Tag: Fumio Kishida

Japanese prime minister’s visit highlights cornerstone of Biden foreign policy | CNN Politics

CNN
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As President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida met privately in Tokyo last year, Biden delivered a message that was as strategic as it was genuine.

US support for a more assertive defense and security posture from Japan was understood, but Biden made clear that if there was anything he could offer to bolster – or provide cover for – that effort, it should be considered on the table.

Eight months later, the product of that one-on-one meeting was marked by another. This time the backdrop was the Oval Office.

“Let me be crystal clear,” Biden said as he sat beside Kishida surrounded by cameras. “The United States is fully, thoroughly, completely committed to the alliance.”

For Biden and his national security team, Kishida’s visit serves as equal parts culmination and continuation of a foundational effort pursued since the opening days of the administration. It’s one that extends beyond a single bilateral relationship at a moment when geopolitical tensions and risks have converged with an approach to reshape the security posture of allies in Europe and the Indo-Pacific.

China has rapidly expanded its military capabilities, while also being increasingly clear about its territorial ambitions. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine set off the largest armed conflict in Europe since World War II. Throughout, North Korea has rapidly accelerated missile tests and its own provocative actions.

For Biden, a geopolitical climate trending toward instability has created an opportunity to support allies in their efforts to build out their security and defense capabilities – one that national security adviser Jake Sullivan framed as a new version of a central concept of President Ronald Reagan’s foreign policy.

“For Reagan, it was peace through American strength,” Sullivan said in an interview with CNN. “For Biden, it’s peace through American and allied strength.”

As the administration enters its third year, the groundwork laid has shown tangible, if sometimes uneven, advances with Germany, Australia and, most definitively, Japan.

In December, Kishida unveiled a new national security plan that signals the country’s biggest military buildup since World War II, doubling defense spending and veering from its pacifist constitution in the face of growing threats from regional rivals, including China.

The decision marked a dramatic shift for both the nation and the US security alliance in the Indo-Pacific region.

“We believed that we could get significant movement, but I don’t think that anybody thought it would be this far, this fast,” a senior administration official told CNN.

It also came at a moment when Kishida faces his own political challenges at home – challenges Biden was more than willing to try and help assuage.

Kishida’s visit served as a window into two years of carefully calibrated work by Biden’s team, senior administration officials said – one that created an environment for dramatic shifts to bolster US alliances at an increasingly fraught moment.

“We began laying the foundation for all of this long before Putin crossed the border of Ukraine,” Sullivan told CNN. “Above all, this has been a huge diplomatic priority.”

It was a directive handed down by Biden at the start of the administration, with Sullivan as its central architect. The administration sought to build on existing alliances, both bilaterally and regionally, as officials urged their counterparts to accelerate spending and updates to their own security and defense spending strategies.

They would ensure that it was understood that the US would be there to assist in any process undertaken, whether through boosts to defense capabilities, shifts in US force posture or Biden himself, with a clear statement of support, political cover or – in the case of Kishida – a coveted White House meeting.

The convergence of geopolitical events dovetailing with that strategy has reshaped security strategies in ways that in prior years may have unsettled allies concerned about increasing regional tensions, or unsettled adversaries willing to match action with escalation.

Yet the approach has managed to navigate a new willingness to test prior regional risk assessments. That hasn’t been lost on allies, Sullivan said.

“We’re giving them the confidence that as they go out on a limb, we are not going to saw off that limb,” Sullivan said.

In the days before Kishida’s visit, the US and Japan announced a significant strengthening of their military relationship and upgrade of the US military’s force posture in the region, including the stationing of a newly revamped Marine unit with advanced intelligence, surveillance capabilities and the ability to fire anti-ship missiles.

It is one of the most significant adjustments to US military force posture in the region in years, one official said, underscoring the Pentagon’s desire to shift from the wars of the past in the Middle East to the region of the future in the Indo-Pacific.

It also sent an unequivocal signal about the durability of US support for Japan’s strategic shift – one that administration officials made clear was a critical component of their regional strategy for years to come.

“When you think about it in terms of longer-term impact, this is a huge increase in net security capability in a place that (is) geographically important,” the official said.

For a president and an administration intensely focused on China, tending to – and building up – the long-standing critical alliance with Japan was a focal point from the start. Biden invited Kishida’s predecessor, Yoshihide Suga, for the first foreign leader visit of his presidency.

The decision was made to elevate the Quad – the informal alliance made up of the US, Japan, India and Australia – to the leader level. The US included Japan in consultations over the Indo-Pacific strategy. Administration officials have looked for places across economic and technological sectors to find new areas of cooperation, officials said.

But if China’s actions had started the steady shift in Japan’s overall posture, Russia’s actions accelerated it to a different level.

Japan, throughout the US effort to rally allies in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, has served a steadfast partner. Kishida has been explicit about his views of Russia’s actions not just in the context of Europe, but also for the Indo-Pacific.

“I myself have a strong sense of urgency that Ukraine today may be East Asia tomorrow,” Kishida said in a keynote address in Singapore last June that offered broad outlines of the security strategy shift he was weighing.

