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Edo Naito

People pray during a visit to Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo on Aug. 15, the 79th anniversary of Japan's surrender during World War II.

COMMENTARY / Japan

Jun 20, 2025

Why only Japan is criticized for honoring its war dead

Other countries honor the ultimate sacrifice regardless of whether the war was just, later judged a mistake or involved actions that could be seen as war crimes.

The Chinese Communist Party has significantly expanded its global influence operations by using tactics like election interference, disinformation, elite capture and pressure on the diaspora to sway politics and policies in democracies worldwide.

COMMENTARY / World

May 28, 2025

Is Beijing engineering election wins for 'soft on China' politicians?

Beijing legally requires all citizens to support Communist Party policies and views ethnic Chinese everywhere as instruments for advancing its global goals.

With Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's ruling coalition in crisis, the opposition divided and the Democratic Party for the People gaining momentum, Japan’s upcoming Upper House election could trigger a major political realignment.

COMMENTARY / Japan

May 15, 2025

Elections are fast approaching, and none of the big parties are ready

With Ishiba in place, the fear that the LDP could next lose its current majority in the Upper House in July is pervasive.

In South Korea, where presidents are increasingly investigated, impeached or imprisoned, the judiciary has become a well-known pathway to political power.

COMMENTARY / World

May 7, 2025

Is the judiciary the weakest link in South Korea’s democracy?

It’s not unusual for lawyers to pursue personal political ambitions during their careers in democracies. But in South Korea, this has reached a level not seen elsewhere.

Liberal Democratic Party Secretary-General Hiroshi Moriyama (left), who also chairs the Japan-China Parliamentary Friendship Association, meets with Zhao Leji, the third-ranked official in the Chinese Communist Party and chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, in Beijing on Tuesday.

COMMENTARY / Japan

Apr 30, 2025

Communist China’s quiet influence on Japanese politics

China Communist Party influence operations have been embedded in the Japanese government and political structures for 75 years.

Japan needs a strong leader as it faces huge challenges. With Upper House and Tokyo gubernatorial elections coming up, the LDP needs to lay the groundwork for replacing Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, whose polls have entered the danger zone.

COMMENTARY / Japan

Apr 9, 2025

The window to replace Japan's accidental prime minister is nigh

Shigeru Ishiba isn't the right leader to weather Japan through the incoming storm. With Upper House elections this summer, it's time the LDP starts fielding his replacement.

Japan is facing challenges with Donald Trump's new tariffs and is considering increased purchases of U.S. goods, negotiating tariff reductions and expanding auto production in the U.S. to reduce the trade deficit and avoid further economic tension.

COMMENTARY / Japan

Apr 8, 2025

What is Japan's play on Trump's tariffs?

Japan had expected some consideration for being the largest source of foreign direct investment in the U.S. from 2019 to 2024, with total investment of around $860 billion.

Some critics of Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba call him weak and indecisive, saying his leadership has led to policy blunders that may make his grip on power increasingly untenable.

COMMENTARY / Japan

Mar 20, 2025

Prime Minister Ishiba’s struggles put his leadership in jeopardy

With the world as turbulent as it is, the country cannot continue with such a weak and indecisive leader.

U.S. President Donald Trump reviews troops aboard the USS Wasp in Yokosuka, Japan, in May 2019. The shifting global security landscape has sparked discussions in many countries, including Japan, about developing nuclear weapons in response to changing U.S. commitments.

COMMENTARY / Japan

Mar 18, 2025

Changing U.S. commitments spark nuclear armament debates, including in Japan

Given Japan's unique history in 1945, it will take more than fear or harsh rhetoric to push the country into considering the development of nuclear weapons.

The international system led by the United Nations faces challenges such as failing to maintain peace, end corruption and implement reforms, raising concerns of a League of Nations-like collapse.

COMMENTARY / World

Mar 4, 2025

Transitioning to a new global structure without a League of Nations-style collapse

Like many idealistic efforts throughout history, the League of Nations teetered for years before its final collapse as the end of World War II.

