A tsunami warning has been issued for Japan’s entire east coast, as well as the southern Amami island and the Takara island chain. A tsunami triggered by the undersea volcanic eruption has already hit the Pacific nation of Tonga and prompted multiple other nations to issue warnings, including the United States …
Read More »Australia & Japan sign ‘landmark’ defense pact amid China tensions
A “landmark” defense deal has been signed by the governments of Australia and Japan, amid increased tensions with China in the Asia-Pacific. The pact sees the two nations commit to reciprocal military access. On Thursday, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida held a virtual meeting …
Read More »Japan to assist Bill Gates in building experimental nuclear reactor
Two Japanese industrial majors are reportedly planning to team up with Bill Gates’ venture company to provide technical support for a high-tech nuclear reactor that will be built in the US state of Wyoming. The parties are expected to sign an agreement in January for the Japan Atomic Energy Agency …
Read More »China & Japan move toward diffusing tensions
Tokyo and Beijing are set to establish a communications line in a bid to improve ties, as the two countries continue a long-running spat over contested islands in the East China Sea, Japanese defense officials said. Speaking to reporters on Monday following a meeting with his Chinese counterpart Wei Fenghe, …
Read More »Japan holds drills in case ‘foreign forces’ invade disputed islands
The two-day military exercise involving Japan’s self-defense forces, coast guard, and police was conducted in late November on a remote uninhabited island. According to Kyodo news agency, citing unnamed Japanese government sources, the island was chosen specifically because its landscape closely resembles that of the disputed Senkaku Islands, which have …
Read More »Japan joins US boycott of Beijing Olympics
Top government officials will not attend the Olympic Games, with the exception of Seiko Hashimoto – a member of the House of Councilors and the former Minister of State for Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games. Japanese Olympic Committee President Yasuhiro Yamashita and Japanese Paralympic Committee President Kazuyuki Mori will also …
Read More »Japan angry at US troops in Okinawa
“We have asked the US side to thoroughly implement the maximum measures to prevent the spread of infections,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said on Thursday. The statement came after 227 people stationed at Camp Hansen, a US Marine Corps base in the Okinawa Prefecture, tested positive for Covid, according …
Read More »Japan resumes executions
The three convicts, all men found guilty of murder, were executed by hanging on Tuesday, according to the Kyoto news agency, which noted that Japan’s last execution was carried out in December 2019, when PM Shinzo Abe was still in office. Yasutaka Fujishiro, 65, was reportedly sentenced to death after …
Read More »Japan agrees to pay more for hosting US troops
The deal would see Japan pay 1.05 trillion yen (around $9.3 billion) to the US over a five-year period, Japanese media reported on Tuesday. The agreement will be officially signed by the foreign and defense ministers of both countries, scheduled for sometime in January in the US. Japanese news agency …
Read More »Scholars explain mysterious disappearance of Delta variant in Japan
In mid-August, Japan experienced a peak in Covid-19 infections, recording over 23,000 new cases per day. Now the metric is just around 170, with deaths attributed to the disease mostly remaining in single digits this month. The decline has been attributed by many to high vaccination rates, public acceptance of …
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