By ERICA EARL | STARS AND STRIPES Published: April 15, 2021 Residents of at least one American military installation in Japan may have to purchase Japanese toilet paper to keep their plumbing working properly, according to the housing maintenance office. American multi-ply toilet paper brands are to blame for frequently clogged pipes on Yokota Air Base, Amy Moses, operator of the tower maintenance department on Yokota, told Stars and Stripes in a phone call Monday. Yokota, in western Tokyo, is the headquarters for U.S. Forces Japan, 5th Air Force and the 374th Airlift Wing. “We aren’t trying to take business away from the exchange or commissary,” she said. “But it saves a lot of work and frustration for everyone in the long run if you don’t use that toilet paper.”
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Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga will be meeting President Biden on April 16.
His stated objectives: strengthen the U.S.-Japan relationship, discuss China, North Korea, Taiwan, climate change, and the coronavirus. But Suga, like his recent predecessors, really has just one main objective in Washington: to keep the United States on the hook to defend Japan.
No matter that Suga and the Japanese government have already gotten this promise three times from President Biden, Secretary of State Blinken, and Secretary of Defense Austin.
He wants to hear it again. Sort of like some gal asking, “do you love me?” every five minutes. If she’s asking, she ain’t sure.
By SETH ROBSON | Stars and Stripes | Published: April 12, 2021 TOKYO Japanese Emperor Naruhito has awarded one of his country’s highest honors to the leader of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command for contributions to the U.S.-Japanese alliance. The Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun was presented to Adm. Phil Davidson by Japanese Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi during a short ceremony Monday at the Ministry of Defense in Tokyo. The award, established in 1875 by the Emperor Meiji, is Japan’s third-highest honor and recognizes achievements in various fields, including international relations, promotion of Japanese culture, social welfare and environmentalism. Past American recipients include former Navy officer and diplomat Harry Harris, who led INDOPACOM immediately before Davidson, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.