Japan-Russia visa-free program to be put off amid coronavirus scare
The start of this year's visa-free exchange program between Japan and Russia is set to be postponed amid the coronavirus crisis, Japanese government sources said Thursday. The Russian side is concerned that the new coronavirus could be brought to Russian-held northwestern Pacific islands covered by ...
Japan education ministry wraps up screening textbooks under new guidelines
The education ministry said Tuesday it had completed its first screening of new textbooks under revised teaching guidelines that are planned to be fully implemented from April 2021, approving 106 textbooks in 10 subjects. The average number of pages for a batch of textbooks approved ...
Japan presses claim to disputed South Korean-held islets at annual event
As bilateral tensions linger over wartime issues, Japan presses its claim to Takeshima, a tiny pair of South Korea-held islets, during an annual ceremony held in Shimane Prefecture.
Japan's Motegi meets Russia's Lavrov and offers steps to solve island row
Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi has proposed "concrete steps" to Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, to resolve a long-standing territorial dispute, the minister has said. Motegi did not say what the steps were, but told reporters he invited Lavrov to visit Japan soon to continue negotiations aimed ...
Abe vows at disputed-isles rally to push talks on signing peace treaty with Russia
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has decided to visit Moscow in May to attend a ceremony marking the 75th anniversary of Russia's victory over Germany in World War II and to hold talks with President Vladimir Putin, a Japanese government source said Friday. Japan and Russia ...
The coronavirus outbreak has stoked a wave of anti-China sentiment around the globe, from shops barring entry to Chinese tourists, online vitriol mocking the country's exotic meat trade and surprise health checks on foreign workers. The virus, which originated in China, has spread to more ...
Russia slams Japan's National Museum of Territory and Sovereignty
The Russian Foreign Ministry on Tuesday criticized exhibits displayed at Japan's National Museum of Territory and Sovereignty, which reopened last week. Summoning a representative from the Japanese Embassy in Moscow, Russia conveyed the criticism about the exhibition of items related to four Russian-held islands off ...
U.S. Navy sails warship near disputed islands in South China Sea for first time in 2020
The U.S. Navy said Tuesday that it had sailed a warship near the contested Spratly Islands in the South China Sea — home to fortified islands built by China — on Saturday, in what was believed to be its first freedom of navigation operation ...
Japan rejects South Korean protest over reopened national territory museum
The Japanese government rejected on Tuesday a protest by South Korea against the reopening of the National Museum of Territory and Sovereignty in Tokyo. "Foreign people unhappy about it should come to see it. There's nothing fabricated," said Seiichi Eto, minister in charge of territorial ...
Russia releases Japanese fishing boat seized in waters off disputed islands
Russia has released a Japanese fishing boat seized last week in waters off islands claimed by Japan after confirming that a fine had been paid. The boat returned to Nemuro in Hokkaido on Monday evening from Kunashiri, one of the disputed islands called the Northern ...
Russian authorities on Wednesday seized a Japanese fishing boat with six crew members aboard in waters off Russian-held, Japanese-claimed islands, the Hokkaido government said the same day. A fishery cooperative based in Nemuro told the Hokkaido government that the boat was operating within 200 nautical ...
China's navy commissions biggest and 'most powerful' surface warship
China's navy commissioned its biggest and most advanced surface warship yet, the Nanchang guided-missile destroyer, on Sunday morning in the port city of Qingdao, state media reported. Observers say the commissioning of China's first 10,000-ton-class Type 055 destroyer, which is expected to accompany aircraft carriers ...
