North Korea fires sea launched ballistic missile

North Korea is reported to have launched a submarine launched ballistic missile into waters of Japan hours from now.

BBC reports that Pyongyang unveiled the missile in January, describing it as "the world's most powerful weapon".

South Korean media reported that this particular missile was believed to have travelled about 450km (280 miles) at a maximum height of 60km..

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Radiation Alert!! High level of radiation detected in Tokyo playground

An  unusually high level of radiation around playground equipment has been detected in a Tokyo park.

Authorities recorded up to 480 microsieverts per hour at one spot - nearly half the recommended annual limit of exposure for a person.

It may be added that the incident comes days after a drone with traces of radiation landed on top of the prime minister's office.

Authorities believe that the radiation could be coming from something buried underneath the park.

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Japan scrambles fighters in response to foreign aircraft

While it has become a routine for the Russian aircraft touching the British airspace, Japan is also facing a serious dilemma of foreign aircraft.

In fact recently, Japan is scrambling fighters at near-unprecedented levels in response Russian and Chinese aircraft approaching its airspace - but none has so far violated the Japanese airspace.

As per an estimate, Japanese fighters have been scrambled 943 times in fiscal year 2014, a 16% increase on 2013.

It may be added that both China and Russia have ongoing territorial disputes with Japan.

Read more at BBC

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South Korean plane skids off the runway at Hiroshima airport

A South Korean Asiana Airlines Airbus 320 skidded off the runway while landing at the Hiroshima airport, Japan.

The plane skidded of the runway and came to rest on the edge of the green area around the side of the runway. 74 passengers and seven crew members used emergency chutes to evacuate with 20 passengers having minor injuries.

Transport ministry officials said a plane wheel may have clipped a radio facility near the runway on landing. The structure, known as the localiser, helps aircraft find the landing strip. A fragment was found on the plane's left wheel.

Read more about it at: BBC
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US Vice President Biden flies to China to Ease Tensions over Air Defence Zone

US Vice President Biden has arrived in Beijing for meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang over the newly enforced air defence zone by China over the East China Sea.

However, Chinese state media warned that Joe Biden should not repeat "erroneous remarks" on China's new air zone.

Mr Biden has arrived from Tokyo, where he reaffirmed the US alliance with Japan.

It may be added that China announced a new Air Defence Identification Zone (ADIZ) last month, and said aircraft flying through the zone must follow its rules, including filing flight plans. The ADIZ covers islands claimed and controlled by Japan, and a submerged rock claimed by South Korea.

Read more about it at: BBC News
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China sends War Planes to its Newly Declared Air Defence Zone in East China Sea

While there is much hue and cry about China's newly declared air defence zone over East China Sea and its defiance by Japan and South Korea, it is learnt that China has sent war planes to the area to ensure strict enforcement.

The vast zone, announced last week, covers territory claimed by China, Japan, Taiwan and South Korea. The zone includes a groups of islands known as Diaoyu in Chinese and Senkaku by Japan

China's state news agency Xinhua quoted air force spokesman Col Shen Jinke as saying several fighter jets and an early warning aircraft had been deployed to carry out routine patrols as "a defensive measure and in line with international common practices".

In the wake of the new development, the dispute in an already tense region has raised concerns it could escalate into an unplanned military incident.

Read more about it here
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Deadly typhoon 'Wipha' on Japan's east coast leaves 13 dead

A powerful typhoon that hit the  Japanese east coast has left behind 13 dead - most of them buried by mudslides.

The deadly typhoon triggered landslides and destroying homes along the coast.

It has been reported that dozens of homes were destroyed, and more than 50 people are still  missing.

Typhoon Wipha packed winds of up to 180 kilometres per hour and stayed offshore in the Pacific, until climbing up the country's east coast, paralysing public transport and grounding hundreds of flights in Japan's capital, Tokyo. 

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Two Japanese Airlines ground Boeing 787 Dreamliner fleet after emergency landing

Japan's two biggest airlines have grounded all their Dreamliner 787s after an All Nippon Airways flight was forced into an emergency landing.

An All Nippon Airways plane sits on the runway at Takamatsu airport after it made an emergency landing (AP)

The pilots ANA opted for emergency landing when a battery problem triggered a cockpit error coupled with the sensing of smoke by the pilots. The plane was landed in southwestern Japan. 

ANA has since grounded its 17 aircraft pending safety checks. Japan Airlines swiftly followed suit, saying it would suspend all Boeing 787 flights scheduled to leave Japan on Wednesday due to safety concerns. The carriers didn't say how long their fleet of planes will be parked.