By the time Kishida met Biden in November in Cambodia, he would lay out the specific details to the US president during another one-on-one meeting.

He also made clear he would take Biden up on his offer during their private meeting in Tokyo. The Biden administration would need to immediately put out a statement in support of the proposal.

Biden agreed, and the day Kishida publicly announced his plans, an official statement from Sullivan followed in short order, calling it a “bold and historic step.”

Kishida also requested an invitation to the White House shortly after the December 16 announcement.

On January 3, the White House publicly announced plans for Kishida’s visit.

Less than two weeks later, Biden was waiting outside the White House as Kishida pulled up in a black SUV.

“I don’t think there’s ever been a time when we’ve been closer to Japan in the United States,” Biden said shortly afterward, as the two sat together in the Oval Office.

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January 14, 2023
Biden to host Japan’s Kishida for talks on NKorea, economy

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden will host Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at the White House later this month for economic and security consultations, the U.S. administration announced Tuesday.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the Jan. 13 meeting will include discussions of North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs, amid concerns over the potential for another nuclear test by the reclusive nation. Also on the agenda: economic issues, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, climate change and stability across the Taiwan Strait.

“President Biden will reiterate his full support for Japan’s recently released National Security Strategy, its presidency of the G7, and its term as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council,” Jean-Pierre said. “The leaders will celebrate the unprecedented strength of the U.S.-Japan Alliance and will set the course for their partnership in the year ahead.”

The two leaders last met in Bali, Indonesia, during November’s Group of 20 summit.

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January 3, 2023
Japan PM sacks 4th minister to patch up scandal-hit Cabinet

TOKYO — Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Tuesday dismissed his fourth minister in two months to patch a scandal-tainted Cabinet that has raised questions over his judgment of staff credentials.

Kenya Akiba, minister in charge of reconstruction of Fukushima and other disaster-hit areas, has faced allegations of mishandling political and election funds and of ties to the Unification Church, whose practices and huge donations have raised controversy.

“I have made a heavy decision and submitted my resignation,” Akiba told reporters after meeting with Kishida. He repeated that he has never violated any law in relation to the issues for which he has been criticized and that he was resigning because he didn’t want to trouble the party or stall parliamentary debate because of his presence in the Cabinet.

Kishida tapped former reconstruction minister Hiromichi Watanabe as a replacement. Watanabe’s appointment was to be official after a palace ceremony.

Akiba’s dismissal was seen as Kishida’s attempt to remove an administration’s soft spot that could stall upcoming parliamentary work on a key budget bill, including hefty defense spending aimed at bolstering Japan‘s strike capability.

“I take my responsibility of appointment very seriously,” Kishida said. “I will keep fulfilling my political responsibility by continuing to tackle a mountain of problems.”

Jun Azumi, a senior lawmaker of the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan who has criticized Kishida for making other slow decisions on his staff, said that “four (dismissals) are too much and the prime minister should be held responsible over their appointment.”

While Kishida has made some of the drastic changes to defense and energy policies, including a new security strategy and maximizing nuclear energy, he’s also seen as being indecisive and slow in risk management of his own government.

Also Tuesday, Kishida accepted the resignation of Internal Affairs Minister Mio Sugita, who has made derogatory remarks against sexual and ethnic minorities in the past.

Sugita said in 2018 that same-sex couples who don’t have children are “unproductive,” and in 2016, she scoffed at those wearing traditional ethnic costumes at an United Nations’ committee meeting as “middle-aged women in costume play.”

Kishida said Sugita submitted her resignation saying that she cannot bend her personal beliefs while she retracted some of her earlier comments.

Kishida had been seen as a stable choice for a leader and won the July elections with a prospect of a three-year mandate to achieve his policies until the next scheduled vote. But his popularity has plummeted over the Liberal Democratic Party’s widespread ties to the Unification Church that surfaced after the assassination of former leader Shinzo Abe.

The suspected shooter told investigators his mother’s donations to the church bankrupted his family and ruined his life. He reportedly targeted Abe as a key figure behind the church’s ties to Japan’s LDP-led government.

Revelations have since surfaced about many LDP lawmakers having friendly ties to the church, which has been criticized as allegedly brainwashing followers into making huge donations. A new law passed earlier this month aims to restrict such activities.

Economic Revitalization Minister Daishiro Yamagiwa quit on Oct. 24 after failing to explain his ties to the Unification Church. In early November, Justice Minister Yasuhiro Hanashi resigned after remarking that his job is low profile and only makes news when he signs the death penalty.

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December 27, 2022
New Japan law aims at Unification Church fundraising abuses

TOKYO — Japan’s parliament on Saturday enacted a law to restrict malicious donation solicitations by religious and other groups, which mainly targets the Unification Church, whose fundraising tactics and cozy ties with the governing party caused public outrage.

The South Korean-based religious group’s decades-long ties with Japan’s governing Liberal Democratic Party surfaced after the July assassination of former leader Shinzo Abe. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, whose support ratings tumbled, sought to calm public fury over his handling of the scandal and has replaced three Cabinet ministers — one over his church ties, another over a capital punishment gaffe and a third over political funding problems.

