Obama meets Japan's Hatoyama, stressing equal partnership Nov 14, 2009
" Despite the longtime slump in the publishing industry, four books that compile Obama's speeches (and comes with CD) have sold a total of 750,000 copies in the past year, according to Yuzo Yamamoto at Asahi Press, the book's publisher. Japan's many antinuclear activists admire Obama's championing of a nuclear-free world, a cause that helped him win the Nobel Peace Prize in last month. More Japanese are urging the president to visit Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the cities hit by atomic bombs during... (Christian Science Monitor)
Obama launches Asia tour in Japan Nov 13, 2009
Hatoyama has said he may scrap an unpopular plan to build a new US military base on the southern Okinawa island, and that he will end a naval refuelling mission that has since 2001 supported the US campaign in Afghanistan. Stressing humanitarian aid over military support, his government this week pledged five billion dollars in assistance for Afghanistan to help stabilise the war-torn country that is Obama's biggest foreign policy challenge. (Sydney Morning Herald -- World)
Obama arrives in Japan at start of first Asia tour Nov 13, 2009
" onclick="Next();" src="/images/butt_next. " Japan's top government spokesman Hirofumi Hirano said the summit would be "an opportunity to enhance relations in trust between our prime minister and the president. (Channelnewsasia.com)
Obama faces strains in Japan, first stop in Asia Nov 13, 2009
Obama and Hatoyama, whose Democratic Party defeated its long-dominant rival in an August election, were expected to turn down the heat in the row over the U.S. Marines' Futenma air base on southern Okinawa island. The base is a key part of a realignment of the 47,000 U.S. troops in Japan. (The Star Online, Malaysia -- News)
* Japans Okinawa island sick of being the US unsinkable aircraft carrier Nov 12, 2009
Japans Okinawa island sick of being the US unsinkable aircraft carrier ... For years, Japanese kayak guide Michiru Sakai has shown tourists around coral reefs off Okinawa island X and impressed on them why locals so bitterly oppose plans for a new US military base. (Taipei Times, Taiwan -- World)
Japan 'has no time' to meet US Nov 5, 2009
Ties between the countries have been strained by a row over a US military base on Japan's Okinawa island. "The visit this time was cancelled as the Japanese side could not co-ordinate the timing amid various scheduling demands such as parliamentary sessions," Hirofumi Hirano, the chief cabinet secretary, told reporters. (BBC News -- Americas)
Gates presses Japan to "move on" with base pact Oct 21, 2009
com - Gates presses Japan to move on with base pact. " onclick="Next();" src="/images/butt_next. (Channelnewsasia.com)
Dispute slows Japan coalition talks Sep 8, 2009
The Social Democrats have also long opposed the presence of a US military base on southern Okinawa island, where tensions have flared between residents and American service members in the past. Media reports said the party also wanted Hatoyama's DPJ to commit in writing to the promise of ending next January a naval refuelling mission in the Indian Ocean that has supported US-led operations in Afghanistan. (Sydney Morning Herald -- World)
N Korea to strike Hawaii? Jun 19, 2009
The Japanese daily Yomiuri Shimbun meanwhile reported that Tokyo's defence ministry believes North Korea might now be planning to launch a two-stage or three-stage Taepodong-2 missile towards either Japan's Okinawa island, Guam or Hawaii. AFP Digg. (iAfrica.com)
NKorea plans to fire missile at Hawaii on Independence Day... Jun 19, 2009
Officials had initially believed that North Korea might attempt to launch a similar device towards either Japan's Okinawa island, Guam or Hawaii. But the ministry concluded launches toward Okinawa or Guam were 'extremely unlikely' because the first-stage booster could drop into waters off China, agitating Beijing, or hit western Japanese territory. (The Drudge Report)
US says it's ready for possible NKorean missile launch to Hawaii Jun 19, 2009
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