May 18, 2013
BEIJING—Special Cabinet adviser Isao Iijima has provided few details about his unannounced visit to North Korea since his return to Tokyo on May 18, but Pyongyang called it a "very important mission."
May 17, 2013
An emerging Japanese nationalist political party whose co-leader outraged many with remarks about Japan's wartime and modern sexual services became embroiled in more controversy May 17 when a party lawmaker accused ethnic Koreans of involvement in prostitution.
May 17, 2013
Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto on May 17 hit back at U.S. criticism of his remarks on "comfort women" by accusing the United States of using Japanese women to provide sex for American soldiers following World War II.
May 17, 2013
Buoyed by strong public support for his economic policies, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe continues to put top priority on shoring up the nation’s economy to assure his party's victory in the Upper House election in July and remain in power longer.
May 16, 2013
OSAKA--Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto qualified some of his controversial remarks on wartime military brothels and ways to satisfy lustful U.S. servicemen in an attempt at damage control at home and abroad, although he refused to retract them.
May 16, 2013
OSAKA--Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto on May 15 tried to clarify his remarks about front-line brothels for Japanese troops before and during World War II and his proposal for U.S. servicemen to use legal sex services.
May 16, 2013
A multipartisan group of female lawmakers demanded that Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto retract his remark about wartime “comfort women,” saying he has embarrassed Japan and shown the world he does not understand human rights.
May 16, 2013
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is hopeful of making headway in resolving the long-standing impasse of North Korea's abduction of Japanese nationals through the surprise visit to Pyongyang on May 14 by Isao Iijima, a special Cabinet adviser.
May 16, 2013
A U.S. envoy for North Korea sidestepped questions on May 16 on the nature of a surprise visit to Pyongyang by an aide to Japan's prime minister, but said all sides tackling North Korea's nuclear ambitions should coordinate closely.
May 16, 2013
The Diet passed a 92.6 trillion-yen ($926 billion) budget plan for fiscal 2013 on May 15 that will further bloat the government's debt and fuel doubts over its promises of fiscal soundness.
May 16, 2013
KIRUNA, Sweden--The Arctic Council agreed on May 15 to admit emerging powers China and India as observers, reflecting growing global interest in the trade and energy potential of the planet's Far North.
May 15, 2013
Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto tried to counter the waves of criticism over his “comfort women” comments, but even members of the Abe administration were distancing themselves from the politician once considered a potential prime minister.
May 15, 2013
Outgoing South Korean Ambassador Shin Kak-soo severely criticized recent comments by Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto about the necessity of having "comfort women" who were forced into frontline brothels for Japanese soldiers before and during World War II.
May 15, 2013
An active geologic fault lies directly under the idled No. 2 reactor at the Tsuruga nuclear power plant, according to a report compiled May 15, jeopardizing the possibility of it being restarted.
May 14, 2013
OSAKA--Toru Hashimoto, co-leader of the Japan Restoration Party, stunned and flustered a U.S. military commander in Okinawa earlier this month with a suggestion that legalized sexual services be used to keep Marines’ sexual appetites under control.
May 14, 2013
Contrary opinions about Japan's historical interpretation of its wartime actions are brewing within the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, and it may not be easy to resolve because Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was the primary instigator of the controversy.
May 14, 2013
An adviser to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe arrived in North Korea on May 14 in a rare surprise visit to a country with which Japan has no diplomatic ties, but the purpose of the visit was not immediately known.
May 14, 2013
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe urged Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei at a meeting on May 13 to cooperate in countering China's growing maritime ambitions.
May 14, 2013
A foreign submarine was detected on May 12 plying the depths in a contiguous zone outside Japan's territorial waters south of Kumejima island in Okinawa Prefecture, the Defense Ministry said May 13.
May 13, 2013
OSAKA--Toru Hashimoto, co-leader of the Japan Restoration Party, said on May 13 that "comfort women" were necessary for Japanese soldiers during World War II, but then softened his tone, saying that they served soldiers "against their will."