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July 08, 2025
 

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DEFENSE

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi speaks during a news conference on Thursday at the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 28, 2025
Japan unveils evacuation plan for Taiwan contingency
Under the plan, Fukuoka Prefecture will host the most evacuees, with 47,400 people.
U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee chairman Jack Reed (left) and co-chair Roger Wicker at Capitol Hill in Washington in April 2024.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 28, 2025
U.S. senators from both parties urge formal probe of Signal chat attack plan
The Pentagon was asked to investigate the Trump administration's use of the Signal messaging app to discuss sensitive attack plans.
A Chinese Navy missile frigate. Beijing has been ramping up efforts to project power in the Indo-Pacific region.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / FOCUS
Mar 27, 2025
Xi tests U.S. allies in Indo-Pacific as Trump looks elsewhere
From sending warships off Australia’s coast to putting pressure on Thailand over human rights, Beijing is ramping up efforts to project power.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un supervises the test of suicide drones with artificial intelligence technology, according to local media, at an unknown location in this photo released on Thursday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Mar 27, 2025
North Korea's Kim supervises test of AI suicide drones
Kim said unmanned control and AI capability must be the top priorities in modern arms development, state media reported.
U.S. President Donald Trump's deal-focused approach to diplomacy may prevent a hostile China-Russia-North Korea-Iran alliance, but weakens U.S. global leadership.
COMMENTARY
Mar 27, 2025
The art of the deal meets a four-power axis
Trump's deal-focused approach may prevent a hostile China-Russia-North Korea-Iran alliance but weakens U.S. global leadership.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth addresses American service members assigned to Kane'ohe Bay, Hawaii, on Tuesday. Hegseth’s itinerary during his first visit to Asia in his new role will include visits to the Philippines and Japan.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 27, 2025
Hegseth’s Asia tour won’t fix U.S. credibility crisis
The timing of Hegseth’s first Asian tour couldn’t be more awkward. U.S. President Donald Trump’s "America First” mantra is raising eyebrows.
Gen. Timothy Haugh of U.S. Cyber Command and director of the National Security Agency; FBI Director Kash Patel; Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard; CIA Director John Ratcliffe; and Defense Intelligence Agency Director Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Kruse depart after testifying at a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on worldwide threats, at the Capitol in Washington on Tuesday. The hearing came a day after news of a major security breach roiled the Trump administration.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 26, 2025
Trump team scrambles to handle fallout from Signal chat assailed as 'sloppy, careless'
The administration sought to contain the fallout after a journalist said he had inadvertently been added to a discussion on highly sensitive war plans.
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth (bottom center) and other Trump administration officials mishandled security by discussing a military strike on a commercially available messaging app, exposing vulnerabilities and raising questions about poor judgment.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 26, 2025
U.S. allies get a Signal chat’s worth of red flags
In the short term, that may have few real consequences. Although insulting, the administration’s assessment of Europe’s weak military capabilities is correct.
European Union nations and Japan fret about a world without the U.S. security umbrella. They could ease their fears by moving closer together.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 26, 2025
Japan-Europe: The security alliance the world needs now
Even before Trump’s return, Europe and Japan both rapidly needed to shift from their peacetime posture to one preparing for war.
A Maritime Self-Defense Force SH-60K "Super Auk" from JS Shiranui prepares to land on HMAS Brisbane during Exercise Malabar 2023 while off the coast of New South Wales, Australia.
JAPAN
Mar 25, 2025
New SDF command will be key for contingency planning, Australian commander says
The framework will enable direct communication with counterparts in partner nations and speed up coordination, the Australian Defence Force's chief of joint operations says.
The head of the Self-Defense Forces' new Joint Operations Command, Gen. Kenichiro Nagumo, inspects an honor guard Monday morning at the Defense Ministry in Tokyo.
JAPAN
Mar 24, 2025
Japan launches new Joint Operations Command to unify SDF branches
The new command will allow for the smoother integration of operations across domains to prepare for and respond to possible emergencies.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer speaks to Royal Navy soldiers outside a BAE Systems factory in Barrow-in-Furness, England, on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 23, 2025
Keir Starmer on Putin, Trump and Europe’s challenge: ‘We’ve known this moment was coming’
Behind a whirlwind of diplomacy is Starmer's true goal: Persuading Trump of the value of NATO.
An employee works at a production line of 155 mm artillery shells at the plant of German company Rheinmetall, which produces weapons and ammunition for tanks and artillery.
BUSINESS
