“Beginning his first Asia tour, U.S. Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter laid out the U.S. commitment to Japanese security Wednesday in Tokyo, urging restraint in territorial disputes between Japan and China… “We don’t, as we frequently say, take a stand…
“Japan on Tuesday rebuffed neighbouring countries’ protests about newly approved textbooks after complaints about references to disputed territory and their bitter shared history. The education ministry announced on Monday that all 18 new social studies textbooks for use in junior high…
“On Apr. 7, the Japanese cabinet adopted a Diplomatic Bluebook for 2015 that deletes a phrase describing South Korea as sharing fundamental values such as “democracy and basic human rights” with Japan and includes a phrase about Dokdo being Japan’s…
“South Korea on Tuesday denounced Japan’s yearly diplomatic paper as “history-regressive,” as the Japanese government repeated its territorial claims to Dokdo islets, called Takeshima in Japan. “Today, it (the Japanese government) repeated its history- regressive action by presenting to the…
“The acting chief of an expert panel on the World War II anniversary statement to be issued by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe this summer said Friday it need not include the expressions “colonial rule and aggression” and “apology” used in…
“Katsuya Okada, head of the main opposition Democratic Party of Japan, has cautioned China not to be overly demanding on the content of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s statement this summer to mark the 70th anniversary of the end of World…
“An official policy document issued annually by the Foreign Ministry expresses “deep reflection” over Japan’s behavior in World War II while highlighting its international contributions ever since. China and South Korea were quick to criticize references to their two nations in…
“Our country’s textbook screening is carried out impartially and neutrally, based on professional and academic deliberations,” Suga told a news conference. “Since our country’s stance on Takeshima and history recognition have been consistent, we responded to (South Korea) by saying we…
“A Japanese daily is reporting that the country’s parliament is unlikely to pass a resolution repenting for Japan’s past aggressions on the 70th anniversary of the end of World War Two. A Japanese official told the Mainichi Shimbun that lawmakers…