It may b e added that this not the first time such 'minor' errors or technical faults have occurred  Most recently, ANA  cancelled a domestic flight to Tokyo on January 9 after a computer wrongly indicated there was a problem with the Boeing 787's brakes. Two days later, the carrier reported two new cases of problems with the aircraft, a minor fuel leak and a cracked windscreen in a 787 cockpit.

Another incident occurred on January 7 when a fire ignited in the battery pack of an auxiliary power unit of a Japan Airlines 787 empty of passengers as the plane sat on the tarmac at Boston's Logan International Airport. It took firefighters 40 minutes to put out the blaze. Later last week, a fuel leak delayed a flight from Boston to Tokyo of another Japan Airlines 787.

Watch the video of the plane evacuation below:

via The Telegraph
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Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe orders strengthening of surveillance around disputed islands

Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has ordered his defence minister to strengthen surveillance around islands at the heart of a territorial feud with China.

Earlier, the Deputy Foreign Minister summoned the Chinese ambassador to protest against what he called an incursion by four Chinese maritime surveillance ships near the islands.

The ambassador responded by re-iterating his country's claim over the islands, known as Diaoyu in China. 

Read more about it at: Australia Network News
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7.3 magnitude quake rocks Japan

A strong earthquake struck Friday off the coast of northeastern Japan in the same region that was hit by a massive earthquake and tsunami in March 2011. Quake was also felt in the capital Tokyo as buildings swayed violently. The bullet train service was also suspended in the northern Japan.

The Japan Meteorological Agency said the earthquake, with a preliminary magnitude of 7.3, struck in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Miyagi prefecture

A city in the region reported that a small tsunami had hit, but there were no immediate reports of injuries or damage.  The Tsunami could be as high as six feet.

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The Japan Meteorological Agency said the earthquake had a preliminary magnitude of 7.3 and struck in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Miyagi prefecture at 5:18 p.m local time. 

There have been no immediate reports of deaths or injuries.

VIDEO: Tsunami warning after strong quake hits off coast of northeastern Japan 

Read more about it at: Daily Mail
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Japan orders country-wide tunnel inspections after Sasago Tunnel disaster

Japan has ordered immediate inspection of all tunnels across the country after nine people were killed when concrete ceiling slabs fell from the roof of Sasago highway tunnel onto moving vehicles.

Those killed in Sunday's accident were traveling in three vehicles in the 4.7-kilometer-long Sasago Tunnel about 80 kilometers west of Tokyo. The tunnel, on a highway that links the capital to central Japan, opened in 1977 and is one of many in the mountainous country.

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The Japanese transport ministry ordered that inspections be carried out immediately on 49 other tunnels around the country that are either on highways or roads managed by the central government and of similar construction.

Read more about it at: CTV News
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Nine burned bodies pulled from collapsed Japanese highway tunnel

Daily Mail reports that burned bodies of nine people have been pulled from the wreckage of a Japanese highway tunnel after its roof fell onto moving vehicles and sparked a fire.

Authorities confirmed the deaths but said rescue work had to be suspended while the roof was being reinforced to prevent more collapses.

The concrete ceiling panels collapsed yesterday deep inside the three-mile long Sasago Tunnel, which is around 50 miles west of Tokyo.

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Video footage from cameras inside the tunnel, after the fire was extinguished, showed firefighters picking their way through cement roof panels that collapsed onto vehicles.

Watch the video below to view the devastating aftermath as emergency crews take over:

Read more about it at: Daily Mail
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Japan Sasago tunnel collapse - many cars trapped inside

Sasago, one of the longest road tunnel has collapsed in Japan, trapping a number of vehicles and leaving at least seven people missing, media reports say.

Entrance to the collapsed Sasago Tunnel, Japan

The incident started at 08:00 local time (23:00 GMT Saturday), about 80km (50 miles) west of Tokyo on a road that links it to the city of Nagoya.

Survivors described how large sections of concrete fell on top of cars in the Sasago tunnel.

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Pictures from closed circuit TV cameras inside the tunnel showed a section of up to 100m (328ft) that had caved in on the Tokyo-bound lanes on the Chuo Expressway in Yamanashi prefecture.

A fire broke out and rescuers said a number of charred bodies had been seen.

Read more about it at: BBC News
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Night curfew imposed on US troops in Japan after rape arrests

The commander of U.S. Forces Japan imposed a night curfew on military personnel on Oct. 19 after two U.S. servicemen were arrested on suspicion of raping a Japanese woman on the southern island of Okinawa.

