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japan: news and opinion

Latest stories from Channel NewsAsia 


19 Nov 09 visit Japan, China agree to improve military, political exchanges TOKYO - The foreign ministers of Japan and China agreed Thursday to advance political and military exchanges in a bid to foster mutual trust, a Japanese diplomat said.
19 Nov 09 visit Smoke rises from Japan's nuke plant, no radiation leak TOKYO: Smoke rose on Thursday from the world's largest nuclear power plant in Japan, which was hit by a deadly earthquake two years ago, but the operator said no-one was injured and there was no radiation leak.
17 Nov 09 visit Japan's Japonica revives the use of silk in its 2010 spring summer collection TOKYO: It's that time of year when fashion brands unveil their 2010 spring summer collection. Some new labels in Japan will be trying to make an impression.
16 Nov 09 visit Japan, US to seek solution to Okinawa base row TOKYO : Japan and the United States will hold talks here on Tuesday to seek ways to solve a sticking row over the relocation of a US military base on the island of Okinawa, the foreign ministry said.
14 Nov 09 visit Japan, Singapore launch creative centre SINGAPORE: The prime ministers from Japan and Singapore officially launched the Japan Creative Centre just off Orchard Road on Saturday.
14 Nov 09 visit Japan reassured of stable gas supplies from Brunei SINGAPORE: Brunei reassured Japan at a bilateral summit here on Saturday that it will receive stable long-term supplies of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the sultanate, a Japanese foreign ministry statement said.
14 Nov 09 visit US will not be "cowed" by NKorea, says Obama TOKYO: US President Barack Obama on Saturday said Washington would not be "cowed" by North Korea's nuclear threats, but said the United States is ready to offer the isolated country "a different future".
14 Nov 09 visit Obama calls on Myanmar to free Suu Kyi TOKYO : US President Barack Obama Saturday urged Myanmar to release detained democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other political prisoners, urging the regime to take a path to "true security and prosperity."
14 Nov 09 visit Obama vows to deepen US engagement in Asia TOKYO: Billing himself America's first "Pacific president", Barack Obama Saturday said the United States did not seek to "contain" China and promised a full US role in charting Asia's future.
10 Nov 09 visit Japan reports its 54th death from H1N1 flu virus TOKYO: Japan has reported its 54th death from the H1N1 flu virus. The latest victim is a 7-month-old baby, and it is the first time someone so young has died from the virus in a country with one of the world's best health and sanitation levels.
10 Nov 09 visit Obama urges Japan to keep US bases pact TOKYO: US President Barack Obama urged Japan's new centre-left government on Tuesday to keep a pact allowing US bases on its territory, as both sides laid the groundwork for his visit to Tokyo this week.
10 Nov 09 visit Japanese police arrest suspect in UK woman's murder TOKYO: Japanese police on Tuesday said they had arrested the only suspect in the killing of 22-year-old British teacher Lindsay Ann Hawker, more than two years after her murder.
10 Nov 09 visit Okinawa base not dominant issue of Obama's Japan visit, says US official WASHINGTON: A dispute over the relocation of a key US military base in Japan will not be a "dominant" or "essential" feature of President Barack Obama's visit to Tokyo, a senior US official said on Monday.
10 Nov 09 visit Low cost carrier Jetstar Asia marks foray into wide-bodied carrier market SINGAPORE: Low cost carrier Jestar Asia is widening its reach. Its CEO, Chong Phit Lian has confirmed that the carrier's applied to fly twice daily to Haneda in Japan, using the wide-bodied A330, from its hub in Changi Airport.
10 Nov 09 visit Japan pledges US$5b in aid for Afghanistan over five years TOKYO: Japan said on Tuesday it would give up to five billion dollars in new aid to Afghanistan over the next five years to help rebuild the war-torn nation.
10 Nov 09 visit US senators press Japan on parental abductions WASHINGTON: Nearly one-quarter of the US Senate asked President Barack Obama on Monday to press Japan on his upcoming visit about parental abductions, saying Tokyo's policies were an anomaly among developed nations.
