Kirk Spitzer

Kirk Spitzer is a veteran journalist and defense correspondent, based in Tokyo.

Recent Articles

The New Head of the U.S. Pacific Command Talks to TIME

Admiral Harry B. Harris Jr. sees his background as an Asian American as useful in helping the U.S. forge better relationships with its allies and other powers

By Kirk Spitzer

Tokyo Bars Japanese Reporter From Visiting Syria

Cameraman planning a trip has his passport revoked by Foreign Ministry officials

By Kirk Spitzer / Tokyo

Japan Readies for Next Hostage Crisis

Tokyo wants to end 70 years of strict pacifism so that it can help its nationals overseas

By Kirk Spitzer / Tokyo

ISIS Hostage Crisis Stirs Debate in Japan

The deaths of two Japanese men at the hands of ISIS could be trouble for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe

By Kirk Spitzer / Tokyo

Japan Lacks Sympathy for the Hostages Held by ISIS

While the clock ticks down for two Japanese hostages held by ISIS, their countrymen think they've brought the problem on themselves

By Kirk Spitzer

Japan Faces Hostage Crisis

Japanese prime minister has few options to act after ISIS holds two citizens to $200 million ransom

By Kirk Spitzer / Tokyo

Resignation of Two Ministers Spells Trouble for Japan's Premier

More ministers could fall as Japan faces political instability at the worst time

By Kirk Spitzer

U.S. Steps Up Military Training With Japan

And China's leaders have, in turn, become increasingly wary

By Kirk Spitzer / Okinawa

The U.S. POWs Still Waiting For an Apology

More than 60 Japanese companies used American POW labor in World War II. Only one has apologized

By Kirk Spitzer / Yokkaichi

Science Scandal Triggers Suicide, Soul-Searching in Japan

Yoshiki Sasai’s death has generated mixed emotions among Japan's scientific community

By Kirk Spitzer / Tokyo

Japan Ends Ban on Military Self-Defense

But the public worries that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is turning his back on the country's post-WWII pacifism

By Kirk Spitzer / Tokyo

Abe Wants to Lift Restraints on Japan's Military

Japan's Prime Minister makes an explicit connection between China's territorial ambitions in the South and East China seas and Japan's ability to defend itself and its allies

By Kirk Spitzer / Tokyo

Best-Selling Author Feels the Heat in Japan’s History Wars

Just when you thought the battle over Japan’s wartime history couldn’t get any weirder, a best-selling author was forced to issue a denial about a previous denial — in his own book – that Japanese...

By Kirk Spitzer/Tokyo

Japanese Team Plays to Empty Stadium Over Racist Fans

First, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe takes the country on a rightward, nationalist shift. Now soccer fans unfurl banners reading "Japanese only" at stadium entrances

By Kirk Spitzer / Tokyo

Japan's Nationalism Questioned on Iwo Jima Anniversary

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe wants to boost defense spending and ease restraints on the country's armed forces. But on the 69th anniversary of the bloody World War II battle, concerns resurface over how Japan's nationalist government remembers the past

By Kirk Spitzer / Iwo Jima, Japan

Japanese Broadcast Official: We Didn't Commit War Crimes, the U.S. Just Made That Up

Japan's top TV figures are making increasingly outrageous statements about World War II

By Kirk Spitzer / Tokyo
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