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The icebreaker CCGS Sir Wilfrid Laurier at the Port of Yokohama on Wednesday. The vessel arrived on Monday after conducting a series of patrols to detect and deter illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing in the northern Pacific, a region critical to implementing Canada’s overarching Indo-Pacific Strategy.
JAPAN
Oct 2, 2024

Canada marks expansion of coast guard cooperation with Japan port call

The move will set the stage for greater cooperation with partners in the region as Ottawa ramps up efforts to tackle illegal fishing in the Pacific, experts say.
Paul Watson speaks at a news conference on the sidelines of the U.N. climate summit in Paris in December 2015.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Oct 4, 2024

Japan says Paul Watson case 'nothing to do with whaling'

The co-founder of Sea Shepherd was arrested in Greenland in July on an arrest warrant issued by Japan.
Kuo Yu-jen, vice president of the Institute for National Policy Research, speaks in Taipei on Sept. 30.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 7, 2024

Taiwan welcomes Japan's security 'policy shift'

Of the Group of Seven major powers, Japan is the sixth country to have sailed through the Taiwan Strait.
A man receives a COVID-19 vaccine in Tokyo on Oct. 1. Experts say fears over the newly approved replicon vaccine are unwarranted.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Oct 7, 2024

Experts move to allay replicon COVID shot fears in Japan amid backlash

The health ministry and experts say concerns around "shedding" are unwarranted.
Gen Nakatani (center), who was named defense minister last week, attends an extraordinary session of the Lower House at parliament in Tokyo on Oct. 1.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 9, 2024

U.S. and Japan defense chiefs agree to beef up Nansei Islands presence

Two controversial proposals put by Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba — an Asian version of NATO or revising the U.S.-Japan Status of Forces Agreement — were not discussed.
Chinese residents living in Japan take part in a “white paper” protest in solidarity against China's COVID-19 lockdowns, in Tokyo in November 2022.
JAPAN
Oct 10, 2024

Chinese nationals in Japan testify to harassment by Beijing, report says

One man said Chinese police had used his relatives to try and lure him back to the country.
Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya asked his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi to provide a proper accounting of the facts in the stabbing death of a schoolboy in China last month during their telephone talks on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 10, 2024

Japan still pushing China for explanation over killing of schoolboy

Japan wants an explanation as soon as possible, Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya told his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi.
Defense Minister Gen Nakatani
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 20, 2024

Japan and U.S. defense chiefs voice 'sense of crisis' amid China military moves

Defense Minister Gen Nakatani and U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin also agreed to work toward bolstering their command-and-control frameworks.
The addition of an area in Pacific waters east of Chichijima in the Ogasawara Islands saw Japan's continental shelf expanded by 120,000 square kilometers in July.
JAPAN
Oct 27, 2024

Japan expands its continental shelf by 120,000 square kilometers

The expansion has sparked optimism for potential resource development.
Hokkaido Gov. Naomichi Suzuki helped mark the first seven decades of the America-Japan Society of Hokkaido on Sept. 19.
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Hokkaido
Oct 28, 2024

America-Japan Society of Hokkaido celebrates 70th anniversary

The society is poised for further growth, with more firms from the U.S. and elsewhere looking to set up shop in Hokkaido.
Limited to fall, "Saba Nouveau" is served with in-flight meals for first-class passengers of Japan Airlines domestic flights and sold at supermarkets in urban areas.
JAPAN
Oct 22, 2024

Mackerel from Norway boosting presence in Japan

130,000 to 140,000 tons of Norwegian mackerel is consumed in Japan annually, including imports via China and Vietnam.
Hugh Jeffrey, the Australian Department of Defence’s deputy secretary for strategy, policy and industry, says the next 18 to 24 months will see Tokyo and Canberra not only test and share new technologies and capabilities, it will also see increased military deployments to each other’s territories.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 29, 2024

Japan and Australia gear up for boosted defense tie-ups over next two years

In an interview, a senior Australian defense official spoke about cooperation in the industrial and technical fields in addition to military-to-military ties.
Defense Minister Gen Nakatani (right) shakes hands with European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell before their meeting at the Defense Ministry in Tokyo on Friday morning, ahead of the announcement of Japan and the EU's new defense and security partnership.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 1, 2024

Japan and EU launch defense and security tie-up amid mutual China concerns

The move is aimed at developing, deepening and strengthening cooperation and dialogue across all areas of security and defense, Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya says.
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and Kamala Harris, the Democratic candidate, face off in an election Tuesday that will have wide-ranging implications for Japan.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Nov 3, 2024

Status quo or disruption? Breaking down the U.S. election's impact on Japan

Regardless of who wins, Washington is likely to have limited bandwidth to change tack in a significant way with its most important Asian ally.
Royal Canadian Navy Commander Vice Adm. Angus Topshee inspects an honor guard with Maritime Self-Defense Force Chief of Staff Adm. Akira Saito during a meeting at the Defense Ministry in Tokyo on Friday.
JAPAN
Nov 4, 2024

Canada Navy chief sees more chances for multiservice exercises with Japan

Ottawa has been gradually boosting its military engagement with Asian partners since unveiling its Indo-Pacific Strategy in late 2022.
American voters in Tokyo gather at an election watch party, organized by Democrats Abroad Japan, at a British bar in Tokyo's Shimokitazawa district on Wednesday.
JAPAN
Nov 6, 2024

American voters in Japan reflect divisions in home country

Several Republican voters said they believed Trump’s leadership could address the problems they are most concerned about, such as illegal immigration.
European Union Ambassador to Japan Jean-Eric Paquet says the bloc's unprecedented security and defense partnership recently launched with Japan is a clear reflection of Brussels' moves to “enhance and fortify ties” with its Indo-Pacific partners.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 8, 2024