08 Nov 09 visit Japanese protest over US base before Obama's visit GINOWAN, Japan : Thousands have rallied against a US military base on Japan's Okinawa island, raising the heat in a simmering row days before President Barack Obama visits Tokyo.
07 Nov 09 visit Japanese town stages anti-US base protest KADENA, Japan : Thousands of residents of Japan's southern island of Okinawa Saturday staged a protest against the presence of the US military on the eve of a major rally against a controversial airbase.
07 Nov 09 visit Japan to increase aid to Myanmar TOKYO: Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama on Saturday said Japan plans to increase aid to Myanmar gradually while hailing Washington's latest efforts to engage the military-ruled country.
06 Nov 09 visit Japan seeks closer Southeast Asian ties with Mekong summit TOKYO: Japan from Friday hosts the leaders of Southeast Asia's five Mekong River nations as the world's number two economy looks to deepen ties with the resource-rich region amid growing influence from China.
06 Nov 09 visit Gunman in Japan wounds three, kills himself TOKYO: A gunman in Japan who said he was a gangster shot and wounded three people before killing himself on Friday in Yokohama near Tokyo, police and news reports said.
05 Nov 09 visit Top US envoy for Asia in Japan amid base row TOKYO : The top US diplomat for Asia was due to meet Japan's foreign minister on Thursday for talks amid a worsening row over an American military airbase on the southern island of Okinawa.
04 Nov 09 visit Burger King Gives Japan a Seven-Patty Challenge Burger King has not exactly lived up to its name in Japan. It has only 15 stores nationwide, compared to McDonald's roughly 3,750. But there's no denying that Burger King now offers the biggest burger in town. This month, the American fast food chain, in...
02 Nov 09 visit Japan aims to bury greenhouse gas emissions OMUTA, Japan: Swathes of dirty clouds brood over a coal plant in rural Japan, but scientists are now hoping to send the pollutants the other way, deep into the bowels of Mother Earth.
31 Oct 09 visit "I hate whale meat," Japan's PM confides: report TOKYO : Japan's Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama has revealed he dislikes whale meat, a newspaper reported Saturday, in an unusual confession for the prime minister of a country that defies Western criticism of whaling.
31 Oct 09 visit Dalai Lama defends visit to disputed Indian state TOKYO: Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama said he was surprised at China's protest against his planned visit to an area of India claimed by Beijing, hinting he backed India on the border issue.
31 Oct 09 visit Japan reportedly to fund infrastructure project in Afghanistan TOKYO: Japan will fund a programme costing up to five billion dollars to help build roads and boost agriculture in conflict-torn Afghanistan, a newspaper reported on Saturday.
28 Oct 09 visit Japan shoots down missile in test off Hawaii WASHINGTON: Japanese naval forces successfully shot down a medium-range missile off Hawaii in a test of Tokyo's missile defence weaponry, the US military said on Wednesday.
28 Oct 09 visit Japan to carry out missile shoot-down test off Hawaii WASHINGTON - Japanese naval forces plan to shoot down a medium-range missile on Tuesday off Hawaii in a test of Tokyo's missile defence weaponry, the US military said.
27 Oct 09 visit Japanese, S.Korean ships collide in Japan TOKYO : A Japanese naval escort ship and a South Korean container ship collided late Tuesday between two islands in southern Japan, the Defence Ministry said.
27 Oct 09 visit Japan mulls anti-piracy naval plan TOKYO: Japan may send a naval refuelling mission now backing the NATO-led Afghan campaign to support anti-piracy efforts off Somalia next year, the defence minister said Tuesday.
26 Oct 09 visit Japan's PM pushes for "equal" ties with US TOKYO : Japan's centre-left Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama stressed in his first policy address to parliament Monday that he wants a relationship of equals with the United States.
26 Oct 09 visit Typhoon Lupit nears southern Japan TOKYO: Typhoon Lupit approached Japan's southern islands Monday and was forecast to churn along the country's east coast, brushing Tokyo the next day, the weather agency said.
