Japan

People rally to protest against the Japanese government's decision to discharge contaminated radioactive wastewater in Fukushima Prefecture into the sea, in Tokyo, capital of Japan, April 13, 2021. (Xinhua/Du Xiaoyi)By making the controversial decision to discharge nuclear-contaminated water into the sea, the Japanese government and TEPCO have…

Chinese President Xi Jinping decided himself to let ballistic missiles launched by the military during recent large-scale drills near Taiwan fall in Japan's exclusive economic zone to deter Tokyo's interference in any cross-strait contingency, according to sources close to the matter. Xi, who heads the Central Military…

China increasingly fears losing international support for its claim that the democratic island of Taiwan and China are part of a "one China" that was split apart during the civil war and is awaiting "unification," analysts told RFA. The Chinese government on Wednesday released a white paper on Taiwan,…

The coronavirus pandemic has caused a major decline in the number of new marriages in Japan, with there expected to be some 150,000 fewer newly wedded couples than expected in the three years to the end of 2022, a recent study showed. The fall, believed to be a result of several factors including fewer opportunities to…

China on Monday urged Japan to stay true to its commitment to building a world without nuclear weapons, as it expressed doubt about Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's pledge to do so on the 77th anniversary of atomic bombing of Hiroshima. Beijing claimed that despite its pledge, the only country in the world to have suffered…

Senior government and military officials from Japan and the United States on Sunday vowed to strengthen cooperation with the Solomon Islands amid increasing Chinese influence, as they gathered in the capital Honiara to mark the 80th anniversary of the World War II Battle of Guadalcanal. The fierce battle between U.S. Marines…

The Japanese government plans to roll out a new type of COVID-19 vaccine considered effective for the Omicron variant as early as October, sources familiar with the matter said Friday. The so-called bivalent vaccine combines ingredients used for existing COVID-19 shots and those derived from the BA.1 subtype of the Omicron…

Actor Andrew Koji, who is half Japanese and was born and raised in England, said he’s always felt out of place. But in the new action-comedy film “Bullet Train,” Koji plays a Japanese character, and in the process, he found a new appreciation for his heritage.“This film, and the last couple years, made me really look into and find pride in it,…

Here is a selection of Kyodo News photos taken this week in Japan and beyond.   Japanese Crown Prince Fumihito, Crown Princess Kiko and their son Prince Hisahito attend the opening ceremony of the national inter-high school cultural festival in Tokyo on July 31, 2022. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo         Performers…

Exactly 76 years ago, on August 6, 1945, the United States launched a nuclear attack on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. Three days later, a second atomic bomb was dropped on the Japanese city of Nagasaki. Both cities were almost completely destroyed. More than 2 lakh people lost their lives and those who survived, their lives were made worse…