Outgoing Japanese Prime Minister Abe Shinzo has taken the Japanese defenses policy away from its post-war pacifism to a growing military with an increasingly loose sense of self-defense. A week before stepping down, he’s talking taking it a step farther.
Archiv: Shinzo Abe
Who is next after Abe? Potential successors
His resignation will trigger an election in his Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) to replace him as its president, followed by a vote in the Diet to elect a new prime minister.
Japans Premier Abe kündigte Rücktritt offiziell an
Er werde sein Amt wegen einer Darmerkrankung niederlegen, sagte Abe.
Shinzo Abe, Japan’s Longest-Serving Leader, to Resign Because of Illness
During his second period in office, which began in late 2012, Mr. Abe survived a few influence-peddling scandals and rode out numerous elections. In 2015, he pushed through contentious security legislation that permitted Japanese troops to engage in overseas combat missions alongside allied forces, as part of “collective self-defense.”
Abe to declare state of emergency for Tokyo, 6 prefectures
An emergency, which Abe said would last about a month, will give governors authority to call on people to stay at home and businesses to close, but will not be as restrictive as lockdowns in some other countries.
Opposition grills LDP on risks facing Japan’s SDF mission to Mideast
“Rule of law is extremely important for Japan. (The government) should not accept what the U.S. argues just because it is the U.S. that says so,” Gemba said.
Japan’s Abe prioritizes economy, urges debate on Constitution in policy speech
„Let us fulfill our responsibility as Diet members to the people,“ Abe told the session, with reference to the politically and socially divisive issue of changing Japan’s pacifist charter for the first time since World War II.
Buhari seek Japanese support to combat piracy in Gulf of Guinea, as Nigeria and EU sign development MOU
President Muhammadu Buhari Thursday in Yokohama, Japan, sought the support of the Asian government in combating piracy in the Gulf of Guinea as well as illegal fishing in that region.
Japan, U.S. negotiators fail to reach agreement on trade
Thursday’s talks followed a five and a half hour meeting on Wednesday, suggesting negotiators were making last-minute efforts to reach some agreement when Japanese and U.S. leaders meet on the sidelines of a weekend Group of Seven summit in France.
Motegi said he will fly straight to France and may join the meeting between Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and U.S. President Donald Trump, where the two will likely discuss trade among other topics.
(3rd LD) S. Korea expresses ‚deep concerns‘ over Abe’s offering to controversial war shrine
„The government expresses deep concerns over responsible leaders of the Japanese government and parliament sending offerings and paying respects again at the Yasukuni Shrine that glorifies Japan’s past colonial plunder and war of invasion and enshrines war criminals,“ Seoul’s foreign ministry said in a press release.
Japan’s Abe skips Yasukuni shrine visit but sends offering
Past visits by Japanese leaders to Yasukuni have outraged South Korea and China because the shrine honours 14 Japanese wartime leaders convicted as war criminals.
Pentagon chief Mark Esper urges Japan to help protect shipping in Persian Gulf
“Any and every country that has an interest in freedom of navigation and freedom of commerce needs to really consider (being) involved in this type of monitoring of the strait,” he told reporters Tuesday, while en route to Tokyo for talks with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Defense Minister Takeshi Iwaya.
Japan not now considering sending military for U.S.-proposed maritime coalition: Suga
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Monday that before making a decision on joining the United States, Japan wants to fulfill what it sees as a unique role it has to play in reducing tension.
Oberhauswahl: Japans Regierungspartei vor deutlichem Sieg
Auch wenn viele Japaner mit der Regierung unzufrieden sind, kann Ministerpräsident Abe offenbar einen deutlichen Wahlsieg verbuchen. Damit steigen seine Chancen, die pazifistische Verfassung zu ändern.
U.S. in call seeks to ease dispute between S Korea, Japan
Japan said last week it would end expedited shipments of chemical compounds used by South Korean companies in the manufacture of microchips and smartphones.
Tokyo is angry at South Korean court rulings that Japanese firms must compensate forced laborers from Japan’s 1910-1945 rule of the peninsula.
