Russia has conducted military anti-landing drills in a Pacific island chain, parts of which are also claimed by Japan, Interfax news agency reported the Russian Defence Ministry as saying on Thursday.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, in an apparent reference to China's growing military assertiveness, told a conference of Asian and African leaders on Wednesday that the use of force by the "mightier" should never go unchecked.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's plans to expand Japan's non-combat role in armed conflicts beyond "areas around Japan" could see Tokyo becoming dragged into action in the South China Sea in support of U.S. forces, government and ruling party sources say.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said ahead of his trip to a leaders' summit in Jakarta that he aims to improve ties with China, and reiterated that he is ready to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe sent a ritual offering on Tuesday to a Tokyo shrine for war dead, irking Asian neighbors just before he hopes to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of a leaders' summit in Jakarta.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Monday he was ready to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping at an Asian-African summit in Jakarta this week if the chance arises, the latest sign of hope for a further thaw in Tokyo's troubled ties with Beijing.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and the governor of the southern island of Okinawa clashed on Friday over the relocation of a contentious U.S. air base, an irritant in U.S.-Japan ties, a week before Abe's high-profile visit to the United States.
Senior officials of South Korea and Japan will resume security talks next week after more than five years, with the hope of normalizing dialogue despite recent diplomatic spats.
Japanese Emperor Akihito headed on Wednesday for the island nation of Palau where he will visit a World War Two battlefield, the latest journey in his efforts to soothe the wounds of a conflict that haunts Asia 70 years after its end.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will address a joint meeting of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives on April 29, becoming the first Japanese leader to do so.
A clash between Japan's central government and Okinawa island, host to the bulk of U.S. troops in Japan, deepened on Monday when the southern island's governor ordered a halt to underwater work at the site of a planned relocation of a U.S. Marine base.
Japan's pro-casino lawmakers said on Tuesday that they will resubmit by the end of this month a failed bill to legalize gambling at so-called "integrated resorts", hoping to finally pass the controversial law this year.
Japan will sign a defense pact with Indonesia next week, officials in both governments said, the latest effort by Tokyo to forge closer security ties with Southeast Asian nations and build a counter-balance to China.
China and Japan held their first security talks in four years on Thursday and agreed to keep alive and foster a nascent recovery in bilateral ties plagued by the legacy of Japan's wartime aggression and a territorial dispute.
China's relations with Japan face a "test" this year linked to whether Japan can properly atone for its wartime past, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said on Sunday.
Japan and France signed a deal on military equipment and technology transfers on Friday, in a move to drive cooperation and joint development of defense gear, as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe strengthens security ties with major powers.
China will question Japan's commitment to peace if it adopts an ambiguous or defiant stance regarding its wartime actions, Beijing's ambassador to Tokyo told the English-language China Daily newspaper in an interview published on Friday.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, referring to Germany's own experience, reminded Japan on Monday of the need to squarely confront its wartime past but also signaled that neighboring countries must do their part to achieve reconciliation.
Japan is looking into creating an overseas intelligence agency possibly modeled on Britain's MI6 spy service, ruling party lawmakers say, 70 years after Allied victors dismantled Japan's fearsome military intelligence apparatus following World War Two.
Japanese and Chinese officials will hold their first security talks in four years in Tokyo later this month, Japan's Foreign Ministry said on Thursday, the latest sign of a possible improvement in ties strained by a territorial dispute.
Same-sex couples in Japan are awaiting the results of a debate in a Tokyo local assembly that may give them what their Western counterparts have long had: a chance to step out of the shadows.
