Topic: Shinzo Abe

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Hot summer for Japan and China disputes

Prime Minister Abe made some pointed comments this week, highlighting Japan's determination not to yield to China on territorial issues.
Rising hate speech in Japan has even some on far right saying 'enough'

The venom in anti-Korean demonstrations in Japan has shocked many and been widely reported in South Korea and China.
China hints Japan is courting 'strategic hostility' over islands

A territorial dispute over a group of islands in the East China Sea has touched off an escalating war of words.
Terrorism & Security Japan to China: Stop trying to change the region by force

China blasted Japan's 'white paper' defense report about its maritime activities as 'untruthful.'
Could Japan's massive debt disrupt 'Abenomics' gains?

A national debt that is 2-1/2 times the size of the economy is setting off alarms.
War games near California: Are the US and Japan sending a message to China?

The joint military exercises are in response to Japan's nervousness about China's interest in disputed islands in the East China Sea.
Japanese stocks plunge, rattling world markets

Japan's Nikkei falls 6.4 percent Thursday in the wake of the Bank of Japan's decision to stand pat on monetary easing. Concerns also mount about Fed's commitment to easing in the US.
Will Prime Minister Abe save Japan's economy?

The rest of the economy-hit world is keeping an eye on Japan’s economic surge with a great deal of curiosity.
Global News Blog Good Reads: From Google’s secret lab, to Japan’s economy, to the end of alimony

This week's round-up of Good Reads includes Google's lab, a reporter's tale of kidnapping, Japan's plan for revitalization, an undercover meat inspector, and a challenge to alimony.
North Korea fires three short-range missiles. Why? (+video)

The firing of three short-range missiles Saturday by North Korea could be to improve their accuracy. Or it could be atmospherics as a period of tentative diplomacy begins.
Japan's 'secret' trip to North Korea disrupts united stance against Pyongyang

Japan's visit to North Korea comes after broad regional agreement that Pyongyang should not be offered talks unless it displays a genuine commitment to denuclearization.
Japanese politicians scramble to distance themselves from 'comfort women' comments

The influential mayor of Osaka outraged China and South Korea by saying World War II sex slaves were necessary, prompting fresh doubts about Japan's willingness to acknowledge wartime aggression.
Opinion As North Korea heats up, South Korea and Japan should warm ties

Cooperation on missile defense between South Korea and Japan would help blunt threats from North Korea. But Japanese officials' recent insensitivity to Imperial Japan's painful role in World War II, including forcing South Koreans to become 'comfort women,' works against cooperation.
Long troubled by school bullying, Japan now eyes zero tolerance

Japanese responded to record numbers of severe bullying cases last year, prompting a national outcry and calls for legislation. But a proposed bill doesn’t address schools' intense culture of conformity, critics say.
No backtracking on World War II apologies, Japan PM says

Shinzo Abe ruled out speculation that his government might water down Japan's official apologies for aggression and the use of sex slaves during World War II. What's behind the shift in tone?
As world dials back death penalty, Japan heads in opposite direction

Two gangsters were hanged in Japan last week. More executions are likely under new Prime Minister Abe, who has expressed strong support for the death penalty – and says the public backs him.
Japan and Russia want to finally end World War II, agree it is 'abnormal' not to

Today's summit between Shinzo Abe and Vladimir Putin comes at an opportune moment but may founder on the old problem of the Kuril Islands, which Japan still wants back.
Is Japan's Shinzo Abe finally acting on his true nationalist colors?

Japan's prime minister appears to be stepping up his campaign to reinterpret Japan's wartime history, aggravating China and South Korea at a time when the region should be uniting to deal with North Korea.
The Monitor's View The right way to put more women in boardrooms

Japan and Germany each announced goals last week to put more women in top company slots. Yet their approaches differ. And new research indicates gender qualities can't be stereotyped according to sexual differences. This suggests official bias based on sex could be misplaced.
North Korea's Kim Jong-un celebrates missile-free holiday (+video)

Officials in South Korea, the United States, and Japan say that intelligence indicates North Korea, which tested a nuclear device in February, is ready to test a medium-range missile.
Terrorism & Security North Korea: Foreigners on peninsula could get caught in conflict

Despite a series of increasingly dire North Korean prophecies, international reaction has been largely calm. Many suspect the North's threats are Kim Jong-un's way of proving himself.
Global News Blog Good Reads: Christian Middle East exodus, online ed, drone strikes, and Japan's prisons

The round-up of Good Reads for this week includes a look at the plight of Christians in the Middle East, how online classes are faring, a visual timeline of US drone attacks, and why Japan's crime rate is so low.
$1.4 trillion stimulus planned by Japan central bank

$1.4 trillion stimulus: Bowing to demands from Prime Minister Shinzo Abe for more aggressive monetary easing, the Bank of Japan announced Thursday a policy overhaul intended to double the money supply and achieve a 2 percent inflation target.
Singapore urges Obama to take stronger stand in Asia

In Washington, Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong says that the US must strengthen its economic ties in Asia to maintain a leadership role and balance the rise of China.
Could China and Japan see a spring thaw in relations?

Diplomatic visits between Japan and China had been largely suspended since last September, when a territorial dispute brought the two Northeast Asian powers to the edge of a confrontation.