Abe, Putin make little progress on territorial dispute
Their failure to find common ground means the signing of a formal peace treaty more than 70 years after World War II is still not in sight,
Editorial: UN special rapporteur indicates freedom of expression in Japan in danger; infringing on freedom of expression is inexcusable
(07.06.2019)
The report also expresses concern over the pressure the government is applying on the protests against the new base construction in Okinawa, and advised against infringing on the freedom to demonstrate in opposition of public policy, and suggested the government cooperate with the protests and related journalism.
The new report once again criticizes the Japanese government, stating that almost none of the previous report’s recommendations have been implemented.
U.S. blames Iran for attacks on tankers, including one operated by a Japanese firm, near Persian Gulf
WASHINGTON/TOKYO – U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Thursday that the U.S. government blames Iran for attacks on two oil tankers — including one operated by a Tokyo-based company — near the Persian Gulf, casting it as the latest in a series of “provocative actions” that have sharply raised tensions in the region.
Iran’s supreme leader tells Abe Trump ’not worthy‘ of a reply to message
„I do not see Trump as worthy of any message exchange, and I do not have any reply for him, now or in future,“ Iranian state media quoted Khamenei as telling the Japanese premier.
Japan’s Shinzo Abe arrives in Iran. Analysts ask what message he might bear from Trump
(12.06.2019)
Abe lately hosted Trump when he paid a state visit to Japan, with the US President encouraging Japan’s PM—the first Japanese leader to come to Iran in 41 years—to engage in some diplomacy between Washington and Tehran.
BREAKING: Shinzo Abe arrives in Tehran, first Japanese premier to visit Iran since 1979 Islamic Revolution.
(12.06.2019)
Trump nicht einverstanden mit Abe hinsichtlich Nordkoreas Raketenstarts
Die „Washington Post“ schrieb, dass Trump Nordkoreas Machthaber Kim Jong-un den Rücken gestärkt habe, indem er dem Nationalen Sicherheitsberater John Bolton und sogar Abe öffentlich widersprochen habe.
Trump expects Japan’s military to reinforce United States in Asia and beyond
Japan last year unveiled a plan to buy 45 more F-35 stealth fighters, including some B variants, worth about $4 billion, adding to the 42 jets it has already ordered.
Earthquake strikes Tokyo ahead of Trump’s visit to Japan
President Trump’s trip to Japan started with a bang – a magnitude-5.1 earthquake centered near the golf course where he and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe are set to play golf Sunday.
The temblor, which rattled Tokyo just hours before Trump’s arrival, briefly halted nearby bullet trains, but did not derail the leaders’ plans for their first meeting of the four-day visit, which will take place at the Mobara Country Club in Chiba.
Trump arrives in Tokyo; meets Japanese business leaders
U.S. President Donald Trump and his wife, Melania, landed in Japan on Saturday on a largely ceremonial visit meant to showcase strong ties with Tokyo even as trade tensions loom.
John Bolton Says North Korea Missile Testing Violates UN Resolutions
National security adviser John Bolton said Saturday that sanctions against North Korea must be kept in place after the rogue country violated a United Nations Security Council resolution when it test-fired short-range missiles last week. The Associated Press reported that Bolton, speaking in Tokyo ahead of U.S. President Donald Trump’s state visit, also defended the U.S. seizure of a North Korean cargo ship May 14.
PM Abe says Japan wants to develop ties with Iran
Japan would like to maintain, and develop, its traditionally friendly ties with Iran, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Thursday. At the start of a meeting in the Japanese capital, Abe also told Zarif that he was concerned about growing tension in the Middle East.
Russia rules out negotiating peace treaty with Japan on Tokyo’s terms
Russia’s Foreign Minister has ruled out negotiating a peace treaty with Japan on Tokyo’s terms. That after the Japanese premier told his parliament that was his aim.
Brexit: Japan’s PM says ‚wish of whole world‘ to avoid no-deal
t comes as Honda UK announced a six-day post Brexit shut down.
The Japanese-owned car giant said the move was to ensure it could adjust to „all possible outcomes caused by logistics and border issues“.
