Working Timeline of Covid-19 in Japan
The Covid-19 crisis became a dominating issue for the world, and Japan is no exception. This is a timeline of the events so far.
Tag Archives: Marine Corps Air Station Futenma (Okinawa)
Suga Administration Henoko Base Policy Faces Shifting Realities
Throughout its nearly eight years in power, the Abe administration pressed forward with all its might to build a new US airbase at Henoko, Okinawa.
Dateline Tokyo: August 2020
Dateline Tokyo, our series of short reports on major news developments in Japan, for August 2020
Abe Maintains Do-Nothing Policy on Covid Second Wave
A roundup of the most significant news stories from Japan reported in the last half of July 2020.
Aegis Ashore and Japan’s Defense Policy Dysfunction
On June 15, Defense Minister Taro Kono announced a suspension of the deployment of the Aegis Ashore missile interception system—a suspension that ten days later became a cancellation. The progression from deciding to deploy Aegis Ashore, to cancelling it, to considering alternatives, reveals policy formation fraught with dysfunction.
Political Inaction as Covid-19 Second Wave Hits
A roundup of the most significant news stories from Japan reported in the first half of July 2020.
Softening the Soft Lockdown
A roundup of the most significant news stories from Japan reported in the first half of May 2020.
Expanding the State of Emergency
A roundup of the most significant news stories from Japan reported in the last half of April 2020.
An Easygoing State of Emergency
A roundup of the most significant news stories from Japan reported in the first half of April 2020.
Henoko Airbase Initiative Sinking into Mayonnaise-Soft Earth
For almost two-and-a-half decades, Japan and the United States have insisted that a new US Marine airbase at Henoko—a replacement for Marine Corps Air Station Futenma—is absolutely needed as a solid foundation for the US-Japan Alliance. Last year, however, it was officially revealed that the sea floor where the base is being constructed consists of mayonnaise-soft earth, and that any airstrip built there now could sink into oblivion.