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November 18, 2025
 

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Naoko Eto
Chinese leader Xi Jinping's global ambitions require internal unity, yet internal repression constrains the creativity that global leadership demands.
COMMENTARY / World / Geoeconomic Briefing
Nov 16, 2025
Xi’s balancing act: Competition abroad and discipline at home
China’s global ambitions require internal unity, yet internal repression constrains the creativity that global leadership demands.
Structural issues — including population decline, job shortages and an insufficient social-safety net — are hampering China's consumption and demand.
COMMENTARY / World / Geoeconomic Briefing
Sep 3, 2025
The fissures beneath China’s positive GDP numbers
Despite positive Chinese growth, the world’s second largest economy is plagued by a prolonged real-estate crisis and persistently high unemployment rates.
A protest against Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Hong Kong in 2019. Beijing's United Front Work Department is charged with managing relations with overseas Chinese, including in Hong Kong, with the aim of mobilizing society to achieve the government's goals.
COMMENTARY / World / Geoeconomic Briefing
Apr 23, 2025
China’s catch-22: Rapid growth with tight social control
The Chinese government is locked in the contradictory goals of pursuing economic growth while maintaining strong social control through its United Front Work Department.
During his first term, U.S. President Donald Trump took a hard line against China. As Trump takes office again, this confrontation is likely to continue and potentially escalate over issues such as Taiwan and economic security interests.
COMMENTARY / World / Geoeconomic Briefing
Jan 20, 2025
Politics and the economy: Bedfellows of U.S.-China relations
Since Trump's first term, China has shown its willingness to use aggressive economic measures in its confrontation with the U.S., setting the stage for a potential escalation.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping with French President Emmanuel Macron in France in May. As part of a charm offensive, Xi visited France and other European countries in the spring.
COMMENTARY / Japan / Geoeconomic Briefing
Jul 1, 2024
Expectations vs. reality of Xi Jinping's charm offensive
Beijing is trying to win back favor in several countries to tackle its economic woes, with Xi courting bilateral relations with leaders in Europe and beyond.
A sign at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai on July 6
COMMENTARY / World / Geoeconomic Briefing
Dec 7, 2023
How AI fits into China's raft of global initiatives
The administration of President Xi Jinping has recently attached great importance to AI technology and is actively set on promoting it.
A beloved Tokyo penguin’s end presages Suica’s shift to payments giant
JR East is retiring the beloved Suica penguin as part of a rebrand to transform the contactless payment platform, used for both transit and retail, into a mobile fintech powerhouse.
Fears rise of rupture in Japan-China ties in wake of Taiwan remarks
Two Chinese tourists wearing kimonos take a selfie as they visit Sensoji temple in Tokyo's Asakusa district on Saturday.
At Ginza’s newest hotel, luxury is a private treasure
At Fufu Tokyo, each guest room comes with its own private "onsen" (hot spring) — a luxury nearly unheard of in the heart of Tokyo's capital.
Ashfall warning issued in southern Japan as volcano erupts
View of Sakurajima from the mainland of Kagoshima Prefecture
Suspect on run after stabbing woman in Tokyo’s Akasaka area
Metropolitan Police Department investigators examine a poster put up at a building where a woman was stabbed, in the capital’s Minato Ward on Sunday.
Japan uses series against South Korea to prep for World Baseball Classic title defense
Japan's Ryuhei Sotani pitches against South Korea at Tokyo Dome on Saturday night.
Who is cricket’s Shohei Ohtani?
South African cricket legend Jacques Kallis plays a shot during the final day of a cricket test match against India in Johannesburg in December 2013.
Good fortune, wrapped in fried tofu
Golden "age-fukuburo," a culinary take on Japan's new year "lucky bags," can be served on their own.
Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan celebrates 80 years at the forefront of press freedom
Located near the Imperial Palace, the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan prides itself on the accessibility of its events and the support it offers to budding and established journalists. The club is currently headed by Dan Sloan, a former reporter for Reuters.
The challenges awaiting Japan’s new finance minister
Finance minister Satsuki Katayama answers questions from reporters in a group interview on Oct. 24.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

An illustration features the Japanese signs for "ganbare" (good luck) and the Deaflympics, which will be held between Nov. 15 and 26.
A century of Deaf sport finds its moment in Tokyo
By Kathryn Wortley

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