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October 10, 2025
 

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DEFENSE

A China Coast Guard vessel is seen on a giant screen showing news footage about the coast guard's law enforcement patrols in waters around Taiwan, outside a shopping mall in Beijing on April 1.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Oct 9, 2025
China honing abilities for a possible future attack, Taiwan warns
China has been using AI tools to weaken Taiwan's cybersecurity and to scan for weak points in critical infrastructure, the island's defense ministry said.
A Ground Self-Defense Force member conducts a military drill with an anti-ship missiles unit at the GSDF's Camp Miyako on Miyako Island in Okinawa Prefecture in April 2022.
JAPAN
Oct 8, 2025
Top Pentagon nominee says Japan has 'long underemphasized' defense spending
John Noh, the White House's nominee to be the Defense Department's top Asia official, said Tokyo “has long underemphasized spending for its own defense.”
The Jingei, the third of the Maritime Self-Defense Force's Taigei-class submarines, was commissioned in March last year. It is equipped with lithium-ion batteries, enabling it to have a longer diving time and cruising distance than older models with lead-acid batteries.
JAPAN / ANALYSIS
Oct 8, 2025
With nuclear sub proposal, Japan faces array of political and tech challenges
An expert panel has called for Japan’s next-generation subs to be able to operate longer and strike targets from farther way, a shift from current policy.
Sanae Takaichi, Japan’s first female prime minister if appointed, will have her work cut out for her and face key diplomatic challenges with the U.S., China and South Korea, as well as persistent economic and demographic issues.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 8, 2025
Will Takaichi become the prime minister Japan needs?
An admirer of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, Takaichi is an adherent to Shinzo Abe’s pragmatic yet conservative vision.
A Royal Australian Navy submarine during a maritime exercise in Darwin, Australia
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Oct 8, 2025
Pentagon conducting ‘brass-tack’ review of AUKUS, nominee says
The comments from John Noh, Trump’s pick for assistant secretary for Indo-Pacific security affairs, mark a rare moment that the administration has acknowledged the review.
Japan's then-foreign minister, Yoko Kamikawa (left), and Philippine defense chief Gilberto Teodoro shake hands after signing a Reciprocal Access Agreement, at the Malacanang Palace in Manila in July last year.
JAPAN
Oct 7, 2025
Tokyo, Manila apply visiting-forces pact for first time to supply relief goods
The two countries employed the Reciprocal Access Agreement as part of a disaster relief mission following a deadly quake in the Philippines last week.
Chinese Premier Li Qiang addresses the 80th United Nations General Assembly at U.N. headquarters in New York City on Sept. 26.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Oct 7, 2025
Chinese Premier Li Qiang to visit North Korea for ruling party anniversary
The festivities are expected to include a large-scale nighttime military parade, South Korean authorities have said.
Takumi Yamaguchi (right), head of startup AirKamuy, and a colleague retrieve a drone made of cardboard after a test flight in a field near Nagoya.
JAPAN / Society
Oct 7, 2025
Startups lead charge as Japan warms to defense and dual-use technologies
Opinion polls show public support growing for a stronger defense, and the new leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, Sanae Takaichi, has called for more military spending.
The oil tanker Eagle S sails alongside a Finnish border guard ship and tugboat in the Gulf of Finland on Dec. 28. The vessel was seized by Finland on suspicion of damaging underwater cables in the area at the time.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 7, 2025
Russia’s hybrid war looks increasingly like the real thing
European officials are warning that Moscow appears to be “at war” with countries it hasn’t invaded yet.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (center right) and Papua New Guinea leader James Marape pose with officials after the signing of the Pukpuk Treaty at Parliament House in Canberra on Monday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
Oct 6, 2025
With eye on China, Australia and Papua New Guinea ink mutual defense pact
The agreement is mainly intended to offset China’s expanding military clout in the South Pacific and prevent Beijing from projecting power through Australia’s northern approach.
Indian Army chief Upendra Dwivedi waves as he arrives to attend the ceremonial reception of Defense Minister Gen Nakatani in New Delhi in May.
ASIA PACIFIC
Oct 6, 2025
‘We have drawn lessons,’ Indian Army chief says of brief clash with Pakistan
India and Pakistan’s brief war earlier this year has offered numerous lessons on the evolving nature of warfare, according to Indian Army Chief of Staff Gen. Upendra Dwivedi.
Russian leader Vladimir Putin shakes hand with U.S. President Donald Trump as they meet at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska, in August.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 6, 2025
Trump says Putin's offer on nuclear arms control 'sounds like a good idea'
Any agreement on continuing to limit nuclear arms would stand in contrast to rising tensions between the United States and Russia.
U.S. President Donald Trump takes part in a welcoming ceremony with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Beijing in November 2017.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / FOCUS
Oct 6, 2025
China hawks grow queasy over Trump’s push for deals with Beijing
