The gear shift of Asia’s growth in the decades to come is in the hand of Tokyo as Japan is in control of the formation of the emerging India-China-Japan (I+C+J) power structure in Asia. In its “World 2050” research report,… Read More ›
Tokyo
Japan caves to China on Senkaku Island dispute
In order to secure a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Japanese Premier Shinzo Abe agreed to a significant concession in Tokyo’s ongoing dispute with China over the Senkaku Islands, according to Japanese media outlets. As Shannon noted earlier today… Read More ›
Japanese people hate China more than ever
People in Japan overwhelmingly have a poor opinion of China and vice versa, according to new polls, although Chinese views of Japan have become slightly less chilly. The percentage of Japanese respondents who said they had a negative impression of… Read More ›
Japan and India pledge to strengthen ties as China rises
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe pledged an upgrade of economic and security ties with India, saying Japan would double investment and expand defense cooperation amid concerns about China’s growing influence in the region. Abe and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi at… Read More ›
Prelude to Conflict: Asia, July 7
This week’s international smack-talk of China took a more academic tone. China’s evidential first enemy: the global super-giant (little old Taiwan), still not thwarted by the near-2,000 missiles aimed at the island, is appearing in more and more news articles… Read More ›
China uses D-Day anniversary to praise Germany, slam Japan
China used the 70th anniversary of World War Two‘s D-Day landings on Friday to praise Germany for its contrition over its wartime past and slam Japan for what Beijing views as Tokyo‘s continued denial of its brutal history. China has… Read More ›
Japan to establish military bases near disputed islands in response to China aggression
Tokyo has reportedly made plans to create new military outposts on remote islands close to disputed territories in an apparent move to bolster Japan’s defence capabilities amid its ongoing territorial rows with China. Some 350 Ground Self-Defence Forces could be… Read More ›
Armed Chinese fighter jets approach within metres of Japanese planes over East China Sea
Chinese fighter jets flew within a few dozen meters of Japanese military planes over the East China Sea, Japanese officials said on Sunday, prompting the defence minister to accuse Beijing of going “over the top” in its approach to disputed… Read More ›
Prelude to Conflict: Asia, April 28
Taiwanese protest leader visits AC; urges vigilance to protect democracy Wei Yang US-Japan treaty applies to islands: Obama KMT legislator Lin calls Japanese stupid, rigid …Pro-China Taiwan controlling faction, KMT, insults US ally over Nuke Plant issue, Fukushima Protests back… Read More ›
China’s secret WWII documents surface mysteriously; hidden and never mentioned since 1950s
China has released what it claims are previously confidential Japanese wartime documents, including some about comfort women forced to serve in military brothels during World War Two, Chinese state media reported. The publication comes during a fraught period in Japan-China… Read More ›
Chinese admiral to snub Japan at regional meeting because Japan “hurt the feelings of the Chinese people”
The commander of the Chinese navy will refuse to meet Japanese military officials one-on-one at a regional naval symposium in China this week, a navy spokesman was quoted as saying on Sunday, citing what he called hurtful actions by Japanese… Read More ›
Japan bans porn exports to China in retaliation for seizure of cargo ship
The dispute between China and Japan showed no signs of abatement yesterday, after Japan was reported by domestic media to have taken steps to ban the export of specialist pornography to China. Japan is believed to also be behind the… Read More ›
China seizes Japanese ship for “failure to return ship leased before World War II”
Shanghai Marine Court has seized a huge Japanese ore carrier to enforce its verdict on a dispute over a defunct Japanese company‘s failure to return a ship rented 80 years ago. Singtao Daily says that the ship Baosteel Emotion was… Read More ›
China’s media abandons search for Japanese link to missing plane
After spending weeks combing through official reports, attending press conferences and interviewing aviation insiders, China’s official news agency Xinhua has officially called off the search for a Japanese link to the disappearance of Malaysian Airlines Flight MH370. On Friday morning,… Read More ›
Japan says puzzled by new China WWII national days
Tokyo on Friday said it was puzzled over why Beijing approved national remembrance days to commemorate the Nanjing Massacre and its defeat in World War II, after decades of Japanese pacifism. The move is the latest in a vitriolic diplomatic… Read More ›
China seeks WWII focus on Japan during visit to Germany, but Germans feel uncomfortable about it
China wants to make World War Two a key part of a trip by President Xi Jinping to Germany next month, much to Berlin’s discomfort, diplomatic sources said, as Beijing tries to use German atonement for its wartime past to… Read More ›
Chinese media claims: Japan has plans to force down Chinese jets; Chinese jets chase away Japanese jets
The following are translations from Chinese media. First, China claims Japan is planning to force down Chinese jets Chinese media says that, according to Sankei Shimbun’s report on January 29, the Japanese Air Self-defence Force announced on January 28 plans… Read More ›
China declares Lunar Defence Obliteration Zone
Following the successful launch of its first lunar rover, the Chinese government has declared a defensive zone extending vertically from China into space and encompassing the moon. The Lunar Defense Obliteration Zone, according to newly appointed space minister Wu Houyi,… Read More ›
