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Reader Mail
Mar 16, 2018

Pro-summit view is fatally flawed

In his March 13 commentary, "What critics of North Korea summit get wrong," Peter Van Buren adduces four errors on the part of those who criticize U.S. President Donald Trump's proposed summit with North Korea's Kim Jong Un. Sadly, each of his arguments is fatally flawed.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / TELLING LIVES
Feb 28, 2018

Florian Busch, the architect who floated the Tokyo 2020 Olympic stadium

Japan-based German architect warns that Tokyo risks squandering a historic chance to offer an ambitious, sustainable vision in 2020.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Feb 10, 2018

Trump picks U.S. Pacific Command chief Harry Harris to be ambassador to Australia

U.S. President Donald Trump has chosen Pacific Command chief Adm. Harry Harris — known for his strident views on China's military expansion and nuclear-armed North Korea — to be the United States' next ambassador to Australia.
Japan Times
CULTURE / TV & Streaming
Feb 8, 2018

'Ainori' teaches lessons in love ... and soft power

Netflix Japan's reboot of the reality show "Ainori" features plenty of drama — most of it interpersonal, but some geopolitical.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jan 22, 2018

Top Chinese newspaper says U.S. forcing China to accelerate South China Sea deployments

China's top newspaper, decrying Washington as a troublemaker, said on Monday that U.S. moves in the South China Sea like last week's so-called freedom of navigation operation will only cause Beijing to strengthen its deployments in the disputed waterway.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Markets
Jan 15, 2018

Mystery Twitter user 'Okasanman' has vast, and growing, following of Japan traders

On a day when billions in profits and losses would be determined by split-second trades, the salaried professionals of Japan's financial markets were glued to their news terminals. Another group was staring at the feed of an anonymous Twitter account.
ASIA PACIFIC
Dec 11, 2017

China's top paper blasts Australian media reports as racist, paranoid

Australian media reports on Chinese interference in Australia are racist and paranoid, China's top newspaper said Monday, stepping up a war of words over concerns in Australia about Chinese influence in the country.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 20, 2017

North Korea threatens to make Japan and U.S. bases 'disappear'

North Korea on Monday issued veiled threat of a nuclear strike on Japan, vowing to make the country "disappear at once" if Tokyo continues with what Pyongyang termed "war hysteria."
JAPAN
Nov 7, 2017

MSDF holds rare trilateral exercises with Indian and U.S. vessels in Sea of Japan

The Maritime Self-Defense Force has held three days of rare trilateral exercises with vessels from the Indian and U.S. navies, including the Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture-based USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier, the Defense Ministry said Tuesday.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Nov 5, 2017

After Trump begins Asia visit, North Korea warns him against making any 'reckless remarks'

Hours after U.S. President Donald Trump touched down in Japan on the first leg of his Asia tour on Sunday, North Korea warned him against making any "reckless remarks."
ASIA PACIFIC
Nov 3, 2017

North Korea dismisses as 'misinformation' Japanese report that scores died in nuclear test site accident

North Korea lashed out at Japan on Thursday, dismissing as "misinformation" a report earlier this week that more than 200 people were feared dead after a tunnel collapse at the North's main nuclear test site following the country's sixth atomic test in early September.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Nov 2, 2017

Xi says China hopes to promote ties with North Korea

Newly empowered Chinese President Xi Jinping has reached out to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in an apparent bid to promote stable ties with the isolated country days ahead of a visit to the region by U.S. President Donald Trump, the official Korean Central News Agency said Thursday.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 1, 2017

Xi's new power won't stop dissent

The Chinese president's choice to strengthen authoritarian rule rather than loosen it will prove to be a large error, for himself, his country and beyond.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Oct 16, 2017

Diplomacy with North Korea will continue 'until the first bomb drops,' Tillerson says

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said diplomatic efforts to rein in Pyongyang's nuclear weapons program "will continue until the first bomb drops," as the U.S. and South Korean navies kicked off a massive, five-day joint military exercise Monday in the waters surrounding North Korea.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Oct 14, 2017

North Korea renews threat to target Guam ahead of joint U.S.-South Korea military exercises

North Korea renewed its threat to the American Pacific territory of Guam on Friday as the U.S. and South Korean militaries geared up for 10 days of joint naval exercises set to kick off next week.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Oct 3, 2017

