TOKYO, April 14 (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State John
Kerry on Sunday stressed the United States is willing to engage
with North Korea as long as it takes steps to give up nuclear
weapons.

He also vowed Washington would protect its Asian allies
against any provocative acts by the North, but said it wants a
peaceful solution to rising tensions in the region.

TOKYO (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Sunday vowed the United States would protect its Asian allies against any provocative acts by North Korea but stressed that Washington wants a peaceful solution to rising tensions in the region.

The North has threatened for weeks to attack the United States, South Korea and Japan since new U.N. sanctions were imposed in response to its latest nuclear arms test in February. Speculation has mounted of a new missile launch or nuclear test.

TOKYO, April 14 (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State John
Kerry on Sunday vowed the United States would protect its Asian
allies against any provocative acts by North Korea but stressed
that Washington wants a peaceful solution to rising tensions in
the region.

The North has threatened for weeks to attack the United
States, South Korea and Japan since new U.N. sanctions were
imposed in response to its latest nuclear arms test in February.
Speculation has mounted of a new missile launch or nuclear test.

TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan’s highest-ranking uniformed officer said on Wednesday that Lockheed Martin’s F-35 fighters were the best choice for the nation’s future operational needs as Tokyo wrestles with tensions with China and increasingly belligerent North Korea.

The vote of confidence in the state-of-the-art U.S. warplane comes amid reports that some nations that have placed orders for the F-35s are reconsidering their plans.

TOKYO (Reuters) – Prime Minister Shinzo Abe vowed on Monday to speed up rebuilding from the huge earthquake, tsunami and nuclear crisis that struck Japan’s northeast two years ago, promising that the nation would emerge stronger from its worst disaster since World War Two.

The 9.0 magnitude earthquake struck at 2:46 p.m., triggering tsunami waves as high as 30 meters (100 feet) that swept away residents and their homes. Nearly 19,000 people died and some 315,000 evacuees were stranded, including refugees from radiation spewed from the devastated Fukushima atomic plant.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told Americans on Friday “I am back and so is Japan” and vowed to get the world’s third biggest economy growing again and to do more to bolster security and the rule of law in an Asia roiled by territorial disputes.

Abe had firm words for China in a policy speech to a top Washington think-tank, but also tempered his remarks by saying he had no desire to escalate a row over islets in the East China Sea that Tokyo controls and Beijing claims.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe brought a clear message to Washington on Friday: “I am back and so is Japan.”

It was the core theme of a speech prepared for delivery to a major U.S. think tank after meeting U.S. President Barack Obama on his first trip to Washington since taking office in December in a rare comeback to Japan’s top job.

TOKYO (Reuters) – Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will be seeking to put a strong U.S.-Japan alliance on full display in the face of potential threats from a nuclear North Korea and an assertive China when he meets U.S. President Barack Obama on Friday.

Abe, who has kept his ratings high since taking office in December, also needs Obama’s signoff on his economic revival recipe of big spending and hyper-easy monetary policy.

TOKYO (Reuters) – Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will be seeking to put a strong U.S.-Japan alliance on full display in the face of potential threats from a nuclear North Korea and an assertive China when he meets U.S. President Barack Obama on Friday.

Abe, who has kept his ratings high since taking office for a in December, also needs Obama’s signoff on his economic revival recipe of big spending and hyper-easy monetary policy.

SEOUL/TOKYO (Reuters) – South Korea sent a stern warning to North Korea on Thursday, two days after the North tested a nuclear bomb, saying it could strike the isolated state if it believed an attack was imminent as it deployed a new cruise missile to drive home its point.

North Korea conducted its third nuclear test on Tuesday, in defiance of U.N. resolutions, pushing it further along the path of developing a workable long-range nuclear missile and drawing condemnation from the United States, Japan, Europe and the North’s only major ally, China.