Michelle Ye Hee Lee

Washington D.C.

Tokyo bureau chief for The Washington Post, covering Japan and the Koreas

Education: Emory University, BA in international studies and English

Michelle Ye Hee Lee is The Washington Post's Tokyo bureau chief, covering Japan and the Koreas. She is based in Tokyo. Previously, she covered money and influence in politics and voting access on the national political enterprise and accountability team and was a reporter for The Post's Fact Checker. Prior to joining The Post in 2014, she was a government accountability reporter at the Arizona Republic in Phoenix. She is serving her second term as the president of the Asian American Journalists Association, a non-profit founded in 1981 with more than 2,000 journalists across the U.S. and in As
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Latest from Michelle Ye Hee Lee

From Rahmbo to Rahm-bassador: How an unlikely diplomat has wooed Japan

He's hard-charging and sweary even by Washington standards, but super-polite Japan has taken a surprising shine to Ambassador Rahm Emanuel.

May 14, 2023

South Korea will be vulnerable to North’s drones for years, leak warns

THE DISCORD LEAKS | An incursion late last year exposed extensive weaknesses and shortcomings in South Korea’s air defense, U.S. intelligence indicates.

May 11, 2023

Japan’s leader visits Seoul, resuming ‘shuttle diplomacy’ after 12 years

Fumio Kishida is visiting his South Korean counterpart, Yoon Suk Yeol, in the latest in a series of efforts to thaw relations between the neighbors.

May 7, 2023

The biggest advancements in North Korea missile tech so far

The flurry of missile tests shows these claims are not just empty words and reflect actual progress, as Kim Jong Un is making his arsenal easier to launch and harder to track.

April 28, 2023

Biden commits to South Korea’s security amid rising threat from North

President Biden plans to use a state visit by South Korea's Yoon Suk Yeol to launch a set of new measures aimed at publicly countering the growing nuclear threat from North Korea.

April 26, 2023

DeSantis meets with Japanese leader on first stop of international trip

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis met with Japan's prime minister, as the likely GOP presidential contender swings through four of the biggest U.S. allies.

April 24, 2023

Ukraine, China main focus as South Korean president visits White House

In an interview ahead of his trip to Washington, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol spoke about his career, life and his country’s alliance with the U.S., which marks 70 years this year.

April 24, 2023

Japanese leader Kishida evacuated after apparent smoke bomb thrown at him

The incident, which happened while Prime Minister Fumio Kishida was at a campaign stop, comes after former leader Shinzo Abe was assassinated last year.

April 15, 2023

South Korea faces ‘Sophie’s choice’ over sending weapons to Ukraine

South Korea produces a huge amount of ammunition, a result of the Korean War, but is resisting growing pressure to export much-needed supplies to Ukraine.

April 13, 2023

Japan is hostile for LGBTQ people, but attitudes are shifting. Slowly.

Japan is the only G-7 country not to recognize same-sex marriage, and its government is facing calls for action before the group's meeting in Hiroshima in May.

April 12, 2023