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apanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Monday his country will form a space defense unit to protect itself from potential threats as rivals develop missiles and other technology, noting that the new unit will work closely with its American counterpart recently launched by President Donald Trum

A visibly upset Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has vowed to "never forgive terrorists" after the Islamic State (ISIS) released a video purportedly showing the beheading of Japanese hostage Kenji Goto. "I am extremely angry about these heinous and despicable terrorist acts. We will never forgive terrorists," Abe told reporters in Tokyo on Sunday morning (local time), according to the AFP news agency. "We will cooperate with the international community to make them atone for their crimes," he declared. The ISIS claim was made in a video released online that included no mention of a Jordanian pilot also being held...

Former President George W. Bush said during an ABC interview aired in December that the "biggest regret" of his presidency was the absence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, for which the U.S. waged the war. His statement virtually acknowledges it was a war without a cause. It's too late for regrets, but what about Japan? The Japanese government did support the U.S.-led war on Iraq, but it has now fallen silent as if the war is someone else's affair. Are we simply going to evade the issue by saying it was a decision by former Prime Minister Junichiro...

IWO JIMA, Japan — The tunnels of Iwo Jima snake deep beneath the volcanic rock and soil, their entrances camouflaged by a dense tangle of vines and tall grasses. In their stifling heat, Tsuruji Akikusa suffered months of hunger and thirst. The bodies of dead comrades lay around him. His closest buddy blew himself up with a grenade rather than surrender. Finally, Akikusa was the only one left alive in his cave.

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador (AP) - Unusually high Pacific waves battered beaches from El Salvador to Mexico and carried people out to sea, prompting authorities in some places to order swimmers out of the water Tuesday. At least two people were killed. Waves topping 10 feet swept away a dozen swimmers near La Libertad on Monday, 10 of whom were plucked from the water by boats and a helicopter, Green Cross emergency worker Jose Larin said. A 35-year-old man and a 16-year-old boy were killed. El Salvador's government advised people "to avoid swimming at our beaches due to the risk,"...

Insurgencies are not put down in a fortnight. But considering the successes in the recent counter-insurgency sweep in Iraq's Al Anbar Province, one fact becomes obvious to anyone with so much as a sliver of an understanding of ground combat operations: Eliminating the insurgency in Iraq is best left to those who best know how to do it.

Kuwaiti border security men on Sunday foiled an attempt to smuggle a large quantity of explosives into Kuwait, the Arab Times reported Monday. According to the daily, two trucks carrying watermelons crossed the Kuwaiti border from Iraq and were about to get into the country when one security inspector saw cracks in a watermelon. He opened it and found explosives. The trucks were thoroughly searched and a large quantity of explosives was found hidden inside the watermelons. The two drivers were referred to the State Security Department for further investigations to find out the partners of these criminals. No details...

<p>Just only a quick blurb in the top news segement today, but Mainichi News reports that two elderly Japanese men in their 80s have turned themselves into or otherwise presented themselves to Japanese authorities in the southern Philippines in Mindanao, apparantly "surrendering" or at least talking to them, after holding our for nearly 60 years in the Philippines following Japan's WWII defeat.</p>

Aki Aleong's stomach churned as he watched the Fox comedy game show, the one with the nerdy Asian businessman wearing thick glasses and the karate-chopping martial arts master screaming "Banzai!" Paul Noble watched the same show but saw something else. To him, it was a fresh, funny program with great stunts, like two men jousting while riding shopping carts. The Asian characters were just part of the backdrop. Once, minorities like Aleong, a Chinese-American, might have silently winced about being the butt of jokes on a network program -- in this case, the Fox summer show "Banzai!" Not anymore. As...

Japan flexes its muscles, thinking the unthinkable By Colin Joyce in Tokyo (Filed: 09/08/2003) Japan is moving away from decades of pacifism to strengthen its armed forces with an elite commando unit, aircraft carriers and spy satellites. The wide-ranging rethink has been spurred by a series of declarations from its Stalinist neighbour, North Korea, which has made plain its determination to acquire nuclear weapons and the missiles to deliver them. The escalating crisis has already caused Japan to promise pre-emptive air raids if it feels threatened, and analysts have begun publicly to discuss the ultimate taboo, the acquisition of atomic...