The arrests come at a time when public opinion in Okinawa is at odds with Tokyo for allowing the U.S. deployment of Osprey hybrid aircraft on the island despite lingering concerns about their safety.

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Friction over U.S. bases on Okinawa intensified after the 1995 rape of a 12-year-old Japanese schoolgirl by three U.S. servicemen. The case sparked widespread protests by Okinawans, who had long resented the American presence due to crime, noise and deadly accidents.

Read more about it at Asahi Shimbun

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China's naval exercises in East China Sea: Warning to regional rivals

China held naval exercises in the East China Sea today in a robust show of military force intended to warn regional rivals against escalating territorial disputes.

China regularly holds maritime drills in the fall, but "sources close to the military" said the drills were related to a territorial dispute that has been the source of recent flare-up between China and Japan, the Financial Times reports.

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Japan and China have long been at odds over a string of islands known as the Senkaku in Japan and the Diaoyu in China, but tensions ratcheted up last month when the Japanese government agreed to buy three of the islands that were privately owned by a Japanese businessman.

Read more on Chinese Naval Exercises at Christian Science Monitor

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China cndemns Japanese ministers visit to shrine for war dead

China condemned a visit by two Japanese ministers to a controversial shrine for war dead on Thursday, further straining already tense relations between Asia’s two largest economies. 

Sino-Japanese relations have soured sharply in the past month when a row over disputed islands led to violent anti-Japanese protests across China and badly hurt trade. The ministers’ pilgrimage to the Yasukuni Shrine, seen by many in the region as a symbol of Japan’s war-time militarism, came a day after a visit to the site by Japan’s main opposition party leader and possible next prime minister, Shinzo Abe. 

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China’s official Xinhua news agency, meanwhile, said the Chinese navy would conduct a joint exercise on Friday in the East China Sea with the country’s fishery administration and marine surveillance agency. It said the aim of the exercise was for “the effective maintenance of China’s territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests”. 

Read more: Daily Times

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Major Chinese banks to skip World Bank, IMF talks in Japan as a protest over Territorial Dispute

Major Chinese banks will skip World Bank and International Monetary Fund meetings this week in Japan, China's state media said, in apparent protest over a territorial dispute between the two countries.

Map courtesy LNG World News

China and Japan are locked in a festering row over East China Sea islands that has seen the two sides trade insults, touched off protests in China, and hurt Japanese firms doing business in the Chinese market.

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Four state-owned banks -- the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Bank of China, China Construction Bank and Agriculture Bank of China -- will not attend the meetings, Xinhua news agency reported late on Monday.

Read details: Business Recorder

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Taiwan Coast Guard and Fishing Boats get 'Water-Cannon Fire' from Japanese Ship

Japanese Coast Guard vessels have fired water cannon to turn away about 40 Taiwan fishing boats and eight Taiwan Coast Guard vessels from waters Japan considers its own.

Japanese ship 'firing' on Taiwanese boats [Photo: KYODO/Reuters - Times Live ]

Japan protested to Taiwan, a day after it lodged a complaint with China over what it said was a similar intrusion by Chinese boats.

Sino-Japanese relations deteriorated sharply this month after Japan bought disputed East China Sea islands, called Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China, from their private owner, sparking anti-Japan protests across China.

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Taiwan has friendly ties with Japan, but the two countries have long squabbled over fishing rights in the area. China and Taiwan both argue they have inherited China’s historic sovereignty over the islands.

Read more/see more photos: Times Live

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Chinese ships enter disputed Senkaku-Diaoyu islands waters

Two Chinese ships have entered waters around Japan-administered islands in the East China Sea, the Japanese coastguard said, as tensions mount over the disputed chain. Tensions escalated dramatically after the Japanese government bought three of them from their private owners.

As of 7.00am, two Chinese maritime surveillance ships were spotted in waters off Kubashima and Uotsurijima, it said, adding that four patrol ships were in "contiguous" waters just outside the territory.

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The ships' entry came a day after Beijing postponed a ceremony marking the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties with Japan because of the ongoing dispute.

Read more: The Australian

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Japan: Low radiation found near Fukushima nuke plant

The first study of Japanese living near the Fukushima nuclear plant damaged by the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami has found low levels of radiation exposure, The Washington Post reports.

Between September and this past March, researchers measured levels of radioactive cesium in 8,066 adults and 1,432 children in Minamisoma, about 14 miles north of the Fukushima Daiichi power plant. The average radiation was "well under" under 1 millisiever, considered a safe dosage, the Post writes.

Roughly one-third of the residents tested -- 235 children and 3,051 adults -- had detectable cesium radiation.

Read more: USA Today

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