Ministers leave for U.S. security talks
TOKYO (Jiji Press) — Foreign Minister Taro Kono and Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera left for Washington on Wednesday to hold security talks with their U.S. counterparts later this week. At the s...
Politics
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Analysis / Minister’s remarks show Pyongyang’s ulterior motive
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N. Korean foreign minister suggested dialogue to Kono
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Abe makes ritual offering to Yasukuni
TOKYO (Jiji Press) — Prime Minister Shinzo Abe made a tamagushi ritual offering at his own expense to Yasukuni Shrine on Tuesday, the 72nd anniversary of the end of World War II. But Abe, also pr...
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Moon urges Japan to show courage
SEOUL (Jiji Press) — South Korean President Moon Jae In urged Japanese leaders on Tuesday to take a courageous attitude to resolve the issue of so-called comfort women and other problems pending be...
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Japan concerned about comfort women statues
TOKYO (Jiji Press) — Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga on Tuesday expressed concerns over the operations of buses in Seoul carrying statues that symbolize the issue of wartime comfort women. ...
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Comfort women statues put on S. Korea buses
SEOUL (Jiji Press) — A Seoul bus service operator on Monday started running buses each carrying a statue of a girl symbolizing the issue of comfort women.
The 1.3-meter-tall plastic statue was ins...
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Peace pledge renewed on war-end anniversary
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Abe, Trump agree to prevent N. Korea’s missile launches
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Abe, Trump to discuss threats by North Korea
WASHINGTON (Jiji Press) — U.S. President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was to hold telephone talks on Monday evening to discuss how to deal with North Korea’s escalating provocations...
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Defense chief makes 1st Okinawa visit
NAHA (Jiji Press) — Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera on Monday visited Okinawa Prefecture for the first time since he took office earlier this month and held talks with Okinawa Gov. Takeshi Onaga....
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Tourism MBA courses eyed to boost industry
The government will strengthen its efforts to develop human resources in the tourism industry by establishing courses for a masters in business administration in tourism, and setting up new specialty ...
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Komeito cautious over casinos / Low Cabinet rating boosts opponents
Komeito has been increasingly showing wariness over the enactment of a bill legislating for the operation of casinos in integrated resorts by the end of this year.
The low approval rating of the Cabi...
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U.S. marines to ground Osprey aircraft for 24 hours
WASHINGTON (Jiji Press) — The U.S. Marine Corps said Friday that it will ground all aviation units for 24 hours in the wake of recent accidents including a fatal crash off Australia of an Osprey ti...
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PAC-3 units deployed in Chugoku, Shikoku
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Advisory panel postpones decision on Kake school
TOKYO (Jiji Press) — A government advisory panel has postponed its decision on whether to approve a plan to establish a new veterinary medicine faculty by Kake Educational Institution, a school ope...
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Defense Ministry OK’s U.S. Osprey flights in Japan
TOKYO (Jiji Press) — The Defense Ministry said Friday it has decided to accept MV-22 Osprey flights in Japan as the United States took steps for safe flights of the tilt-rotor transport aircraft fo...
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U.S. attack would be ‘exceptional’
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Technical, legal problems vex Japan’s missile interception
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Over 60% opposed to ‘3rd term’ for Abe
A recent survey showed more than 60 percent of respondents wanted Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to leave his post by the end of his current term as Liberal Democratic Party’s president in September 201...
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Air visit to graves in northern territories expected for Sept. 23
TOKYO (Jiji Press) — Japan and Russia are arranging a visit by air to graves on two of the four disputed Russian-held islands by former Japanese islanders for around Sept. 23, it was learned Wednes...
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Defense Ministry creates post to counter cover-ups
TOKYO (Jiji Press) — The Defense Ministry set up a new post on Wednesday as part of its efforts to prevent any recurrence of problems similar to a cover-up of daily activity logs from Ground Self-D...
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Motegi ‘gave out pocket notebooks’
TOKYO (Jiji Press) — New Economic Revitalization Minister Toshimitsu Motegi distributed House of Representatives pocket notebooks to executives of his local support group free of charge, the weekly...
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Osprey absent from Japan-U.S. joint drills
TOKYO (Jiji Press) — MV-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft of the U.S. Marine Corps in Okinawa Prefecture did not take part in the U.S. military’s joint exercises with the Self-Defense Forces on Thurs...
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Attack ‘could be threat to the survival of Japan’
Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera said Thursday that if North Korea fires missiles near the U.S. territory of Guam where the United States has military bases, the action could constitute a “survival...
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Kono starts well as foreign minister
Foreign Minister Taro Kono made his presence felt on his first overseas trip since taking the position last week. In fluent English, Kono exchanged opinions with other foreign ministers and distinguis...