A Chinese H-6 bomber flies between Okinawa’s main island and Miyako Island in October 2013. Former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe warned that Japan must strengthen its defenses in case of a Taiwan contingency.

COMMENTARY / Japan

Feb 26, 2025

As Ukraine endgame intensifies, don’t forget Taiwan

The scale of China’s air and naval exercises around Taiwan has grown from fewer than a dozen planes and ships a few years ago to over 250 in the December exercise alone.

U.S. Vice President JD Vance delivers a blunt speech before the 61st Munich Security Conference on Friday, sending shockwaves through Europe's halls of government.

COMMENTARY / World

Feb 18, 2025

The patterns and philosophy underpinning Trump’s dizzying diplomacy

With the start of his second term, Trump's actions appear to be chaotic, both to friend and foe alike. But is this chaos intentional?

China frequently shifts between warming and freezing relations with Japan, driven by its domestic issues, often using softer rhetoric while masking aggressive actions.

COMMENTARY / Japan

Feb 14, 2025

Are China-Japan relations truly 'warming,' or is this just fool’s gold again?

As the trade war between the U.S. and China heats up, Beijing is turning to its familiar playbook, using softer language to court American allies and partners while offering things like greater cooperation and more dialogue — part of its ongoing divide-and-conquer strategy.

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol declares martial law in Seoul on Dec. 3. Yoon is currently facing charges related to his actions over that two-day period.

COMMENTARY / World

Feb 7, 2025

Was there an insurrection in Seoul on Dec. 3, or is that happening now?

Yoon can now be held for up to six months in prison simply at the behest of the prosecutors.

Despite numerous past meetings between U.S. and Japanese leaders, Shigeru Ishiba's relationship with Donald Trump is expected to be awkward, lacking the rapport the U.S. president had with former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

COMMENTARY / Japan

Feb 4, 2025

Ishiba will finally meet Trump, but expectations need to be kept low

His long-time rival Shinzo Abe's relationship with Trump is the ideal but an unfair comparison.

With China's growing military threat against Taiwan, experts argue that real deterrence — such as increased training ties with Japan, the U.S. and other nations — may be necessary to prevent an invasion and protect regional stability.

COMMENTARY / Japan

Jan 29, 2025

How to secure Taiwan as drumbeats of a looming invasion grow louder

It is high time to get creative for real deterrence to protect the democratic island.

Supporters of U.S. President Donald Trump in Tokyo march ahead of the inauguration of then President-elect Joe Biden on Jan 20, 2021.

COMMENTARY / Japan

Jan 17, 2025

Japan has nothing to fear from Trump — except in maybe one area

Japan is far better positioned in the areas most important to Trump than many other countries. If Shinzo Abe were still alive, Japan would be in a great place.

China has increased provocations against Japan under Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's weak leadership, exploiting political instability to push its agenda, including military incursions, cyberattacks and other forms of coercion.

COMMENTARY / Japan

Jan 14, 2025

China seizes opportunities amid Ishiba’s weak leadership

China is also no longer hesitant to send its aircraft carrier group through narrow straits in the southernmost Nansei Islands to conduct drills.

Prime Minister Shigeru (upper left), along with Chinese President Xi Jinping and other leaders, takes a group photo during the Group of 20 summit in Rio de Janeiro in November.

COMMENTARY / Japan

Jan 8, 2025

Japan PM struggles with both U.S. relations and China’s growing threats

Ishiba has to govern under the constant threat of a no-confidence vote that could see the opposition parties pull the rug out from under him if they ever choose to work together.

Lee Jae-myung, the leader of the Democratic Party, South Korea's main opposition party, leaves after delivering a public statement on the impeachment motion against acting President Han Duck-soo at the National Assembly in Seoul on Friday.

COMMENTARY / World

Dec 30, 2024

In South Korea’s impeachment saga, who’s really in trouble?

Lee Jae-myung, facing six criminal cases, needs an election before any convictions are finalized, as a conviction could disqualify him from running for president.

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.

Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.

What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji

By Alex K.T. Martin

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