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U.S. President Joe Biden, left, talks with India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the G20 Summit in Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonesia, Tuesday Nov. 15, 2022. (Bay Ismoyo/Pool Photo via AP)

U.S. sees opportunity as Beijing’s bluster drives neighbors into new alliances

By Andrew Salmon - The Washington Times

U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg speaks while walking around at Yokohama Port during a tour which includes a visit to a construction site for a new pier that will accommodate larger ships coming from the U.S. on Monday, June 19, 2023, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Buttigieg says U.S. ‘green corridors’ initiative is key to cutting shipping industry emissions

By Mari Yamaguchi - Associated Press

FILE - White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan takes a question from a reporter at a press briefing at the White House in Washington, Monday, April 24, 2023. National security advisors from the United States, Japan and the Philippines, in their first such trilateral talks Friday, June 16, 2023 agreed to strengthen their defense cooperation, as Washington and its partners seek to reinforce their alliances to adapt to growing tensions over North Korea, China and Ukraine, Sullivan said. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik) **FILE**

U.S., Japan, Philippines agree to strengthen security ties amid tensions over China, North Korea

By Mari Yamaguchi - Associated Press

Japanese lawmakers stand as they approve an amended criminal law at the upper house in Tokyo Friday, June 16, 2023. Japan's Parliament on Friday raised the age of sexual consent to 16 from 13. (Kyodo News via AP)

Japan raises the age of sexual consent to 16 from 13, which was among the world’s lowest

By Mari Yamaguchi - Associated Press

Japan's Emperor Naruhito attends a press conference at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo Thursday, June 15, 2023, ahead of his planned visit to Indonesia. The June 17-23 trip comes after Indonesia's president invited the couple during his visit to Tokyo in 2022. (Yuichi Yamazaki/Pool Photo via AP)

Japan emperor says ties with developing nations key to tackling global challenges

By Mari Yamaguchi - Associated Press

Japanese women’s coach Futoshi Ikeda announces players for the upcoming Women’s World Cup at a news conference in Chiba, east of Tokyo, Tuesday, June 13, 2023. Japan coach Ikeda named his 23-player squad for the Women's World Cup on Tuesday, a side heavy with players showing their skills in leagues abroad. (AP Photo/Stephen Wade)

Almost half of Japan’s Women’s World Cup squad from abroad but Iwabuchi misses out

By Stephen Wade - Associated Press

Japanese Self Defense Force members gather near a facility in a base firing range, following a deadly shooting in Gifu, central Japan, Wednesday, June 14, 2023. A Japanese soldier was arrested Wednesday after allegedly shooting three colleagues at an army base in central Japan, officials said. (Kyodo News via AP)

18-year-old trainee accused of shooting 3 soldiers at firing range on Japanese army base, killing 2

By Mari Yamaguchi - Associated Press

Japanese lawmakers stand as they approve a contentious awareness promotion bill for LGBTQ+ rights at the lower house in Tokyo Tuesday, June 13, 2023. The passage by the lower house, where Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's governing bloc has a comfortable majority, came after only a few hours of debate at a lower house committee last Friday after the bill's submission and its last-minute partial revisions, and is expected to be sent to the less-powerful upper house for approval and enactment as early as Friday. (Kyodo News via AP)

Lower house of Japan’s parliament passes bill to promote LGBTQ+ awareness, but not guarantee rights

Associated Press

Chinese Ambassador to South Korea Xing Haiming, right, shakes hands with South Korea's main opposition Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung before their dinner meeting at the Chinese ambassador's residence in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, June 8, 2023. China's Assistant Foreign Minister Nong Rong expressed dissatisfaction with Seoul's response to last week's meeting between Chinese Ambassador Xing Haiming and a South Korean opposition leader, according to a statement from China's Foreign Ministry on Sunday, June 11, 2023. (Yonhap via AP, File)

South Korea faces China down in diplomatic escalation

By Andrew Salmon - The Washington Times

Protesters gather outside the parliament in which a revision to an immigration and refugee law was approved, in Tokyo, Friday, June 9, 2023. Japan’s parliament on Friday approved a controversial revision to an immigration and refugee law that would allow forced repatriation of asylum seekers whose refugee status is still in process, a measure the authorities say prevents long-term detention but rights activists criticize would increase risks of persecution. (Kyodo News via AP)

