Politics
U.S. appeals court revives suit over U.S. military base in Japan
A federal appeals court Monday revived a lawsuit that seeks to block construction of a U.S. military base in Okinawa, Japan over concerns about its impact on the Okinawa dugong, an endangered marine mammal that resembles a manatee. The Center for Biological Diversity has authority to challenge the adequacy of… Read
Campaigning begins in opposition Democratic Party leadership race
Campaigning began Monday in the race to choose a new leader of the Democratic Party, amid questions about its future as the main opposition party in Japan following the departure of several members. Seiji Maehara, a former foreign minister, and Yukio Edano, a former chief Cabinet secretary, both registered their… Read
Ospreys to be tentatively deployed at SDF camp
The government has decided to deploy Osprey aircraft tentatively at a Ground Self-Defense Force camp due to difficulty in stationing them at an airport in the southern prefecture of Saga in fiscal 2019 as planned, a source close to the matter said Monday. The decision comes as concerns have been… Read
Gov't mulls installing recordkeeping supervisors at each ministry
The government is considering installing officials dedicated to supervising management of administrative documents at each ministry to prevent important records from being discarded and to clarify who is responsible, a government source said Saturday. The idea was floated in the government after handling of documents related to influence-peddling allegations against… Read
Japan unlikely to develop nuclear arms: expert
It is unlikely that Japan will develop nuclear weapons to curtail the threat posed by North Korea's newly developed nuclear weapons capability, a Japanese security specialist says. Yuki Tatsumi, director of the Japan Program at the Stimson Center, a Washington think tank, said Japan will not go down that road… Read
Aso to visit U.S. in September to prepare for economic talks
Japanese Deputy Prime Minister Taro Aso will visit the United States in September to hold an informal meeting with his counterpart to prepare for a second round of economic talks later this year, government sources say. Aso, who doubles as finance minister, hopes the next round of talks can be… Read
Top American general says attack on Japan same as attack on U.S.
The United States' most senior military officer on Friday said North Korea understands that an any attack on Japan is equal to one on the US itself -- and vice versa. General Joe Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, held talks with his Japanese counterpart at the defence… Read
New U.S. envoy, Abe vow to fortify alliance
New U.S. Ambassador to Japan William Hagerty met Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Friday, with both expressing the will to work to strengthen the countries' alliance in light of heightened concern over North Korea. Hagerty said after the meeting that he is convinced Abe and U.S. President Donald Trump are… Read
Japan, China, S Korea environment ministers to meet Aug 24-25
Japan, China and South Korea will hold a two-day trilateral environment ministers' meeting from Aug 24 in South Korea to discuss responses to alien species and air pollution, the Japanese Environment Ministry said. Japanese Environment Minister Masaharu Nakagawa will take part in the meeting in Suwon and on Aug 24… Read
U.S., Japan step up defense cooperation to counter N Korea
The United States and Japan will step up their defense cooperation to deal with the threat from nuclear-armed North Korea as tensions in East Asia remain high, officials from the two allies said on Thursday. "For this threat of North Korea, at this meeting we agreed to increase the pressure… Read
