Reporter's Notebook: Settling In In Seoul
NPR opened a South Korea bureau in March. Correspondent Elise Hu offers her take on the wonder and the wackiness of life and journalism in East Asia.
Japan
Does Japan Need Some Binders Full Of Women?
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's government has been forced to dramatically lower its targets for promoting women in government and the private sector.
Japan Faces Another Recession As Company Spending Declines
The global slowdown is undermining the ambitious economic agenda known as "Abenomics."
For China, Japan And S. Korea, Just Meeting Is An Accomplishment
Leaders of the three countries gather in Seoul to talk over trade potential and attempt to put aside longstanding tensions over history and territorial matters.
Japan Can Now Send Its Military Abroad, But Will It?
For the first time since World War II, Japan's military can fight beyond its borders. The move sparked weeks of protests even though the likelihood of involvement in a foreign war appears quite small.
Driven Underground Years Ago, Japan's 'Hidden Christians' Maintain Faith
Spanish and Portuguese missionaries arrived in Japan in the 1500s, but Christianity was later banned and Christians disguised their faith with a Buddhist veneer. Today, some still practice in secret.
3 Scientists Awarded Nobel Prize In Physiology Or Medicine
The scientists from the U.S., Japan and China were awarded the Nobel Prize Monday for discovering drugs to treat parasitic diseases such as malaria, river blindness and elephantiasis.
Japan's Parliament Approves Landmark Laws To Expand Military's Role
After days of intense debate, the controversial security bills were approved allowing the Self-Defense Forces to be deployed overseas for the first time since World War II.
At Least 22 People Remain Missing After Flooding In Japan
Nearly a million people are covered by a government evacuation order. The weather service is warning of more severe weather to the north.
Japanese River Levee Fails; Flooding Spurs Evacuation Order For 130,000
Video footage from the town of Joso, northeast of Tokyo, shows helicopters being used to pluck people from balconies and rooftops as muddy water rages beneath them.