By Rebecca Ward Washington 22 February 2008 In February, Washington's Kennedy Center celebrated Japanese culture, arts and technology during its Japan! Culture and Hyper Culture festival. The nearly two-week event featured Japanese theater, music, fa...
By Phil Mercer Sydney 14 January 2008 The environmental group Greenpeace has claimed to have driven Japan's controversial whaling fleet out of Antarctic hunting grounds after a dramatic chase through thick fog and rough seas. Activists have promised...
By Naomi Martig Hong Kong 23 November 2007 The final Japanese navy tanker has returned home from the Indian Ocean, ending a six-year mission in support of U.S. led coalition troops in Afghanistan. As Naomi Martig reports from VOA's Asia News Center i...
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...