All broadcasters reported on North Korea’s test-launch of a medium-range ballistic missile on Tuesday morning, saying that the projectile flew over the Tohoku region before splashing down in the Pacific some 3,200 kilometers east of Iwate Prefecture. The impact point was outside Japan’s EEZ.  According to the defense ministry, the missile was fired from a platform located in the country’s….Read more

NHK highlighted a meeting at the Defense Ministry this morning between Adm. John Aquilino, commander of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command,  and SDF Chief of Staff, Joint Staff Gen. Yamazaki, during which they exchanged views on a host of security issues, including North Korea’s latest missile launch earlier in the day. At the outset of the session, the Japanese general called….Read more

By Takahiro Suzuki and Fukutaro Yamashita / Yomiuri Shimbun Correspondents   TAIPEI/BEIJING — Taiwan’s Economic Affairs Minister Wang Mei-hua has warned China against putting military pressure on Taiwan, the world’s largest producer of semiconductors.   In an interview with The Yomiuri Shimbun, Wang, who oversees Taiwan’s semiconductor policies, said supplies would be disrupted if a contingency were to occur in….Read more

TOKYO – China expressed “strong concerns” and lodged an unusual protest with Japan over its patrol vessels remaining in international waters in the Taiwan Strait in early September to avoid a typhoon, a source knowledgeable about the matter said Monday.   China told Japan that the coast guard patrol vessels “threatened China’s security,” the source said, adding it is believed to be the….Read more

By Yoshikazu HIroike   September 29 marked the 50th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations between Japan and the People’s Republic of China. On that day, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Chinese President Xi Jinping exchanged congratulatory messages in which they called for building bilateral ties appropriate for a new era.   Nonetheless, tensions between the two neighboring nations….Read more

By Kazuto Suzuki, contributing writer   The previous three Geoeconomic Briefing series discussed whether Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has aspects of a “new war.”   To better understand the conflict, it is also necessary to examine sanctions against Russia and the impact of such economic measures on Russian behavior.   When Russia was building up troops along its border with….Read more

The first summit meeting of the United States and Pacific islands was held in Washington, with 14 countries and regions participating at the invitation of President Joe Biden.   A partnership declaration adopted at the summit states, “Forged by shared history, sacrifice, and values, our partnership has contributed to prosperity, peace, and security in the Pacific Islands, the United States,….Read more

By HIROSHI MINEGISHI, Nikkei senior staff writer   TOKYO — Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol held their first face-to-face talks on Sept. 21 in New York. The brief meeting, which took place on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly, was the first between leaders of the two countries since December 2019, and both….Read more

By Kenji Yoshida   Korea Verband, a Berlin-based civic group, erected and unveiled Germany’s first Statue of Peace in its capital city in September 2020. The sculpture is represented as a memorial to comfort women under Japanese Imperial rule, and it remains one of the most controversial public monuments today.   The Government of Japan immediately expressed its concerns. In….Read more

The referendum results are an utter sham.   Under the guise of a “referendum,” election workers carried ballot boxes and went door-to-door to voters’ homes, accompanied by military personnel who acted as intimidators.   Russia said it held “referendums” on whether or not to join Russia in four occupied regions in eastern and southern Ukraine, where the Russian regime of….Read more