• Remembering the life and legacy of Japan's former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe

    Remembering the life and legacy of Japan's former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe

    Jul 08, 2022 10:50 PM EDT

    ... pandemic in 2020, China-Japan relations had improved to such an extent that Chinese President Xi was slated to make a historic state visit to Japan.And the pandemic derailed that plan. And China-Japan relations have deteriorated again. And, in some sense, precisely because Prime Minister Abe was a ...

  • Former Japanese PM Shinzo Abe assassinated during a speech

    Former Japanese PM Shinzo Abe assassinated during a speech

    Jul 08, 2022 01:20 PM EDT

    ... at the time that it was "gut wrenching" to leave many of his goals unfinished. He spoke of his failure to resolve the issue of Japanese abducted years ago by North Korea, a territorial dispute with Russia and a revision of Japan's war-renouncing constitution. That last goal made ...

  • Shinzo Abe, former Prime Minister of Japan, reportedly shot during campaign speech

    Shinzo Abe, former Prime Minister of Japan, reportedly shot during campaign speech

    Jul 08, 2022 03:36 AM EDT

    TOKYO — Japan’s former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was in heart failure after apparently being shot during a campaign speech Friday in western Japan, NHK public television said Friday. The broadcaster aired footage showing Abe collapsed on the street, with several security guards running toward him. Abe was holding his ...

  • Japan court says ban on same-sex marriage constitutional

    Japan court says ban on same-sex marriage constitutional

    Jun 20, 2022 03:35 PM EDT

    ... stayed away from making a decision." He said he will keep fighting. "We don't have time to feel discouraged," he added. Public opinion in Japan currently favors legalizing same-sex marriage. Under current rules in Japan, same-sex couples cannot inherit each other’s property, house or other assets ...

  • Japananese octogenarian becomes oldest person to sail solo across Pacific

    Japananese octogenarian becomes oldest person to sail solo across Pacific

    Jun 04, 2022 04:11 PM EDT

    TOKYO (AP) — An 83-year-old Japanese adventurer returned home Saturday after successfully completing his solo, nonstop voyage across the Pacific, becoming the oldest person to reach the milestone. Kenichi Horie arrived in the Kii Strait off Japan’s western coast, completing his trans-Pacific voyage in 69 days after ...

  • Japan enacts a $21 billion extra budget to tackle rising prices

    Japan enacts a $21 billion extra budget to tackle rising prices

    May 31, 2022 08:59 PM EDT

    TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s parliament enacted a 2.7 trillion yen ($21 billion) extra budget on Tuesday to tackle soaring fuel and food prices following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The extra budget is for the current fiscal year that started April 1 and will fund part of a 6 ...

  • News Wrap: Biden arrives in Japan after wrapping up visit to South Korea

    News Wrap: Biden arrives in Japan after wrapping up visit to South Korea

    May 22, 2022 09:45 PM EDT

    In our news wrap Sunday, President Biden is in Tokyo after wrapping up a three-day visit to Seoul, concerns grow over the spread of the monkeypox virus, Poland's president addressed Ukraine's parliament, Pennsylvania's Democratic nominee for Senate John Fetterman was released from the hospital after suffering a stroke, and 40 tons of baby formula arrived...

  • Biden has an eye on China as he visits South Korea, Japan

    Biden has an eye on China as he visits South Korea, Japan

    May 19, 2022 10:33 PM EDT

    ... Asia as financial sanctions and export bans have been put in place to check Russia. U.S. Ambassador Rahm Emanuel, Biden's top envoy to Japan, said the Japanese have stood out by rallying eight of 10 members of Association of Southeast Nations to back a U.N. vote against ...

  • Japanese rail operator now entirely powered by renewable energy

    Japanese rail operator now entirely powered by renewable energy

    Apr 27, 2022 03:42 PM EDT

    ... salarywomen" and schoolchildren in uniforms. Since the nuclear disaster in Fukushima, when a tsunami set off by a massive earthquake sent three reactors into meltdowns, Japan has shut down most of its nuclear plants and ramped up use of coal-fired power plants. The country aims to have 36 percent ...

  • 10 found dead after Japan tour boat with 26 aboard sinks

    10 found dead after Japan tour boat with 26 aboard sinks

    Apr 24, 2022 03:57 PM EDT

    ... year and suffered a crack on its bow. Saturday’s tour was reportedly the first by the operator this season, and the accident just before Japan’s Golden Week holidays starting late April could dampen local tourism, which slumped during the pandemic. Japan is still largely closed to foreign visitors ...