Poutine-Abe: le Traité de paix russo-japonais au menu d'entretiens.

Le Traité de paix et les relations bilatérales russo-japonaises a été lundi au centre d'une rencontre du président russe Vladimir Poutine avec le premier ministre nippon Shinzo Abe à Bali, en Indonésie, a annoncé le porte-parole du président russe Dmitri Peskov.
"La formule japonaise "pas de vainqueur, pas de vaincu" serait la meilleure base philosophique  pour régler le problème du Traité de paix, les deux pays l'ont déjà reconnu au forum de Saint-Pétersbourg. Cette fois, les parties ont de nouveau confirmé que c'était la meilleure approche du problème. A présent, il faut trouver le moyen de l'appliquer", a indiqué le porte-parole devant les journalistes.
"La rencontre s'est déroulée dans une ambiance très positive, elle a permis d'évoquer un large éventail de questions bilatérales", a-t-il ajouté.

Japan unveils largest warship since World War II. The 810-ft long ship is able to carry up to 14 helicopters. (VIDEO YT)

YOKOHAMA - Japan today (Aug 6) unveiled its biggest warship since World War II, a huge flat-top destroyer that has raised eyebrows in China and elsewhere because it bears a strong resemblance to a conventional aircraft carrier.
The ship, which has a flight deck that is nearly 250 metres long, is designed to carry up to 14 helicopters. Japanese officials say it will be used in national defence - particularly in anti-submarine warfare and border-area surveillance missions - and to bolster the nation’s ability to transport personnel and supplies in response to large-scale natural disasters, like the devastating earthquake and tsunami in 2011.

Osaka mayor sparks anger over comfort women comment....

The mayor of Osaka in Japan has sparked outrage by saying that the Japanese military’s forced prostitution of Asian women before and during World War Two was necessary to "maintain discipline" in the army.

Toru Hashimoto, Mayor of Osaka, said, "Wartime sex slaves were a necessity to maintain discipline in the Japanese military during those times. If you want soldiers at war to get some rest, a comfort women system was necessary. The Abe cabinet, as well as past cabinets, share the same sentiments."

Toru Hashimoto’s comment triggered anger in Asian countries that suffered from Japan’s wartime aggression. it comes amid mounting criticism at the prospect of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s conservative government revising Japan’s past apologies for wartime atrocities.

Was the euro ever "about to collapse"?

Hong Kong (CNN) -- Less than six months ago, eurozone watchers had been predicting the breakup of the 17-member bloc of nations as the euro plunged to a 25-month low against the U.S. dollar last July.

Even as recently as November, Warren Buffett, the famed CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, said of the eurozone's future that "it's hard to tell exactly how it comes out."

But since then, the euro has appreciated nearly 11% as its member countries battled to contain sovereign debt crises, rising unemployment and social unrest. The euro now stands at a 13-month high against the greenback.

China frigate locked radar on Japan navy/Ο κινεζικός στόλος σημάδεψε ιαπωνικό σκάφος-Senkaku/Diaoyu issue

A Chinese military frigate locked weapons-targeting radar on a Japanese navy vessel, Tokyo's defence minister said Tuesday, in an apparent upping of the stakes in a bitter territorial row. The move, described by the minister and a Japanese analyst as "dangerous", marks the first time the two nation's navies have locked horns in a dispute that has some commentators warning about a possible armed conflict. "On January 30, something like fire-control radar was directed at a Japan Self-Defense Maritime escort ship in the East China Sea," Itsunori Onodera told reporters in Tokyo. "The defence ministry today confirmed radar for targeting was used." Onodera said a Japanese military helicopter was also locked with a similar radar on January 19. He did not specify whether the helicopter was airborne or on the deck of a ship at the time.

Chinese fishing boat captain nabbed for illegal fishing in Japan EEZ/Japan coast guard says detains Chinese fishing boat near Okinawa

(Reuters) - Japan's coast guard detained a Chinese fishing boat near the southern Japanese island of Okinawa on Saturday and arrested the captain for collecting coral illegally, a coast guard official said.
The vessel was detained off Miyako Island, some 150 km (95 miles) from islands in the East China Sea at the centre of a territorial dispute between the two countries, and about 400 km (250 miles) east of Taipei.
A long-simmering row over the East China Sea islands, known as the Senkaku in Japan and the Diaoyu in China, has in recent months escalated to the point where both sides have scrambled fighter jets while patrol ships shadow each other in nearby seas.

«Περιττό βάρος» αποκάλεσε τους ηλικιωμένους ο Ιάπωνας υπουργός Οικονομικών

Taro Aso

Οργή στον κόσμο για την προκλητική δήλωση του Τάρο Ασο. 

