Category Archives: Japan

‘China in mind’: Japan mulls beefing up military as Ukraine war rings alarm

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Country could double spending and acquire ‘first-strike’ capability in shift away from defensive postwar posture

Weeks after he became Japan’s prime minister last year, Fumio Kishida pulled on a dark green bomber jacket, the hinomaru flag emblazoned on his sleeve, and climbed into a tank.

Official photos show him displaying an awkward smile for his audience at Camp Asaka – the men and women of the the country’s Self-Defence Forces – an indication, perhaps, that postwar Japanese leaders and military hardware have not always been easy bedfellows.

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‘Empress of terror’: Japanese Red Army founder released from prison

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Fusako Shigenobu, who served 20 years for French embassy siege, believed to have masterminded deadly Tel Aviv attack

The founder of one of the most feared terrorist organisations of the 1970s has walked free from a Japanese prison after completing a 20-year sentence for the siege of the French embassy in the Netherlands.

Once described as “the empress of terror”, Fusako Shigenobu founded the Japanese Red Army, a radical leftist group that carried out armed attacks worldwide in support of the Palestinian cause.

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Japan to reopen to foreign tourists after two-year pandemic closure

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Government to allow in tourists from 98 countries and regions next month – but only as part of tour groups

Japan has announced it will end a two-year pandemic closure and reopen to tourists from 98 countries and regions next month, but travellers will only be allowed in as part of tour groups.

The decision comes after the government last week said it would test allowing small group tours with visitors from the US, Australia, Thailand and Singapore from this month.

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Albanese insists ‘we will determine our values’ after Chinese premier reaches out to new PM

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Prime minister in Tokyo says no ‘serious person’ had believed Coalition line that a Labor government would adopt a softer approach towards Beijing

The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, says his government will not bend to demands from China to reset the strained relationship despite overtures from Beijing in the wake of Labor’s election win.

Speaking after a meeting of the quadrilateral security dialogue (Quad) in Tokyo on Tuesday, Albanese confirmed the Chinese premier, Li Keqiang, had sent a congratulatory letter to him following Saturday’s election win. The letter was first reported by Chinese state media Xinhua on Monday.

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Joe Biden: invasion of Ukraine shows need for free and open Indo-Pacific

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Leaders of US, India, Japan and Australia meet in Tokyo for Quad summit Beijing claims is an attempt to contain China

The turmoil caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has underlined the need for a free Indo-Pacific region, Joe Biden has said at a meeting with regional partners that Beijing has condemned as part of a US-led attempt to contain China.

Biden and the leaders of a loose alliance known as the Quad – India, Japan and Australia – reaffirmed their commitment to a “free and open” Indo-Pacific during talks in Tokyo on Tuesday. The comments came one day after the US president said Washington would be ready to intervene militarily to defend Taiwan, prompting China to accuse him of “playing with fire”.

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PM says ‘no change’ on Taiwan – as it happened

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Prime minister confirms Australia to host Quad summit in 2023 after Tokyo meeting; 68 Covid deaths recorded. This blog is now closed

Marles is also asked about petrol prices, which are rising again:

It is difficult. We’re facing a cost of living crisis. As a government, we’re willing to say that in a way the former government was not. What ultimately underpins is it we’ve had the longest period of wage stagnation since records were kept.

What underpins that is a decade of lost productivity. What that’s we need to change. It doesn’t happen overnight. We’ve been clear about that. But the job does start overnight and we’re on the pathway right now to making sure that we revitalise Australian industry, we give people the skills they need so they can get the good jobs out there.

I think China is going to continue to be a difficult relationship for us. From an Australian point of view, we understand the complexity of the relationship.

It is our largest trading partner, but China is seeking to shape the world around it in ways we have not seen before, in places like the South China sea. But [also] in increased strategic competition in our region, in the Pacific, and we’ve seen the agreement they have signed with the Solomon Islands.

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US would defend Taiwan if attacked by China, says Joe Biden

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President says US’s responsibility to protect island is ‘even stronger’ after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine

Joe Biden has said the US would intervene militarily to defend Taiwan if it came under attack from China, in an unusually forceful presidential statement in support of self-governing that drew a defiant response from Beijing.

Speaking in Tokyo on the second day of his visit to Japan, and against the backdrop of growing concern over Chinese military activity in the region, Biden said the US’s responsibility to protect the self-ruled island – which China considers a renegade province – was “even stronger” after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

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Biden security agents sent home from Seoul after reported drunken assault

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Unnamed team member reportedly got into dispute with South Korean citizen outside hotel where Biden is expected to stay

Joe Biden’s visit to South Korea and Japan has got off to a bad start with two Secret Service agents set to be sent home after one was accused of drunkenly assaulting a South Korean the day before the president arrived in Seoul, officials said.

Earlier reports said a member of his advance security detail was arrested for allegedly assaulting a South Korean citizen in Seoul.

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Japanese university told to compensate 13 women after exam discrimination

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Juntendo University medical school made it harder for females to pass entrance exams

A medical school in Tokyo that made it harder for female students to pass entrance exams has been ordered to pay compensation to 13 women for gender discrimination.

Juntendo University said in 2018 that it had raised the bar for women in the exams to “narrow the gap with male students”, as a scandal over medical school admissions uncovered improper practices at several institutions.

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White House braced for North Korean nuclear test during Biden’s Asia trip

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National security adviser says intelligence reflects ‘long-range missile test or a nuclear test, or frankly both’

The White House is braced for a North Korean missile or nuclear test while Joe Biden is on a trip to South Korea and Japan, which begins on Friday.

