By Claudia Blume Hong Kong 19 September 2007 On Sunday, Japan's governing Liberal Democratic Party will choose a successor to Shinzo Abe, who last week tendered his resignation as prime minister. The election will be a head-to-head battle between the...
By Naomi Martig Hong Kong 12 September 2007 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has announced his resignation after a year of missteps and scandals. The resignation is apparently an effort to prevent cancellation of Japan's non-combat role in Afghanis...
By Peter Fedynsky Moscov 06 September 2007 Kazakhstan has suspended launches of the Russian Proton rocket at the Baikonur Space Center following a failed liftoff and loss of the payload, a Japanese communications satellite. VOA Moscow Correspondent P...
By Liz Noh Tokyo 08 August 2007 With opposition control of Japan's Upper House heralding possible change in the traditionally strong alliance between Japan and the United States, U.S. Ambassador to Japan Thomas Schieffer has met with the leader of th...
By Catherine Makino Tokyo 17 January 2007 Image from the 1984 Japanese anime film Nausicaa of the Valley of the Winds Fanatical followers of Japanese comic books and cartoon animations have become an economic force in Japan. These so-called otaku ar...
By Steve Herman Tokyo 14 December 2006 Shinzo Abe (File photo) The Japanese government has told families of Japanese abducted by North Korea that the fate of their relatives will not take a back seat to improving ties with the communist state. VOA's...
By Steve Herman Tokyo 30 November 2006 Japan's Defense Agency is about to be upgraded to a full-fledged ministry. VOA's Steve Herman reports from Tokyo on the significance of the move. A Japan Ground Self-Defense Force tank during a drill at a range...
By Steve Herman Tokyo 16 August 2006 Japanese FM Taro Aso, left, shakes hanads with Acting Ambassador of Russia Mikhail Y. Galuzin prior to their meeting at his office in Tokyo Wednesday, August 16, 2006 In the first such incident in half a century,...
By Steve Herman Tokyo 17 January 2006 Japanese prosecutors have raided one of the country's most high-profile Internet companies, prompting the main stock index to suffer its biggest one-day point dro...
Japanese Ground Troops Leave for Iraq Amy Bickers Japanese ground troops have left for Iraq - marking the country's first full military deployment to a combat zone since World War II. The humanitarian...