Japan is considering joining the United States on surveillance flights in the South China Sea, having already participated in one this week with the Philippines. The disputed waters, which China has claimed almost entirely as its own, have seen significant construction on its reefs by the communist power in the past year, angering its neighbors.
Japan has finally lifted a 67-year-old ban on dancing in bars and clubs after midnight. The now-nullified law prohibited dancing in public spaces, unless the venue had a license. Even then, bars and clubs had to stop dancing at midnight.
Chinese state media outlet the People’s Daily released a report this week claiming that artificial island construction and the usurpation of international waters in the South China Sea would improve “marine meteorological monitoring, warning, forecasting, prediction and scientific research,” and benefit all neighboring countries with claims in the region.
The Chinese government’s most senior man in Europe has hit back at Western nations criticising China’s island development in the South China Sea, saying they have double standards over the issue. Ambassador Wu Jianmin, who sits on China’s influential Foreign Policy
Chinese filmmakers have signed Bruce Willis to a major role in a new World War II epic titled The Bombing, which is now in production, Variety reports.
The war of words between the United States and China over disputed islands in the South China Sea intensified over the weekend, with Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter telling an assembly of Asian-Pacific defense officials in Singapore the U.S. is “deeply concerned” about Chinese activity, and the increased risk of “miscalculation or conflict.”
Philippine President Benigno Aquino is set to land in Japan on Tuesday following initial negotiations for new weapons trade deals and closer military ties. Observers see the move as a preventative measure in the face of China’s expanded efforts in disputed South China Sea territory to build military facilities and artificial islands, violating international law.
Malfunctions in the United States Geological Survey’s (USGS) earthquake detection system in Northern California resulted in three false earthquake alarms in the past few days.
Tensions are rising in the South China Sea as American officials have become increasingly vocal regarding their opposition to China’s development of islands over which Vietnam and the Philippines contend China has no sovereignty. In a scathing opinion piece in state media Friday, China has responded by telling American officials to stay out of Asian affairs.
China is working on a lunar project with plans to land a space probe and rover on the “dark” side of the moon, according to one of the top engineers in its Lunar Exploration Program (CLEP). If the mission is successful, it would be the first time that a probe has ever landed on the far side of the moon.
“Today is also a chance for Americans, especially our young people, to say thank you for all the things we love from Japan, like karate, karaoke, manga, and anime and of course emojis,” President Obama said as the audience laughed.
US reaffirms defense of Japan’s Senkaku Islands; Japan-U.S. military guidelines will include ‘collective self-defense’
(Reuters) – A drone marked with a radioactive sign was found on the roof of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s office on Wednesday and media said it tested positive for a “minuscule” amount of radiation.
AONE, Japan — In the historic wooden schoolhouse here, decked out in the kind of bright artwork done by kids the world over, there are two classrooms, each containing three desks that sit marooned in the middle of a space made for many more. At break time, a boy kicks a soccer ball around the yard by himself.
Americans are routinely told not to worry about how much of our titanic national debt is held by foreigners, but those who do keep track of such things may be relieved to know that our current number-one creditor, our totalitarian geopolitical adversary China, has been surpassed by our considerably less hostile ally Japan. Each of those nations holds a little over 10 percent of America’s debt.
HONOLULU (AP) — Tom Gray’s family has waited for more than 70 years to bring home the remains of his cousin who was killed in the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941.
The UK Telegraph reports that a new exhibit at Kyushu University in Fukuoka, Japan has broken a seven-decade taboo about discussing the use of American POWs for medical experiments during World War II. The men were subjected to unspeakable horrors, including “medical” dissections while still alive.
Ariana Miyamoto, the first ever biracial woman to be crowned Miss Japan, is fighting off critics who say she “isn’t Japanese enough” to represent her country in the upcoming Miss Universe Pageant, because her father is black. The 20-year-old speaks
AFP reports that Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is expected to address a joint session of the U.S. Congress in April, making him the first prime minister of Japan to deliver such an address. The event is to come at the end of a visit in April focused on “deepening trade and military ties,” although there is speculation he will also cover the “evils and horrors” of Japan’s history, as he did during a speech to the Australian Parliament last July.
Michelle Obama speaks about the importance of educating girls during a trip to Japan.
Turkey and Armenia schedule conflicting WW I centennial commemorations; China continues its double-digit military spending increases
A Japanese island that imported cats to deal with an infestation of mice that overran fishermen’s boats is now overrun with cats.
Women’s rights activist Sara Khan penned a letter to reach out to young Muslim girls who want to join the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL). Women and men in the terrorist group reach out to young girls via social media with promises of a great life to serve Allah. Khan provides the girls with a huge dose of reality.
Economist Nicholas Eberstadt lays out a bleak future in an important essay just published in The Wall Street Journal. Eberstadt makes the case that selfishness, as evidenced by the unwillingness of people to get married in the first place and stay married in the second, is setting humanity on an unknown and potentially dangerous course.
Japan’s crown prince has warned of the need to remember World War II “correctly”, in a rare foray into an ideological debate as nationalist politicians seek to downplay the country’s historic crimes.
Japan has been trapped in a demographic death spiral for years, as record-low birth rates produce an aging population that lacks enough young workers to sustain it.
First Lady Michelle Obama is getting ready to take her daughters to Asia again. They plan to visit Japan next month.
Germany commemorates the firebombing of Dresden; What’s the value of a
human life?; Generational Dynamics and prolactin
The University of Tokyo revealed a new statue on its campus today honoring Hachiko, widely known as the “world’s most loyal dog,” who waited for his owner, University of Tokyo professor Hidesaburo Ueno, at his home train stop for a decade after the professor’s death.
Nineteen American historians have signed a letter condemning the government of Japan for demanding that textbook publisher McGraw Hill remove references to “comfort women” from a book that references Japanese atrocities during World War II.
The recent, brutal beheadings of Japanese citizens Haruna Yukawa and Kenji Goto by members of the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) have shocked and awakened the people of Japan to the growing threat of radical Islam, which may prove to be a turning point in the country’s global role.
Analysts are puzzled by ISIS’s burning alive of Jordan’s pilot; Jordan promises revenge against ISIS for killing pilot; Japan’s nationalism surges over ISIS killings of two Japanese hostages
Members of Japan’s opposition party are beginning to publicly criticize Prime Minister Shinzo Abe for his choice to send humanitarian aid to nations fighting the Islamic State, a decision blamed for triggering a hostage crisis that took the lives of two Japanese citizens.
China builds more man-made islands in the South China Sea; Pentagon would welcome Japan air patrols in the South China Sea; Jordan returns its ambassador to Israel
The Islamic State’s brutal murder of its second Japanese hostage, Kenji Goto, has Japan’s government talking about vengeance — a major shift in tone for post-war Japan, observers have noted.
End of sequestration signals explosive new spending splurge in Washington; The Iraq war had nothing to do with the federal deficit; Government receipts plunged when the bubbles burst; The high federal deficit is caused by bubbles bursting, not the Iraq war
A newly released video appears to show the beheading of a second Japanese ISIS hostage, journalist Kenji Goto. Government officials and media analysts are working to confirm the authenticity of the video.
China plans to hold a large scale military parade in order to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II and, reportedly, to “frighten Japan.”
Yesterday, Jordan reportedly agreed to swap a female al-Qaeda terrorist for captive Jordanian pilot Mu’ath al-Kasaesbeh, held hostage by ISIS since his fighter jet went down near the city of Raqqa in December.
Since 2008, the world has become a significantly more dangerous place. In every region, new threats have emerged or old ones have reasserted them. The scorecard is clear: the bad guys are winning and America’s interests are being undermined daily.
