Japan

Latest Stories

Japan’s whaling decision could affect Alaska Native whalers

Associated Press

Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe delivers his speech during New Year's press conference in Ise, central Japan, Friday, Jan. 4, 2019. Abe confirmed in his New Year’s news conference that the era name for the new emperor’s reign will be disclosed April 1, 2019. (Iori Sagisawa/Kyodo News via AP)

Japan’s premier: New emperor’s era to be announced April 1

By YURI KAGEYAMA - Associated Press

Passengers check the timetable after an earthquake stopped and delayed some train services at JR Kumamoto station in Kumamoto, western Japan, Thursday, Jan. 3, 2019. An earthquake shook southwestern Japan on Thursday, but there were no immediate reports of damage and a tsunami watch was lifted within an hour. (Kyodo News via AP)

Earthquake rattles southwest Japan, no damage reported

By YURI KAGEYAMA - Associated Press

1 missing, 16 rescued after ship catches fire in Pacific

By JENNIFER SINCO KELLEHER - Associated Press

FILE - In this Oct. 30, 2018, file photo, South Korean Lee Chun-sik, 94-year-old victim of forced labor during Japan's colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula before the end of World War II, sits on a wheelchair upon his arrival at the Supreme Court in Seoul, South Korea. Lawyers for South Koreans forced into wartime labor have taken legal steps to seize the South Korean assets of a Japanese company they are trying to pressure into following a court ruling to provide them compensation. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man, File)

Lawyers try to seize Japanese assets over Korean forced work

By KIM TONG-HYUNG - Associated Press

Japan's Emperor Akihito waves to well-wishers from the bullet-proofed balcony during his New Year's public appearance with his family members at Imperial Palace in Tokyo Wednesday, Jan. 2, 2019. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Japanese Emperor Akihito greets public in final New Year’s appearance

By Yuri Kageyama - Associated Press

In this image made from video released Friday, Dec. 28, 2018, by the Japan Maritime Self-Defence Force, a South Korean naval warship is seen as it allegedly locks its fire-control radar on a Japanese warplane Friday, Dec. 21, 2018, in the disputed waters north of Japan. (Japan Maritime Self-Defence Force via AP)

Japan shows video of alleged radar lock-on by SKorea warship

By MARI YAMAGUCHI - Associated Press

Japan says Chinese trawler fled with its inspectors on board

By MARI YAMAGUCHI - Associated Press

In this September 2017, photo, a minke whale is unloaded at a port after a whaling for scientific purposes in Kushiro, in the northernmost main island of Hokkaido. Japan is considering leaving the International Whaling Commission to resume commercial hunts after unsuccessfully campaigning for decades to gain support for the cause. The Fisheries Agency said Thursday, Dec. 20, 2018, officials haven't made a final decision but are considering the step. (Kyodo News via AP)

Japan to withdraw from International Whaling Commission, resume commercial hunts

Associated Press

In this September 2017, photo, a minke whale is unloaded at a port after a whaling for scientific purposes in Kushiro, in the northernmost main island of Hokkaido. Japan is considering leaving the International Whaling Commission to resume commercial hunts after unsuccessfully campaigning for decades to gain support for the cause. The Fisheries Agency said Thursday, Dec. 20, 2018, officials haven't made a final decision but are considering the step. (Kyodo News via AP)

Japan to resume commercial whaling, but not in Antarctic

By MARI YAMAGUCHI - Associated Press

In this May 12, 2016, photo, then Nissan Motor Co. President and CEO Carlos Ghosn speaks during a joint press conference with Mitsubishi Motors Corp. in Yokohama, near Tokyo. The arrest of Nissan’s former chairman is drawing attention to the criminal justice system in Japan, where there is no presumption of innocence and accused people can be held for months before trial. The system, sometimes called “hostage justice,” has come under fire from human rights advocates. But Ghosn’s plight is routine in Japan. People have signed confessions, even to killings they never committed, just to get out of the ordeal. The conviction rate in Japan is 99 percent.(AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Ghosn’s arrest brings attention to Japan’s ‘hostage justice’

