NOTE: Read “Background” and watch video under “Resources” below.

1. List the following information for Japan: (see the CIA World FactBook website for answers)
a) capital:
b) location/the countries that share its borders:
c) the religious breakdown of the population:
d) the type of government:
e) the chief of state (and head of government if different):
f) the population:

2. The first paragraph of a news article should answer the questions who, what, where and when. List the who, what, where and when of this news item. (NOTE: The remainder of a news article provides details on the why and/or how.)

3. What was unusual about the Tokyo Metro shutdown?

4. What was the purpose of the shutdown?

5. Why is the Trump administration asking China to pressure North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons program?

6. a) Read the “Background” below the questions. What is President Trump’s strategy (foreign policy) for addressing the serious threat from North Korea?
b) The North Korean nuclear weapons program has not been solved during the 16 years of the Bush and Obama administrations. It must be addressed by world leaders. Regardless of whether you like President Trump or not, what do you think of his strategy for dealing with North Korea?
c) Ask a parent the same question. Discuss your answers.

7. After his father died, Kim Jong Un took over as supreme leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), commonly referred to as North Korea in 2011. Since that time, he has never met with any world leader.

On May 1, CNN reported the following:

President Trump said Monday he would be willing to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un "under the right circumstances" to defuse tensions over North Korea's nuclear program.

"If it would be appropriate for me to meet with him, I would absolutely, I would be honored to do it," Mr. Trump told Bloomberg News in an interview Monday. "If it's under the, again, under the right circumstances. But I would do that."

No US president has ever before met with the leader of North Korea, and the idea is extremely controversial.

White House press secretary Sean Spicer, however, said later on Monday that the US would first need to see changes in North Korean behavior before a potential sit-down.

"We've got to see their provocative behavior ratcheted down immediately," Mr. Spicer said. "Clearly, the conditions are not there right now."

In the Bloomberg interview, President Trump gave a nod to his willingness to take an unconventional approach. "Most political people would never say that," he noted. "But I'm telling you under the right circumstances I would meet with him."

President Trump said during the presidential campaign that he would be willing to meet with Kim Jong Un, explaining in June that "there's a 10% or 20% chance that I can talk him out of those…nukes 'cause who the [heck] wants him to have nukes."

The North Korean nuclear issue has quickly become one of the top national security concerns for the Trump administration and administration officials have repeatedly stressed the increasing urgency of the situation. President Trump has focused on finding a diplomatic solution to the North Korean issue -- working increasingly closely with China -- but has also refused to rule out a military solution to the problem.

Years of “Six Party Talks,” humanitarian aid to North Korea, economic sanctions against North Korea have failed in causing the volatile government of North Korea from ending its nuclear weapons pursuit. What do you think of President Trump’s offer to meet with Kim Jong Un to solve the nuclear crisis? (crazy, an interesting idea, good strategy, etc.) Explain your answer.