Nikkei reported from Seoul that ahead of President Moon’s summit with President Biden in Washington later this week, the ROK government is considering joining the working groups on COVID-19 vaccines, climate change, and advanced technology that the Quad members plan to launch. In return, Seoul is aiming to obtain a commitment from the U.S. leader to resume dialogue with North Korea by obtaining the President’s assurance that his administration will honor….Read more

Mainichi highlighted Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao’s stinging criticism of Japan’s plan to discharge treated radioactive water from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant into the ocean, saying that the GOJ has been having difficulty rebutting his harsh narratives. The senior Chinese diplomat has rebuffed Tokyo’s demand to delete his controversial tweet featuring a parody of a Hokusai ukiyo-e to ridicule the water discharge. Referring to him as a “wolf warrior diplomat,” the daily said Zhao has escalated his defiant rhetoric during daily press briefings….Read more

The Japan Coast Guard patrol confirmed four China Coast Guard vessels traveling in the contiguous zone of Japan’s territorial waters near the Senkaku Islands (Ishigaki City, Okinawa Prefecture) on May 16.   This was the 93rd consecutive day that Chinese government ships were sighted near the Senkakus.   According to the 11th Regional Coast Guard Headquarters (Naha), one of the….Read more

At around 10:00 a.m. on May 16, a Japan Coast Guard (JCG) patrol vessel confirmed that the Chinese marine research vessel “Hai Yang Di Zhi 09” dropped what appeared to be a wire in Japan’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) off the coast of Okinotorishima (Tokyo), Japan’s southernmost point. The Chinese vessel was active in Japan’s EEZ on May 12-14, as….Read more

Tokyo, May 16 (Jiji Press)–Japanese freelance journalist Yuki Kitazumi, released from a Myanmar prison Friday, has renewed his resolve to keep telling stories about the country’s severe situation since the Feb. 1 military coup.   In a telephone conversation with Jiji Press on Saturday, Kitazumi said that in the prison where he was jailed, many Myanmarese people were detained as….Read more

BY MICAHEL HOFFMAN, CONTRIBUTING WRITER   Diplomats fog their minefields with blandness. A “joint leaders’ statement” can even put an insomniac to sleep: “We underscore the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, and encourage the peaceful resolution of cross-strait issues.” Zzz.   Wake up. One word in that affirmation by Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and U.S. President….Read more

BEIJING – China on Friday urged Japan not to meddle in its internal affairs amid expectations that Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga’s government will mention the importance of stability in the Taiwan Strait in its annual defense report for the first time.   Recently, Japan has often “violently interfered in China’s internal affairs” and “unreasonably criticized China’s normal national defense construction and….Read more

Companies have a social responsibility to respect human rights, a principle that has been confirmed by the United Nations. It is unacceptable for China to seek to shut out of its market companies that showed concern over the suppression of human rights.   The U.N. Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights stipulate that states and business enterprises are obligated….Read more

Kyodo reported on Saturday that arrangements are being made by the U.S., Japan, and South Korea for their leaders to hold a summit in the UK on the sidelines of the annual G7 summit in mid-June to reaffirm trilateral coordination to achieve North Korea’s denuclearization. According to multiple sources, the Biden administration is taking the lead in convening the trilateral….Read more