As Trump pursues a trade pact with the U.S.’s biggest economic and strategic rival, advocates of a tougher China policy fear they’re being sidelined inside the administration.
A member of the Chinese People's Liberation Army stands as a DF-17 hypersonic missile is displayed during a military parade to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, in Beijing on Sept. 3.
ASIA PACIFIC
Oct 5, 2025
The missiles threatening Taiwan
China is transforming parts of its east coast into a platform for potential missile strikes against Taiwan and the nearby seas as it eyes taking the democratic island.
Fire engulfs Nepal's main administrative building in Kathmandu on Sept. 9, following a police crackdown on protests over government corruption and social media restrictions. This violent unrest is part of a larger pattern of instability in South Asia that threatens regional security and India’s strategic interests.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 5, 2025
India’s reckoning with its dangerous neighborhood
All these stories point to a larger worrying trend: Democracy in India’s neighborhood is in retreat.
Afghan soldiers stand guard at the gate of Bagram Air Base, Parwan province, Afghanistan, on July 2, 2021, the day the last American troops vacated the facility.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 3, 2025
Will Trump strike Afghanistan over Bagram Air Base?
For Afghans, the cost of another military conflict with the U.S. would be ruinous.
U.S. President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth greet each other during a meeting of senior military leaders at Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia on Tuesday.
EDITORIALS
Oct 3, 2025
Trump and Hegseth advance militaristic noise over nuance
For countries that study U.S. actions closely, this week’s spectacle was anything but reassuring.
A Tomahawk missile is launched from a U.S. guided missile cruiser.
WORLD
Oct 3, 2025
US Tomahawk missile shipments to Ukraine unlikely, sources say
Supplying Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine could significantly expand its strike capabilities, enabling it to hit targets deep inside Russian territory.
Ukrainian servicemen observe the sky during a combat shift on the front lines in Kharkiv region, Ukraine, on Sept. 15.
WORLD
Oct 2, 2025
U.S. to give Ukraine intelligence on long-range energy targets in Russia
The U.S. is also asking NATO allies to provide similar support.
South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun
ASIA PACIFIC
Oct 2, 2025
Minister says rough South Korea-U.S. security agreement reached: report
South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun said Seoul is seeking to announce the agreement before an APEC summit in October.
Typhoon Halong to cause windstorms, heavy rain and high waves on the Izu islands
Typhoon Halong is moving north near the Izu Islands, with strong winds, high waves and heavy rain expected as it passes early on Thursday, prompting warnings from the weather agency.
Japan to move toward five-year integrated bachelor's-master’s programs
Japan plans to introduce nationwide five-year bachelor's-master's programs to raise graduate school enrollment and train more highly skilled professionals amid a shrinking workforce.
Chemistry Nobel winner Kitagawa says downtime helped him think up new material
Susumu Kitagawa speaks to reporters at Kyoto University on Wednesday after receiving the news that he had been awarded the Nobel Prize in chemistry the same day.
After 26 years, Komeito may be showing signs it will break with LDP
Komeito leader Tetsuo Saito (left) and LDP counterpart Sanae Takaichi meet in Tokyo on Tuesday.
Bear injures two in Japan supermarket; man killed in separate attack
A bear seen in security camera footage taken Tuesday inside a supermarket in Numata, Gunma Prefecture
With nuclear sub proposal, Japan faces array of political and tech challenges
The Jingei, the third of the Maritime Self-Defense Force's Taigei-class submarines, was commissioned in March last year. It is equipped with lithium-ion batteries, enabling it to have a longer diving time and cruising distance than older models with lead-acid batteries.
OpenAI’s Sora 2 is drowning in Japanese 'AI slop'
OpenAI has rolled out a social app powered by Sora 2, its artificial intelligence video generator, which was quickly flooded with videos featuring iconic Japanese intellectual property.
Trump has his eyes on the prize — but a Nobel win looks unlikely
A protester holds a sign with an image depicting U.S. President Donald Trump and the words "Nobel" written on it, as supporters and family members of hostages who were kidnapped during the deadly Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel by Hamas, demonstrate to demand the immediate end of the war and the release of all hostages, outside the U.S. Consulate in Tel Aviv, on Sept. 2.
‘Takaichi trade’ stalls as political reality calls for wait-and-see approach
Tokyo stocks staged a powerful rally on Monday. On Tuesday, they rallied again, then retreated.
How a family-run landscaper turned the Osaka Expo green
The team at Ryokukou Garden consists primarily of a single family, including Toshiki Tanisaki (second from right), who led the company's efforts at the Osaka Expo, Chikako Tanisaki (fifth from right), who performs daily maintanence at the expo, and Takeshi Tanisaki (fourth from right), who added a nursery to the family farm more than 50 years ago.

Podcast

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

Longform

Growing families are being priced out of Tokyo’s condo market, forced to choose between downtown convenience and suburban space.
Is living in central Tokyo still affordable?
By Alex K.T. Martin

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