Japan to sign peace treaty with Russia, Abe says
„Relations with Russia are in abnormal state. The two countries have been without a peace treaty for more than 70 years,“ he said. The prime minister noted that the agreements reached during Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to Japan in December 2016 are being gradually implemented.
Abe sets off on 5-day European tour
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe left Tuesday for a five-day European tour that will take him to Spain, France and Belgium, during which he will attend a biennial conference and hold talks with world leaders.
LIVE: Pressekonferenz von Putin und Abe beim Östlichen Wirtschaftsforum in Wladiwostok
Zu den diesjährigen Hauptgästen gehören neben dem japanischen Premierminister der Präsident der Volksrepublik China, Xi Jinping, der Präsident der Mongolei Chaltmaagiin Battulga und der Premierminister der Republik Korea, Lee Nak-yeon.
Russia: Putin and Abe meet ahead of Eastern Economic Forum
Video Gemeinsame Pressekonferenz
Shinzo Abe, Shigeru Ishiba in the running for vote to decide Japan’s Prime Minister until 2021
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and one-time defence minister Shigeru Ishiba were formally nominated to compete in an internal Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) election on Sept 20 that will decide who will be its President for the next three years.
As the LDP is Japan’s ruling party, the winner will be prime minister until 2021.
Shinzo Abe indicates he wants to revise Japan’s pacifist constitution
However in his speech to the SDF’s top brass at the defence Ministry, Abe stopped short of directly mentioning amending the constitution, which took effect in 1947.
But repeatedly over the past year, Abe has called for adding an explicit reference to the SDF in the war-renouncing Article 9, so that there is no room to view Japan’s military as “unconstitutional”.
S. Korean intelligence chief Suh Hoon to brief Japan PM on N. Korea visit
The director of South Korea’s National Intelligence Agency, Suh Hoon, is due to meet tomorrow with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Tokyo… to brief him on his recent visit to North Korea. Suh left for Tokyo this morning. It’s expected that he’ll convey Kim Jong-un’s reported willingness to denuclearize and ask for Japan’s support in reviving talks between Pyongyang and Washington to that end.
Präsident Moon schickt Sondergesandte nach China und Japan
Der Geheimdienstchef wird am Montag nach Japan fliegen und dort Ministerpräsident Shinzo Abe treffen. Er will am Dienstag nach Südkorea zurückkehren.
Japan and North Korea held secret meeting as Shinzo Abe ‚loses trust‘ in Donald Trump
Japan held a “secret” meeting with North Korea in Vietnam in July without informing the United States, according to media reports.
Talks were reportedly held between Shigeru Kitamura, head of Japan’s Cabinet Intelligence and Research Office, and Kim Song-hye, a senior North Korean official in charge of reunification.
Japan’s Abe to cancel Iran trip over U.S. pressure on Tehran: Kyodo
The visit to Iran would have been the first by a Japanese leader in 40 years, forming part of Abe’s scheduled tour through the Middle East from July 11, Kyodo said.
How the Finance Ministry Was Corrupted
The document forgery scandal shaking Japanese democracy would not have occurred a decade ago, and it is important to understand how and why the Finance Ministry was so deeply corrupted during the Shinzo Abe era.
The Prime Minister’s Office has been gaining strength vis-a-vis the National Diet and the bureaucracy since the 1990s, which was a movement originally led by Ichiro Ozawa, advanced significantly by Junichiro Koizumi, but really brought into its own in the Abe era.
Japan’s finance minister returns salary over land scandal
An inquiry found that references to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his wife were removed from papers relating to a controversial sale of state land.
Taro Aso accepted that the scandal „hurt“ public confidence in the ministry and the government.
Japan pulls away from US amid Russia pivot
Abe and Putin have met 21 times and the latest summit came when both leaders have consolidated power at home. Abe dissolved the lower house of parliament in late September last year and won the snap election, which gave him a chance to lead Japan through 2021. Despite a slump in the approval rating of the Abe cabinet, nobody, be it from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party or the opposition parties, is able to now challenge Abe’s authority. Putin started another six-year term after he won presidential elections in March. Given the stability of the Abe and Putin governments, the bilateral policies will continue to be steadily implemented.
