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Focuses on race relations on Okinawa, Japan, which is the site of several United States military bases, in light of rape allegations against a U.S. airman. Details of the case of Air Force staff sergeant Timothy Woodland; Effect of the case on U.S. and Japan relations; American influence on the culture of the archipelago's 60 tropical islands called Okinawa; Mention of a 'kokujo' subculture fetishizing blacks; Topics of racism and sexism.

Reflects on the end of World War II, a war that led to the use of atomic weapons. The war in the Pacific as representing the attempt of a modern, non-Western power to carve its place in a world colonized and dominated by white people; Janpan's attempt to create a mythology of a chosen people with an Emperor as a descendant of the sun goddess; How the United States expanded into the Pacific throughout the early 20th century; Bataan death march; Allied victories.

The article focuses on the controversy surrounding the relationship between South Korean President Park Geun-hye, daughter of former president Park Chung-hee, and her old friend Choi Soon-sil, the daughter of controversial cult leader during her father's presidency Choi Tae-min. Topics mentioned include the potential effect of the scandal on Park Geun-hye's political career, the failure of her economic reform agenda, and the complexity of South Korea's relationship with Japan.

Reports that the rape of a 12 year-old Okinawan girl by three United States servicemen has been the biggest shock to the United States-Japan security alliance in years. The call by major Japanese newspapers for a revision of the agreement governing the presence of United States forces in Japan; Governor Masahide Ota's, flight to Tokyo to lodge a complaint; How a dispute over how to apply Japanese law turned the crime into an international incident.

Recounts President Bill Clinton's first US-Japanese summit at which Clinton insisted `there are differences still between the Prime Minister (Kiichi Miyazawa) and me.' Miyazawa suggested that a piece of his country's $116 billion stimulus package would end up paying for American-made goods, but stood firm against managed trade. The two leaders agreed to come up with a detailed plan to reduce America's trade deficit with Japan within three months.

The article discusses the fight during a caucus session of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party in Japan. It mentions that the fight was a product of the violent dissension that haunts the shaky and increasingly famed government of Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka. It also confirms the contribution of the proposed civil air agreement between Japan and the People's Republic of China that will further downgrade its relations with Taiwan. On the other hand, Japanese labor will stage its annual spring offensive with one-day railway strike in relation for an across-the-board pay increase of 30% demand.

The article offers world news briefs. The exiled Dalai Lama leader of Tibet's Buddhists met with Pope John Paul II in Rome. Tennessee Senator Howard H. Baker appears before the Senate Watergate committee regarding his testimony on the Watergate scandal. France will send a good-will ambassador to Japan.

The article focuses on the contemplation of Asian nations and leaders for the political future of Vietnam postwar. Singapore Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew considers a period of intermission for the country, while Japan will send a delegation to discuss reconstruction in Hanoi. However, U.S. Ambassador Robert Ingersoll warns not unless cease-fire was confirmed. Meanwhile, Chinese Prime Minister Chou En-lai notes potential for Soviet Union to use the affair in Vietnam to gain dominant role in Asia.

The article focuses on the Chinese delegation in an effort to revive Japanese trade with China. It states that the delegation resulted to the threat of participating organizations, ranging from the Japan Federation Youth to the Federation of Housewives , to withdraw from the conference until the political manipulation stopped. It states that Japanese newspapers lambasted Chinese delegations, arguing that it aggravated Japan-Peking relations.

Reports on an investigation into allegations of rape against a United States soldier stationed at Kadena Air Force Base on Okinawa. Strategic importance of Okinawa to the American military; Protests by Okinawans who believe that they are pawns in a geopolitical game; Effect of the alleged incident on relations between Japan and U.S.

Reports on the case against Scott Waddle, commanding officer of the USS Greeneville, a submarine which sank a Japanese fishing boat. Testimony of Waddle against the wishes of his lawyer; Outlook for relations between Japan and the United States.

