Japan’s Nikkei Asian Review reports Monday that Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s confrontational attitude towards visiting Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida over the weekend has been “deeply irritating” to high-level Japanese officials.
Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida left for a visit to China on Friday, in the opening bid to restore a damaged relationship between the two nations, even as the South China Sea grows increasingly tense.
Contents: Kenya’s huge ivory burning event may endanger elephants further; China makes four demands of Japan to improve relations
Contents: Syria’s air force deliberately targets hospital in Aleppo, killing dozens; Bank of Japan shocks investors with no stimulus, leading to global stock selloff
The Japanese destroyer Ise made port in Subic Bay on Tuesday, paying a training visit to the Philippines, and sending an unmistakable message to China.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has once again irritated the Chinese government by sending an offering to the Yasukuni Shrine, a Shinto shrine for Japan’s war dead that honors more than a dozen convicted war criminals.
TOKYO (AFP) – People trapped under buildings that collapsed in Japan’s double earthquakes used social media to chat to friends and keep their spirits up while they awaited rescue, reports said on Sunday (April 17). Networking apps like Line and
Contents: Massive earthquakes in Japan and Ecuador are linked by the Ring of Fire; Syria chemical weapons accidentally kill Hezbollah militias; Latest Syrian ‘peace process’ appears near collapse; Saudi Arabia ends oil summit negotiations as Iran fails to show up
The Times of Israel reports: Israeli and Palestinian rescue teams were to set out for Ecuador and southern Japan on Monday, after deadly earthquakes rocked both countries. A Palestinian medical team is to leave Monday from the West Bank to
A magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck southern Japan early on Saturday morning, triggering a tsunami advisory.
A powerful earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 7.1 has struck southern Japan, barely 24 hours after a deadly quake hit the same region.
Contents: Nigeria’s Boko Haram releases ‘proof of life’ video of abducted Chibok girls; Russians brag about ‘aerobatic skills’ of Russian pilots buzzing US ship; US Navy conducting joint patrols with Philippines in South China Sea
Scarlett Johansson’s casting as the lead role of Major Motoko Kusanagi in the live action movie Ghost in the Shell, based on the comic series, has caused controversy and is being called the “whitewashing” of an “Asian role.”
Contents: Japanese warships make historic port call to Vietnam; China deploys fighter jets to South China Sea; Russian fighter ‘strafing runs’ at US ship in Baltic Sea called ‘showboating’
Secretary of State John Kerry described his visit to Hiroshima on Monday as “gut-wrenching.” After laying a wreath at the Atomic Bomb Museum, he called it “a stark, harsh, compelling reminder not only of our obligation to end the threat of nuclear weapons, but to re-dedicate all our effort to avoid war itself.”
Here’s a disturbing report, made all the more disturbing because of the grisly familiarity of the topic: ISIS has executed 175 of the 300 Syrian cement workers it kidnapped on April 7.
Pilots had to turn a plane around that was heading from Honolulu to Japan after a man who wanted to perform yoga, instead of sitting in his seat, began attacking fellow passengers.
Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump’s remarks suggesting support for the nuclear armament of Japan and South Korea have sparked intense conversation in the media of both nations. Many believe the absence of America in Asia will lead to war, with Japan fearing Chinese aggression, South Korea fearing Japan, and both hoping North Korea’s strength does not match its words.
President Barack Obama criticized Republican frontrunner Donald Trump, saying he “doesn’t know much about foreign policy, or nuclear policy, or the Korean Peninsula, or the world generally.”
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Barack Obama urged global leaders Friday not to be complacent in the face of an evolving threat from terrorists who he said are eager to unleash a devastating nuclear attack. “It would change our world,” he declared.
Contents: China close to deploying very long range DF-41 missile; China-US differences sharpen over South China Sea
A Chinese defense ministry spokesman warned the United States to “be careful” in the South China Sea following declarations from American Deputy Secretary of Defense Robert Work that the U.S. would not respect a unilaterally imposed exclusion zone in the disputed territory.