The new law, approved at this year’s closing parliamentary session, allows believers, other donors and their families to seek the return of their money and prohibits religious groups and other organizations from soliciting funds by coercion, threats or linking donations to spiritual salvation.

Kishida, who has heard former adherents’ experience, described their sufferings as “ghastly” and praised the law as a bipartisan effort to help the victims and their families.

The law’s passage was one of Kishida’s top priorities that also include Japan’s new national security strategy and defense policy to achieve a substantial buildup of its military over the next five years.

Kishida, who earlier this week set five-year defense spending targets of 43 trillion yen ($316 billion), said his government will need an extra 4 trillion yen ($30 billion) annually. Of that, a quarter will have to be funded through tax increases, Kishida said.

On Saturday, Kishida said Japan needs to continue reinforcing military power beyond the next five years. He said a planned tax increase will be gradual from 2024 and that income tax won’t be raised. He said he was against issuing government bonds to cover the defense increase.

“We must secure the source of funding to reinforce our defense power for our future,” Kishida said. “To do so is our responsibility for the future generations.”

A revised national security strategy, which is expected to be released later this month, would allow Japan to develop a preemptive strike capability and deploy long-range missiles. It marks a major and contentious shift away from Japan’s self-defense-only policy adopted after its World War II defeat in 1945.

“Our ongoing project will involve a major change to our national security and finance policies,” Kishida said.

The suspect who fatally shot Abe at an outdoor campaign rally in July told police he targeted the former prime minister because of his links to the Unification Church. A letter and social media postings attributed to the suspect said large donations by his mother to the church bankrupted his family and ruined his life.

A police investigation led to revelations of widespread ties between the church and members of the governing party over shared interests in anti-communist and conservative causes.

The case also shed light on the suffering of children of church followers, including some who say they were forced to join the church or were left in poverty or neglected by their parents’ devotion. Many critics consider the church to be a cult because of financial and mental hardships experienced by followers and their families.

The Education Ministry, which is in charge of religious issues, formally started an investigation into the church. It could potentially lead to a court decision revoking the group’s legal status, though the church can still continue its religious activity.

The Health and Welfare Ministry is separately investigating questionable adoptions involving hundreds of children among church followers.

Opposition lawmakers who proposed tougher measures have accused Kishida of being lax and slow because his party’s coalition partner, Komeito, is backed by the Buddhist sect Soka Gakkai.

Some experts say the law lacks teeth, including donation limits, protection for children of church members and consideration for those believed to be brainwashed into joining the group and making large donations.

Kishida has said he has no links to the church and has pledged his party will cut all such ties.

The Unification Church, founded in South Korea in 1954 by Sun Myung Moon, obtained legal status as a religious organization in Japan in 1968 amid an anti-communist movement supported by Abe’s grandfather, former Prime Minister Nobusuke Kishi.

Since the 1980s, the church has faced accusations of devious business and recruitment tactics, including brainwashing members into making huge donations to Moon, often ruining their finances and families.

The group has acknowledged cases of “excessive” donations but says the problem has since been mitigated for more than a decade and recently pledged further reforms.

Experts say Japanese followers are asked to pay for sins committed by their ancestors during Japan’s 1910-1945 colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula, and that the majority of the church’s worldwide funding comes from Japan.

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December 10, 2022
North Korea fires ICBM into sea off Japan, according to South Korean officials | CNN

Seoul, South Korea
CNN
—

North Korea launched an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) on Friday, the second missile test by the Kim Jong Un regime in two days, in actions condemned as unacceptable by Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.

The ICBM was launched around 10:15 a.m. local time from the Sunan area of the North Korean capital Pyongyang, and flew about 1,000 kilometers (621 miles) east, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said.

Kishida said it likely fell in Japan’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ), about 210 kilometers (130 miles) west of the Japanese island of Oshima Oshima, according to the Japan Coast Guard. It did not fly over Japan.

“North Korea is continuing to carry out provocative actions at frequency never seen before,” Kishida told reporters Friday at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting in Bangkok, Thailand.

“I want to restate that we cannot accept such actions,” he said.

The Japanese government will continue to collect and analyze information and provide prompt updates to the public, he said. So far, there have been no reports of damage to vessels at sea, Kishida added.

The ICBM reached an altitude of about 6,100 kilometers (3,790 miles) at Mach 22, or 22 times the speed of sound, according to the JCS, which said details were being analyzed by intelligence authorities in South Korea and the US.

Friday’s missile was about 100 kilometers short in altitude and distance compared to Pyongyang’s missile test on March 24, which recorded the highest altitude and longest duration of any North Korean missile ever tested, according to a report from the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) at the time. That missile reached an altitude of 6,248.5 kilometers (3,905 miles) and flew a distance of 1,090 kilometers (681 miles), KCNA reported.

Calling the launch a “significant provocation and a serious act of threat,” the JCS warned the North of violating the UN Security Council’s resolution and urged it to stop immediately.

The Misawa Air Base issued a shelter in place alert after the firing of the missile, according to US Air Force Col. Greg Hignite, director of public affairs for US Forces Japan. It has now been lifted and the US military is still analyzing the flight path, he said.

