Japan plans to massively increase its defense budget over the next four years, climbing into the ranks of the highest-funded national militaries. Depending on developments–and future currency exchange rates–there is even the possibility that Japan could soon rank as the No. 3 military in the world as measured by its budget.
Former Tokyo Governor Shintaro Ishihara, who died February 1, was an evil man. Any honest obituary would admit as such.
The appointment of moderate Yoshimasa Hayashi as Japanese foreign minister has elicited a good deal of discussion in the Chinese news media, with voices on both sides of the Taiwan Strait trying to interpret what it means for the region in an era of heightened tensions.
Dateline Tokyo, our series of short reports on major news developments in Japan, for August 2020
A roundup of the most significant news stories from Japan reported in the last half of June 2020.
A proposal by the Ishigaki city government in Okinawa, Japan, to rename the disputed Senkaku-Diaoyutai Islands in order to reaffirm Japanese claims of sovereignty over the islands has led to nationalistic responses in Taiwan from among members of the Nationalist Party (KMT) and members of the Pan-Blue camp.
A roundup of the most significant news stories from Japan reported in the first half of June 2020.
Whereas most Japanese political parties, whether the ruling conservatives or the mainstream opposition, effectively have little in the way of fixed party policies, the Japan Communist Party, the nation’s oldest political party, is very different, taking its own platforms very seriously.
Japan Communist Party Chair Kazuo Shii has presented his party’s views on China and the Chinese Communist Party as part of the 28th Party Congress held in Atami on January 14 to 18.
A roundup of the most significant news stories from Japan reported in the first half of December 2019.