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Η νέα κυβέρνηση της Ιαπωνίας βρίσκεται μόλις έναν μήνα στην εξουσία, αλλά ήδη ο υπουργός Οικονομικών προσέβαλε δεκάδες εκατομμύρια ψηφοφόρους λέγοντας ότι οι ηλικιωμένοι είναι ένα «περιττό βάρος για την οικονομία» της χώρας του ανατέλλοντος ηλίου.

Η προκλητική δήλωση του Τάρο Ασο έχει εξοργίσει τον κόσμο στην Ιαπωνία, όπου σχεδόν ένας στους τέσσερις από τους 128 εκατ. πολίτες είναι άνω των 60 ετών. Το ποσοστό των ηλικιωμένων αναμένεται να αυξηθεί στο 40% τα επόμενα 50 χρόνια.

Japan, US defense chiefs pledge cooperation

Japanese and US defense chiefs have agreed to work closely on issues such as the Diaoyu Islands in the East China Sea and missile launches in the DPRK.Japan’s Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera and US Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta spoke on the phone on Tuesday for the first time.

Onodera said he hopes to work closely with the US to strengthen the role of Japan’s Self-Defense Forces. He expressed hopes that both countries would pay careful attention to the proposed relocation of the US Futenma Air Station within Okinawa.

Chinese protest Aso's visit to cemetery

Japanese Deputy Prime Minister Taro Aso has visited the Japanese War Cemetery in Yangon during a three-day visit to Myanmar.
Friday’s visit raised protests from some Chinese war veterans living in the country, who were in Myanmar fighting the Japanese invaders during the Second World War.
Aso’s visit lasted only 15 minutes because of the protest. Chinese veterans accused Aso of trying to cover up Japanese crimes during the war and attempting to portray its aggression as reasonable.

China "not fear troubles" regarding Diaoyu Islands (Senkaku/Diaoyu issue)

BEIJING, Dec. 28 (Xinhua) -- Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Zhijun said Friday that China will neither create nor fear any troubles concerning the Diaoyu Islands.
He made the remarks in response to a question concerning China-Japan relations at the eighth Lanting Forum.
Zhang said the Diaoyu Island and its affiliated islets are inherent parts of China's territory, and Chinese government and its people's determination to safeguard the country's territorial sovereignty is firm.
"We hope for a stable and peaceful surrounding environment, we will not create troubles, but we definitely not fear any trouble," Zhang said.

8 U.S. sailors sue Japanese gov't, TEPCO for lying about radiation

SAN DIEGO —

Eight crew members of the USS Ronald Reagan are suing the Japanese government and Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) for lying to them about the radiation levels to which they were exposed during rescue operations near the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant last year.
In a suit filed in San Diego this week, lead plaintiff Lindsay R Cooper accused TEPCO of intentionally concealing the dangerous levels of radiation in the environment from U.S. Navy rescue crews working as part of “Operation Tomodachi” off the coast of the Tohoku region following the devastating series of earthquakes and tsunami that resulted in the nuclear disaster of March 11, 2011.

US Navy sailors sue Japan for lying about Fukushima radiation

American sailors have filed a lawsuit against the Japanese government for allegedly lying about the health risks they faced while assisting in rescue efforts after last year’s Fukushima nuclear disaster.
Crewmembers from the USS Ronald Reagan filed a lawsuit in Federal Court in San Diego, California this week in an attempt to hold Japan accountable for any long-term damage they’ll caused during “Operation Tomadachi,” the spring 2011 relief effort that sent sailors near the coast of Japan to assist in the days after an earthquake and subsequent tsunami ravaged the island nation and caused a level 7 meltdown at three reactors in the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant.

Chinese ships seen in disputed waters for first time since LDP's win (Senkaku/Diaoyu issue)

China has sent ships into the islands’ waters 19 times since Tokyo nationalised the chain in September.

Abe has pushed an agenda that includes upgrading the country’s Self Defense Forces to make them a full-scale military, and has spoken of wanting to revise Japan’s pacifist constitution.

 

TOKYO —

China sent its ships into territorial waters around disputed islands Friday, in the first incursion since Japan elected a new government.
The move is a setback to hopes in Tokyo that Beijing might use the poll as a chance for a fresh start after months of bitter wrangling and rhetoric over an issue that neither side is prepared to budge on.

Japan’s next PM: No quarter for China, reach out to Russia

(Senkaku/Diaoyu issue)
As Japan’s Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda steps down after exit polls reveal a complete defeat of his party in parliamentary elections, the winner of the race Shinzo Abe states that Tokyo won’t concede China "one millimeter" of “Japan’s islands.”
"China is challenging the fact that (the islands) are Japan's inherent territory. Our objective is to stop the challenge," Shinzo Abe, leader of Japan's Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), declared Sunday.