Abe says Japan will make efforts for success of U.S.-N. Korea summit
Abe will hold talks with Trump at the White House on June 7 before traveling to Canada for the Group of Seven summit on June 8 and 9, hoping to coordinate their policies toward the president’s summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
Japan PM Shinzo Abe supports Trump’s decision to cancel U.S.-North Korea summit
Abe, visiting Russia for a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin, added he wants to talk with Trump by phone soon after returning home.
Abe heads to Russia for talks with Putin, brings puppy for skater
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe headed to Russia on Thursday for talks with President Vladimir Putin in hopes of making progress on joint economic projects on disputed islands as a step toward resolving the decades-old territorial row.
Russia and Japan Plan North Korea Strategy in Case Trump-Kim Summit Falls Apart
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is preparing to visit Moscow, where he will sit down with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss North Korea and other matters.
“I would like to confirm cooperation in resolving the North Korea issue,“ Abe told journalists Monday ahead of the meeting. Top foreign affairs and defense officials from both countries will also meet over the coming week.
Japan’s premier expects progress at talks with Putin on signing peace treaty
Following their meeting, Putin and Abe adopted a joint declaration where they noted that the start of consultations on the joint economic activity of Russia and Japan on the south Kuril Islands could become an important step towards concluding the peace treaty.
As the Kremlin press office reported on Friday, Abe will visit Russia on May 25-26 at the invitation of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Abe erwartet Gipfeltreffen mit Kim Jong-un
In einem Programm des japanischen Fernsehsenders Fuji TV sagte Abe am Freitag, Nordkoreas Machthaber Kim Jong-un werde hoffentlich verstehen, dass nicht nur Gipfeltreffen mit den USA oder Südkorea, sondern auch ein japanisch-nordkoreanisches Gipfeltreffen wichtig sei.
Südkorea, China und Japan nehmen Sondererklärung für Unterstützung der Panmunjom-Erklärung an
Südkoreas Präsident Moon Jae-in, Chinas Ministerpräsident Li Keqiang und Japans Premierminister Shinzo Abe verabschiedeten bei ihrem Gipfeltreffen am Mittwoch in Tokio eine Sondererklärung zur Unterstützung der beim jüngsten innerkoreanischen Gipfel vereinbarten Panmunjom-Erklärung.
Darin begrüßten sie, dass in der Panmunjom-Erklärung das Ziel der vollständigen Denuklearisierung bestätigt wurde. Sie hoffen darin auf einen Erfolg des geplanten Spitzentreffens zwischen Nordkorea und den USA.
Israel offended Japan’s prime minister by serving him dessert in a shoe, something ‚despised‘ by Japanese people
Shoes are “despised” in Japanese culture, a senior Israeli diplomat who had served in Japan told a newspaper – and in any case, it’s a weird idea to serve food out of a shoe.(…)
„It is equivalent to serving a Jewish guest chocolates in a dish shaped like a pig.”
China says summit with Japan, S Korea to focus on cooperation, not N Korea
No areas will be off limits in talks next week when Chinese Premier Li Keqiang visits Japan, but North Korea is not going to be a focus, a senior Chinese diplomat said on Friday.
China and Japan, Asia’s two largest economies, have been trying to reset ties after years of increasingly bitter disputes over a group of uninhabited islets in the East China Sea and the legacy of Japan’s invasion of China before and during World War Two.
Xi Jinping telefoniert mit Shinzo Abe
Chinas Staatspräsident hat am Freitag ein Telefongespräch mit Japans Ministerpräsidenten Shinzo Abe geführt. Diskussionsthemen waren unter anderem die bilateralen Beziehungen und die Lage auf der Koreanischen Halbinsel.
Japan Fears Being Sidelined by Trump on Trade and North Korea
(18.4.2018) after Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s first day visiting President Trump at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Fla., the Japanese public is wondering whether their leader, embattled at home by influence-peddling scandals, might return to Japan with the diplomatic equivalent of an “All I Got Was This Lousy T-shirt.”
