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

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

Yomiuri and Asahi reported that Defense Minister Hamada told the press on Monday that the production of one of the four air defense radars to be exported to the Philippines is complete. The papers said the equipment will be exported in mid-November, adding that this will be Japan’s first export of finished defense equipment. Hamada also reportedly announced that starting….Read more

NHK reported online this morning that a suprapartisan league of Diet members will visit Taiwan for the first time in three years this month amid China’s increasing military pressure on Taiwan. According to the network, about 20 members of the Japan-ROC Diet Members’ Consultative Council, including former head of National Public Safety Commission Furuya, who heads the group, will visit….Read more

On Sept. 30, Tohoku Electric Power Co. announced that it has inked a deal with the new operator of Russia’s “Sakhalin-2” for the purchase of liquefied natural gas (LNG). The utility will purchase 420,000 tons of LNG a year, which accounts for about 10% of the utility’s total imports, through 2029. The contract was sealed on Sept. 28.   The….Read more

As Japan and China commemorate the 50th anniversary of the normalization of their diplomatic relations, parliamentary diplomacy between the two countries is dwindling. Japanese sentiment toward China has worsened as the tension between the two countries heightens, causing lawmakers to become increasingly cautious about being labeled “pro-China.” Some people are calling for maintaining multi-layered diplomatic networks that go beyond official….Read more