A man identified only as “M.M.” was arrested earlier this week attempting to enter Syria; he has been charged with trying to join the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL/IS). The 24-year-old is the first Japanese national caught on the Turkish-Syrian border with evidence suggesting ties to the terrorist group.
Last year, Japan was rocked by the kidnapping and murder of journalist Kenji Goto and his friend Haruna Yukawa by the Islamic State in Syria. Another Japanese journalist, Junpei Yasuda, was abducted in Syria last year, and on Thursday, he
North Korea tried a little more saber-rattling in its ongoing tantrum against the U.S. and UN on Friday, firing two medium-range ballistic missiles in Japan’s general direction. Unfortunately for the irate dictatorship, one of the missiles blew up in flight, making it a less impressive demonstration of military might.
Legislators in Japan’s Ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) are urging Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to bring a case against China to an international tribunal to settle once and for all ownership over disputed islands in the East China Sea.
In a joint statement, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his counterpart President Taur Matan Ruak of East Timor noted their “serious concern” that the Chinese government is expanding its control over disputed territory in the South China Sea too aggressively.
Director of National Intelligence James Clapper warned in a letter to Sen. John McCain this week that he expects China to boast “substantial offensive military power” in the illegally-occupied territories of the South China Sea by the end of this year or the beginning of 2017.
Contents: North Korea liquidates all commercial projects with South Korea; In desperation move, European Central Bank further lowers negative interest rates; ECB tries to target the velocity of money
Without mentioning any nations in particular, the Defense Minister of Taiwan, Kao Kuang-chi, told the nation’s legislature that he is concerned with the growing presence of military weapons and facilities in the South China Sea, where Taiwan makes multiple territorial claims.
Japan’s National Police Agency has announced the creation of a special central headquarters to address what is now being described as a “state of war” between rival factions within a yakuza organized crime syndicate. The war arrives as Japan struggles to address a growing population crisis worsened by the ongoing aftermath of the Fukushima nuclear disaster.
Whether you’re frustrated by poor game localization or are just a fan of Japanese gaming in general, Amazon Japan has decided to help you out.
Reuters is reporting that Japan is sending a submarine to the Philippines as part of a Maritime Self-Defense Force fleet visit to the region, in a clear indication Japan is ready to challenge China’s claims in the South China Sea.
John Bolton agreed with Bannon that the American people have not been well-prepared by their political leaders to understand the enormous strategic significance of the South China Sea, or the true scope of China’s ambitions. He laid the task of providing that perspective, and rallying public support for whatever American counter-moves are necessary, at the feet of the next President.
The Japanese government signed an agreement with the Philippines that would allow it to sell a variety of military equipment to Manila, potentially starting with advanced aircraft that can be used for surveillance missions.
Japan has recalibrated its estimate of how many of its citizens North Korea has abducted in the past four decades. It has come up with a figure of 886, demanded Pyongyang release the kidnapped who are still alive, and come clean on the fate of those who have died since being abducted.
Japan’s latest census figures confirm that the population has declined by nearly a million people, the first such decline in nearly a century.
The Chinese navy is sending an advance missile frigate into the East China Sea, risking exacerbating tensions in waters it claims against Japan. The move follows a week in which the international community has condemned China’s illegal development of military facilities in the South China Sea.
Given the option of leaving their hometowns or risking radiation poisoning five years ago, families living near the Fukushima radiation disaster are falling apart, facing divorce, suicide, and cancer. The breakdown of Fukushima families comes as Japan faces a dwindling population it continues to struggle to replenish.
During his appearance on Thursday’s edition of Breitbart News Daily with host Stephen K. Bannon, former U.N. ambassador John Bolton warned that Barack Obama’s weakness has inspired adversaries around the globe to push forward – from Islamist terrorists to serious global powers