Pyongyang has discussed possibility of holding Abe-Kim Jong Un summit in June: report
(29.3.2018) Pyongyang has discussed the possibility of a summit between Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, the Asahi Shimbun reported on Thursday.
The news follows reports last week that Tokyo had expressed its interest to the North to hold talks.
Abe says he’s in contact with North about meeting Kim, suggests in Diet he’d be open to trilateral summit with U.S.
(26.3.2018) Japan is also increasingly being viewed as the odd man out as South Korean President Moon Jae-in has referred to the possibility of a trilateral summit involving Washington and Pyongyang.
Still, members of Abe’s ruling party on Monday were quick to dismiss this narrative, with Foreign Minister Taro Kono, for one, stressing that Tokyo is closely in touch with Washington and Seoul.
“The argument that Japan is being kept out of the loop completely misses the point,” he said.
Japan tells N Korea it wants Abe-Kim summit
(22.3.2018) The Japanese government has conveyed to North Korea its desire to hold summit talks between Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, diplomatic sources said Wednesday.
Trump verspricht Abe Bemühungen zur Lösung der Entführtenfrage
Die USA würden sich für eine Lösung der Frage einsetzen und hart daran arbeiten, damit die Entführten ins Heimatland zurückkehren könnten, sagte Trump.
Abe dankte Trump dafür, dass er seine Hilfe versprochen habe. Japan sei sehr ermutigt.
Japanese Prime Minister Abe, embroiled in scandals, faces calls to stand down
Both are embroiled in controversies surrounding dodgy financial deals, but while Trump’s poll numbers are holding up, Abe’s have plummeted to record lows.
The Japanese leader is flailing so badly that former prime minister Junichiro Koizumi has suggested that he should stand down at the end of June to avoid tainting the entire Liberal Democratic Party.
Trump, Abe discuss N Korea, trade issues
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday the United States is engaged in direct talks at „extremely high levels“ with North Korea to try to set up a summit between him and its leader, Kim Jong Un.
Trump made the comment as he and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe opened two days of talks at the president’s Mar-a-Lago retreat in Palm Beach, Florida, meetings that are to include a round of golf.
Scandal-hit Abe unlikely to get 3rd term as LDP leader: ex-PM Koizumi
Former Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said Saturday Shinzo Abe is unlikely to win a third term in September’s Liberal Democratic Party presidential election, citing the public’s growing distrust in the premier after a string of recent scandals.
„Winning a third term will be tough as he is losing public trust,“ Koizumi told reporters in Mito, Ibaraki Prefecture. Securing the LDP presidency is seen a prerequisite for Abe to stay on as prime minister.
Abe Rivals Sharpen Their Knives
Shigeru Ishiba, for one, clearly believes that the Abe regime is just about finished. This is not the kind of statement one makes if you expect your party leader to have three more years in power.
Abe under threat as Kake Gakuen scandal roars back to life
A scandal centered on allegations that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe improperly wielded his influence to help a close friend cut through government red tape has roared back to life after seeming to have died down last year.
And this time, Abe appears to be in a far more difficult position. Multiple public documents — produced by different parties — have emerged. Together they boost the credibility of allegations of favoritism benefiting school operator Kake Gakuen.
Scandal clouds darken for Japan’s Abe ahead of Trump summit
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s ratings have been hit by several scandals over suspected favouritism and cover-ups, raising questions about how long he can stay in power and his goal of revising Japan’s post-war, pacifist constitution.
His domestic troubles are mounting ahead of the meeting with Trump next week and an expected onslaught over Japan’s trade policies.
Japan tells N Korea it wants Abe-Kim summit
(22.3.2018) The Japanese government has conveyed to North Korea its desire to hold summit talks between Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, diplomatic sources said Wednesday.
Tokio war offenbar über Kim Jong-uns China-Besuch nicht vorher informiert
Der japanische Premierminister Shinzo Abe erfuhr nach eigenen Angaben aus den Medien darüber. Er wolle China zu einer ausführlichen Erklärung auffordern.