Japan emperor's Mongolia visit sheds light on forgotten WWII detentions
KENJI KAWASE
TOKYO -- Japanese Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako will begin an official state visit to Mongolia on Sunday, casting a spotlight on the widely forgotten detention of thousands of Japanese soldiers and civilians in the last days of World War II.
A highlight of their eight-day stay is a scheduled pilgrimage to a cemetery for Japanese nationals who died after they were seized by the Soviet Union from Manchuria and other former Japanese territories.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Asahi Shimbun
2 hours ago
- Asahi Shimbun
Trump leaves Japan dangling in negotiations on tariff increase
Japan was set to dispatch its chief tariff negotiator to the United States for an eighth round of ministerial-level talks but called it off after being forced into a waiting game by the White House. Japanese officials were optimistic that the reciprocal tariff of 14 percent announced by U.S. President Donald Trump in April could be negotiated. Washington later said additional tariffs would not be implemented until July 9 while it negotiated with its other trade partners. Japan leapfrogged over other nations to enter negotiations on a range of tariffs and Ryosei Akazawa, as special envoy for Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, made seven trips to the United States to haggle. Akazawa was initially expected to make another trip to Washington this weekend, but the trip was put on hold after Trump said July 4 his administration would be sending out letters to the nations on its tariff list that indicated levies of up to 70 percent could be tacked on because negotiations had not led to an agreement. But he did not state whether a letter would be sent to Japan, leading a high-ranking official handling economic issues to say: 'We have no idea when such a letter may arrive or even if it will arrive. We must prepare while thinking about every and all possibilities.' Trump has upped his criticism of Japan in recent days, griping that it was not buying enough U.S. cars or rice. A government source said U.S. officials likely did not want to see negotiations broken off, particularly in the manner of a letter sent in the mail, but added that there was nothing the government could do if Trump decided he wanted additional tariffs implemented.
The Mainichi
2 hours ago
- The Mainichi
American bombs in Iran also reverberate in China and North Korea
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) -- President Donald Trump campaigned on keeping the United States out of foreign wars, but it didn't take long to convince him to come to the direct aid of Israel, hitting Iranian nuclear targets with bunker-buster bombs dropped by B-2 stealth bombers and Tomahawk cruise missiles fired from a submarine. Beyond the attack's immediate impact on helping bring the 12-day war to a close, experts say Trump's decision to use force against another country also will certainly be reverberating in the Asia-Pacific, Washington's priority theater. "Trump's strikes on Iran show that he's not afraid to use military force -- this would send a clear message to North Korea, and even to China and Russia, about Trump's style," said Duyeon Kim, a senior analyst at the Center for a New American Security based in Seoul, South Korea. "Before the strikes, Pyongyang and Beijing might have assumed that Trump is risk averse, particularly based on his behavior his first presidency despite some tough talk," Kim said. China, North Korea and Russia all condemn US strike Ten days into the war between Israel and Iran, Trump made the risky decision to step in, hitting three nuclear sites with American firepower on June 22 in a bid to destroy the country's nuclear program at a time while negotiations between Washington and Tehran were still ongoing. The attacks prompted a pro forma Iranian retaliatory strike the following day on a U.S. base in nearby Qatar, which caused no casualties, and both Iran and Israel then agreed to a ceasefire on June 24. North Korea, China and Russia all were quick to condemn the American attack, with Russian President Vladimir Putin calling it "unprovoked aggression," China's Foreign Ministry saying it violated international law and "exacerbated tensions in the Middle East," and North Korea's Foreign Ministry maintaining it "trampled down the territorial integrity and security interests of a sovereign state." While the strikes were a clear tactical success, the jury is still out on whether they will have a more broad strategic benefit to Washington's goals in the Middle East or convince Iran it needs to work harder than ever to develop a nuclear deterrent, possibly pulling the U.S. back into a longer-term conflict. US allies could see attack as positive sign for deterrence If the attack remains a one-off strike, U.S. allies in the Asia-Pacific region likely will see the decision to become involved as a positive sign from Trump's administration, said Euan Graham, a senior defense analyst with the Australian Strategic Policy Institute. "The U.S. strike on Iran will be regarded as net plus by Pacific allies if it is seen to reinforce red lines, restore deterrence and is of limited duration, so as not to pull the administration off-course from its stated priorities in the Indo-Pacific," he said. "China will take note that Trump is prepared to use force, at least opportunistically." In China, many who have seen Trump as having a "no-war mentality" will reassess that in the wake of the attacks, which were partially aimed at forcing Iran's hand in nuclear program negotiations, said Zhao Minghao, an international relations professor at China's Fudan University in Shanghai. "The way the U.S. used power with its air attacks against Iran is something China needs to pay attention to," he said. "How Trump used power to force negotiations has a significance for how China and the U.S. will interact in the future." But, he said, Washington should not think it can employ the same strategy with Beijing. "If a conflict breaks out between China and the U.S., it may be difficult for the U.S. to