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August 28, 2025
 

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DEFENSE

A serviceman of the 57th Separate Motorized Infantry Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces works with an Mk 19 U.S.-made automatic grenade launcher near the front-line town of Vovchansk in Ukraine's Kharkiv region, on March 13.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 16, 2025
Europeans open to buying U.S. arms for Ukraine under Trump plan but need details
Much of the plan remains undisclosed, including the amounts and precise types of weapons to be provided, how quickly they would be supplied and how they would be paid for.
U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron hold a news conference in London on July 10 after wrapping up a joint military visit.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 16, 2025
France and U.K. tighten nuclear ties amid questions over U.S. commitment
While France and the U.K. are taking a positive step for European security, the announcement is both more and less than it seems.
"The odds are high that the U.S. and Japan can come to an agreement," former U.S. Ambassador to Japan William Hagerty said.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 15, 2025
Ex-U.S. envoy William Hagerty optimistic about tariff talks with Japan
"The odds are high that the U.S. and Japan can come to an agreement," Hagerty said in an interview.
Gen. Hiroaki Uchikura, chief of staff of the Air Self-Defense Force, attends a meeting at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, in April 2023.
JAPAN / Society
Jul 15, 2025
Japan taps ASDF chief as new top uniformed officer
The government has appointed current ASDF head, Gen. Hiroaki Uchikura, as the next chief of staff of the Defense Ministry's Joint Staff.
A senior member of a Self-Defense Forces honor guard inspects a formation before the arrival of Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba for a visit to the Defense Ministry in Tokyo on June 30.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 15, 2025
With China and Trump, Japan defense report says world entering ‘new era of crisis’
The annual defense white paper says that U.S. actions under Trump will “significantly impact” the Indo-Pacific region and “will require continued attention.”
U.S. President Donald Trump meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House on April 7. Trump’s unexpected strike on Iran shows how Israel’s influence overcame his reluctance for foreign wars.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 14, 2025
Trump’s Iran attack shows what it takes to win his military support
How did Israel convince Trump? Put simply, why did Trump, unlike previous presidents who considered it but held back, launch a direct strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities?
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang
BUSINESS / Tech
Jul 14, 2025
Nvidia CEO says China’s military unlikely to use U.S. AI chips
Nvidia Chief Executive Officer Jensen Huang said the Chinese military will avoid using U.S. technology because of the risks associated with doing so.
U.S. soldiers man a checkpoint on a road outside Tikrit, Iraq, in November 2003. Airstrikes alone won’t truly eliminate Iran’s nuclear program — only a costly ground invasion like the one that took down Saddam Hussein could do that.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 14, 2025
What will it take to end Iran's nuke program? An army.
Trump’s claim that the U.S. “obliterated” Iran’s nuclear program was widely disputed, with current estimates saying it was severely damaged and set back by 12 to 24 months.
A Ground Self-Defense Force member conducts a military drill with an anti-ship missiles unit, at the GSDF's base on Miyako Island in Okinawa Prefecture in April 2022.
JAPAN
Jul 14, 2025
U.S. urges clarity on Japan’s role in potential war over Taiwan, report says
The move reportedly caught Japanese officials off-guard, since the U.S. itself maintains a policy of “strategic ambiguity” on whether or not it would defend Taiwan.
A Chinese JH-7 fighter-bomber flies close to an Air Self-Defense Force YS-11EB intelligence-gathering surveillance aircraft over the high seas in the East China Sea on Wednesday.
JAPAN
Jul 13, 2025
China says Japanese ‘harassment’ behind close encounter with ASDF spy plane
The Defense Ministry in Beijing said “close-in reconnaissance and harassment” by the Japanese side was “the root cause” of the latest incidents.
The USS Warrior arrives in the city of Niigata on Saturday as part of moves to enhance bilateral cooperation.
JAPAN
Jul 13, 2025
U.S. minesweeper makes port call in Niigata
It is the first time since 2018 that a U.S. warship has visited Niigata.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s regime is supplying up to 40% of Russia’s ammunition, along with other military equipment, for Vladimir Putin's war in Ukraine, according to Ukraine's intelligence service.
WORLD
Jul 13, 2025
Ukraine spy chief says 40% of Russian ammunition is North Korean
Kim Jong Un’s regime is also sending other weapons to Russia, including ballistic missiles and artillery systems.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks to reporters during Association of Southeast Asian Nations-related meetings in Kuala Lumpur on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 11, 2025
Rubio says Japan defense spending hike less about money, more about capabilities
The comments echoed the view of Ishiba, who has repeatedly said that what is most important is the substance of strengthened defense capabilities — not arbitrary figures.