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Defense chief doubts Inada told of reports
TOKYO (Jiji Press) — Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera on Thursday called into question the credibility of claims made by former defense officials that they reported the existence of controversial ...
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Trump touts nuclear arsenal
WASHINGTON (AFP-Jiji) — President Donald Trump said Wednesday the United States’ nuclear arsenal was now “more powerful than ever before” in a fresh warning to North Korea over its missile te...
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U.S. aircraft transfers to Iwakuni begin
IWAKUNI, Yamaguchi (Jiji Press) — Work started on Wednesday to transfer U.S. carrier-based aircraft to Iwakuni, Yamaguchi Prefecture, from Kanagawa Prefecture as part of a realignment plan for the ...
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Agency chief skips press conference
TOKYO (Jiji Press) —The National Tax Agency said Tuesday that its new chief, Nobuhisa Sagawa, will not hold an inaugural press conference. It is unusual for a new commissioner of the agency to ski...
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Suga hails Trump’s warning against North
TOKYO (Jiji Press) — Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga welcomed on Wednesday a strong warning issued by U.S. President Donald Trump against North Korea over the reclusive state’s intercontin...
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ASDF jets, U.S. bombers conduct joint exercises
TOKYO (Jiji Press) — Two Air Self-Defense Force F-2 fighters conducted joint drills with U.S. B-1B strategic bombers over the Kyushu region in southwestern Japan on Tuesday, the Defense Ministry sa...
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Esaki calls for Status of Forces pact review
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Abe wants Esaki to stay
NAGASAKI (Jiji Press) — Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Wednesday indicated that he does not plan to replace Tetsuma Esaki as Cabinet minister over gaffes that Esaki made just after he took office las...
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Edano announces candidacy to lead DP
TOKYO (Jiji Press) — Former Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano officially announced his candidacy Tuesday for leader of the main opposition Democratic Party, calling for achieving the party’s go...
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Koike aims to help form natl party
Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike expressed her readiness to help establish a new political party on the national stage in an interview with The Yomiuri Shimbun on Tuesday.
Regarding a new political associati...
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Vietnam praises Kono for challenging China
MANILA (Jiji Press) — Vietnamese Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh praised his Japanese counterpart, Taro Kono, when the two met in Manila on Tuesday for his remarks opposing China’s development of...
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Tokyo, Seoul apart over comfort women accord
MANILA (Jiji Press) — Foreign Minister Taro Kono and his South Korean counterpart, Kang Kyung Hwa, were apart over the issue of wartime comfort women, at their meeting in Manila on Monday. Kono r...
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Maehara vows to review DP ties with other parties
TOKYO (Jiji Press) — Former Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara on Monday promised to review his Democratic Party’s cooperation with other opposition forces including the Japanese Communist Party.
A...
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Wang raps Kono’s remarks on South China Sea issue
MANILA (Jiji Press) — Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Monday criticized remarks on the South China Sea situation made by Foreign Minister Taro Kono at an international meeting earlier in the da...
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Japan, U.S. to hold 2-plus-2 ministerial meeting Aug. 17
MANILA (Jiji Press) — Foreign Minister Taro Kono and U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson agreed on Monday that their countries will hold a so-called two-plus-two meeting of the foreign and defens...
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U.S. says no restriction on Osprey flights
WASHINGTON (Jiji Press) — A Defense Department spokesman on Monday indicated the U.S. military’s stance of not refraining from flying its MV-22 Ospreys based in Japan after a crash of one of them...
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Deep concerns over security affirmed / Defense white paper calls N. Korea new level of threat
TOKYO (Jiji Press) — The Defense Ministry, in an annual report submitted at a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, described North Korea as a new level of threat while expressing a strong sense of vigilance ...
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Road forward unclear 1 year after abdication message
Tuesday marked one year since the Emperor indicated his desire to abdicate. Following the enactment of a special measures law to realize abdication, the Emperor will be referred to as joko — an off...
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Obituary / Kosuke Uehara / Ex-National Land Agency chief
TOKYO (Jiji Press) — Former National Land Agency chief Kosuke Uehara, the first lawmaker elected from Okinawa Prefecture to become a Cabinet minister, died of respiratory failure on Sunday. He was ...
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Abe hints at future study on ability to strike enemy bases
HIROSHIMA (Jiji Press) — Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has suggested that the government may launch a study in the future on the possibility of equipping the country with the ability to strike enemy ba...
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Kono voices concern over South China Sea
MANILA (Jiji Press) — Foreign Minister Taro Kono expressed deep concerns on Sunday over China’s island-building and militarization in the South China Sea. Japan will continue to press for the de...
