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October 15, 2025
 

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DEFENSE

The tanker Boracay, part of Russia's "shadow fleet" suspected of involvement in drone flights over Denmark, is escorted by a French naval vessel on Oct. 1 off the coast of Saint-Nazaire, France.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 13, 2025
Putin is taking his hybrid warfare to the sea
Russian President Vladimir Putin intends to contest the Baltic, make no mistake.
A drone detection and defense system is parked in Kottingbrunn, Austria, on Oct. 3
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Oct 12, 2025
How can Europe protect its skies against 'escalating' drone menace?
Concerns are growing that such disruptions are part of Russian hybrid war tactics three-and-a-half years into its invasion of Ukraine.
U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS George Washington during a trilateral exercise including the United States, Japan and South Korea in the East China Sea in November last year
JAPAN
Oct 11, 2025
Japan and U.S. leaders may tour U.S. aircraft carrier
According to sources, the two sides plan to have their leaders visit the Yokosuka base during U.S. President Donald Trump's upcoming trip to the Asian nation later this month.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba delivers remarks at a memorial service for Self-Defense Forces personnel who died in the line of duty, on Saturday at the Defense Ministry in Tokyo.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 11, 2025
Ishiba attends memorial for fallen SDF members
The prime minister pledged to "do everything we can to protect the lives and the peace of the people of Japan."
North Korea's new Hwasong-20 intercontinental ballistic missile is displayed during a military parade to celebrate the 80th founding anniversary of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea in Pyongyang in this image released Saturday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Oct 11, 2025
North Korea unveils new long-range missile during military parade
The North has called its Hwasong-20 ICBM "the most powerful nuclear strategic weapon" — though the missile is still under development.
Defense Minister Gen Nakatani speaks during a news conference on Friday at the ministry.
JAPAN
Oct 10, 2025
Japan to assist Ukraine with mine removal training
Instructors will deliver lectures on explosive ordnance disposal and conduct practical exercises for Ukrainian soldiers.
Taiwan President Lai Ching-te speaks during National Day celebrations in Taipei on Friday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Oct 10, 2025
Taiwan president unveils 'T-Dome' air defense system to counter China threat
Taiwan is ramping up defense spending and modernizing its armed forces, but faces a China that has a far larger military.
Newly elected Liberal Democratic Party President Sanae Takaichi is often compared to Margaret Thatcher, but the analogy fails because Japan today is not 1980s Britain and her success depends on pragmatism, not ideology.
EDITORIALS
Oct 10, 2025
Pragmatism, not ideology, must guide Takaichi
The key difference from Thatcher lies in economic policy, as the LDP has never been a truly neoliberal party.
U.S. President Donald Trump outside the White House in Washington on Thursday. Trump has suggested that Spain could be removed from NATO over defense spending.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 10, 2025
Trump floats throwing Spain out of NATO over defense spending
Spain has previously earned Trump’s ire for rejecting calls to increase defense spending to 5% of gross domestic product.
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.
Military and national security leaders across major Western countries and the world show dangerous overconfidence and cognitive biases, risking global conflict.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 9, 2025
Global war and the cognitive traps leaders don’t see
Even a cursory scan of today’s major military powers suggests that their leaders and policy elites are dangerously overconfident.
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 and 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.
Hypothermia in the land of the rising Sanae
Amid the election of Sanae Takaichi as Liberal Democratic Party president, and possibly the next prime minister, Japan's economy shows signs of recovery, but weak wages, a conservative corporate culture and currency issues raise doubts about a true economic thaw.
Number of scenarios now on the table for who might be Japan’s next prime minister
Newly-elected leader of Japan's Liberal Democratic Party Sanae Takaichi (right) celebrates with Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba after winning the LDP leadership election in Tokyo on October 4.
After plenty of ups and downs, Osaka Expo concludes with message of unity
The sun sets on the Grand Ring on the final day of the Osaka Expo on Monday.
A frenetic diplomatic schedule looms for Japan’s next leader — whomever that may be
As horse-trading and speculation surge over who will be elected the next prime minister in parliament — the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's Sanae Takaichi or a possible candidate put forward by a unified opposition — Japan’s next leader will be confronted with a quick succession of key diplomatic events.
Ghost of Yotei’s bloodstained fun sidesteps Ainu identity
Ghost of Yotei, the follow-up to 2020's smash hit Ghost of Tsushima, is a violent, vengeful and engaging romp through 17th-century Hokkaido that fails to stick the landing on its most sensitive cultural material.
A frenetic diplomatic schedule looms for Japan’s next leader — whomever that may be
As horse-trading and speculation surge over who will be elected the next prime minister in parliament — the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's Sanae Takaichi or a possible candidate put forward by a unified opposition — Japan’s next leader will be confronted with a quick succession of key diplomatic events.
Ghost of Yotei’s bloodstained fun sidesteps Ainu identity
Ghost of Yotei, the follow-up to 2020's smash hit Ghost of Tsushima, is a violent, vengeful and engaging romp through 17th-century Hokkaido that fails to stick the landing on its most sensitive cultural material.
At Osaka Expo, gas giants promote a greener future. But is it a lot of hot air?
The Gas Pavilion had welcomed around 500,000 visitors by the end of August, making it one of the most popular exhibits at the Osaka Expo.
‘Takaichi trade’ starts unwinding as political calculus upended by Komeito exit
Less than a week ago, Sanae Takaichi seemed set to become Japan's first female prime minister.
‘Save the Ring’ calls intensify as Osaka Expo’s end nears
Visitors lounge on the grassy hill on the top of the Grand Ring during the 2025 Osaka Expo in the city of Osaka in May.

Podcast

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

Longform

Rock group The Yellow Monkey played K-Arena Yokohama in June as part of a nationwide tour. Concerts are increasingly popular in the age of social media as users value in-person experiences.
Inside Japan’s arena boom: Sports, sound and city-building
By Patrick St. Michel

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

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Maruhachi never sleeps in quest for better futons

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