With geopolitical risks associated with semiconductors growing as tensions between the U.S. and China escalate, private sector experts have come up with a proposal that calls for the creation of a research center to develop cutting-edge semiconductor technology in a move to strengthen Japan-U.S. cooperation. The proposal was drafted by the Japanese branch of BGA Think Tank, which was launched….Read more

SHINTARO IKEUCHI, Nikkei senior staff writer   TOKYO — U.S. President Joe Biden gently put his hand on Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga’s back as the two leaders left the Rose Garden at the White House after a joint news conference in mid-April. Biden made the gesture as if to show his appreciation for Suga’s visit to Washington, despite the….Read more

By Jitsuro Terashima [President, Japan Research Institute]    Consequences of the U.S.’s “strategy of ambiguity”     Many think that the issue of the Senkaku Islands is only a problem between Japan and China. It must be made clear, however, that the U.S. stance on the issue has been a factor complicating its resolution.     In an inexplicable and unreasonable move, the U.S. has refused to this day to recognize Japan’s sovereignty over the islands ever since Okinawa’s return to Japan, maintaining a position of neutrality on the sovereignty issue.     ….Read more

BY KUNI MIYAKE, CONTRIBUTING WRITER   Whenever I read diplomatic statements, I try to read between the lines. I have especially been doing this ever since I left the Foreign Ministry in 2005. I know policymakers rarely discuss sensitive issues in public documents, and the communique of the May 3-5 Group of Seven foreign ministers’ meeting in London was no….Read more

Yomiuri wrote today that the top intelligence officials of the U.S., Japan, and South Korea will hold a meeting in Tokyo this week to discuss China and North Korea. According to several GOJ sources, Director of National Intelligence Haines and ROK National Intelligence Service Director Park will hold talks with Director Takizawa of the Cabinet Intelligence and Research Office following the Biden administration’s completion….Read more

Saturday’s Sankei reported that the number of researchers specializing in Japanese affairs has been declining in the U.S. in the past ten years or so due in part to the continued decline in the country’s presence in the international community and decrease in financial support by the Japanese government and corporations. The paper claimed there is only one scholar specializing in Japan at Stanford’s Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research….Read more

Something unusual happened when the Japanese and U.S. leaders met for talks in Washington on April 16. In addition to Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide and other Japanese delegates, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, and several other U.S. officials wore “blue ribbon” badges, which symbolize the campaign to bring home all Japanese abducted by North….Read more

All national papers reported from London on the joint statement released by the G7 foreign ministers stressing the importance of ensuring peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, explaining that the major democratic nations were united in confronting China’s relentless pursuit of maritime interests in the South and East China Seas. Asahi opined that the G7 meeting signified the “return….Read more

By Yuri Murakami, staff writer   A woman from Aichi Prefecture in her 20s finally had enough after her mother apparently fell under the spell of QAnon right-wing conspiracy theorists.   She received a message from her mother on the Line app at the end of February that said, “Only Japanese people think that the deep state is just a conspiracy….Read more

HIROSHI MINEGISHI, Nikkei senior staff writer   TOKYO — The strained ties between the U.S. and South Korea can be likened to a couple going through a particularly rocky stretch, in which a slight misstep could lead to a seriously damaged relationship. Both are trying to hide their anger and unhappiness in the hope of eventually patching things up.  ….Read more