White House again rules out talks as North Korea threatens Japan with 'nuclear clouds'

The White House on Monday poured more cold water on potential talks with North Korea over its nuclear weapons program just days after U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Washington was in direct contact with leader Kim Jong Un's regime.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Sep 10, 2017

North Korean leader praises nuclear scientists, urges bolstered nuclear force

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has lauded the country's nuclear scientists and technicians behind its sixth nuclear test last week — purportedly of a hydrogen bomb — with a banquet and other events, urging them to continue their work building what state media on Sunday called "the strongest nuclear...
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Aug 30, 2017

White House considering Pacific Command chief Harry Harris for Australian ambassador post: report

Amid surging tensions in the Asia-Pacific region — including over Chinese moves in the East and South China seas and North Korea's nuclear program — the White House is reportedly considering naming the top U.S. military commander in the region to be ambassador to Australia.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Jun 3, 2017

Special counsel to probe ex-Trump aide Flynn's Turkey ties

Robert Mueller, the special counsel investigating possible ties between the Trump election campaign and Russia, is expanding his probe to assume control of a grand jury investigation into former national security adviser Michael Flynn, three sources said.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
May 22, 2017

Tanka help Japanese express emotions

Tanka are one of the oldest forms of poetry in the world with a 1,300-year history.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Apr 24, 2017

North Korea says it is ready to strike 'gross animal' U.S. aircraft carrier

North Korea said on Sunday it was ready to sink a U.S. aircraft carrier to demonstrate its military might, in the latest sign of rising tension as U.S. President Donald Trump prepared to call the leaders of China and Japan.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / JUST BE CAUSE
Mar 5, 2017

Government of Japan, survey thyself

Something landmark happened late last year. Japan's government undertook a nationwide survey of discrimination toward Japan's long-term non-Japanese (NJ) residents.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Feb 27, 2017

China's spat with Kim Jong Un highlights dilemma on North Korea

The rare public spat between China and North Korea illustrates the dilemma facing Beijing's leaders as they try to coax Kim Jong Un back to the negotiating table.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jan 11, 2017

China sends aircraft carrier into Taiwan Strait

Taiwan's Defense Ministry said Wednesday that China's only aircraft carrier had transited the Taiwan Strait amid soaring tensions between Beijing and Taipei.
ASIA PACIFIC
Oct 1, 2016

Chinese paper says U.S. and South Korea will 'pay the price' for deploying anti-missile system

The United States and South Korea will "pay the price" for their decision to deploy an advanced missile defense system, which will inevitably prompt a "counterattack," China's top newspaper said on Saturday.
Japan Times
JAPAN / ANALYSIS
Sep 18, 2016

Chinese state media blasts Japan over South China Sea 'patrols,' but experts see no change in policy

Chinese state media outlets have responded to news of potential joint U.S.-Japan operations in the disputed South China Sea with a spate of fiery editorials, but experts say Japan's announcement of increased engagement in the waters breaks little new ground.
ASIA PACIFIC
Aug 30, 2016

China wants to hold successful G-20 but suspects West may try to derail agenda

China is hoping to cement its standing as a global power when it hosts leaders from the world's biggest economies this weekend, but suspects the West and its allies will try to deny Beijing what it sees as its rightful place on the international stage.
JAPAN
Aug 15, 2016

Chinese newspaper slams Japan over reported Miyako missile plan

Chinese state-run media on Monday slammed a reported plan by Tokyo to develop a new land-to-sea missile and place it on remote southern islands, saying the move would make Japanese military sites there a "target" for Chinese forces.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 25, 2016

Hollywood takes its wisecracking hero seriously

The opening credits of "Deadpool" begin with the words "Some Douchebag's Film." Maybe it was because of this self-deprecation that overseas audiences found the film refreshing. Especially since in another recent superhero blockbuster, a billionaire vigilante pontificates on morality using the "one percent...
JAPAN
Apr 27, 2016

NHK chairman's order to follow government line on Kyushu nuclear reactors sparks outcry

Outspoken NHK Chairman Katsuto Momii has found himself once again mired in controversy after news leaked he gave instructions that the public broadcaster should stick to the official government line when reporting on the nuclear reactor situation in quake-hit Kyushu.

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