25 Oct 09 visit Hatoyama's DPJ wins two seats in Japan's upper house TOKYO: Candidates from new Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama's party won two by-elections for Japan's upper house on Sunday, in the first test for the centre-left government, officials results showed.
25 Oct 09 visit Asian leaders give rival visions for economic blocs HUA HIN, Thailand - Asian leaders heard competing plans from Australia and Japan for a massive EU-style economic and political bloc as they wrapped up an annual summit in Thailand on Sunday.
25 Oct 09 visit Japanese voters go to polls in key by-elections TOKYO - Voters went to the polls Sunday in two by-elections for Japan's upper house, in the first test of the popularity of Prime Minister Yuko Hatoyama's one-month old centre-left government.
24 Oct 09 visit Japan's PM pushes East Asia bloc at summit HUA HIN, Thailand : Japan's new Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama pressed plans for a new East Asian community at a summit on Saturday, saying that the region should aspire to lead the world.
24 Oct 09 visit Japanese govt's coalition partner rejects new US base proposal TOKYO: A coalition partner of Japan's centre-left government on Saturday voiced opposition to a fresh proposal for keeping a controversial US base within the southern Japanese island of Okinawa.
23 Oct 09 visit Top US military officer in Japan amid base row TOKYO : The top US military officer on Friday kicked off a series of talks in Japan, government officials said, as their decades-long alliance is being strained by a military base dispute.
21 Oct 09 visit Gates presses Japan to "move on" with base pact TOKYO : US Defence Secretary Robert Gates on Wednesday pressed Japan to quickly "move on" with a plan to relocate a controversial US military base to a new area of southern Okinawa island.
20 Oct 09 visit Blue roses to debut in Japan TOKYO : Which colour would you like your roses? Red, white, yellow ... or perhaps blue?
20 Oct 09 visit China objects to Japan visit by exiled Uighur leader BEIJING: China on Tuesday expressed its "strong dissatisfaction" over a visit to Japan by exiled Uighur leader Rebiya Kadeer, whom it blames for fomenting recent deadly unrest in its Xinjiang region.
20 Oct 09 visit Japanese lawmakers visit war shrine, PM stays away TOKYO: More than 50 Japanese politicians on Tuesday visited a controversial war shrine in Tokyo, but the new centre-left Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama and his Cabinet stayed away.
20 Oct 09 visit No alternative to US forces in Japan deal, says Gates ABOARD A US MILITARY AIRCRAFT : Defence Secretary Robert Gates on Tuesday ruled out reopening negotiations on a deal to relocate a US airbase in Okinawa, saying alternatives had proven "unworkable."
19 Oct 09 visit Sino-Japanese relations likely to improve under Hatoyama government, say analysts TOKYO: Among China's external relations, Sino-Japanese ties easily count as one of the most important, but also among the most difficult ones to manage.
19 Oct 09 visit Japan starts H1N1 flu vaccinations TOKYO - Japan on Monday started vaccinating medical workers against H1N1 flu, which is known to have killed 27 people in the country, the health ministry said. The country has a limited supply of the domestically-made vaccine, with doses for about...
19 Oct 09 visit Hatoyama support over 70%, according to polls TOKYO : The cabinet of Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama enjoys approval ratings of more than 70 percent a month after taking office, surveys showed Monday.
18 Oct 09 visit Japan, Australia lead talks on nuclear arms reduction TOKYO : An international committee led by Japan and Australia began a fourth round of talks on Sunday to draft recommendations on how to achieve a nuclear weapon-free world.
16 Oct 09 visit Countries press Japan on parental child abductions TOKYO : Envoys of eight countries were due Friday to meet Japan's justice minister to press Tokyo to sign a treaty to prevent international parental child abductions, a diplomatic source said.
15 Oct 09 visit Japan informs US it will stop Afghan naval mission TOKYO : Japan has told the United States it will end a naval refuelling mission backing its war in Afghanistan, a month before President Barack Obama visits Tokyo, a top defence official said Thursday.

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