US President Joe Biden has been briefed on the missile launch and his national security team will “continue close consultations with Allies and partners,” National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said in statement Friday.

“The door has not closed on diplomacy, but Pyongyang must immediately cease its destabilizing actions and instead choose diplomatic engagement,” Watson said. “The United States will take all necessary measures to ensure the security of the American homeland and Republic of Korea and Japanese allies.”

Friday’s launch comes one day after Pyongyang fired a short-range ballistic missile into the waters off the east coast of the Korean Peninsula, and issued a stern warning to the United States of a “fiercer military counteraction” to its tighter defense ties with South Korea and Japan.

It’s the second suspected test launch of an ICBM this month – an earlier missile fired on November 3 appeared to have failed, a South Korean government source told CNN at the time.

The aggressive acceleration in weapons testing and rhetoric has sparked alarm in the region, with the US, South Korea and Japan responding with missile launches and joint military exercises.

Leif-Eric Easley, associate professor of International Studies at Ewha Womans University in Seoul, said North Korea is “trying to disrupt international cooperation against it by escalating military tensions and suggesting it has the capability of holding American cities at risk of nuclear attack.”

North Korea has carried out missile tests on 34 days this year, sometimes firing multiple missiles in a single day, according to a CNN count. The tally includes both cruise and ballistic missiles, with the latter making up the majority of North Korean test this year.

There are substantial differences between these two types of missiles.

A ballistic missile is launched with a rocket and travels outside Earth’s atmosphere, gliding in space before it re-enters the atmosphere and descends, powered only by gravity to its target.

A cruise missile is powered by a jet engine, stays inside Earth’s atmosphere during its flight and is maneuverable with control surfaces similar to an airplane’s.

Ankit Panda, senior fellow in the Nuclear Policy Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said that while he wouldn’t see Friday’s presumed ICBM launch “as a message, per se,” it can be viewed as part of North Korea’s “process of developing capabilities Kim has identified as essential for the modernization of their nuclear forces.”

The US and international observers have been warning for months that North Korea appears to be preparing for an underground nuclear test, with satellite imagery showing activity at the nuclear test site. Such a test would be the hermit nation’s first in five years.

Jeffrey Lewis, director of the East Asia Nonproliferation Program at Center for Non-proliferation Studies, said the ICBM test was designed to validate parts of North Korea’s missile program, something that Kim Jong Un has vowed to do this year.

The recent short-range tests “are exercises for frontline artillery units practicing preemptive nuclear strikes,” Lewis said.

He dismissed any political or negotiating message from the tests.

“I wouldn’t think about these tests as primarily signaling. North Korea isn’t interested talking right now,” Lewis said.

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November 17, 2022
US, Japan, SKorea vow unified response to North Korea threat

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — President Joe Biden and the leaders of Japan and South Korea on Sunday vowed a unified, coordinated response to North Korea’s threatening nuclear and ballistic missile programs, with Biden declaring that the three-way partnership is “even more important than it’s ever been” when North Korea is stepping up its provocations.

Biden met separately with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol before all three sat down together on the sidelines of the East Asia Summit in Cambodia.

The U.S. president began by offering condolences for a crowd surge during Halloween festivities in Seoul that killed more than 150 people, saying the U.S. had grieved with South Korea. The meeting was heavily focused on North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s recent escalations, although Biden said the three leaders would also discuss strengthening supply chains and preserving peace across the Taiwan strait, while building on the countries’ support for Ukraine in the face of Russian aggression.

Biden had also planned to seek input from Kishida and Yoon on managing China’s assertive posture in the Pacific region on the eve of his face-to-face with President Xi Jinping.

“We face real challenges, but our countries are more aligned than ever, more prepared to take on those challenges than ever,” Biden said. “So I look forward to deepening the bonds of cooperation between our three countries.”

Both Yoon and Kishida discussed the ongoing displays of aggression by North Korea, which has fired dozens of missiles in recent weeks. The launches include an intercontinental ballistic missile 10 days ago that triggered evacuation alerts in northern Japan, as the allies warn of a looming risk of the isolated country conducting its seventh nuclear test in the coming weeks.

Referring to the crowd surge that occurred in the Itaewon neighborhood in Seoul, Yoon said, through an interpreter: “At a time when South Koreans are grieving in deep sorrow, North Korea pushed ahead with such provocations which lays bare the Kim Jong Un regime’s true inclinations.”

U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters on Saturday that Biden would use the meetings to strengthen the three countries’ joint response to the dangers posed by North Korea, officially known as the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

“What we would really like to see is enhanced trilateral security cooperation where the three countries are all coming together,” he said. “That’s acutely true with respect to the DPRK because of the common threat and challenge we all face, but it’s also true, more broadly, about our capacity to work together to enhance overall peace and stability in the region.”

Tensions on the Korean Peninsula have skyrocketed in recent months as the North continues its weapons demonstrations and the U.S. and South Korea held stepped-up joint defense exercises. Earlier this month, the South Korean military said two B-1B bombers trained with four U.S. F-16 fighter jets and four South Korean F-35 jets during the last day of “Vigilant Storm” joint air force drills. It was the first time since December 2017 that the bombers were deployed to the Korean Peninsula. The exercise involved a total of roughly 240 warplanes, including advanced F-35 fighter jets from both countries.

