Politics
Diet convenes 150-day regular session
Japan's parliament convened for a 150-day regular session Monday with swift passage of an extra spending plan and a draft budget for the next fiscal year a top priority to cope with post-disaster reconstruction and support the economy. A recent string of scandals engulfing the administration has cast a deep… Read
Abe says new unit will defend Japan from space tech threats
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Monday that Japan will form a space defense unit to protect itself from potential threats as rivals develop missiles and other technology and the new unit will work closely with its American counterpart recently launched by President Donald Trump. The Space Domain Mission Unit will… Read
Rohingya activists rebuke Japan envoy over denial of genocide
Japan-based Rohingya advocacy groups have accused Japan of siding with Myanmar's military over an ambassador's recent remarks denying genocide against the minority group. "Today Japan is not cooperating, not supporting the United Nations actions on Myanmar," said Zaw Min Htut, vice president of Burmese Rohingya Association in Japan. He was… Read
Trump calls for more from Japan as security pact turns 60 years old
Japan and the United States pledged Sunday to strengthen their alliance to deal with an evolving security environment in the Asia-Pacific region, as they marked the 60th anniversary of the signing of their security treaty. But they appeared out of sync on how to do that, as U.S. President Donald… Read
Scandals likely put Abe on defensive as Constitution reform looms
The odds are high that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will be put on the defensive heading into a regular parliamentary session as opposition party lawmakers appear to have plenty of ammunition to use against him. Despite his stepped-up calls for a parliamentary debate on his long-held goal of constitutional reform,… Read
Japan's Communist Party raps China in 1st platform change since 2004
The Japanese Communist Party criticized China's current leadership in its first revision of its platform since 2004 adopted Saturday, saying Beijing's quest for "great-power chauvinism and hegemonism" is problematic. "The Chinese leadership's mistake is extremely serious. That action does not deserve the name of the Communist Party," Kazuo Shii, chief… Read
Japan, U.S. hail security pact which Trump branded unfair
Japan and the United States on Friday lauded the decades-old security treaty that is the bedrock of their alliance, but which U.S. President Donald Trump has criticized as "unfair" and imbalanced. The comments from the two countries' top diplomatic officials marked the 60th anniversary of the current treaty, which was… Read
Koizumi, wife have baby boy
Japanese environment minister Shinjiro Koizumi, who has said he will take paternity leave in a rare move for a Japanese man, announced on Friday the birth of his first child: a boy. Koizumi, son of charismatic former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and seen as a future leader himself, said on… Read
Rights group denounces Japanese envoy for comments on Myanmar Rohingya
Tokyo-based human rights activists on Wednesday decried recent remarks by Japan's ambassador to Yangon, who told local media he did not think the Myanmar military committed genocide on the Rohingya Muslim minority in the country. More than 730,000 Rohingya fled the Southeast Asian nation to Bangladesh in 2017 after a… Read
Macron says he raised concerns with Japan over Ghosn detention
French President Emmanuel Macron said on Wednesday he had previously spoken to Japan's prime minister about the conditions former Nissan-Renault boss Carlos Ghosn was being held under. After fleeing Japan in late December, Ghosn said he had been treated "brutally" by Tokyo prosecutors and that he was the victim of… Read