The national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, told reporters on Wednesday: “Our intelligence does reflect the genuine possibility that there will be either a further missile test, including long-range missile test, or a nuclear test, or frankly both in the days leading into, on or after the president’s trip to the region.

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Japanese man blows town’s Covid relief fund after it appeared in his account

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Money should have gone to 463 low-income households but man received it all and commenced online casino spree

A Japanese man who was mistakenly sent ¥46.3m (£287,000/US$358,000) in Covid-19 relief funds has admitted he gambled away the entire amount in the space of a fortnight.

The 24-year-old, who has not been named, was sent the sum in April as part of a local government programme to help residents who were struggling financially as a result of the pandemic.

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Japan prepares to reopen to tourists for first time since 2020

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‘Test tourism’ to begin in May in the form of limited package tours as a way of gathering information prior to full reopening

Japan will start conducting “test tourism” in the form of limited package tours in May ahead of a full reopening to tourism.

Though tourism was a major pillar of Japan’s economy, tourists have not been permitted to enter since it adopted strict border controls in 2020 at the start of the coronavirus pandemic.

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Queen’s A Night at the Opera inspires Japanese take on Romeo and Juliet

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A Night at the Kabuki, which shifts the star-crossed lovers to 12th-century Japan, will visit London on an international tour

A Night at the Opera, the classic rock album by Queen, has inspired a Japanese theatre production that will visit London this autumn as part of an international tour.

Created by Hideki Noda, A Night at the Kabuki includes songs from the British band’s 1975 album which is best known for its singles Bohemian Rhapsody and You’re My Best Friend. The master tapes from the studio recording of the album are used in the show, which has a storyline set in 12th-century Japan and is inspired by Romeo and Juliet.

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Japanese premier warns of Ukraine-style invasion by ‘autocratic powers’

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Kishida also promised increased reliance upon nuclear power for future energy independence

Boris Johnson and Japanese prime minister Fumio Kishida have warned that the invasion of Ukraine could be replicated in east Asia if democratic powers do not stand up to autocratic ones.

“Ukraine may be east Asia tomorrow,” Kishida said on Thursday during a visit to London, as he called for Indo-Pacific leaders to recognise that the invasion of Ukraine was not just a European problem. Asked about the implications for Taiwan, he said: “We must collaborate with our allies and like-minded countries, and never tolerate a unilateral attempt to change the status quo by the use of force in the Indo-Pacific, especially in east Asia.”

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Square Enix sells its western studios and hits such as Tomb Raider for $300m

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Japanese gaming company behind Final Fantasy series secures deal with Sweden-based Embracer

The Japanese gaming company behind Final Fantasy is selling off three studios, including the rights to hit franchises including Tomb Raider, in a $300m (£240m) deal.

Tokyo-based Square Enix has sold US-headquartered Crystal Dynamics and Canada-based Eidos Montreal and Square Enix Montreal to the Nasdaq-listed Swedish gaming group Embracer.

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Global mystery hepatitis outbreak spreads to Asia and Canada

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Japan reports child with acute liver disease of unknown origin, and Canada investigating similar cases, with nearly 200 now recorded worldwide

A mysterious liver disease that has infected children in a dozen countries around the world has reached Asia, with a case reported in Japan.

The case in Japan of acute hepatitis – or inflammation of the liver – of unknown origin was flagged by local authorities on 21 April in a child who had tested negative for adenovirus – a possible cause being investigated worldwide – and Covid-19.

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Ukraine apologises after backlash over Hirohito image in anti-fascism video

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Wartime emperor removed from video on Russia’s invasion, which also featured Hitler and Mussolini, after angry reaction from Japan

Ukraine’s government has apologised after it included a photograph of Japan’s wartime emperor, Hirohito, in an anti-fascism video alongside images of Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini.

Officials removed Hirohito from the video after pressure from the Japanese government, which has imposed sanctions on Russia, provided $300m (£235m) in loans for Ukraine and accepted hundreds of refugees.

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Japan tourist boat sinking: child among 11 confirmed dead

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Fifteen remain missing as questions grow as to why the Kazu I sailed in rough weather off the hazardous Shiretoko peninsula

Rescuers searching since a tour boat carrying 26 people apparently sank off far north-eastern Japan have found the body of an 11th victim – a child – as questions intensify about why the vessel sailed in rough weather at a known hazardous location.

The child was found late Sunday and later confirmed dead, the coast guard said Monday. The bodies of 10 victims – seven men and three women – were found earlier Sunday.

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Nine people found from tour boat that went missing in rough waters off Japan

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Twenty-six people were on board vessel before crew reported it sinking off island of Hokkaidō and authorities lost contact

Nine people, most of them unresponsive, have been found by rescuers after a tour boat sank off Japan’s northern coast with 26 people on board a day earlier.

“As of 11am (0200GMT), coastguard aircraft have rescued four people, local police aircraft rescued four people and a Self Defence Force aircraft rescued one person from waters or rocky coastal areas,” Japan’s coastguard said in a press release on Sunday.

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Jacinda Ardern greeted by giant sad dancing kiwifruit during visit to Japan

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Two large mascots, dancing to sorrowful music, helped welcome the New Zealand prime minister on her first trip overseas since the pandemic began

New Zealand’s prime minister Jacinda Ardern has been met in Japan on her first trip outside the country in two years by a duo of enormous, mournfully dancing kiwifruit.

The two large mascots welcomed the prime minister with a gentle swaying routine, set to a piece of slow, somewhat sorrowful chamber music. They had a sombre audience of suited men.

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