Tag - foreign-ministry

 
 

FOREIGN MINISTRY

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa at a Cabinet meeting in Tokyo in March.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 16, 2024
Japan's security environment at its 'most severe and complex,' policy report says
While North Korea and Russia pose challenges, some of the strongest words were reserved for China.
The Tel Aviv skyline. The Foreign Ministry has called on Japanese nationals in Israel to exercise extreme caution amid growing tensions in the region.
JAPAN
Apr 13, 2024
Caution urged for Japanese in Israel amid growing Mideast tensions
The warning was issued after Iran claimed that an airstrike on its embassy in Syria earlier this month was an act by Israel and hinted at retaliation.
Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa (right) meets with UNRWA head  Philippe Lazzarini in Tokyo on March 28.
JAPAN
Apr 2, 2024
Japan resumes funding to embattled Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA
Japan on Tuesday said it will lift its suspension of funding to the U.N. Palestinian refugee agency (UNRWA) as the relief body works to regain trust after an allegation that some of its staff were involved in the Oct. 7 attack on Israel.
Sunao Takao (center) interprets as then-Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and U.S. President Donald Trump talk prior to a working lunch at the Group of 20 summit in Osaka on June 28, 2019.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 26, 2024
Japan tees up Abe's ex-interpreter to help chart course with Trump
Japanese officials are preparing to deploy the Harvard-educated bureaucrat to bolster engagement with the Republican candidate's campaign.
Philippine Coast Guard's BRP Melchora Aquino and Japan Coast Guard's Akitsushima participate in the first trilateral coast guard exercise between the Philippines, Japan and the United States, at the coast of Bataan, Philippines in the South China Sea, in June.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 22, 2024
Japan policy paper targets U.S.-Philippine ties to counter China
Japan's regional concerns spotlighted in 2024's Diplomatic Bluebook
Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa says Tokyo will use foreign aid as one of its "most important diplomatic tools."
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 12, 2024
Japan vows to push 'offer-based' development aid in annual paper
Tokyo said it would improve its assistance program by combining the more proactive aid approach with its traditional request-based method.
The front gate of Camp Delta is at the Guantanamo Bay Naval Station in Cuba
JAPAN
Feb 18, 2024
Japan refuses to grant visa to ex-Guantanamo Bay detainee now author
The 53-year-old author, who penned a memoir during his imprisonment that became a worldwide bestseller and movie, had planned to visit Japan in March.
Philippine Foreign Secretary Enrique Manalo speaks during an interview in Pasay City, Metro Manila, on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 17, 2024
Philippines eyes hosting 'two-plus-two' security talks with Japan this year
The countries' foreign and defense ministers will likely meet toward the middle or second half of the year, with a key security pact on the agenda.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi during a news conference at the Prime Minister's Office on Monday
JAPAN
Feb 5, 2024
Classified Japanese diplomatic info leaked after Chinese cyberattacks
Japan has lagged behind other developed countries in the development of its cybersecurity defenses.
Foreign Minister Yōko Kamikawa will likely face some institutional challenges in achieving quick and meaningful progress in advancing the United Nation's Women, Peace and Security initiative.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 2, 2024
Japan unveils task force for gender-inclusive security issues
U.N. mandate spurs Japan into action with new task force aimed at enhancing women's roles in global conflict resolution.
Taro Aso, vice president of the Liberal Democratic Party, makes a speech in Ashiya, Fukuoka Prefecture, on Sunday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 30, 2024
Japan foreign minister brushes off controversial remarks by Taro Aso
Yoko Kamikawa appeared unfazed after Aso called her an old lady and said she's "not that good looking.”
Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa vows to promote a "mutually beneficial" relationship with China in a diplomatic policy speech on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 30, 2024
Japan foreign minister wants 'mutually beneficial' ties with China
Kamikawa also expressed wariness over intensifying military cooperation between China, Russia and North Korea.
Jumpei Yasuda (second from left) was taken captive by an armed group for about three years and four months after entering Syria from Turkey for news coverage in 2015.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jan 26, 2024
Japan's passport denial for ex-captive journalist ruled illegal
The presiding judge ruled that the denial of a passport for Jumpei Yasuda was illegal, as it represented an abuse of the government's discretionary power.
Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa (right) met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on her visit to Kyiv on Jan. 7.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 15, 2024
Kamikawa’s surprise visit to Ukraine sent an important signal
As international support for Ukraine's war effort wavers, Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa's visit to Kyiv last week showed that Japan remains a key Kyiv ally.
Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa during a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the State Department in Washington on Friday
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 14, 2024
Kamikawa's star rising as potential candidate to replace Kishida
Since Kamikawa took office in September, her reputation has been gradually bolstered by her energetic diplomatic trips.
Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa and her Ukrainian counterpart, Dmytro Kuleba, hold a news conference in a bomb shelter in Kyiv, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, on Sunday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 7, 2024
Japan foreign minister promises aid for Ukrainian anti-drone system
Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa said Tokyo to provide the war-torn country with a drone detection system via a contribution to a NATO fund.
Yoko Kamikawa
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 28, 2023
Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa to visit U.S. and Europe in January
The trip, which comes as Japan prepares for a state visit by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at the invitation of the White House, starts on Jan. 5.
Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa gives a speech at the Global Refugee Forum in Geneva on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 14, 2023
Japan to give $3 million to global refugee education fund
Japan is known for its traditionally strict refugee policy.
Japanese Ambassador to China Hideo Tarumi speaks at a news conference in Beijing on Monday.
JAPAN
Dec 5, 2023
Japan's outgoing China envoy regrets not being able to free prisoner
Hideo Tarumi met with the detained Astellas Pharma employee for the first time last week to "offer a personal apology."
Kiyoto Tsuji, a state minister for foreign affairs (center), and Kazuchika Iwata, a state minister of economy, trade and industry (right), talk to Ukrainian officials during their visit to Kyiv on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 21, 2023
Japan state ministers visit Ukraine to examine recovery needs
The delegation included representatives from Japanese firms such as JFE Engineering and IHI, and agricultural machinery maker Kubota.

Longform

Later this month, author Shogo Imamura will open Honmaru, a bookstore that allows other businesses to rent its shelves. It's part of a wave of ideas Japanese booksellers are trying to compete with online spaces.
The story isn't over for Japan's bookstores