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Japan, U.S. eye strict execution of tougher North Korea sanctions
MANILA (Jiji Press) — Foreign Minister Taro Kono and U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson agreed Monday to work closely for the strict implementation of new U.N. Security Council sanctions against ...
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Onodera vows to step up pressure on N. Korea
TOKYO (Jiji Press) — New Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera has vowed to cooperate with the international community to strengthen pressure on North Korea to abandon its nuclear and missile programs...
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Japan asks China to cut labor from North
Japan has asked China through diplomatic channels several times since April to restrict its acceptance of North Korean workers, according to Japanese government officials. It is said that the incomes...
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LDP to delay its revision of top law
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has effectively changed his timeline for constitutional revision by adopting a stance that does not stick to the target of 2020. The Liberal Democratic Party’s Headquarter...
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Cabinet approval rating up, but still lower than disapproval
The approval rating for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s Cabinet rose to 42 percent, up six percentage points from the previous survey in which it marked its lowest point since the inauguration of the se...
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Govt aims to submit bill to lower adult age by autumn
TOKYO (Jiji Press) — Justice Minister Yoko Kamikawa revealed on Friday plans to submit a bill by autumn’s extraordinary session of the Diet to amend the Civil Code to lower the country’s adult ...
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Head of U.S. Joint Chiefs to visit Japan
WASHINGTON (Jiji Press) — Gen. Joseph Dunford, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, will visit Japan, China and South Korea in mid-August, U.S. government sources said on Friday. In talks w...
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Noda vows to run for LDP presidency
TOKYO (Jiji Press) — Senior ruling party member Seiko Noda expressed her readiness on Thursday to run in the party’s leadership election in September next year to challenge Prime Minister Shinzo ...
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LDP, DP agree to hold Diet talks over cover-up scandal
TOKYO (Jiji Press) — The ruling Liberal Democratic Party and the main opposition Democratic Party agreed Friday to hold off-session deliberations in the Diet on Thursday to discuss allegations of a...
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Reshuffled Cabinet starts work
TOKYO (Jiji Press) — Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s new Cabinet held its first regular meeting on Friday morning, kicking off full-fledged efforts to shore up plummeting public support ratings. Wit...
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Kishida edges ahead in race to succeed Abe
Fumio Kishida’s appointment as chairman of the Liberal Democratic Party’s Policy Research Council has edged him to the front in the race to eventually take over from Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
Ki...
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Hosono leaving DP to create new party
TOKYO (Jiji Press) — Former Democratic Party Deputy President Goshi Hosono informed fellow party members on Friday that he intends to leave the top opposition party and aims to form a new political...
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Abe launches new Cabinet, hoping to regain public trust
TOKYO (Jiji Press) — Prime Minister Shinzo Abe launched a new Cabinet on Thursday, in a bid to revive his administration, which has seen its public approval ratings plunge, by putting priority on ec...
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Abe assembles balanced, solid lineup / Also gives consideration to equilibrium among factions
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe gave priority to a sense of stability by appointing several lawmakers with previous ministerial experience who can hit the ground running in the reshuffled Cabinet he unveile...
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Ceremony held to mark partial return of Futenma
GINOWAN, Okinawa (Jiji Press) — A ceremony was held in Ginowan, Okinawa Prefecture, on Tuesday to mark the partial return of the U.S. Marine Corps’ Futenma Air Station to Japan.
While praising t...
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Maehara, Edano vie for DP leadership
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Kishida to be head of LDP policy council
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New China rig found near median line
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Regulations on ‘IR’ casino resorts outlined
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Abe: Cabinet reshuffle coming on Thursday
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S. Korea launches review of comfort women deal
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Abe, Trump discuss next steps on DPRK / Talks focus on China, Russia roles
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North Korea shows off improvements with latest launch
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DP’s Edano announces bid for leadership
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Missile adds confusion at Defense Ministry
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Japan, U.S., S. Korea eye emergency UNSC meeting on N. Korea
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Japan looks for ways to respond to missile launch
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Hagerty stresses unity with Japan
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N. Korea fires 2nd ICBM, claims all of U.S. in range
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Abe condemns N. Korea’s ICBM launch
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Opposition camp moves toward major shake-up
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Edano, Maehara to run for DP leadership
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Highest-ranking bureaucrat to also quit after suspension
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Inada resigns as defense minister over data scandal
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More China entities put on sanctions list against North
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Analysis / Probe far from revealing truth
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Comfort women deal meets entrenched resistance in ROK
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Hagerty sworn in as U.S. ambassador to Japan
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Japan, Russia have different visions for N. territories
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Nations ready for possible N. Korea launch
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Defense chief Inada to resign
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Renho set to step down as DP president
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DP leader Renho to resign
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Abe fails to put Kake scandal to rest
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Okinawa sues, but base work goes on
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Abe reiterates ‘Jan. 20’ claim on school plan
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Noda reveals decision to quit
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N. Korea could conduct missile test soon: CNN
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Head of comfort women foundation to resign
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Kori’s victory in Sendai poll deals another blow to Abe
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Okinawa Pref. sues govt to stop landfill
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Abe denies favoritism on school plan
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Abe in peril with Inada, Kake to be focus of off-session Diet
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Moves under way to prevent oil leaks from wartime ships
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Inada accepts hearing by inspectors, denies cover-up
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Govt to alert public about fire ants as holidays start
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N-pact with India comes into force
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Inada ‘to cooperate with special probe’
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Trump’s remarks on Akie Abe’s English called into question
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Japan, U.K. agree to work on rule of law
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DP to replace secretary general Noda
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Minister denies revealing Shikoku vet faculty plan
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Nikai gives U.S. Democratic leader ‘Seirogan’ medicine
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Abe-attended Diet meetings on Kake scandal set for Mon., Tue.
