The leaders of Australia and Japan agreed today to boost cooperation between their militaries, as Japan tries to shore up security ties throughout the Asia-Pacific region amid concern over China’s growing military might.

It was the opening ceremony of ‘2017 as the year of Japan-India friendly exchanges’ when renowned Indian film director-writer, Imtiaz Ali announced the production of his new film, ‘Love in Tokyo’ in collaboration with a major Japanese film studio, Shochiku. This Indo-Japanese collaboration is a part of the friendly exchanges the two countries are looking at by means of cultural exchanges.

The personal touch shows Abe’s determination to maintain ties with the Philippines as Japan competes with China for business deals. Security ties between the Southeast Asian nation and the U.S. have deteriorated under Duterte, and with China growing increasingly assertive in the region, Abe is seeking to convince his counterpart to stick with Japan and the U.S.

This February, the Crocker Art Museum will present JapanAmerica: Points of Contact, a beautiful and diverse display of nearly 200 works of art and design that have played a role in artistic exchange between the two cultures. Following the “opening” of Japan by the United States Navy in 1853, traveling expositions introduced communities around the world to the exquisite craftsmanship of Japanese objects.

Japanese Representative to Taiwan Mikio Numata yesterday said that he hoped Taipei and Tokyo could take their “best relationship” to the next level, as he unveiled the new doorplate for the Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association, which on Sunday changed its name from the Interchange Association, Japan.

Tetsundo Tanabe was running a kendo dojo in Yokohama when he came up with an idea on how children could avoid the pain of getting smashed over the head with a bamboo sword. His solution was simple: Use softer weapons. [...] Forty-five years after that brainstorm, 400,000 people in 65 countries and regions are playing Tanabe’s invention, called sports “chanbara” (sword fighting), or “spochan” for short. 

Nepal and Japan are geographically distant but close in terms of culture, religion, way of life and sentiments. [...] Though diplomatic relations were established between Nepal and Japan only in 1956, a spiritual bond has existed since the introduction of Buddhism in Japan in the sixth century. This year, we are celebrating the diamond jubilee of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Nepal and Japan.