North Korea responded with its own display of force, flying large numbers of warplanes inside its territory.

The Biden administration has said it has sent repeated requests to negotiate with North Korea without preconditions on constraining its nuclear and ballistic missile programs, but that Kim Jong Un’s government has not responded.

Biden has said he plans to press Xi to use China’s sway over North Korea to curtail its aggressive behavior, as part of what is expected to be a wide-ranging meeting between the leaders on the margins of the Group of 20 gathering in Bali, Indonesia.

China “has an interest in playing a constructive role in restraining North Korea’s worst tendencies,” Sullivan said Saturday. “Whether they choose to do so or not is, of course, up to them.”

Biden told reporters on Sunday that he’s “always had straightforward discussions” with Xi, and that has prevented either of them from “miscalculations” of their intentions. Their meeting comes weeks after Xi cemented his grip on China’s political system with the conclusion of the Community Party congress in Beijing that gave him a norm-breaking third term as leader.

“His circumstances changed, to state the obvious, at home,” Biden said of Xi. Biden maintained that his own have as well, saying that after Democrats retained control of the Senate in the midterm elections, “I know I’m coming in stronger.”

Underscoring that point, several heads of state approached Biden in Cambodia to tell him they had followed the U.S. midterm campaigns closely, telling the president that the results were a testament to the strength of American democracy, Sullivan told reporters traveling on Air Force One to Indonesia on Sunday evening.

Monday’s meeting will be the first in-person sit-down between the leaders since Biden was elected. U.S. officials have expressed frustration that lower-level Chinese officials have proven unable or unwilling to speak for Xi, and are hoping the face-to-face summit will enable progress on areas of mutual concern — and, even more critically, a shared understanding of each others’ limitations.

“I know him well, he knows me,” Biden said. “We’ve just got to figure out where the red lines are and what are the most important things to each of us, going into the next two years.”

As president, Biden has repeatedly taken China to task for human rights abuses against the Uyghur people and other ethnic minorities, Beijing’s crackdowns on democracy activists in Hong Kong, coercive trade practices, military provocations against self-ruled Taiwan and differences over Russia’s prosecution of its war against Ukraine.

Xi’s government has criticized the Biden administration’s posture toward Taiwan — which Beijing looks eventually to unify with the communist mainland — as undermining China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. The Chinese president also has suggested that Washington wants to stifle Beijing’s growing clout as it tries to overtake the U.S. as the world’s largest economy.

Biden also spoke briefly with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who has sought out his own meeting with Xi this week in an effort to ease Chinese sanctions against his country.

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Kim reported from Nusa Dua, Indonesia. Associated Press writers Josh Boak in Baltimore and Darlene Superville in Washington contributed to this report.

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November 13, 2022
S Korea, Japan seek better ties amid NKorea missile tensions

SEOUL, South Korea — The leaders of South Korea and Japan agreed Sunday to keep up efforts to resolve their thorny historical disputes as they’re pushing to bolster security cooperation with the United States to better deal with North Korean nuclear threats.

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida met twice on the sidelines of a regional gathering in Cambodia — with U.S. President Joe Biden and then bilaterally.

In the bilateral meeting, Yoon and Kishida assessed that there has been active communications between their diplomats on “a current issue between the two countries” and agreed to continue consultations to find an early resolution, Yoon’s office said in a statement.

It said the two leaders also agreed to continue their communications.

The statement didn’t elaborate what the issue was, but it apparently referred to a long-running spat over 2018 court rulings in Seoul that ordered two Japanese companies to compensate Koreans who had been mobilized as forced laborers during Japan’s 1910-45 colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula.

The ruling plunged bilateral ties to their lowest point in decades, as the companies and the Japanese government argued that all compensation issues had already been settled under a 1965 treaty that normalized the countries’ relations and refused to comply with the verdicts. The countries later downgraded each other’s trade status and Seoul threatened to abandon an intelligence-sharing deal.

The South Korea-Japan wrangling has complicated U.S. efforts to reinforce a trilateral security alliance with its Asian allies in the face of an increasingly assertive China and an advancing North Korean nuclear program.

South Korean and Japan have been seeking to find ways to resolve the disputes since the May inauguration of Yoon, a conservative who wants to bolter Seoul’s military alliance with the U.S. and improve ties with Japan. Some experts say North Korea’s provocative run of missile tests in recent months has also helped bring Seoul and Tokyo closer together as both are placed within the striking distance of North Korean missiles and feel the need to buttress a security cooperation with the United States.

In their bilateral summit Sunday, Yoon and Kishida renewed their condemnation of the North Korean missile tests that they called “a serious, grave provocation” that undermined regional and international peace. In talks with Biden, the three leaders said in a joint statement that they will work together to strengthen deterrence and ensure all relevant sanctions on North Korea are full enforced. Biden also reiterated that the U.S. commitment to defend Japan and South Korea is “ironclad” and backed by the full range of capabilities, including nuclear.

