Twenty-seven years have passed since the 1995 Great Hanshin Earthquake that devastated the western port city of Kobe.   By coincidence, this year’s Jan. 17 anniversary of the magnitude-6.9 temblor came on the heels of a massive underwater volcanic eruption near the South Pacific island nation of Tonga. The eruption caused tsunami and tide level changes in many parts of the….Read more

The Japan Coast Guard (JCG) confirmed there were two China Coast Guard vessels in the contiguous zone outside Japan’s territorial waters near the Senkaku Islands (Ishigaki City, Okinawa Prefecture) on Jan. 17. This was the 21st consecutive day that Chinese government ships were sighted near the Senkakus. According to the 11th Regional Coast Guard Headquarters (Naha), the JCG issued a….Read more

YURI MOMOI, Nikkei China bureau chief   BEIJING — Friction over trade and security between the U.S. and China has now spilled into the realm of ideology such as democracy, freedom and human rights. Countries around the world — whether democratic or autocratic — face widening economic and social divides, Japan included. Which camp wins the ideological contest will be….Read more

Tokyo, Jan. 17 (Jiji Press)–The Japanese government is considering support for Tonga following Saturday’s massive eruption of an undersea volcano off the southern Pacific island nation, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Seiji Kihara said Monday.   “We’re closely communicating with the government of Tonga and related countries and hoping to give a proper response” to the situation, Kihara told a news….Read more

The cardinal rule for evacuating from tsunami is to flee if a tremor is felt. However, tsunami can come even if there is no tremor. It is hoped that people will pay attention to the diverse range of natural disasters and renew their awareness of the threat they pose.   A massive underwater volcanic eruption occurred off the South Pacific….Read more

Nikkei reported on Monday evening that Defense Minister Kishi announced that North Korea fired two ballistic missiles toward the Sea of Japan on Monday. The first was launched at 8:49 a.m. and the second at 8:52 a.m. Kishi reportedly added that the missiles were believed to have splashed down outside Japan’s EEZ. According to Nikkei, the GOJ analyzes that the missiles travelled about 300 km at a maximum altitude of 50 km. Prime Minister….Read more

NHK reported that the Japan Coast Guard announced at 2:55 p.m. that North Korea fired what appeared to be a ballistic missile. The network said that according to an MOD source, the projectile apparently splashed down outside Japan’s EEZ in the Sea of Japan. The JCC is reportedly calling on ships in the area to exercise caution. The network also….Read more

The Japan Coast Guard (JCG) confirmed there were three China Coast Guard vessels in the contiguous zone outside Japan’s territorial waters near the Senkaku Islands (Ishigaki City, Okinawa Prefecture) on Jan. 13. This was the 17th consecutive day that Chinese government ships were sighted near the Senkakus. According to the 11th Regional Coast Guard Headquarters (Naha), one of the vessels….Read more

(An interview with Kokubun Ryosei, former President of the National Defense Academy, by Amano Yusuke)   After the Cold War, people thought that the international order would stabilize with increasing globalization and more interdependence among nations. As we can see from recent opposition to globalization and the expansion of populism, the world moves on a country-by-country basis. The nation-state is….Read more