Ex-captive Japanese journalist Jumpei Yasuda denied passport by Foreign Ministry
Japanese journalist Jumpei Yasuda, who returned home last year after more than three years of captivity in Syria, said Tuesday the government has denied him a new passport, effectively preventing him from traveling overseas. The Foreign Ministry notified him on July 10 that it based ...
Activist Rebiya Kadeer calls on Japan to highlight persecution of Uighurs as Osaka G20 begins
As the Group of 20 summit formally kicked off in Osaka on Friday, Rebiya Kadeer, a prominent political activist for China's Uighur ethnic minority, urged Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to highlight Beijing's alleged persecution of the majority-Muslim group in the country's far west, slamming ...
Can the G20 summit pave a path for the future of multilateral trade?
Since it first convened two decades ago, the Group of 20 summit has been regarded as a forum for developed and developing countries to take collective action against economic uncertainties. Now, as Japan prepares to host the summit for the first time, multilateralism and global ...
Lost lives in Kawasaki rampage: A good-natured schoolgirl and a Burmese-language specialist
Hanako Kuribayashi was known as being a thoughtful and good-natured girl, while Satoshi Oyama was recognized as a specialist in the Burmese language and a highly qualified Foreign Ministry official, before they were killed in Tuesday's mass stabbing in Kawasaki. The two fell victim when ...
Abe's skill as Iran-U.S. mediator to be tested during Trump's visit to Japan
As leader of a country that is a close ally of the United States and also has a long friendship with Iran, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is likely to have his skills tested as a mediator between Washington and Tehran amid rising tensions between ...
Japan supports Taiwan's bid to attend World Health Assembly in move that could anger China
Foreign Minister Taro Kono expressed support on Wednesday for Taiwan's participation in the World Health Assembly in a move that could anger China. It marks the first time Japan has publicly supported Taiwan's bid to attend the annual meeting of the WHA, the decision-making body ...
Japan softens tone on North Korea and Russia in foreign policy report as Abe pursues deals
Tokyo removed a reference to applying “maximum pressure” on Pyongyang and stopped short of explicitly claiming ownership of the Russian-held islands off Hokkaido.
Japan and U.K. to postpone 'two-plus-two' security talks amid Brexit deadlock
Tokyo and London have decided to postpone their ministerial security talks scheduled for next week, a Japanese government source said Wednesday, due to the U.K. Parliament's continued efforts to end the Brexit impasse. The fourth "two-plus-two" meeting between the two countries' foreign and defense ministers ...
Japan assures world that Reiwa is all about 'beautiful harmony' and has nothing to do with 'command'
The move is intended to dispel what the ministry considers erroneous reports overseas that the new era name has connotations of “command” or “order.”
Foreign Ministry may go Gregorian, dropping use of Japan era names in documents when it can
With the upcoming Imperial era name change, the Foreign Ministry is considering scrapping the use of the era name for calendar years in some of its official documents and switching to the Gregorian calendar, according to informed sources. The new era name, Reiwa, will succeed ...
At immigration control, an officer told Tsuneoka that his passport had been invalidated and that he was ordered to relinquish it — in effect banning him from leaving.
Foreign Ministry official arrested in Kabukicho over possession of illegal stimulant
A Foreign Ministry official has been arrested in Tokyo's famous Kabukicho nightlife district for allegedly possessing an illegal stimulant drug, police said Monday. Yasutoshi Tanimoto, 46, is suspected of having 0.6 grams of the drug on him on a street in the district of Shinjuku ...