In September, Yoon and Kishida held their first talks on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly and agreed to accelerate efforts to mend their countries’ ties. That meeting was the first summit between the countries since December 2019.

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November 13, 2022
Biden huddles with Asian allies on NKorea threat, China

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia — President Joe Biden is set to meet Sunday with the leaders of Japan and South Korea to coordinate their response to North Korea’s threatening nuclear and ballistic missile programs, as well as to seek input on managing China‘s assertive posture in the Pacific region on the eve of his planned face-to-face with President Xi Jinping.

Biden will hold separate meetings with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol. The three leaders will then sit down together on the sidelines of the East Asia Summit in Cambodia.

The meetings come as North Korea has fired dozens of missiles in recent weeks, including an intercontinental ballistic missile 10 days ago that triggered evacuation alerts in northern Japan, and as the allies warn of a looming risk of the isolated country conducting its seventh nuclear test in the coming weeks.

U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters on Saturday that Biden aims to use the meetings to strengthen the three countries’ joint response to the dangers posed by North Korea, officially known as the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

“What we would really like to see is enhanced trilateral security cooperation where the three countries are all coming together,” he said. “That’s acutely true with respect to the DPRK because of the common threat and challenge we all face, but it’s also true, more broadly, about our capacity to work together to enhance overall peace and stability in the region.”

Tensions on the Korean peninsula have skyrocketed in recent months as the North continues its weapons demonstrations and the U.S. and South Korea launched stepped-up joint defense exercises. Earlier this month, the South Korean military said two B-1B bombers trained with four U.S. F-16 fighter jets and four South Korean F-35 jets during the last day of “Vigilant Storm” joint air force drills. It was the first time since December 2017 that the bombers were deployed to the Korean Peninsula. The exercise involved a total of roughly 240 warplanes, including advanced F-35 fighter jets from both countries.

North Korea responded with its own display of force, flying large numbers of warplanes inside its territory.

The Biden administration has said it has sent repeated requests to negotiate with North Korea without preconditions on constraining its nuclear and ballistic missile programs, but that Kim Jong Un’s government has not responded.

Biden on Monday said he plans to press Xi to use China’s unique sway over North Korea to curtail its aggressive behavior, as part of what is expected to be a wide-ranging bilateral meeting on the margins of the Group of 20 gathering in Bali, Indonesia.

China “has an interest in playing a constructive role in restraining North Korea’s worst tendencies,” Sullivan said Saturday. “Whether they choose to do so or not is, of course, up to them.”

Biden told reporters on Sunday that he’s “always had straightforward discussions” with Xi, and that has prevented either of them from “miscalculations” of their intentions. Their meeting comes weeks after Xi cemented his grip on China’s political system with the conclusion of the Community Party congress in Beijing that gave him a norm-breaking third term as leader.

“His circumstances changed, to state the obvious, at home,” Biden said of Xi.

Monday’s meeting will be the first in-person sit-down between the leaders since Biden was elected to the White House. U.S. officials in the past have expressed frustration that lower-level Chinese officials have proven unable or unwilling to speak for Xi, and are hoping the face-to-face summit will enable progress on areas of mutual concern — and, even more critically, a shared understanding of each others’ limitations.

“I know him well, he knows me,” Biden said. “We’ve just got to figure out where the red lines are and what are the most important things to each of us, going into the next two years.”

As president, Biden has repeatedly taken China to task for human rights abuses against the Uyghur people and other ethnic minorities, Beijing’s crackdowns on democracy activists in Hong Kong, coercive trade practices, military provocations against self-ruled Taiwan and differences over Russia’s prosecution of its war against Ukraine.

Xi’s government has criticized the Biden administration’s posture toward Taiwan — which Beijing looks eventually to unify with the communist mainland — as undermining China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. The Chinese president also has suggested that Washington wants to stifle Beijing’s growing clout as it tries to overtake the U.S. as the world’s largest economy.

Biden also held a pull-aside meeting with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who has sought out his own meeting with Xi this week in an effort to ease Chinese sanctions against his country.

Sullivan said Biden would also ask Japan and South Korea’s leaders which issues they want him to talk about with Xi, though it would not be the primary discussion at their trilateral meeting.

“One thing that President Biden certainly wants to do with our closest allies is preview what he intends to do,” Sullivan said, “and also ask the leaders of (South Korea) and Japan, ‘What would you like me to raise? What do you want me to go in with?’”

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Kim reported from Nusa Dua, Indonesia. AP writer Josh Boak contributed from Baltimore.

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November 12, 2022
Japan, US hold joint arms drills amid China, N Korea worry

TOKYO — Japan and the United States began a major joint military exercise Thursday in southern Japan as the allies aim to step up readiness in the face of China’s increasing assertiveness and North Korea’s intensifying missile launches.

The biennial “Keen Sword” drills kicked off at a Japanese air base in southern Japan and were also held at multiple other locations in and around Japan. They will run through Nov. 19.

About 26,000 Japanese and 10,000 American troops, as well as 30 vessels and 370 aircraft from both sides, are to participate in the drills, according to the Japanese Defense Ministry. Australia, Britain and Canada will also join parts of the drills, it said.

