Yasukuni shrine

(Newser) - Justin Bieber is getting a crash course in international relations this week after inadvertently alienating about a billion fans, reports MarketWatch . The number isn't that much of an exaggeration: While in Tokyo, Bieber committed what many in China to be a grave offense by visiting the controversial Yasukini shrine...

(Newser) - China has seized a Japanese cargo ship, saying the move is tied to payment that's been missing since 1936. At that time, Japan leased a pair of Chinese ships which later sank, the BBC reports, citing Japan's Kyodo News. The "sudden seizure" of the ship, acknowledged by...

(Newser) - Japanese PM Shinzo Abe set off a diplomatic furor today with a visit to a shrine to Japan's World War II dead—including no shortage of war criminals—that has China and South Korea sputtering in rage. Dressed to the nines and appearing on live television, Abe entered the...