Sakie Yokota, the 90-year-old mother of a Japanese national abducted by North Korea in 1977, laments the lack of progress in fulfilling her long-cherished wish to bring her daughter back to Japan. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/02/04/japan/north-korea-abductee-mother-sakie-yokota/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #northkorea #abductions #sakieyokota #megumiyokota #minorukihara
The expiration of New START ends the last formal limit on U.S. and Russian nuclear arms, ushering in a more dangerous era marked by destabilizing tactical weapons and growing risks of miscalculation. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2026/02/01/world/hello-nuclear-anarchy/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #commentary #worldnews #nuclearweapons #russia #us #newstarttreaty #china #northkorea #defense #wmds
Japan’s fading global profile highlights a deeper diplomatic decline and raises questions about whether Takaichi or Japan’s next leader can restore influence in a shifting world. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2026/01/30/japan/japans-diminishing-relevance/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #commentary #japan #worldeconomicforum #davos #markcarney #canada #southkorea #us #donaldtrump #xijinping #g7 #canada #shigeruishiba #ukraine #sanaetakaichi #shinzoabe #russia #china #iran #northkorea #ukraine #greenland #asean
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will unveil plans to bolster his nuclear forces at an upcoming ruling party meeting, state media reported Wednesday. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/01/28/asia-pacific/north-korea-nextstage-nuclear/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #asiapacific #northkorea #nuclearweapons #kimjongun
North Korea has fired off at least two apparent ballistic missiles, Japan's Defense Ministry has said, following a military drill featuring a hypersonic missile system earlier this month. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/01/27/asia-pacific/north-korea-missile-january-27/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #asiapacific #northkorea #missiles #nuclearweapons #southkorea #defense #defenseministry
Japan is moving from ambiguity to clarity on Taiwan, signaling a shift in East Asian security that challenges China and pressures Europe to make harder choices. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2026/01/23/europe-should-follow-japans-taiwan-lead/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #commentary #japan #china #taiwan #europe #eu #southkorea #us #northkorea #russia #eujapanrelations #chinajapanrelations
In the newly released U.S. National Defense Strategy, the Pentagon takes a softer stance on China and says it will offer “more limited U.S. support” to allies and partners — a shift likely to unnerve Japan. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/01/24/asia-pacific/us-national-defense-strategy-2026/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #asiapacific #us #usmilitary #budgets #defense #donaldtrump #uschinarelations #china #pla #taiwan #northkorea #southkorea
South Korean investigators raided the offices and homes of three civilians on Wednesday over their alleged role in sending drones into the North, police said. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/01/21/asia-pacific/politics/south-korea-raids-drone-north/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #asiapacific #politics #southkorea #northkorea #drones
Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara has met with Sakie Yokota, the mother of Megumi, who was abducted by North Korea in 1977. In the meeting, Sakie said she hopes there will be some progress this year on the issue. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/01/20/japan/politics/megumi-yokota-mother-kihara-abduction/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #sakieyokota #megumiyokota #minorukihara #northkorea #northkoreajapanrelations
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s meeting with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung on Tuesday is expected to reconfirm improving bilateral ties as Japan faces a diplomatic falling-out with another key neighbor, China. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/01/13/japan/politics/japan-south-korea-takaichi-lee-nara/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #southkoreajapanrelations #southkorea #leejaemyung #sanaetakaichi #china #chinajapanrelations #indopacific #defense #taiwan #northkorea
North Korea's Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of leader Kim Jong Un, urged South Korea to investigate recent drone incidents for detailed explanations, in a statement carried by state media Sunday. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/01/11/asia-pacific/north-korea-kim-sister-drones/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #asiapacific #southkorea #northkorea #kimyojong #drones
North Korea accused the South on Saturday of flying another spy drone over its territory this month, a claim that Seoul denied. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/01/10/asia-pacific/north-south-korea-drone/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #asiapacific #northkorea #southkorea #leejaemyung #drones
Michael Graaf
boosted
North Korea has very kindly said that UK political dissidents will be accepted as asylum seekers
North Korea has very kindly said that UK political dissidents will be accepted as asylum seekers
China's Xi Jinping has urged visiting South Korean leader Lee Jae Myung to make the “correct" choices, as Beijing seeks a united front amid its standoff with Japan over Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's remarks on Taiwan. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/01/06/japan/politics/china-south-korea-xi-lee-japan/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #southkorea #southkoreajapanrelations #leejaemyung #xijinping #taiwan #pla #sanaetakaichi #chinajapanrelations #indopacific #northkorea
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un linked a weekend military drill featuring a hypersonic missile system to an unnamed “recent geopolitical crisis" — an apparent reference to the U.S. toppling of Venezuela's president. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/01/05/asia-pacific/north-korea-hypersonic-missiles-venezuela/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #asiapacific #northkorea #missiles #nuclearweapons #kimjongun #us #venezuela #donaldtrump
North Korea launched what appeared to be at least one ballistic missile on Sunday, Japan’s Defense Ministry said, less than a week after it test-fired two long-range “strategic” cruise missiles. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/01/04/asia-pacific/north-korea-missile-first-2026/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #asiapacific #northkorea #defense #defenseministry #missiles #nuclearweapons #kimjongun
"We are gonna run it", says Trump about Venezuela, after Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro has been abducted from Caracas by the US military.
Trump explains, that Venezuela has not been pumping enough oil, but this will change as the US is taking over.
We went from "Canada should be the 51st state" to "we are gonna run Venezuela" in months.
Who needs enemies, when any country can be invaded by their "ally" the USA, whenever the Trump regime wants it's resources?
Is Greenland next?
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s daughter, Ju Ae, who is likely being prepared as his successor, accompanied her parents on her first public visit to the Kumsusan mausoleum to pay respects to former leaders. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/01/02/asia-pacific/kim-daughter-state-mausoleum/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #asiapacific #kimjongun #northkorea #eastasia
Asia in 2026 will be more volatile as a fragile Trump–Xi thaw masks worsening U.S.-China relations, pressure on Taiwan intensifies and a more confident Kim Jong Un leverages nuclear advances and Beijing-Moscow ties. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2026/01/02/world/buckle-up-asia-for-a-volatile-year/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #commentary #worldnews #northkorea #china #kimjongun #xijinping #donaldtrump #chinausrelations #taiwan #defense