Tag - defense

 
Menu
Search
 
November 07, 2025
 

Today's print edition

Home Delivery
Subscribe for more access

DEFENSE

The Baker test on July 25, 1946, the U.S.' second atomic bomb test at Bikini Atoll.
WORLD / EXPLAINER
Oct 31, 2025
Nuclear testing: Why did it stop, why test and who has nuclear weapons?
No nuclear power — other than North Korea most recently in 2017 — has carried out explosive nuclear testing in over 25 years.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping and his ministers sit across from U.S. leaders at the Gimhae Air Base in Busan, South Korea, on Thursday.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 30, 2025
China is winning the global ‘narrative war’
The future of the international order may depend less on missiles and trade deals than on who controls the story of what that order means and whom it serves.
The USS Annapolis nuclear-powered submarine is anchored at a naval base on Jeju Island, South Korea, in July 2023.
ASIA PACIFIC / ANALYSIS
Oct 30, 2025
South Korea to build nuclear-powered subs in U.S., Trump says
Washington’s decision to share the closely held nuclear technology with Seoul could have implications for Tokyo’s own defense policies.
A mushroom cloud rises with ships below during Operation Crossroads nuclear weapons test on Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands, in 1946.
WORLD
Oct 30, 2025
Trump asks Pentagon to immediately resume testing U.S. nuclear weapons
Never mind that Russia and China are not currently conducting nuclear tests and nuclear testing is overseen by the Department of Energy.
National security adviser Keiichi Ichikawa (fourth from right) is seen as Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and U.S. President Donald Trump review an honor guard of the Self-Defense Forces at the Akasaka State Guesthouse in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Oct 30, 2025
Who is Keiichi Ichikawa, Takaichi’s new national security adviser?
Ichikawa is expected to play a leading role in the prime minister’s ambitious endeavors on the diplomatic and security front.
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi shake hands at the Defense Ministry in Tokyo on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 29, 2025
Hegseth says U.S. never demanded Japan defense spending hike
In his first meeting with Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi, U.S. defense chief Pete Hegseth called Japan's current defense spending plans “wonderful.”
People watch a TV news report on North Korean missile launches at the main railway station in Seoul on Oct. 22.
ASIA PACIFIC
Oct 29, 2025
North Korea answers Trump entreaties with nuclear-capable missile test
U.S. President Donald Trump appeared resigned that a grand summit with North Korea's Kim Jong Un was probably not in the cards during his trip to Asia this week.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi gifts U.S. President Donald Trump a putter owned by late Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, a golf bag signed by Hideki Matsuyama and a gold leaf golf ball in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 29, 2025
With gifts and hospitality, Takaichi taps Abe's legacy to forge bond with Trump
Talk turned to Abe as soon as the U.S. leader stepped into the Akasaka Palace in Tokyo to exchange pleasantries with Japan's recently appointed prime minister.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi raises her fist as U.S. President Donald Trump delivers a speech in front of U.S. Navy personnel on board the U.S. Navy's USS George Washington aircraft carrier at the American naval base in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 28, 2025
At first summit with Trump, Takaichi pledges 'new golden age' for alliance
The meeting was a crucial test of Takaichi’s diplomatic chops as she seeks to elevate the Japan-U.S. alliance while staving off pressure from the U.S. on defense spending.
Unitree robot dogs climb a flight of stairs during a demonstration in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, China, on March 21.
WORLD / Science & Health
Oct 28, 2025
Robot dogs and AI drone swarms: How China could use DeepSeek for war
A review of research papers, patents and procurement records gives a snapshot of Beijing's systematic effort to harness artificial intelligence for military advantage.
U.S. President Donald Trump meets with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other European leaders at the White House in Washington in August. A new study found that national security officials often overestimate their knowledge, with statements they rated as 90% likely to be true actually true only 57% of the time.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 28, 2025
Feeling confident? Think again — you’re probably wrong.
A study finds that overconfidence by many national security experts “was so extreme that it essentially canceled out the knowledge that these individuals possessed.”
New Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi plans to boost Japan’s defense and regional security amid waning U.S. influence and rising threats from China, North Korea and Russia.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 28, 2025
With new leadership, Japan has the chance to flex its defense muscles
New Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is determined to convince Trump she’s serious about boosting the nation’s military capabilities.
Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker Takayuki Kobayashi answers questions during the LDP presidential election candidates' joint news conference at party headquarters in Tokyo on Sept. 23.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 27, 2025
LDP policy chief ramps up moves to ease rules on exporting lethal defense gear
The LDP's Takayuki Kobayashi said that he intends to push for relaxing the regulations in order to “contribute to world peace” and strengthen Japan’s defense industry.
U.S. President Donald Trump is welcomed by Emperor Naruhito upon his arrival at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo on Monday evening.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 27, 2025