Joint field trainings that include amphibious landing exercises are planned on southwestern Japanese remote islands, including Tokunoshima, Amami and Tsutarajima, as Japan has been bolstering its defense capability in the region amid growing tensions over China.

China has reinforced its claims to virtually the entire South China Sea by constructing artificial islands equipped with military installations and airfields. Beijing also claims a string of islands that are controlled by Japan in the East China Sea, and has stepped up military harassment of self-ruled Taiwan, which it says is part of China to be annexed by force if necessary.

The joint exercise also comes on the heels of intensifying missile firings by North Korea, which has launched more than 30 of them this year, including one on Wednesday that fell in the sea between the Korean Peninsula and Japan. Last month, an intercontinental ballistic missile flew over northern Japan.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, citing worsening security in the region, has pledged to substantially increase Japanese military capability and possibly allow pre-emptive strike capability to attack enemy missile launch sites from afar. The plans are expected to be included in a revised national security strategy and mid- to long-term defense guidelines later this year.

A move to develop strike capability is a major shift for Japan’s self-defense-only principle, though the country has rapidly expanded its military’s role and capability in the past decade to work more closely with the United States and other partners in the region and Europe.

Exercises like Keen Sword provide Japanese and U.S. forces “opportunities to train together across a variety of mission areas in realistic scenarios to enhance readiness, interoperability, and build credible deterrence,” U.S. Forces Japan said in a statement Thursday.

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November 10, 2022
World leaders grieve deadly Halloween crowd surge in Seoul

HONG KONG — World leaders expressed sadness and condolences after at least 151 people were killed in a crowd surge Saturday night in Seoul, South Korea.

The tragedy occurred in Seoul’s Itaewon district during Halloween festivities when a huge crowd surged into a narrow downhill alley. At least 82 others were injured in the South Korea’s deadliest accident in years.

U.S. President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden sent their “deepest condolences” to the families of the deceased.

“We grieve with the people of the Republic of Korea and wish for a quick recovery to all those who were injured,” said President Biden in a tweet. “The United States stands with the Republic of Korea during this tragic time.”

Similarly, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak described the news from Seoul as “horrific” on Twitter.

“All our thoughts are with those currently responding and all South Koreans at this very distressing time,” Sunak wrote.

Itaewon’s international character was shaped by its proximity to a U.S. military garrison nearby. The area is still home to restaurants, bars and other businesses catering to the American community in Seoul.

U.S. Forces Korea, which commands the sizable American military presence in the country, expressed its condolences in a Facebook post.

“The Itaewon community has opened its arms to us for many years and is part of the reason our Alliance is so strong,” the command said, writing in English and Korean. “During this time of grief, we will be there for you just as you have been there for us.”

Pope Francis invited the crowd in St. Peter’s Square to pray for the victims.

“We pray the Risen Lord also for those — especially young people — who died last night in Seoul, due to the tragic consequences of a sudden crush,” Francis said after his Sunday’s Angelus prayer.

Leaders from countries including Japan, France, China and Singapore reacted with shock and sadness over the tragedy in Seoul.

“I’m hugely shocked and deeply saddened by the extremely tragic accident in Itaewon, Seoul, that took many precious lives, including those of young people with their future ahead of them,” Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said in a tweet.

In France, President Emmanuel Macron — who tweeted in both French and in Korean — offered support to Seoul residents and South Korea.

“France is with you,” he said.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau echoed similar sentiments on Twitter, sending his “deepest condolences” to the people of South Korea “and wishing a fast and full recovery to those who were injured.”

Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni tweeted: “Our thoughts are with the victims of the tragedy that occurred in Seoul and with their families. Italy is close to the Korean people at this time of great pain and deep sadness.”

Chinese President Xi Jinping also sent his condolences to South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, expressing shock over the accident in Seoul, according to a statement by the Chinese foreign ministry.

Hong Kong leader John Lee, in a statement on Facebook, hoped for swift recoveries for those injured in the crush.

“I express profound sorrow over the passing of the victims, extend my deepest condolences to their families and wish for a speedy recovery to all those who were injured,” said Lee.

Prince William and his wife Kate also sent a message of condolence. The heir to the British throne said on social media: “Catherine and I send all our love and prayers to the parents, families and loved ones of those tragically lost in Seoul yesterday evening.”

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said she was “heartbroken” by the tragic news from Seoul.

“They were looking for a night of lighthearted Halloween festivities but instead found real horror and death,” said Baerbock. “My thoughts are with the victims, their friends and families, and those who still fear for their loved ones.”

“This is a sad day for South Korea. Germany stands by their side,” German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said in a tweet.

Singapore’s President Halimah Yacob described the loss of lives as “tragic” and said it was “hard to imagine” the trauma and grief experienced by the families, loved ones and friends of those affected.

“My thoughts and prayers are with the people of South Korea during this difficult time, and I wish a quick and full recovery to all those who are injured,” she said.

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Associated Press journalists from around the world contributed to this report.

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October 30, 2022
Sullivan declines to say if Biden brought up jailed Navy officer with Japanese PM but says US working ‘extremely hard’ on case | CNN Politics

CNN
—

Jake Sullivan, the national security adviser, said Sunday that the White House is working “extremely hard” on the case of a US Navy officer jailed in Japan but declined to say whether President Joe Biden had brought it up during his trip to the country.

