Whether the Obama administration is willing to give all assistance to Tokyo or Seoul in shooting down this missile might turn out to be the crucial element.

Blowing up North Korea's missile would help achieve a durable peace.

The Japanese military is emerging from decades of pacifism. But do the country's political leaders have the vision and the will to make the country strong again?

Washington is already in mini-crisis mode over North Korea’s planned launch of a “satellite” (actually, an intercontinental ballistic missile)...Now comes word from South Korea that Pyongyang may also be planning another nuclear test.

U.S. officials were hesitant to publicly split from their Japanese ally, but the stark difference in recommendations to Americans and Japanese reflects a growing lack of trust that Tokyo has a solution to the nuclear plant failure.

Tokyo is expected to announce Friday that it will buy America's F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF), the clearest statement yet that Japan will not be left behind in Asia's arms race.

Has Japan finally been mugged by reality? Several policy moves in the past month suggest Tokyo has been rudely awakened to the dangers of an increasingly volatile region and is actually doing something about it.

The U.S.-Japan alliance is undergoing one of its tensest moments in recent years. If the alliance is to maintain its role as the cornerstone of peace and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region, Washington and Tokyo will have to prove they can work together.