Trump arrives in Japan for security and trade talks in test for Takaichi
The prime minister will be seeking to build a solid relationship with the U.S. president as she looks to navigate increasing pressure on trade and defense issues.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, meet at the Kremlin in Moscow in July 2017. Since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, the West — especially Europe — has come to see China not just as an economic competitor but as a hard security challenge.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 27, 2025
China and Russia do not pose the same hard security threat to Europe
Prior to 2022, China was primarily considered an economic threat, or at most a “soft” security issue.
U.S. Marines at Air Station Iwakuni in Yamaguchi Prefecture demonstrate the Typhon ground-launched missile system in September. Capable of launching land-based Tomahawks, it has already been deployed in global exercises, proving that the technical challenges often cited as an excuse to withhold Tomahawks from Ukraine are unfounded.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 27, 2025
Sanctions or Tomahawks? Only credible threats will convince Putin.
A lack of resolve and realism in the West has encouraged Putin to believe he need only wait until Ukraine’s backers fail it and he’ll be able to achieve his maximalist goals.
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth speaks at the White House in Washington last week. He is scheduled to hold talks with Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi in Japan on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 27, 2025
U.S. defense chief to make Japan stop in Indo-Pacific visit
Pete Hegseth will meet Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi for talks on Wednesday.
Russian President Vladimir Putin listens to Chief of the General Staff of Russian Armed Forces Valery Gerasimov at an unidentified location in this still image taken from video and released on Sunday.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 26, 2025
Putin says Russia tested new nuclear-powered cruise missile
Putin called the new weapon "unique,” and said the missile’s class needed to be determined and infrastructure prepared so that it can be deployed.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi reacts as East Timor Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao greets her during the ASEAN-Japan summit in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Oct 26, 2025
Takaichi’s ‘Trump card’ for meeting U.S. leader? Her relationship with Abe.
Sanae Takaichi’s ties to slain former leader Shinzo Abe are expected to get her off on the right foot with Donald Trump as she aims to navigate defense and trade pressure.
Sanae Takaichi’s selection as Japan’s first female prime minister marks a historic breakthrough for women in politics, but her leadership faces significant challenges from political fragility and critics, both at home and abroad.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 26, 2025
Takaichi’s rise to power and the ‘glass cliff’
Her appointment could prove to be a “glass cliff” as she encounters hypercriticism and the inherent challenges of a shaky coalition.
The Toyota buyout is a major test for Japan’s reforms
Akio Toyoda, chairman of Toyota Motor, speaks during a media preview at the Japan Mobility Show in Tokyo on Oct. 29. Minority investors are challenging the carmaker's bid to take affiliate Toyota Industries Corp. private.
From France to Mali, a deportee's struggle far from home
Moussa Sacko, a Malian deported from France — where he had lived since he was a young child — stands on a street in Bamako, Mali, in December. Compared with his home in France, Bamako feels like a different planet, Sacko said.
ChatGPT nickname and Trump tariffs nominated for Japan’s buzzword of 2025
Women hold toys depicting Myaku-Myaku, the official character for the 2025 Osaka Expo, during a media day ahead of the event's public opening day in Osaka in April.
SoftBank is said to have explored potential takeover of Marvell
SoftBank explored a potential takeover of U.S. chipmaker Marvell Technology earlier this year, in what would have been the semiconductor industry's largest-ever deal.
The second life of Japan's net cafes
Once smoky, male-dominated spaces, today's net cafes, like Kaikatsu Club, are working to make their operations more attractive to women customers.
These are the hottest lower-division rikishi to watch right now
Fukazaki (right) grapples with Enho at the IG Arena in Nagoya on July 13.
Across borders and screens, Tokyo film festival finds humanity in migration
“Mother Bhumi” takes place in a multiethnic rice-farming community where Chinese, Thai and Malay lineages intertwine.
Takaichi’s balancing act: Supporting Taiwan and stabilizing China ties
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi shakes hands with Lin Hsin-i, Taiwan’s presidential adviser, on the sidelines of an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit meeting in Gyeongju, South Korea, on Saturday in this image posted to Takaichi's official X account.
From 1973 to 2025: A Japanese American skater’s long ride to recognition
Judi Oyama at Winchester Skatepark in San Jose, California, in January 1979. The Skateboarding Hall of Fame inductee and Guinness World Record holder still skates and hopes to inspire older women.
More Japanese universities pushing toward teaching in English
Waseda University in Tokyo

Podcast

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

Longform

Once smoky, male-dominated spaces, today's net cafes, like Kaikatsu Club, are working to make their operations more attractive to women customers.
The second life of Japan's net cafes
By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Foreign wrestlers have a long history in sumo
Foreign wrestlers have a long history in sumo

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS note

Read more

SUPPLEMENTS BINDER