Fr William Grimm on the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Japan and how the Church’s pacifist messages can start reaching a wider audience -and make an actual difference: “Church communications require substance and relevance to be effective”
Michael Cucek: “…If, after the deployment of all the experience and knowledge of the commission, Abe fails to hit the expected notes and to transcend the Murayama Statement, the letdown felt by those governments, and the damage done to Japan’s…
“President Park Geun-hye of South Korea urged Japan on Sunday to have the “courage and honesty” to admit to its historical wrongdoings against Koreans and other Asians, including its enslavement of Korean women in military brothels during World War II… Ms. Park…
“China’s civil affairs minister will attend a United Nations-sponsored meeting on disaster risks in Japan next month, making him the first minister from Beijing to visit Japan in three years.”
“A top U.S. diplomat expressed hope Friday that an upcoming meeting of the foreign ministers of Japan, South Korea and China could lead to their first trilateral summit despite icy relations in the region.”
“Amnesty International has slammed Japan for its handling of ethnic minorities, for levels of violence against women, and for curbing transparency through a recently imposed secrecy law…”
Analysis by Stratfor Enterprises, LLC, of the evolution of postwar Japan’s intelligence apparatus.
“Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will likely attend a summit meeting in Jakarta to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Asian-African Conference, also known as the Bandung Conference, government sources said.”
“Japanese parliamentarian Toshihiro Nikai will bring a 3,000-strong delegation to China in late May this year, Nikai told a news conference in Tokyo on Wednesday, according to Japanese media. Veteran lawmaker Nikai, 75, is a top executive in Prime Minister Shinzo…