Japan’s Prime Minister Kishida Fumio has basked in an outpouring of respect and appreciation in Washington this week. He was feted by U.S. President Joe Biden at a state dinner at the White House. The event was attended by a host of celebrities, such as Robert de Niro, as well as top brass from the … Read more
President Joe Biden will China about its recent aggressive activity in the South China Sea when he meets later this week with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in Washington, according to a report in the Financial Times. According to the report, which cited two senior U.S. officials with knowledge … Read more
The Philippines is set to launch joint naval patrols in the South China Sea with Japan and the United States later this year, in a bid to counter China’s increasingly assertive behavior in disputed waters. The news was reported on Friday by the U.S.-based outlet Politico, which cited “a U.S. official and a foreign diplomat … Read more
North Korea said Monday that Japan’s prime minister has offered to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, but stressed that prospects for their countries’ first summit in about 20 years would depend on Tokyo tolerating the North’s weapons program and agreeing to close the book on its past abductions of Japanese nationals. Japan … Read more
U.S. President Joe Biden will host Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. for a summit in Washington on April 11, the White House has announced. In a statement to the press yesterday, White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre said that leaders “will discuss trilateral cooperation to promote inclusive economic growth and … Read more
Japanese conservatives found a trustworthy ally in the late Prime Minister Abe Shinzo. Abe’s conservative bona fides – represented by his revisionist views on historical memory and what should be taught in history classrooms, his hawkish stance toward North Korea, and his relentless attack on the Japanese post-war governing structure, which he scorned as the … Read more
Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio and his Italian counterpart, Giorgia Meloni, have agreed on a series of measures to further deepen their bilateral defense cooperation through port calls by naval vessels, including an aircraft carrier strike group, as well as the joint development of a next-generation fighter jet. Highlighting the growing convergence between the two … Read more
Japanese media recently reported that Prime Minister Kishida Fumio’s approval rating stands at 26 percent, up just slightly from the 23 percent recorded in December 2023. The two figures are the lowest approval ratings for Kishida since the establishment of his Cabinet in October 2021. In the midst of political fundraising scandals, Kishida is attempting … Read more
Fall down seven times, get up eight. This Japanese proverb about resilience also applies to Japan’s relationship with South Korea. After a 2018 ruling by the South Korean Supreme Court set off a diplomatic spiral within Japan-South Korea relations, 2022 saw a dramatic improvement in bilateral ties. Since then, numerous meetings between Japanese Prime Minister … Read more
The resignation of four cabinet ministers in the most serious political corruption scandal in recent memory begs for a certain appraisal of affairs. In the past year and a half, Japan has been going through a spectacular series of corruption incidents and fraud at the highest levels of government and industry, eroding an already brittle … Read more