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ROK ‘to examine comfort women deal’
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Seoul to keep history issues, North Korea separate
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U.S. to file criminal charges against China firm over illicit N. Korea dealings
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JCG to train own pilots amid rising surveillance demands
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Inada denies endorsing GSDF report cover-up
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Renho discloses documents to prove Japanese nationality
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Chinese ships prompt more vigilance
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N-waste disposal sites to be indicated
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Heads of maritime security bodies to meet in Japan in Sept.
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Diet to meet as early as Monday over Kake issue
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New missiles eyed for ASDF F-2 fighters
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Suga: S. Korea’s proposal not inconsistent
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Govt eyeing push to export waste systems
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Journalists allowed to view Japan-U.S.-India exercise
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Japan pledges $1 bil. to aid world’s youth
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2 Chinese coast guard ships enter Japanese waters off Aomori Pref.
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Japan, U.S., S. Korea agree to pressure N. Korea
SINGAPORE/SEOUL (Jiji Press) — Senior officials of Japan, the United States and South Korea have confirmed their countries’ cooperation to add pressure on North Korea through the U.N. Security Co...
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Japan’s odds of intercepting N. Korean ICBM unfavorable
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Japan to more strictly confiscate cargo linked to North Korea’s nuke supplies
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My Japanology / Hooked for 40 years since a visit to Ryoanji temple
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Lessons learned from Senkaku war games
SUFFOLK, Va. — “An armed group has come ashore on one of the Senkaku Islands in Okinawa Prefecture, and while the Japan Coast Guard and police forces struggle to bring the incident under control, ...
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MSDF ship joins U.S. vessel on escort mission
YOKOSUKA, Kanagawa (Jiji Press) — A Japanese destroyer joined a U.S. military supply ship in waters off the Boso Peninsula on Monday afternoon to guard it in the first such operation during peacetim...
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Japan ‘on high alert’ after North Korea missile launch
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Poll: 64% favor U.S. pressure on North Korea
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Government extends sanctions on North Korea for 2 years
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N. Korea believed to have fired Scud-ER missiles
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SWIFT bans access by North Korea banks
BRUSSELS/WASHINGTON — Three North Korean banks subject to U.N. sanctions have been banned by the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication from using the society’s network, thr...
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Missile landed 200 kilometers off Noto Peninsula
One of the four ballistic missiles simultaneously fired by North Korea on Monday landed in the Sea of Japan about 200 kilometers north of the Noto Peninsula in Ishikawa Prefecture, Defense Minister To...
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Upper house unanimously passes protest resolution
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Abe, Trump agree threat of N. Korea now in ‘new stage’
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NSC meeting held
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Likely reaction to U.S.-ROK drills
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Japan, China to urge N. Korea
BONN (Jiji Press) — Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi agreed Friday to urge North Korea to abide by a series of U.N. Security Council resolutions against its nucle...
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Japan, South Korea, U.S. condemn DPRK test / Ministers reaffirm trilateral cooperation
BONN — The foreign ministers of Japan, the United States and South Korea condemned in a joint statement on Thursday “in the strongest terms” North Korea’s test-launch of a ballistic missile Su...
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Govt protests North Korea launch
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Provocations indicate Pyongyang’s hostility
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Trump: Japan guided yen lower for years
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India-Japan strategic partnership: Renewed focus on peace and security in Asia
By Madhuchanda Ghosh India and Japan are redefining their relations in the backdrop of the changing security architecture in Asia. The post Cold War structural changes in Asia's security environm...