U. S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said on Thursday the escalating threat from North Korea’s nuclear program showed a clear need for a “new approach,” although he stopped short of detailing what steps the Trump administration would pursue. Tillerson was speaking at a news conference following talks with Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida in … Read more
These Japanese peacekeepers who arrived in November were mandated to use force Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has announced that the Japanese government will end its participation in a UN peacekeeping mission in South Sudan at the end of May, Kyodo news agency reports. “As South Sudan enters a new phase of nation-building, we have judged … Read more
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced Friday a plan to pull the nation’s engineering troops from South Sudan in May after five years of a peacekeeping mission. “As South Sudan’s nation-building reaches a new stage, I assessed that the Self Defense Force’s construction and maintenance work in Juba has reached” an appropriate point to end, … Read more
Already under fire over soaring expenses, Tokyo’s 2020 Olympic organisers on Friday sought to downplay fears that further ballooning costs could hit the trouble-cursed main stadium. Amid media reports that temporary structures at the showpiece venue could more than double in cost from bid estimates, Japanese organisers did little to ease concerns. “The estimate for … Read more
Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will visit Brussels this month, European Commission head Jean-Claude Juncker said Thursday, as the EU aims to close a free trade deal with Tokyo this year. Abe will meet with Juncker and freshly re-elected EU President Donald Tusk on March 21 in the latest get-together between the leaders of the … Read more
Japanese political dissenters chalked up a small victory Wednesday when a court struck down a city’s move to ban a “mannequin flash mob” anti-government protest. The Yokohama District Court nullified an injunction issued by Ebina city, south of Tokyo, against a local politician who took part in the silent demonstration against the government of Prime … Read more
With its red-painted window frames and sooty facade, the empty two-storey building on Gongping Road is typical of many of Shanghai’s pre-World War II structures — but this one houses dark memories. The crumbling mansion is one of 150 sites in the Chinese metropolis formerly used as “comfort stations”, part of the vast system of … Read more
US President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe warned Monday that the threat from North Korea had “entered a new stage,” following another defiant missile test. The two leaders spoke by telephone after North Korea fired off four ballistic missiles, in what Pyongyang provocatively called a training exercise for a strike on US … Read more
Japan’s ruling party on Sunday extended term limits for its leaders, a change that gives Prime Minister Shinzo Abe a shot at becoming Japan’s longest-serving post-war leader. Abe would have had to step down as party leader and prime minister in September next year, even if his Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) were still in power. … Read more
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson plans to visit Japan, China and South Korea later this month to discuss Pyongyang’s nuclear weapon and ballistic missile programmes, local media reported on Saturday. Tillerson has so far kept a low profile and it will be his first visit to the region since he became President Donald Trump’s … Read more
Rare scandal was swirling around Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Friday as he was forced to deny involvement in a shady land deal by a religious school. A growing controversy over the purchase of state land by a fierce nationalist at well below market rates intensified in parliament over the past week, with auditors … Read more
Japan’s Prime Minister will spend Friday afternoon meditating while staff at some of the country’s biggest firms are also quitting work early — in time for a bit of shopping or maybe a boozy train ride. Welcome to Premium Friday, Japan’s latest bid to tackle two perennial problems — sluggish consumer spending and notoriously long … Read more
Successful hotel chain operator Toshio Motoya doesn’t mind if his denial of a notorious Japanese World War II military atrocity in China drives customers away. Motoya not only penned a book calling the 1937 Nanjing massacre a lie but proudly displays it in guest rooms of his nationwide chain of APA hotels. In protest, China … Read more
Social media posts of Donald Trump and Shinzo Abe huddling with aides in a public dining room after North Korea’s missile test raised questions Monday about his administration’s handling of sensitive information. The conversation — which would ordinarily take place behind closed doors and be highly classified — was captured on camera from close range … Read more
China’s Foreign Ministry expressed concern on Monday after Japan got continued U. S. backing for its dispute with Beijing over islands in the East China Sea during a meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. A joint Japanese-U.S. statement after the weekend meeting in the United States said the two … Read more
Asian stocks rallied to 1-1/2-year highs on Monday, helped by renewed hopes over U. S. President Donald Trump’s tax reform plans, generally upbeat global economic data and a rebound in some commodities. The U.S. dollar rose against the yen on relief that Trump set aside tough campaign rhetoric over security and jobs in a relaxed … Read more
Japan’s economy expanded 0.2 percent in the last quarter of 2016, government data showed Monday, as exports and company investments propped up growth. The figures marked the fourth straight quarter of expansion in the world’s third largest economy and came marginally lower than market expectations for 0.3 percent growth between October and December. The data … Read more
Reporters had plenty of time to snap President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe shaking hands yesterday. Trump held on to Abe’s hand for a full 19 seconds during their handshake. He patted Abe’s hand twice and at one point appears to jerk Abe toward him before he is released as an off-screen … Read more
After reportedly hitting it off in the Oval Office President Donald Trump and his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe flew south to tee off on the golf course, meeting Saturday in Florida to discuss US-Asia engagement. As part of a two-day visit that began in Washington, Abe and Trump jetted to the US president’s Mar-a-Lago estate … Read more
President Donald Trump said Friday his White House will unveil new security measures to keep America safe next week, and said his administration will continue to pursue efforts to lift the freeze on his immigration ban. “We will be doing something very rapidly having to do with additional security for our country. You will be … Read more