By YURI KAGEYAMA - Associated Press

In this Dec. 20, 2018, photo, Japan's Emperor Akihito speaks during a press conference, ahead of his Dec. 23, 2018, birthday at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo. Emperor Akihito, marking his 85th birthday — his last before his upcoming abdication — said he feels relieved that his reign is coming to an end without having seen his country at war and that it is important to keep telling younger people about his nation's wartime history. (Kyodo News via AP)

Japan emperor marks last birthday on throne, prays for peace

By MARI YAMAGUCHI - Associated Press

FILE - In this Jan. 18, 2018, file photo, a member of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force stands guard next to a surface-to-air Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) missile interceptor launcher vehicle at Narashino Exercise Area in Funabashi, east of Tokyo. Japan's Cabinet has approved a record 5.26 trillion yen ($47 billion) defense budget as the country seeks to bolster its arms capability by increasingly buying advanced U.S. weapons. The budget plan endorsed Friday, Dec. 21 rises 1. 3 percent from the previous year, a seventh annual increase since Prime Minister Shinzo Abe took office in 2012. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, File)

Japan Cabinet OKs record defense budget bill, US arms buys

By MARI YAMAGUCHI - Associated Press

In this September 2017, photo, a minke whale is unloaded at a port after a whaling for scientific purposes in Kushiro, in the northernmost main island of Hokkaido. Japan is considering leaving the International Whaling Commission to resume commercial hunts after unsuccessfully campaigning for decades to gain support for the cause. The Fisheries Agency said Thursday, Dec. 20, 2018, officials haven't made a final decision but are considering the step. (Kyodo News via AP)

Japan considers leaving IWC to resume commercial whale hunts

By MARI YAMAGUCHI - Associated Press

One Championship sets Mighty Mouse, Alvarez debuts for Japan

By GREG BEACHAM - Associated Press

Japan's Foreign Minister Taro Kono speaks at a press conference in Tokyo Wednesday, Dec. 19, 2018. Kono said on Wednesday that he is waiting for a response from South Korea in resolving a Supreme Court of Korea ruling on the issue which has been considered as a legal foundation of two countries’ (Korea and Japan) relationship since 1965. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Japan wants Seoul’s political decision on forced labor row

By MARI YAMAGUCHI - Associated Press

Japan appoints its 1st honorary consul of Japan in Cleveland

Associated Press

An information board for employees' shuttle bus is on display near the Huawei office building at its research and development centre in Dongguan in south China's Guangdong province, Tuesday, Dec. 18, 2018. While a top executive of Chinese tech giant Huawei faces possible U.S. charges over trade with Iran, the company's goal to be a leader in next-generation telecoms is colliding with security worries abroad. Australia and New Zealand have barred Huawei as a supplier for fifth-generation networks, joining the U.S. and Taiwan. Last week, Japan's cybersecurity agency said Huawei and other vendors deemed risky will be off-limits for government purchases. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

Huawei calls on US, others to show proof of security risk

By JOE McDONALD - Associated Press

FILE - In this July 20, 2017, file photo, SoftBank Group Corp. Chief Executive Officer Masayoshi Son, left, speaks during a SoftBank World presentation at a hotel in Tokyo. SoftBank Group Corp.’s Japanese mobile subsidiary has gone public in one of the world’s biggest share offerings rivaling that of China’s Alibaba Group. On Wednesday, Dec. 19, 2018, its IPO on the Tokyo Stock Exchange seeks to raise more than 2 trillion yen ($18 billion). (AP Photo/Shizuo Kambayashi, File)

SoftBank mobile subsidiary has bitter debut on Tokyo market

By MARI YAMAGUCHI - Associated Press

This May, 2017, photo shows Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force’s helicopter carrier Izumo. Japan has adopted new defense guidelines, calling for converting a destroyer into Japan’s first aircraft carrier to deploy advanced U.S.-made stealth fighters, as Japan seeks to increase defense spending and bolster arms capability in coming years. The new national defense plan, approved Tuesday, Dec. 18, 2018, by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s Cabinet, calls for refitting an existing helicopter carrier into one that can deploy expensive F-35B fighters capable of short take-offs and vertical landings.(Kyodo News via AP)

Japan to spend more on defense, refit first aircraft carrier

By MARI YAMAGUCHI - Associated Press