New EU-Japan partnership to take ties to ‘next level,’ envoy to Tokyo says

It will complement existing initiatives between Tokyo and individual European states and pave the way for broader, collective measures at the EU level in critical areas.
A Mogami frigate at the Maritime Self-Defense Force's Yokosuka Naval Base in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture
JAPAN
Nov 8, 2024

Australia’s next frigates to come from Japan or Germany

Should Japan win the contract to replace aging Anzac-class warships, it would mark a major breakthrough for the country’s defense industry.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump greets Sen. Marco Rubio during a campaign rally in Raleigh, North Carolina, on Nov. 4. Trump is expected to name Rubio, a loyalist who Trump passed over as his vice presidential running mate, as secretary of state.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 12, 2024

Trump diplomacy and security picks likely to anger China but reassure Japan

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump is expected to select Sen. Marco Rubio to be his secretary of state and Rep. Mike Waltz to be national security adviser.
Defense Minister Gen Nakatani speaks during a news conference at the Defense Ministry in Tokyo on Friday.
JAPAN
Nov 16, 2024

Japan defense chief says no decision yet on relocating U.S. military's command

A U.S. newspaper reported that U.S. Forces Japan is considering moving its command from its Yokota base in Tokyo's western suburbs to central Tokyo.
The aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan and the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force helicopter destroyer JS Hyuga sail in formation with 16 other ships from the U.S. Navy and the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force as aircraft from the U.S. Air Force and Japan Air Self-Defense Force fly overhead in formation during the Keen Sword exercise in the Philippine Sea on Nov. 8, 2018.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Nov 18, 2024

Japan, Australia and U.S. boost collective deterrence efforts amid China concerns

The coordination will see the Ground Self‑Defense Force take part regularly in annual amphibious training drills in Australia involving U.S. Marines.
Leaders of over 70 universities and research institutions from Japan and India attended a forum in New Delhi in mid-October.
JAPAN
Nov 19, 2024

Japan's public and private sectors seek workers from India

The number of technical trainees and what are known as specified skilled workers coming from India to Japan has been on the rise in recent years.
Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto in December 2023. Famous autumn leaf colors contributed to increased tourism demand last month from many markets across Asia, Europe and North America, the Japan National Tourism Organization has said.
JAPAN
Nov 20, 2024

Japan's 3.31 million visitors in October set monthly record

Travelers spent ¥5.86 trillion in Japan through September of this year, preliminary figures show, eclipsing the ¥5.3 trillion they spent in all of 2023.
U.S. 7th Fleet Commander Vice Adm. Fred Kacher speaks to reporters shortly after the arrival of aircraft carrier USS George Washington at Yokosuka naval base in Kanagawa Prefecture on Friday.
JAPAN
Nov 22, 2024

U.S. aircraft carrier returns to Japan carrying navy’s ‘most capable fighter’

USS George Washington was accompanied by a squadron of state-of-the-art F-35C Lightning II fighters.
Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya shakes hands with Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto at the signing of an Acquisition and Cross-Servicing Agreement between Japan and Italy in Rome on Monday.
JAPAN
Nov 25, 2024

Japan and Italy to share fuel and ammo under new logistics deal

The Acquisition and Cross-Servicing Agreement will also enable the rapid mobilization of aid in case of emergencies and natural disasters.
Akihisa Nagashima (center), a special adviser to Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, meets with U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell during a recent visit to Washington in this image posted to Campbell's X account.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 26, 2024

Key Ishiba adviser visits U.S. as Japan builds inroads to Trump camp

Akihisa Nagashima has held talks with Republican lawmakers and others close to President-elect Donald Trump.
A concept model of the Global Combat Air Program's fighter jet is displayed at the DSEI Japan defense show at Makuhari Messe in Chiba in March last year. Europe’s defense industry sees “very significant potential” to further deepen cooperation with Japanese firms in areas ranging from space tech to advanced electronics and unmanned weapons systems, a key lobbying group has said.
JAPAN
Nov 27, 2024

European defense industry sees ‘significant potential’ to work with Japan

The remarks by industry officials come after Tokyo and Brussels launched a new security and defense partnership earlier this month.
A Chinese J-16 fighter jet is seen during a joint patrol with Russian forces on Friday.
JAPAN
Nov 30, 2024

China and Russia conduct joint military air patrol near Japan

This was the eighth large-scale joint flight by military aircraft from the two countries near Japan and the first since December last year.
Chinese people's sentiment toward Japan is believed to be impacted by their use of social media platforms such as Weibo and Douyin, as well as whether they have visited Japan.
JAPAN / Society
Dec 3, 2024

Nearly 90% in Japan and China have negative views of other

The proportion of Japanese respondents who said they had a negative view of China stood at 89.0%, down 3.2 percentage points from a year before.
Activated on Wednesday, U.S. Space Forces Japan — a component similar to the one established at South Korea’s Osan Air Base in 2022 — will operate out of Yokota Air Base in the city of Fussa, western Tokyo, with a staff of about 10.
JAPAN / ANALYSIS
Dec 4, 2024

U.S. Space Force launches first unit in Japan

The move is part of an effort to boost coordination and interoperability with its ally, including the Air Self-Defense Force’s own Space Operations Group

Longform

The byzantine process for converting a foreign driver’s license into a Japanese one entails mountains of paperwork and significant stamina — unless you're a lucky license holder from a country or region where these requirements are waived.
Driving in Japan isn’t hard. Getting the license is.