U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine speaks during a trilateral defense meeting with Gen. Yoshihide Yoshida, the chief of staff of the Self-Defense Forces’ Joint Staff, and South Korean Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Kim Myung-soo at the Defense Ministry in Seoul on Friday.
JAPAN
Jul 11, 2025
South Korea, Japan and U.S. conduct air drill as defense chiefs meet
The three countries' defense chiefs also held an annual meeting in Seoul on Friday, where they recognized the importance of close trilateral cooperation.
U.S. President Donald Trump’s escalating tariffs, erratic trade threats and linkage of economic and defense issues are undermining trust in America and pushing allies like Japan to rethink their dependence on Washington.
EDITORIALS
Jul 11, 2025
Trump declares war on the international economic order
Trump has a simple understanding of international relations. In his mind, might makes right.
A police officer at the site of a Russian airstrike which hit a residential building in Kyiv on Thursday
WORLD
Jul 11, 2025
Trump says U.S. to supply weapons to Ukraine via NATO
The U.S. president also said that he would make a "major statement" on Russia on Monday, though he declined to elaborate.
A Chinese JH-7 fighter jet makes an near an Air Self-Defense Force YS-11EB surveillance aircraft over the East China Sea this week in this image released Thursday.
JAPAN
Jul 10, 2025
Chinese fighters came within 30 meters of Japanese spy aircraft, Tokyo says
Chinese fighter jets twice risked collisions with ASDF surveillance aircraft over the East China Sea on Wednesday and Thursday, the Defense Ministry in Tokyo said.
A U.S.-made M1A2T Abrams tank takes part in live-fire exercises in Hsinchu, Taiwan, on Thursday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jul 10, 2025
Taiwan shows off new U.S. Abrams tanks during annual military drills
Analysts say Taiwan's first new tanks for 24 years would need to be protected against drones in any future conflict given lessons from the Ukraine war.
The JS Suzunami, a Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyer, docks off Manila for a port call last month. The Japanese government plans to spend about ¥43 trillion in the fiscal 2023-27 period to drastically strengthen defense capabilities.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 10, 2025
Parties divided on defense spending increase
The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to ask Japan and other Asian allies to increase their defense spending.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks as Attorney General Pam Bondi (left) and Secretary of State Marco Rubio (center) look on during a Cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Jul 9, 2025
Trump signals continuing trade-defense link as tariff talks drag on
The U.S. leader has again alleged that Seoul is taking advantage of Washington on defense spending and burden-sharing — a worrying sign that may also have implications for Tokyo.
Philippine bid to acquire used Japanese warships gains steam
Tokyo is looking to transfer Abukuma-class vessels to the Philippines as part of broader efforts to boost the defense capabilities of like-minded neighbors amid growing Chinese military assertiveness in the region.
Japan Post to stop accepting some parcels for shipment to the U.S.
Japan Post's UGX will still be available for many rejected packages.
Japan aims to tighten rules for business manager visas from October
The number of foreign residents with business management residency status had reached a record 41,615 as of the end of 2024.
Tokyo releases AI-generated video of Mount Fuji erupting
A screenshot from an AI-generated video showing what could happen to Tokyo if Mount Fuji erupted
Character-crazed Japan has little appetite for Labubu
A pop-up advertisement for the newly opened Chiikawa Park in Tokyo's Ikebukuro neighborhood demonstrates how the country is chockful of cute characters — to the detriment of trends like Labubu.
Koshien’s dark summer forces reckoning for high school baseball
Koryo High School players greet their cheering section after beating Hokkaido’s Asahikawa Shiho in the first round of Summer Koshien on Aug. 7. The school withdrew three days later as a bullying scandal enveloped the team.
Is Kishida plotting a return of the king? Or would he rather stay a kingmaker?
Former Prime Minister Fumio Kishida chairs a plenary session at the Ninth Tokyo International Conference on African Development in Yokohama on Aug. 21.
Japanese prefectures break with labor ministry on minimum wage
The ministry of labor has suggested a 6% minimum wage increase, but most prefectures reporting so far are opting to go slightly higher.
Philippines quietly deepening ‘unofficial’ defense ties with Taiwan
Filipino soldiers take part in a flag-raising ceremony on Mavulis Island during a visit by the Philippines' Armed Forces chief of staff, in Batanes, the Philippines, in June 2023. Batanes, a group of idyllic islands at the country’s northernmost tip, sits about 160 kilometers from Taiwan.
Are 'coolcations' the answer for Japan's heat-weary tourists?
Hikers on a trail in Hakuba, Nagano Prefecture. As extreme heat continues to grip Japan, a tectonic shift may be underway in the nation’s summer tourism scene as more people gravitate toward cooler destinations.

Podcast

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

Longform

Tetsuzo Shiraishi, speaking at The Center of the Tokyo Raids and War Damage, uses a thermos to explain how he experienced the U.S. firebombing of March 1945, when he was just 7 years old.
From ashes to high-rises: A survivor’s account of Tokyo’s postwar past
By Alex K.T. Martin

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