Defense Minister Taro Kono’s denunciation of NHK and the mainstream news media as “fake news” for reporting that his ministry had decided to give up the Araya Training Area in Akita city as host for an Aegis Ashore facility was a cynical ploy on his part, but it did highlight once again that many people misunderstand the news media in rather fundamental ways.
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.
A roundup of the most significant news stories from Japan reported in the second half of September 2019.
Twelve weeks into pro-democracy demonstrations, Hong Kong is on the verge of a tipping point, and protesters are becoming increasingly desperate in the face of inaction by their government.
A roundup of the most significant news stories from Japan reported on May 5, 2019.
A roundup of the most significant news stories from Japan reported on October 21, 2018.
Steven Clemons lays out his view of why the Trans-Pacific Partnership failed and Donald Trump’s expected trade policies
The political stakes are extremely high in the Trump administration’s choice of economic strategy.
Another look at the leader who set the stage for Donald Trump.
Leading Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has been making waves with radical policy notions from the day he announced his run for his party’s nomination. He took this to a whole new level on August 16 when he released a five-page report entitled, “Immigration Reform That Will Make America Great Again.” Briefly noted within a subsection called—ironically enough—“Defend The Laws And Constitution Of The United States,” Trump called for “ending birthright citizenship.”
