ILEA001133237: Aso calls N. Korea rocket launch 'extremely provocative'

[Breaking News]Yasukuni shrine visit on end of WWII anniv.

TOKYO, Japan, Aug. 15 Kyodo - Former Japanese economic security minister Sanae Takaichi visits the war-linked Yasukuni shrine in Tokyo on Aug. 15, 2025, the 80th anniversary of Japan's surrender in World War II. (Kyodo)

Japan: Emergency Alert Issued For Okinawa After North Korea Launches Military Satellite

The Japanese government issued a 'J-Alert,' an emergency warning, for Okinawa Prefecture, at about 10:46 p.m. on Monday, May 27, due to a possible threat of a North Korean missile. Pyongyang announced plans to launch a rocket carrying a 'satellite' sometime before or on June 3rd

N. Korea fires 2 missiles, warns of more launches over Japan

North Korea fired two ballistic missiles into the Sea of Japan on Monday, the Defense Ministry said, with Pyongyang warning of more launches over the Japanese archipelago as the United States and its East Asian allies held joint exercises. Immediately after North Korea's launches on Monday morning, the Japan Coast Guard said Pyongyang had fired three projectiles, citing data from the Defense Ministry. But the ministry corrected the report later in the day, saying the North had launched two missiles. Matsuno said the Cabinet Secretariat, a governmental body that gathers data from the Defense Ministry and other administrative organizations, mistakenly sent a notification about the second missile launch by North Korea to the Japan Coast Guard twice.

Japan hosts int'l fleet review amid N. Korea concerns, S. Korea joins

Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Force held an international naval fleet review Sunday in the wake of North Korea firing off ballistic missiles at an unprecedented pace, with South Korea's navy participating amid efforts by the two East Asian neighbors to thaw their icy relations. The MSDF said that 18 vessels from 12 nations, including Australia, Canada, India and the United States, as well as a total of six French and U.S. warplanes, joined the review. A mass of vessels and aircraft gathered at Sagami Bay off Kanagawa Prefecture, with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida inspecting the fleets. On board the MSDF carrier Izumo, Kishida said North Korea has been launching ballistic missiles, including intercontinental ballistic missiles, more frequently than ever since earlier this year.

N. Korea fires missile Japanese

Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno meets the press at the prime minister's office in Tokyo on the morning of Oct. 4, 2022, shortly after North Korea fired a ballistic missile which appears to have flown over Japan.

Japan to slowly phase out Russian oil, keep interests in projects

Japan will slowly phase out oil imports from Russia while maintaining its interests in oil and gas projects in the Russian Far East, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Monday. The premier told a virtual meeting of leaders of the Group of Seven nations earlier in the day that Japan will ban Russian oil imports "in principle," as part of additional sanctions levied on Moscow to punish it for its war launched in late February. The measure on oil imports marks a major shift for resource-poor Japan, which had been reluctant to take the step as it tried to diversify its supplies. Tokyo has already announced it will phase out Russian coal. Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno told a regular news conference Japan needs to diversify energy sources and suppliers to reduce its reliance on Russia and that the country will "take every measure," including the use of renewable and nuclear power, to that end.

N. Korea launched "monster" Hwasong-17 ICBM on Thurs. to counter U.S.

People watch Korean Central Television's news of the previous day's launch by North Korea of a new "Hwasong-17" intercontinental ballistic missile in Pyongyang on March 25, 2022. North Korea confirmed it fired a new "Hwasong-17" intercontinental ballistic missile under the guidance of leader Kim Jong Un, state-run media reported Friday, jeopardizing regional security and reminding the United States of the threat the nation can pose. The ICBM, fired from Pyongyang International Airport, was claimed to have traveled up to a maximum altitude of 6,248.5 kilometers and a distance of 1,090 km on its 68-minute flight before hitting a target in the Sea of Japan, according to the official Korean Central News Agency. Kim was quoted by KCNA as saying North Korea has been "fully ready for long-standing confrontation with the U.S. imperialists," as bilateral talks between Washington and Pyongyang on denuclearization and sanctions relief have been stalled for more than two years.

N. Korea's military parade

TOKYO, Japan, Jan. 29 Kyodo - File photo taken on April 15, 2017, at Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang shows a surface-to-air missile in North Korea.

Akie Abe

TOKYO, Japan, April 17 Kyodo - Akie Abe, the wife of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, in this photo taken Dec. 15, 2016, lays flowers at a gravestone in Nagato, Yamaguchi Prefecture, for Russian soldiers who died in the 1904-1905 Russo-Japanese war.

Islamic State militants threaten to kill 2 Japanese captives

TOKYO, Japan - Photo taken Jan. 20, 2015, shows a meeting of Cabinet ministers at the prime minister's office in Tokyo on Jan. 20, 2015, held after a man claiming to be a member of the Islamic State militant group threatened in a video to kill two Japanese captives unless a ransom of $200 million is paid.

Aso calls N. Korea rocket launch 'extremely provocative'

TOKYO, Japan - Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso speaks to reporters at the prime minister's office in Tokyo on April 5 after the end of a meeting of Japan's Security Council. Aso harshly criticized the rocket launch conducted by North Korea earlier in the day.

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