Features National
Ida Torres on May 17 2013
China's media regulator will reportedly impose regulations on the content of TV dramas based on the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression. The popularity of these anti-Japanese dramas set during World War II has led to "fabricated content" and "overly dramatic" presentations of the subject matter.
Features National Politics
John Hofilena on May 16 2013
Toru Hashimoto, the outspoken mayor of Osaka, on Thursday offered to talk to former "comfort women" and apologize for their sufferings brought by the Japanese military in World War II, this after causing an international outrage when the Japanese politician said in an interview they served a "necessary" role in wartime. Hashimoto’s comments had prompted angry reactions from China, South Korea and the Philippines for saying that soldiers in WWII needed some way to “let off steam”, which was the specific role of the
comfort women system.
Politics
Ida Torres on May 16 2013
The eight member Arctic Council granted permanent observer status to Japan, China, India, Italy, Singapore and South Korea as another sign of the region's growing importance to the international community. Meanwhile, the council also granted observer status to the European Union but they deferred on giving them permanent observer status.
National Politics
John Hofilena on May 15 2013
A
Chinese two-star general has said out in public what would probably be the next level on the ongoing territorial dispute between Japan and China – that Okinawa does not belong to Japan. Luo Yuan, a general in the People's Liberation Army, has said that Japan has no rightful claim on sovereignty over the Ryukyu island chain – of which
Okinawa is a part of – because the ancient leaders of the territory had started paying tribute to China 500 years or so before they had done so to Japan.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has once again issued a warning against any intrusion into Japan's territorial waters, this time referring to foreign submarines that will attempt to pass through underwater. This is in response to the Defense Ministry's report that a
foreign submarine was spotted just outside the contiguous zone, south of Kumejima Island in Okinawa Prefecture on Tuesday.
In light of the current strain that recent Japanese actions have put on an already frayed relationship between Seoul and Tokyo, Japan believes that
South Korea is trying to promote Northeast Asian diplomatic ties while purposely leaving out Japan. This comment from concerned Japanese officials is borne out of the news that South Korea has invited the
United States and China to a meeting on diplomatic issues to be held in Seoul next month, but Japan has yet to receive an invitation.
Official spokespersons from
China and
South Korea have made their countries’ anger and indignation known over Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto’s comments regarding “comfort women” in World War II. The Japanese politician was referring to the multitude of women forced to become sex slaves by the invading Japanese army, saying that
the system was justifiable under wartime circumstances. China and South Korea – nations with which Japan already has a tenuous relationship with – have voiced out their indignation over the comments.
As the ongoing territorial row between Japan and
China continues with no end in sight, the nations' joint economy is often said to be the greatest victim. With many Japanese companies, most notably
in the auto industry, pulling their manufacturing operations out of China and moving to other locations in Asia, so as not to get caught up in political tensions, many say that China still holds too many of the economic cards, what with its lockdown on producing so many of the world's goods. But one analyst believes China may see a revolution in the next 10 years, triggered not with violence and weapons, but rather an economic deterioration.
A
Taiwanese fishing boat was detained by Japanese authorities as it was caught trespassing in Japanese waters near Ishagaki Island on Tuesday. The captain of the 48.25-ton "Cheng Chang Fa No. 2" was also placed under arrest, according to the Coast Guard Administration (CGA).
A foreign submarine was detected in a contiguous zone just outside Japanese territorial waters south of Kumejima Island in
Okinawa Prefecture, Japan’s Defense Ministry revealed on Tuesday. Ministry officials did not elaborate on the submarine vessel’s country of origin, but a government source revealed that the sub likely belonged to the
Chinese Navy.