“There are certain times when saying less in public and more in private is the best way to resolve these cases. This is one of those instances,” Sullivan said on “State of the Union” when asked if Biden had raised the case of Lt. Ridge Alkonis with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida during his trip to Hiroshima for the Group of Seven summit, which concluded Sunday.

On Friday, a pair of Democratic lawmakers from California had asked Biden to once again bring up the issue with Kishida.

In a letter addressed to Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, US Sen. Alex Padilla and US Rep. Mike Levin said that “while we understand the sensitive nature of this case” around Lt. Ridge Alkonis, “it is important to resolve this situation promptly to prevent further irritants in the U.S.-Japan relationship.”

“Lieutenant Alkonis has served almost a year in Japanese prison after being involved in a tragic and unforeseeable car accident due to a medical emergency he suffered while driving. Despite your repeated interventions from your Administration, including National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and Ambassador Rahm Emanuel. Lieutenant Alkonis’ case remains stalled in the Japanese system,” the pair wrote.

Alkonis, who was stationed in Japan, was sentenced to three years in Japanese prison in October 2021 for negligent driving resulting in the death of two people and injuries to a third person in May 2021. CNN previously reported that Alkonis said he suffered from acute mountain sickness as he was driving with his family from Mount Fuji, which caused him to lose consciousness. That argument was rejected by the court, and his appeal was denied in July 2022.

Biden raised the Alkonis case with Kishida during the prime minister’s visit to the White House in January, and the two countries agreed to establish a working group to solve the problem. But Alkonis has since expressed despair about his situation, according to a handwritten note to his wife.

“I’m not doing that good,” he wrote in a letter dated April 30, which was shared with CNN. “The walls and bars seem to be making my cell even smaller as of late.”

His family has requested that he be transferred back to the US under the Council of Europe’s Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons, which would allow him to serve out his sentence there.

Alkonis’ wife, Brittany Alkonis, told CNN earlier this week that parts of the US government have been “incredibly proactive” on that request but claimed that the US Department of Defense as well as the Japanese government had not productively engaged. Ridge Alkonis has not been designated as wrongfully detained by the US State Department.

“Prison has always been a hard place. You know, he talks about how just anything that would bring you happiness is not allowed. He says it’s just soul crushing,” Brittany Alkonis told CNN.

“Lieutenant Alkonis’ service records make clear that he is an extraordinary officer, and we believe he deserves better,” the Democratic lawmakers wrote to Biden and Harris. “We ask that you insist on a prompt prisoner transfer under the Council of Europe Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons, so that he, his wife, and their three young children can be reunited in California.”

Brittany Alkonis and her children have been able to visit Ridge Alkonis every few weeks in prison, with the current setup allowing for five half-hour visits per month, she said. Her children – all under the age of ten years old – are the ones who are “paying the price” for this challenging situation, she said.

“They’re hurting. They try to make sense of this. We talk about it all the time,” Brittany Alkonis said. “But my son asked me the other day, he said, ‘Mommy, you said the president is getting daddy home, then why isn’t he home yet.’”

This story and headline have been updated with additional details.

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April 12, 2021
Chipmakers look to Japan as worries about China grow | CNN Business

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said he welcomed and expected more investment from global chipmakers, after meeting top executives on Thursday before a Group of Seven summit.

China is set to be high on the agenda of the annual G7 leaders meeting that begins on Friday, with the United States increasingly urging its allies to counter the Asian giant’s chip and advanced technology development.

Growing Taiwan and US tensions with China have brought serious challenges to the semiconductor industry. Taiwan is a major producer of chips used in everything from cars and smartphones to fighter jets.

Ensuring diversified, resilient supply chains is a key component of the economic security theme being emphasized by Japan at the talks, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters on Air Force One.

Kishida told the executives, including those from Micron Technology Inc

(MU), Intel Corp

(INTC) and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co

(TSM) (TSMC), that stabilizing supply chains would be a topic of discussion at the G7 talks in the western city of Hiroshima.

“I am very pleased with your positive attitude towards investment in Japan, and would like the government as a whole to work on further expanding direct investment in Japan and support the semiconductor industry,” Kishida said.

An industry ministry official later said Kishida wanted to foster cooperation to strengthen semiconductor supply chains, while Industry Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura said Japan would use 1.3 trillion yen ($9.63 billion) of the supplementary budget from the last fiscal year to support its chip business.

In particular, Kumamoto prefecture in southwestern Japan is quickly becoming a hotbed for tech investment from companies including TSMC and Fujifilm Holdings Corp

(FUJIF).

Micron said in a statement that it would bring extreme ultraviolet (EUV) technology to Japan, becoming the first semiconductor company to do so, and expected to invest up to 500 billion yen ($3.6 billion) with support from the Japanese government.

Bloomberg News reported the financial incentives would total about 200 billion yen.

An industry ministry official said no decision had been made on whether Japan would give a subsidy to Micron, but that one would be made as soon as possible.

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April 12, 2021