Mar 22, 2025
Europe is short of gunpowder and TNT when it needs them most
European governments dug into their munitions stockpiles to arm Ukraine, exposing how shallow their reserves were.
U.S. President Donald Trump in the Oval Office with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, at the White House in Washington on Friday.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 22, 2025
Trump rejects idea that Musk should have access to top-secret China war plans
The U.S. president also denied a report that such a briefing had been planned to be held at the Pentagon on Friday.
U.S. President Donald Trump with Elon Musk and his son at the White House this month. The Pentagon is scheduled on Friday to brief Musk on the U.S. military’s plan for any war that might break out with China, two U.S. officials said Thursday.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 21, 2025
Musk set to get access to top-secret U.S. plan for potential war with China
Providing Musk with access to some of the nation’s most closely guarded military secrets would bring into sharp relief questions about his conflicts of interest.
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 21, 2025
Pentagon eyeing plan to halt U.S. Forces Japan upgrade, reports say
The move could create “political risk” for Washington with Tokyo and reduce the scope of command and control in the Indo-Pacific region as the U.S.-China rivalry heats up.
Ukrainian troops fire a mortar toward Russian troops at a front line near the town of Chasiv Yar, in Ukraine's Donetsk region, on Sunday.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 21, 2025
EU leaders vow to continue backing Ukraine, but make no concrete pledge
European Union leaders said on Thursday that they will continue to support Ukraine, but they did not immediately endorse a call by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to provide at least €5 billion ($5.42 billion) for artillery ammunition purchases.
Despite the high cost of defending Ukraine, voters on both sides of the Atlantic — including Republicans in the United States — remain surprisingly united in their support for the country.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 20, 2025
The American and European publics still stand with Ukraine
Public attitudes in the U.S. are even more striking. When it comes to Ukraine, Americans broadly agree with Europeans.
The Pentagon's disbandment of the Office of Net Assessment ends a key institution that provided long-term strategic analysis, leaving the U.S. vulnerable to future geopolitical challenges.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 20, 2025
A sad day for U.S. strategic analysis as the Office of Net Assessment is disbanded
While most focused on the military, ONA was the only group to conclude that winning the Cold War relied on economic means, not troop numbers.
European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas presents the white paper on the future of European defense, in Brussels on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 20, 2025
EU proposes joint defense push amid Russia fears and U.S. worries
EU countries have already begun boosting their own defenses in response to Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Heatstroke alert issued for 19 prefectures as Japan enters 'once-in-a-decade' heat wave
Japan will experience a heat wave through mid-July on a “level only seen once in a decade,” the Meteorological Agency said on June 30.
Japan braces for more quakes as authorities dismiss doomsday hype
Evacuees from Akuseki Island, located in the Tokara island chain in Kagoshima Prefecuture, arrive at Kagoshima Port on Friday.
Foreign nationals' presence in Japan emerges as key issue in Upper House poll
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba delivers a campaign speech next to a Liberal Democratic Party candidate for the Upper House (top center left) in Yokohama on Sunday.
Hidden AI prompts in academic papers spark concern about research integrity
Waseda University is one of 14 institutions in eight countries found to have used hidden prompts in research papers.
China’s housing crisis is worse than it seems
Residential buildings under construction in Shanghai in July 2022. The Chinese government risks long-term decline by repeating Japan’s policy mistakes in handling its real estate and demographic crises.
The future is bright inside the visionary mind of architect Sou Fujimoto
The exhibition of Fujimoto’s architecture surveys his career to date, as well as looks ahead as shown in his proposal of a future floating city designed in collaboration with data scientist Hiroaki Miyata.
A tiny mountain hamlet keeps traditional log rafting afloat
Once a way to transport lumber from the mountains to the coast, log rafting is now Kitayama's biggest attraction.
A furever friend: Tips for responsible dog ownership in Japan
Dog ownership may seem daunting in Japan, but with the right tools and logistical knowledge, you can ensure a healthy, happy life for your pet.
Ainu land rights in crosshairs as Hokkaido communities debate nuclear waste
A street in Suttsu, Hokkaido, with a sign put up by an anti-nuclear organization. The small community is considering hosting a facility that would hold nuclear waste.
Ghibli’s Isao Takahata exhibit shows how beloved anime is made
“The man who planted Japanese animation” exhibition includes a variety of sketches, drawings and animation cels from Isao Takahata films such as color design for characters by Michiyo Yasuda from "Grave of the Fireflies."

Podcast

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

Longform

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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