Japan and South Korea defy China in new air defence zone
Japanese and South Korean military aircraft flew through disputed air space over the East China Sea without informing China, officials said on Thursday, challenging a new Chinese air defense zone that has increased regional tensions and sparked concerns of an… Read More ›
US defies China by flying over East China Sea without notification
Two unarmed U.S. B-52 bombers on a training mission flew over disputed islands in the East China Sea without informing Beijing, Pentagon officials said on Tuesday, defying China’s declaration of a new airspace defence zone in the region. The flight… Read More ›
China advises nationals living in Japan to register with embassy in Tokyo
The establishment of the East China Sea Air Defence Identification Zone may be just a gesture to claim the Diaoyus (called Senkakus by Japan). However, sending fighter jets to patrol the Zone, stating “China’s armed forces will adopt defensive emergency… Read More ›
Japan targets China as islands dispute threatens to boil over
The simmering conflict between Japan and China over three islands in the East China Sea has just gotten significantly closer to an open conflict. Japan’s nationalist Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has just given orders to shoot down any aircraft, including… Read More ›
Japan to be more assertive against China
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, in an interview published on Saturday, said Japan was ready to be more assertive in guarding against what he said might be an attempt by China to use force to attain its diplomatic goals. But a… Read More ›
Australia backs Japan’s military buildup at risk of upsetting China
Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop threw Australia’s support behind Japan’s attempts to shift its military to a more “normal” defence posture in a speech in Tokyo yesterday. Australia’s backing for Japan’s proposed move away from a purely defensive military runs… Read More ›
China warns Japan against stationing workers on disputed isles
China said it would not tolerate provocation after Japan’s top government spokesman said on Tuesday Japan might station government workers on disputed islands in the East China Sea to defend its sovereignty. Relations between the world’s second- and third-biggest economies have… Read More ›
China’s Shanghai Tower: A massive urban green space
The newly-topped 632 metre (over 2000 feet) Shanghai Tower is currently the world’s second tallest structure, outdone only by the Burj Khalifa in Dubai. But equally impressive is what it will have going on inside. In addition to 521,000 square… Read More ›
China summons Japanese ambassador over shrine visit
China summoned Japan’s ambassador on Thursday to lodge a strong complaint after two Japanese cabinet ministers publicly paid their respects at a controversial Tokyo shrine for war dead, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said. The ministers’ visit to the Yasukuni Shrine… Read More ›
A gaffe-prone Japan is a danger to peace in Asia; China concerned
The Abe government’s disastrous public diplomacy risks alienating not just China but also the US. Japan’s public diplomacy hovers between the ludicrous and the sinister. In recent months, the country has specialised in foreign policy gaffes that seem designed to give maximum… Read More ›
Japan to increase China tensions by nationalising islands
Japan may nationalise hundreds of unclaimed islands off its coast in a bid to bolster its territorial claims, reports said, in a move that could complicate already simmering relations with China over existing maritime disputes. Quoting government sources, the Yomiuri… Read More ›
China tests ships near disputed islands
Three Chinese ships entered waters near the disputed Senkaku islands, known as Diaoyu in Chinese, and recognised by Japan as its territory. The Chinese met with Japanese coast guard ships patrolling the area. The Chinese ships were inside the 12… Read More ›
Canberra doesn’t understand reality of China-Japan conflict, or consequences to Australia
In the event of a conflict between China and Japan, it’s hard to think of a country that would be more exposed than Australia. Yet several leading defence scholars have warned that this prospect is receiving little attention from policy-makers… Read More ›
China ‘extremely concerned’ about U.S.- Japan island talk
Japan and the United States have started talks on military plans in case of armed conflict over a group of East China Sea Islets claimed by Tokyo and Beijing, Japanese media said on Thursday, prompting China to complain of “outside… Read More ›
Japan seeks defence ties with ASEAN amid China rows
Japan on Wednesday, March 13, called for stronger security ties with Southeast Asia as Tokyo looks to boost alliances at a time of growing territorial tensions with China. Vice-minister level representatives from Japan and the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)… Read More ›
China launches fighters amid Japan dispute
Beijing sent fighter jets to the East China Sea after Japanese aircraft followed a Chinese plane in a territorial dispute, the defence ministry said on Friday according to state media. A ministry official told a press conference that two J-10… Read More ›
Japan may fire warning shots at Chinese aircraft, leading to war
SCMP says in its report: “Tokyo considers authorising Japanese military aircraft to take action if China’s planes enter air space near disputed waters “Japan‘s defence ministry is considering authorising the country’s Air Self-Defence Force (ASDF) jets to fire warning shots… Read More ›
East Asian cooperation: Is Japan falling behind China?