Japan OKs refugee law change allowing forced repatriation of asylum seekers after repeated rejection

By Mari Yamaguchi - Associated Press

Sweden's Defense Minister Pal Jonson, left, attends the bilateral talk with Japanese Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada, not in photo, at the Defense Ministry Wednesday, June 7, 2023, in Tokyo, Japan. (David Mareuil/Pool Photo via AP)

Japan supports Sweden’s NATO membership as defense ministers strengthen ties

By Raf Wober - Associated Press

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, left, and Japanese Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada shake hands at the end of a joint press conference after their meeting at the Defense Ministry in Tokyo Thursday, June 1, 2023. (Franck Robichon/Pool Photo via AP)

U.S. defense chief Austin calls China’s refusal to meet unfortunate during visit to Tokyo for talks

By Mari Yamaguchi - Associated Press

A public TV screen broadcasts news of North Korea's launch of its first spy satellite, on a street in Tokyo Wednesday, May 31, 2023. North Korea’s attempt to put the country’s first spy satellite into space failed Wednesday in a setback to leader Kim Jong Un’s push to boost his military capabilities as tensions with the United States and South Korea rise. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

South Korea, Japan hit panic buttons even as North Korean launch fizzles

By Andrew Salmon - The Washington Times

A woman looks at her mobile phone with an emergency evacuation warning text message sent to Seoul residents as she watches a news program at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, May 31, 2023. North Korea's attempt to put the country's first spy satellite into space failed Wednesday in a setback to leader Kim Jong Un's push to boost his military capabilities as tensions with the United States and South Korea rise. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

North Korea’s failed satellite launch triggers public confusion, security jitters in neighbors

By Hyung-Jin Kim, Kim Tong-Hyung and Johnson Lai - Associated Press

This photo provided by the North Korean government shows what it says is a test of a rocket with the test satellite at the Sohae Satellite Launching Ground in North Korea on Dec. 18, 2022. The content of this image is as provided and cannot be independently verified. On Tuesday, May 30, 2023, North Korea confirmed plans to launch its first military spy satellite in June and described such capacities as crucial for monitoring the United States' "reckless" military exercises with rival South Korea. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP, File)

North Korea launches rocket likely connected to military spy satellite, South Korea says

Associated Press

Lawyers of plaintiffs and supporters celebrate following a ruling in front of the Nagoya District Court in Nagoya, central Japan Tuesday, May 30, 2023. The Japanese court on Tuesday found the government policy of not allowing same-sex marriage unconstitutional, a closely watched ruling that could give a push toward achieving marriage equality in a country that still resists anti-discrimination law for LGBTQ+ rights. A banner, center, reads "unconstitutional judgment." (Kyodo News via AP)

Japanese court says government’s policy against same-sex marriage is unconstitutional

By Mari Yamaguchi - Associated Press

In this photo provided by the North Korean government, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un inspects what it says is the test-launch of Hwasong-18 intercontinental ballistic missile at an undisclosed location in North Korea, on April 13, 2023. Independent journalists were not given access to cover the event depicted in this image distributed by the North Korean government. The content of this image is as provided and cannot be independently verified. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP, File)

North Korea notifies neighboring Japan it plans to launch satellite in coming days

By Mari Yamaguchi and Hyung-jin Kim - Associated Press

Japanese Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno speaks during a press conference at the prime minister's office in Tokyo, Monday, May 30, 2022. Japan on Friday, May 26, 2023, approved additional sanctions against Russia over its war on Ukraine, including freezing the assets of dozens of individuals and groups and banning exports to Russian military-related organizations. (Kyodo News via AP, File)

Japan adopts new sanctions on Russia, criticizes its deal to deploy nuclear weapons in Belarus

By Mari Yamaguchi - Associated Press

Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks during a news conference at the State Department, Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2023, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

The Department of State and the drama of religious liberty in Japan

By Massimo Introvigne

Sergiy Korsunsky, center, Ambassador of Ukraine to Japan, is handed over a document from Toshiro Ino, right, state minister of Defense of Japan, during the handover ceremony of defense equipment for Ukraine at Ministry of Defense Wednesday, May 24, 2023, in Tokyo. the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force's 1/2-ton trucks, seen in background, are part of handover defense equipment. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Japan to provide 100 military vehicles to Ukraine

By Mari Yamaguchi - Associated Press