Latest news with #JapanNationalPressClub
2 days ago
- Business
Palestinian Minister Urges Japan for State Recognition
News from Japan World Jun 3, 2025 21:49 (JST) Tokyo, June 3 (Jiji Press)--Palestinian Economy Minister Mohammed Al-Amour urged Japan to recognize Palestine as a state, at a press conference at the Japan National Press Club in Tokyo on Tuesday. He added that the two-state solution is the only way to resolve the regional conflict. Recently, European countries have recognized Palestine as a state one after another. The minister said that an immediate ceasefire in Gaza is the top priority, urging the international community to pressure Israel to stop what he called injustice prevailing in the 21st century. He also said that the Palestinian Authority is working with Egypt and other Arab countries on a reconstruction plan for Gaza, hoping to cooperate with the international community to attract investments and develop infrastructure while managing land and residents. [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.] Jiji Press
Nikkei Asia
3 days ago
- Politics
- Nikkei Asia
This year's G7 summit must check US isolationism
TOKYO -- As the Group of Seven summit marks its 50th year in Canada this month, Japanese and European leaders will once again confront the issue their predecessors faced half a century ago -- how to prevent Washington from retreating into isolationism and keeping it engaged in the world. "The 'postwar' period unquestionably ended -- not only for Japan, but the entire world -- on January 20, 2025," Gerald Curtis, an American political scientist and Japan expert, said at the Japan National Press Club in late May.
Japan Times
20-04-2025
- Politics
- Japan Times
Protesters march for WWII relief for civilians and others who were overlooked
Protesters marched in Tokyo's upscale Ginza district Saturday, demanding a legislative measure to provide relief for those who suffered during World War II, including civilians killed in air raids. Bereaved family members and survivors of WWII walked the streets with placards and banners, chanting "War-related problems have not been fully settled yet," and "Relief should be given without discrimination." The event was organized by groups calling for state relief for victims of the WWII air raids and the Battle of Okinawa during the war, Korean war criminals convicted for their roles in the now-defunct Imperial Japanese military and Japanese soldiers detained in Siberia after the war. About 70 people participated in the first joint march event held among the four groups. "We walked around Ginza, and young people became aware of this issue," said Shigeru Zukeyama, 81, head of a legal team seeking compensation for civilian damage caused by the Battle of Okinawa. "We'll keep repeating our appeal." An 80-year-old woman from Warabi, Saitama Prefecture, said that realizing the legislative measure for such relief would lead to deterring future wars. Masaru Nishikura, now 99 years old, from Sagamihara, Kanagawa Prefecture, was at the front of the march. The oldest participant in the event was detained in Siberia by the former Soviet Union. When asked to speak to other participants after the march, he shouted, "War must not be allowed to happen." The four groups held a press conference at the Japan National Press Club in Tokyo on Friday, saying that the government discriminates against civilian victims and people from the former Japanese colonies when it comes to state compensation for war damage. The groups released a joint statement calling for relief legislation.
Japan Times
15-04-2025
- Politics
- Japan Times
Richard Armitage, ex-U.S. diplomat known for boosting Japan ties, dies at 79
Former U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage, a towering figure in the world of U.S.-Asian diplomacy known for his close connections to Japan, has died at the age of 79. Armitage, who served in the State Department's No. 2 post in the administration of former U.S. President George W. Bush, died of a pulmonary embolism on Sunday, his consulting firm said in a statement released Monday. The former diplomat and decorated Vietnam War veteran was well regarded in Tokyo as a leading voice in the promotion of U.S.-Japan relations that continued even after his leaving government service. "We are deeply saddened by the death," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi, the government's top spokesman, told a news conference Tuesday. "He made huge contributions in setting the stage for the unprecedentedly strong Japan-U.S. alliance we have today. "He was at the forefront of U.S. diplomatic engagement with Japan and worked closely on various challenges, including the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and the issue of North Korea," Hayashi added, noting the work done by Armitage, a moderate Republican, to promote the alliance and help bridge divides between his party and Democrats. Armitage smiles as he listens to a question during a news conference at the Japan National Press Club in Tokyo on Feb. 2, 2004. | Reuters He was particularly well known for working with Joseph Nye, another former senior U.S. diplomat, in 2000 in bringing together a bipartisan group to develop a report for the U.S.-Japan alliance before that year's presidential election that was intended to be a roadmap, regardless of which party won. That spurred more 'Armitage-Nye reports,' which were published in 2007, 2012, 2018, 2020 and 2024, offering assessments of the state of the alliance and suggesting agenda items for both near- and long-term challenges and opportunities on the horizon. The initial report in 2000 proved prescient — it included a focus on the need for Tokyo to lift its then-prohibition on the exercise of the right of collective self-defense — and is said to have influenced later Japanese policy decisions on the issue. Last year's report, meanwhile, stressed the need 'to move toward an alliance that is more integrated' — a recommendation that came as the U.S. military announced plans to upgrade its command in Japan. Armitage shakes hands with then-Foreign Vice Minister Yukio Takeuchi during a U.S.-Japan Strategic Dialogue meeting at IIkura House in Tokyo on Oct. 12, 2004. | Reuters Armitage, who in 2016 came out against the security and diplomatic policies of then-Republican candidate Donald Trump, also used last year's report to deliver a thinly veiled criticism of the direction of U.S. alliances under Trump, writing that 'the future of U.S. engagement is uncertain, given a presidential campaign that features radically different visions of the United States' role in the world and its relationships with allies.' Amid the war in Iraq, Armitage, who was then deputy secretary of state, was also known for his calls on the Japanese government to send the Self-Defense Forces to aid in the reconstruction of the war-torn country — calls that ultimately helped push Tokyo to controversially dispatch troops the following year. But Armitage is possibly most well known for his 2003 leak of Valerie Plame Wilson's identity as a CIA operative to columnist Robert Novak. Plame's identity was disclosed shortly after her husband, former U.S. Ambassador Joseph Wilson, challenged a chief claim underpinning the Bush administration's case for the U.S. invasion of Iraq — that Baghdad had sought uranium for nuclear weapons from the African country of Niger. Armitage revealed in 2006 that he was behind the leak, which garnered global headlines, apologizing and claiming that it was inadvertent and calling it a "terrible error on my part.' He is survived by his wife, eight children and grandchildren, including grandson Iain Armitage, the star of the television series 'Young Sheldon.' Armitage meets then-Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi at the Foreign Ministry in Tokyo on Feb. 2, 2004. | Reuters
