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.
A roundup of the most significant news stories from Japan reported in the last half of June 2020.
While New York Times reporters have relocated to Taipei earlier this year due to media expulsions from China, it remains to be seen whether or not other western media outlets intend to open bureaus in Taiwan.
A promising trend in relations between Japan and the Russian Far East has been put on ice by the coronavirus pandemic. As soon as the health emergency is under control, Tokyo should be bold in resuming ties with the region that is Japan’s closest geographic neighbor.
Immediately after the 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake, many began to imagine a physically and conceptually transformed Tokyo. While we may be nowhere near the end of the slow-motion train wreck that is Covid-19, imagining a post-pandemic Japanese society that can benefit citizens is the beginning of revitalization, and hopefully, a more substantial set of transformations.
This SNA Speakeasy features Cedric Alviani on the theme of “Press Freedom in East Asia.”
A roundup of the most significant news stories from Japan reported in the last half of April 2020.
SNA (Tokyo) — The following stories were reported in the first half of March 2020 by the Shingetsu News Agency. Rolling Coverage: Covid-19 —The Sakhalin authorities have requested that the Russian central government restrict all air and sea transport connections with Hokkaido from March 5
The progressive news outlets New Bloom (Taiwan) and Shingetsu News Agency (Japan) have agreed to partner with one another to mutually strengthen their services. The agreement includes provisions to mutually syndicate one another’s work.
A roundup of the most significant news stories from Japan reported in the last half of November 2019.