Discusses comments made by Japanese Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori that have caused controversy. Impasse in relations between Japan and North Korea, part of which is caused by twenty missing Japanese who the government insists were abducted by North Korean spies; How Mori made public a suggestion by politicians that Japan should claim to discover the missing people in a third country so as to avert blame from and help relations with North Korea.

Discusses besuboru, or Japanese baseball. The story of American umpire Mike Di Muro, who was asked to go to Japan and teach them how to be a better umpire; Actions by Di Muro which provoked a melee during a June 5, 1997 game; What the events of the game say about Japan's willingness to open up to the world; The wa of besuboru, or the harmony of the system; The Di Muro affair as a microcosm of the United States-Japan relationship.

Observes the growing antagonism to Japan that President Kim Young Sam of South Korea is showing as legislative elections near. The assertion by Kim that Korea has a 1,400-year-old claim on the islets called Tok-do by Koreans and Takeshima by Japanese; Japan's simultaneous claim to the atoll.

Discusses how Japanese Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama spoke out on Japan's wartime actions with an unqualified repentance never heard from his predecessors. Significance of the word `owabi' which means `to apologize'; How Murayama changed his view of traditional authority after the war; A socialist at the head of an unwieldly coalition of conservative Liberal Democrats; Other points of view.

Describes conditions on the Kurile island of Iturup, where the fish-processing plant is several weeks behind in paying wages, the ramshackle houses have outdoor plumbing and there are no bulbs for the streetlights. Tokyo wants what Japan still calls its Northern Territories back. Wooing the 25,000 Russian residents with hints of the good life; Political passions in Moscow; President Boris Yeltsin's attempted deal; Comments from island residents.

Citing the failure to resolve a 47-year-old territorial dispute over a group of islands in the Kurile chain north of Japan, Russian President Boris Yeltsin called off his planned state visit to Tokyo. Tokyo has long linked direct economic aid to Russia with sovereignty over the thinly populated islands, which the Soviet Union seized during the waning days of World War II. Yeltsin is now looking to Taiwan for increased investment in Russia.

Suggests that Japan is stonewalling in light of a planned summit between United States President Bill Clinton and Japanese Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi in September 1998. Suggestion that the stonewalling may be a reflection of a disarray in the Obuchi government; Japan's sinking economy.

The article discusses the implications of the death of Japan's Prime Minister Masayoshi Ohira on the foreign and political policy of the country. Experts believe the death of Ohira will not have any significant effect in the Japanese foreign policy, as Ohira himself had regularly reaffirmed it. It is stated that Ohira's Liberal Democratic Party (LDP)had lost the no-confidence vote passed by the opposition Socialist Party. It is reported that Ohira had called for elections on June 22, 1980.

The article reports on the anti-Japanese sentiments in South Korea since the assassination attempt against South Korea's dictatorial President Park Chung Hee, in which Park's wife was killed. Events involving the demand for an apology from the government of Japanese Premier Kakuei Tanaka, several mass demonstrations, and the "Anti-Japanese Anti-Communist Suicide Corps" incident are reported. It mentions that the dependence of South Korea on Japanese foreign and investment aid is also mentioned.

The article focuses on the arrest of Japanese fishermen who violate the Rhee line, an extension of Korean sovereignty to at least 60 miles offshore, which was set by South Korean President Syngman Rhee in 1952. It mentions that the Japanese fishermen serve as pawns in a deadlock produced by the hatred of Rhee on Japan. It states that Japan also arrested about 1,720 Koreans who are illegal immigrants, criminals and Japanese residents, as a form of revenge.

The article focuses on the efforts of Australian Prime Minister Robert Gordon Menzies to improve their country's relationship with Japan. It states that during a visit at the Tokyo airport in Japan, Menzies shook hands with Japan's official including Prime Minister Kishi and has noted to the Japanese that Australia is looking towards a friendly association with the country. Menzies adds that his efforts to improve relation with the Japanese were caused by the military threats poses by Red China.