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Japan Tag

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is meeting with President Trump at in Mar-a-Lago, with trade and North Korea being two of the key topics the leaders will discuss.
Abe is set to arrive Tuesday at Trump’s winter resort in Palm Beach, Fla., for two days of meetings as concerns mount in Tokyo that Trump’s risky diplomatic gambit with Kim Jong Un could undermine Japan’s security. Abe also was blindsided by Trump’s decision not to grant Japan a waiver on new steel and aluminum tariffs, as he did for other U.S. allies and partners.

There are days in the year we should commemorate yearly: 9/11, D-Day, V-Day, July 4. December 7, the day the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, is one of those days. We lost 2,400 in the attack, the majority on the USS Arizona. Today at Pearl Harbor, a sailor who saved six men finally received his recognition. Also, President Donald Trump signed a presidential proclamation to recognize December 7 as National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day. Seven survivors joined him for the event.

South Korean authorities have announced that North Korea shot a ballistic missile towards Japan. This is the first launch since the communist kingdom shot one in September. From Fox News:
South Korea's Yonhap News Agency, which first reported the launch, said the missile "flew eastward from the vicinity of Pyongyang" toward the Sea of Japan, according to South Korean military officials. The missile launch happened around 3 a.m. in North Korea. South Korea’s military had reportedly staged a “precision strike” missile exercise in response.

Thirty-somethings in Japan aren't having sex and it could lead to the end of Japanese culture as we've known it. Without sex, there are no kiddos and without a generation to perpetuate it, the culture is doomed. In what's referred to as a "demographic time bomb", death rates are far above birth rates, leading to instability in every market from housing to investment, according to The Independent.

It was a busy day in New York concerning North Korea. We learned that China's central bank told banks to stop working with North Korea. President Donald Trump met with South Korean President Moon Jae-in and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to discuss the North Korean nuclear crisis. Trump also announced new sanctions against North Korea. From The Hill:
Speaking at the United Nations before a working lunch with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and South Korean President Moon Jae-in, two key allies in the region, Trump said the order would significantly expand the U.S.’s ability to crack down on individuals and companies that do business with North Korea. The president said he had empowered the Treasury Department to “target any individual or entity that conducts trade in goods, services or technology” with North Korea.

South Korea's government reported that North Korea fired another missile over Japan from Sunan, which is located just north of Pyongyang, at 6:30AM local time. From CNN:
The missile flew about 3,700 kilometers (2,300 miles) and reached an altitude of 770 kilometers (480) miles. It landed in the Pacific Ocean, South Korea said.

The only state which still celebrates Victory Over Japan Day is my home State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. Except, we can't call it Victory Over Japan Day. Because that is a microaggression against Japan, even though they did start the war and we are celebrating victory over Japan. I've covered this holiday numerous times in the past.

Upon taking the oath of office a few days ago, South Korea's new president, Moon Jae-in, indicated the he is willing to visit the nuclear-armed North.
Moon, who was declared the winner on Tuesday of the presidential election, said he will "sincerely negotiate" with the United States, South Korea's chief ally, and China, South Korea's top trading partner, over the contentious deployment of the US anti-missile system THAAD.

North Korea continues to defy the world. This time, the communist country fired four ballistic missiles into the Sea of Japan as a way to show the world it will continue its missile program despite sanctions and threats. Japanese Defense Minister Tomomi Inada stated that the missles "landed in waters as close as 300 km (190 miles) to Japan's northwest coast."

South Korean officials indicate that North Korea just test-fired a ballistic missile, the first such test by the rogue nation since Donald Trump was inaugurated.
"The South Korean government and the international community are working together to take punitive actions appropriate for this launch," acting President Hwang Kyo-ahn said. Trump, when asked by reporters about the missile launch, declined to comment. A White House spokesman said Trump was briefed on the launch.