China’s presence in East Asian regional cooperation has been conspicuous. As one of the founding members of the two key regional institutions – the Asean +3 and the East Asia Summit – Beijing seems to be an indispensable partner of… Read More ›
China: Diggers pile up unsold after Caterpillar adds capacity
Caterpillar Inc, Komatsu Ltd and other construction-equipment makers have built enough capacity in China to satisfy global demand twice over while sales in the country are falling, according to a research company. Manufacturing capacity in China is almost 600,000 excavators a… Read More ›
China submits East China Sea islands claim to UN
China has submitted to the UN a detailed explanation of its claims to a disputed area of the East China Sea. It argues that certain geological features prove its territory extends out to a group of islands near Japan. A… Read More ›
Japan scrambles jets in Senkaku Islands dispute with China
A Chinese military surveillance plane entered what Japan considers its airspace near disputed islands on Thursday, the Japanese Defense Ministry said, an escalation in an already tense standoff over the territory. Japan scrambled fighter jets in response, but the Chinese… Read More ›
US Senate’s backing for Japan’s control of Diaoyus attacked by China
The US Senate‘s backing last week for Japan’s administration of the disputed East China Sea islands will only escalate tensions between Beijing and Tokyo, Chinese analysts say. Beijing has yet to officially respond, but Xinhua yesterday carried a commentary that… Read More ›
Premier Wen shows China’s best face to the world
SCMP reports: “The image projected by Premier Wen Jiabao on his many travels abroad, analysts say, fits in with China‘s attempts to project its soft power. “When Premier Wen Jiabao went overseas he would often seize the chance to show… Read More ›
Japan, China spat over Senkaku Islands
The recent spat between Japan and China, which erupted after the nationalisation of the Senkaku Islands, shows no signs of abating. In September 2012, the Noda Administration in Japan purchased three of the five Senkaku islands, Uotsurijima, Kita-kojima and Minami-kojima,… Read More ›
Angry protesters shun Japanese businesses in China over Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands
SCMP reports: “The intensity of anger in China over the latest Sino-Japanese dispute has some businessmen wondering if things will ever be same again “‘I’m going home,’ said Naohito Sato, a Japanese entrepreneur based in Shanghai for 10 years, who… Read More ›
US diplomat Kurt Campbell says China-Japan dispute cannot be solved
The territorial dispute between China and Japan in the East China Sea can only be managed but not resolved because of the complexities involved, a US diplomat said yesterday. Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell told in a seminar in… Read More ›
China IMF boycott ‘a sign of things to come’
China’s top level boycott of global financial meetings in Japan this week is a sign of things to come, analysts say, as an economically emboldened Beijing shows struggling Western nations it doesn’t need to play by their rules. With global… Read More ›
China to send lower ranking officials to IMF Tokyo meet; snub to Japan
China‘s delegation to the annual meetings of the IMF and the World Bank in Tokyo will not be led by its most senior finance officials, a report from state news agency Xinhua said on Tuesday, in what looked like a… Read More ›
China should remember no country is an island in a globalised world
There is no doubt that the row over a group of tiny islands in the East China Sea has sealed the deterioration in relations between China and Japan. The diplomatic spat over the Diaoyu/Senkaku islands, which sparked violent protests, with… Read More ›
Protesters stage anti-China rally in Tokyo over Senkaku Islands
A group of about 1,400 activists staged a mass anti-China demonstration in Tokyo on Saturday, vowing to defend the Senkaku (Diaoyu or Diaoyutai) Islands and safeguard Japan‘s territorial integrity. The activists, mostly men of middle age or older, were from… Read More ›
Bond wars: Chinese advisor calls for Japanese bond dump
China is actively considering “using its power as Japan’s biggest creditor with $230bn (£141bn) of bonds to “impose sanctions on Japan in the most effective manner” and bring Tokyo’s festering fiscal crisis to a head.” Meaning: dump Japan’s bonds en… Read More ›
Six Chinese surveillance ships reach near islands disputed with Japan
Six Chinese surveillance ships entered waters near disputed islands claimed by Tokyo and Beijing on Friday, raising tensions between Asia’s two biggest economies to their highest level since 2010 over a long-running territorial row. Japan protested to China and urged… Read More ›
