35 h. ago Why Japan plans to spend billions fixing up its shipyards – and US warships

Japan is drawing up plans to build and upgrade shipyards that could support the repair of US Navy vessels, in a strategic move seen as both an economic security measure and a bargaining chip in fraught trade and defence burden-sharing talks with US President Donald Trump’s administration. The proposal, expected to be finalised in the autumn, includes a government-backed “national dockyard” initiative under which Tokyo would finance the restoration or construction of facilities before handing...

Economics

8 d. ago ‘Tactical move’: Japan just cancelled key US security talks. Why?

Japan’s abrupt cancellation of scheduled security talks with the United States reflects a calculated effort to deflect mounting American pressure and prevent Washington from intertwining trade disputes with defence obligations, analysts say. Tokyo is also angling to re-engage with Washington after the Upper House election on July 20, hoping to negotiate from “a position of domestic strength”, according to observers. The Financial Times first reported on Friday that Japan had called off a planned...

Events

1 week ago Japan plans to expand nuclear risk payouts for towns, critics call it a ‘bribe’

Japan’s ruling coalition has agreed to expand financial support for communities near nuclear plants, drawing fierce criticism from environmental groups who describe the move as a “bribe” aimed at buying consent from cash-strapped rural areas. Under the proposal, backed this week by senior officials in the Liberal Democratic Party and its partner Komeito, subsidies would be extended beyond the current 10km radius to include municipalities up to 30km from nuclear facilities. The government is also...

Events

3 w. ago Japan conveys strong concern over China jet flying close to SDF plane

Japan conveys strong concern over China jet flying close to SDF plane  Kyodo News+ | Japan's leading news agency.

Politics

3 w. ago Japan Says Chinese Fighter Jet Flew Too Close to Its Military Plane

Japan Says Chinese Fighter Jet Flew Too Close to Its Military Plane  The New York Times

Events

last month Extinct for a century, wolves could be returning to Japan to rebalance nature

A plan to reintroduce wolves to Japan more than a century after they were hunted to extinction is gaining traction as conservationists warn that the country’s rural ecosystems are increasingly out of balance and costly to maintain due to booming wild animal populations. The Japan Wolf Association (JWA), established in 1993, argues that returning wolves to the wild could restore natural order in the countryside and help curb the billions of yen in agricultural damage caused each year by deer,...

Politics

last month Japan wants to reintroduce wolves to tackle marauding monkeys, deer damage

A plan to reintroduce wolves to Japan more than a century after they were hunted to extinction is gaining traction as conservationists warn that the country’s rural ecosystems are increasingly out of balance and costly to maintain due to booming wild animal populations. The Japan Wolf Association (JWA), established in 1993, argues that returning wolves to the wild could restore natural order in the countryside and help curb the billions of yen in agricultural damage caused each year by deer,...

Events