withdraw as soon as possible, let alone withdraw unscathed," he said. China and North Korea present different challenges Indeed, China and North Korea present very different challenges than Iran. First and foremost, both already have nuclear weapons, raising the stakes of possible retaliation considerably in the event of any attack. There also is no Asian equivalent of Israel, whose relentless attacks on Iranian missile defenses in the opening days of the war paved the way for the B-2 bombers to fly in and out without a shot being fired at them. Still, the possibility of the U.S. becoming involved in a conflict involving either China or North Korea is a very real one, and Beijing and Pyongyang will almost certainly try to assess what the notoriously unpredictable Trump would do. North Korea will likely be "quite alarmed" at what Israel, with a relatively small but high-quality force, has been able to achieve over Iran, said Joseph Dempsey, a defense expert with the International Institute for Strategic Studies. At the same time, it likely will be seen internally as justification for its own nuclear weapons program, "If Iran did have deployable nuclear weapons would this have occurred?" Dempsey said. "Probably not." The U.S. decision to attack while still in talks with Iran will also not go unnoticed, said Hong Min, a senior analyst at South Korea's Institute for National Unification. "North Korea may conclude that dialogue, if done carelessly, could backfire by giving the United States a pretext for possible aggression," he said. "Instead of provoking the Trump administration, North Korea is more likely to take an even more passive stance toward negotiations with Washington, instead focusing on strengthening its internal military buildup and pursuing closer ties with Russia, narrowing the prospects for future talks," he said. China and Taiwan will draw lessons China will look at the attacks through the visor of Taiwan, the self-governing democratic island off its coast that China claims as its own territory and President Xi Jinping has not ruled out taking by force. The U.S. supplies Taiwan with weapons and is one of its most important allies, though Washington's official policy on whether it would come to Taiwan's aid in the case of a conflict with China is known as "strategic ambiguity," meaning not committing to how it would respond. Militarily, the strike on Iran raises the question of whether the U.S. might show less restraint than has been expected by China in its response and hit targets on the Chinese mainland in the event of an invasion of Taiwan, said Drew Thompson, senior fellow with the Singapore-based think tank RSIS Rajaratnam School of International Studies. It will also certainly underscore for Beijing the "difficulty of predicting Trump's actions," he said. "The U.S. airstrike on Iran's nuclear facilities caught many by surprise," Thompson said. "I think it demonstrated a tolerance and acceptance of risk in the Trump administration that is perhaps surprising." It also gives rise to a concern that Taiwan's President Lai Ching-te, who in recent speeches has increased warnings about the threat from China, may be further emboldened in his rhetoric, said Lyle Goldstein, director of the Asia Program at the Washington-based foreign policy think tank Defense Priorities. Already, Lai's words have prompted China to accuse him of pursuing Taiwanese independence, which is a red line for Beijing. Goldstein said he worried Taiwan may try to take advantage of the American "use of force against Iran to increase its deterrent situation versus the mainland." "President Lai's series of recent speeches appear almost designed to set up a new cross-strait crisis, perhaps in the hopes of building more support in Washington and elsewhere around the Pacific," said Goldstein, who also is director of the China Initiative at Brown University's Watson Institute. "I think that is an exceedingly risky gambit, to put it mildly," he said.
The Mainichi
4 hours ago
- The Mainichi
Mayor in Japan's Shizuoka Pref. faces call for resignation over faked academic record
ITO, Shizuoka -- A city council committee here unanimously decided on July 4 to submit a resolution to the assembly urging Mayor Maki Takubo to resign over revelations she falsely claimed to have graduated from Toyo University when she had in fact been expelled. The steering committee will also present a resolution calling for a special investigative committee to be established under Japan's Local Autonomy Act. Both proposals will be presented and are expected to be passed at an Ito Municipal Assembly plenary session July 7. The resignation resolution criticized Mayor Takubo, 55, for repeatedly deflecting questions or refusing to respond when confronted about her academic background by the city assembly. The text stated, "This goes beyond merely lacking sincerity, and is even despicable." Takubo was first elected in May this year. An official city bulletin introducing the new mayor listed her as a graduate of Toyo University's Department of Law. City Assembly Speaker Hiromichi Nakajima urged the mayor to step down in remarks to reporters, saying, "I hope she resigns quickly to prevent further confusion for Ito." According to city officials, after reports emerged July 2 confirming the mayor had been expelled and had falsely claimed to have graduated, the city received over 200 telephone calls regarding the case that day alone, followed by more than 350 calls the next day. The city also received about 250 emails across both days, almost all of them demanding the mayor's resignation. In addition, a local business operator announced plans to file a criminal complaint early next week, alleging a possible violation of the Public Offices Election Act due to Takubo's false educational claims during the mayoral race. Takubo did not come to the city hall on July 4 and canceled a planned appearance that day in a meeting of mayors from eastern Shizuoka Prefecture to avoid causing confusion. The mayor is also due to skip the Matsukawa tub race, a local event scheduled for July 6. (Japanese original by Koji Wakai, Ito Local Bureau)
