraine

The Japanese leader sought to strike a balance for Japan, the sole Asian G7 member, in its alliance with the U.S. and its longstanding support for Kyiv.

Longform

In 2020, 38% of all households were single-person. That figure is projected to rise to 44.3% by 2050.
The rise of AI companionship in a lonely Japan