Japanese officials plan to put China top of the list of what their country sees as regional security challenges when they revise the National Security Strategy by the end of the year.
The document outlines Japan's basic diplomatic and defense policies. It refers to countries that pose security challenges.
A Chinese high court has finalized a life sentence handed down to a Japanese man for drug smuggling.
The Higher People's Court in the southern province of Guangdong on Friday upheld a lower court sentencing of Sakuragi Takuma in 2019. Sakuragi is a former assemblyman of Inazawa City in Aichi Prefecture, central Japan.
Japan's Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide is seeking to strengthen cooperation with China in the economic field to improve relations. He also wants China to act positively on maritime and security issues around the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea.
Japan controls the islands. The Japanese government maintains the islands are an inherent part of Japan's territory. China and Taiwan claim them.
Japanese companies with plants in China are welcoming the planned resumption of business travel between the two countries this month.
Japan's Foreign Minister Motegi Toshimitsu and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi agreed on the measure at a meeting in Tokyo on Tuesday.
Data obtained by NHK show that Chinese patrol ships have repeatedly made complicated movements in waters off the Senkaku Islands in Okinawa Prefecture, forcing Japan Coast Guard vessels to deal with them with increased difficulty.
Chinese government ships sailed in Japan's territorial waters off the islands in the East China Sea or the contiguous zone just outside the waters for 300 days this year as of Thursday, renewing a record high.
An opinion poll conducted in both Japan and China has shown a gap in the way people in each place think about their neighboring country.
Japanese non-profit group Genron NPO and the China International Publishing Group conducted the joint survey in September and October. About 2,600 people in the two countries responded.
Japan's National Institute for Defense Studies says the Chinese military is rapidly promoting development of core technologies in cooperation with the private sector, to boost its capabilities in cyberspace and outer space.
The institute on Friday released its annual report on China's military development, focusing on the country's military-civil fusion strategy.
NHK has learned that Japan and China have agreed to resume round trip business travel between the two countries beginning in mid-November. It applies to both short- and long-term trips.
The government of Japan is gradually easing restrictions which it imposed to stop the spread of the coronavirus.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Kato Katsunobu says the Japanese government will keep a close eye on developments regarding China's coast guard, including a planned legal revision outlining its responsibilities.
Kato told reporters on Thursday the government is committed to defending the lives and assets of the Japanese people, including fishing boats, as well as Japan's territorial waters and air space. He pledged to continue to monitor and patrol the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea and deal calmly yet firmly with China.
Japan and China are continuing talks to resume business trips between the two countries as early as October.
The Japanese government has gradually eased entry restrictions it had in place to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. It has already resumed business travel with both South Korea and Singapore.
Japan's top government spokesperson has expressed the government's intention to allow the resumption of business trips to and from China while implementing anti-coronavirus measures.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Chief Cabinet Secretary Kato Katsunobu referred to discussions now under way with China on whether to allow the resumption of business travel between the two countries.
Japan's newly appointed ambassador to China has suggested that Japan and China should move on from their current unstable relationship and build more steady ties through high-level communications.
Tarumi Hideo, known as one of the top China experts in the Japanese foreign ministry, spoke in an exclusive interview with NHK before he leaves for his position in Beijing next month.
The Japanese government has lodged a protest against China's new digital "museum" that underscores Beijing's claims to the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Kato Katsunobu told reporters on Monday that Japan filed the protest with China via diplomatic channels, calling for the website to be deleted.
Following this past weekend’s announcement, Honda showed its new battery-powered concept crossover in the flesh at the Beijing Auto Show. We’ve included live photos on the gallery below. [Updated 9/30/2020]