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July 13, 2025
 

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DEFENSE

JAPAN
Dec 22, 2023
Japan cuts spending for first time in 12 years in fiscal 2024 budget
The budget for the coming fiscal year that starts in April is estimated at ¥112.07 trillion, down 2% from the current year's initial amount.
Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen hold discussions in Kyiv in September 2022.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 22, 2023
Europe needs a new Ukraine strategy
The European Union’s decision to start accession talks with Ukraine represents a symbolic victory rather than a practical one.
JAPAN
Dec 22, 2023
In major shift, Japan eases rules on exporting defense gear
The policy change could see Japan make its first export of lethal military equipment as early as next year.
A U.S. Steel coke works in Clairton, Pennsylvania
EDITORIALS
Dec 22, 2023
A steel deal that’s good for Japan and the U.S.
Nippon Steel’s announcement that it plans to purchase U.S. Steel has triggered an uproar in the United States.
Some analysts say China seeks ambiguity in defense relations to constrain what Beijing sees as U.S. military provocations in the region.
ASIA PACIFIC
Dec 22, 2023
U.S. and China top brass speak for first time in over a year
U.S. Air Force Gen. Charles Q. Brown and Gen. Liu Zhenli of China's People's Liberation Army touched on "a number of global and regional security issues."
Shoppers at a market in Kyiv on Tuesday
WORLD / Politics
Dec 21, 2023
With Ukraine’s aid in doubt, companies say they’re the Plan B
Ukrainian companies making products are ensuring their survival while contributing to the war effort.
A PAC-3 surface-to-air guided missile at the Defense Ministry in Tokyo in June
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 20, 2023
Japan may make U.S. PAC-3 missiles in first weapon deal after ban
The missiles, made under license from a U.S. company, would be the first weapons to be exported in finished form from Japan after the ban is eased.
Russia's President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting near Moscow on Dec. 12.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 20, 2023
U.S. allies brace for high cost of defeat as Ukraine aid stalls
Russian victory in Ukraine would be felt around the world as U.S. partners and allies questioned Washington’s promises of defense.
Buildings in Xiamen on mainland China across the Taiwan Strait from anti-landing barriers on a beach in Kinmen, Taiwan.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 20, 2023
Taiwan’s ability to defend against Chinese invasion questioned
For all the support given by Washington, the reality is that when it comes to both civil and military defense, Taiwan still has a lot to do.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally in Reno, Nevada, on Sunday.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 19, 2023
Diplomats gird for 'doomsday' as prospect of Trump presidency looms
If he were to win a second term, Trump is likely to install loyalists — meaning his whims and isolationist policies would be easier to enact than before.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg meet during a NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, in July.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 19, 2023
NATO's delicate balancing act in the Indo-Pacific
Japan and NATO are already working together on new technologies and on efforts to safeguard the new domains of cyber, outer space and other vectors.
A mobile missile launcher awaits the order to fire a Hwasong-18 intercontinental ballistic missile from an undisclosed location in North Korea in this undated picture released Tuesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 19, 2023
Japan, South Korea, U.S. begin sharing real-time data on North Korean missiles
The data-sharing system was activated as Pyongyang confirmed that it tested a solid-fueled intercontinental ballistic missile a day earlier.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken (right), Finland's Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen (left) and Finland's Defense Minister Antti Hakkanen sign a defense cooperation agreement in the Treaty Room of the U.S. State Department in Washington on Dec. 18.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 19, 2023
Finland bolsters military ties with U.S. after Putin warning
The Defense Cooperation Agreement formalizes greater ties with the United States, including joint training of forces and military interoperability.
F-16s will help Kyiv address a problem that has persisted from the start of the invasion in February 2022: Russia’s more modern combat aircraft have been difficult for Ukraine’s military to counter with its own aging fighters.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 18, 2023
How F-16 fighter jets could reshape Ukraine's aerial battlefield
Russia’s more modern combat aircraft have been difficult for Ukraine’s military to counter with its own aging fighters.
ASEAN leaders and their spouses release paper lanterns into the air with students from ASEAN member states during a lighting ceremony for the ASEAN-Japan Commemorative Summit at Azabudai Hills in Tokyo on Sunday.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Dec 18, 2023
With China in mind, Japan expands security ties with ASEAN
At a leaders summit, the two sides agreed to deepen security ties in areas such as defense equipment and joint training and exercises.
Kubura fishing port and Kubura district on the island of Yonaguni, Okinawa Prefecture
JAPAN
Dec 17, 2023
Frontier islanders decry lack of plan to aid fleeing Taiwanese
Concerned about the potential for a China-Taiwan conflict, Japan has embarked on its biggest defense buildup since World War II.
A Tomahawk cruise missile is launched from a U.S. Navy ship. Japan agreed with the United States to buy U.S.-made Tomahawk cruise missiles one year earlier than previously planned.
JAPAN
Dec 17, 2023
Japanese government delaying debate over key defense issues
A widening political scandal is affecting the Kishida administration's ability to move forward on important security discussions.
A contingency in the event that China invades Taiwan is emerging as a key focus in Japan’s new defense policy.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 17, 2023
Will Japan intervene in a Taiwan contingency? It depends.
If Taiwan puts up a fight against a Chinese invasion, it would likely engender a U.S. intervention that would not be possible without Japan’s assistance.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Malaysian leader Anwar Ibrahim applaud as Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa poses with her Malaysian counterpart, Mohamad Hasan, after a signing ceremony in Tokyo on Saturday.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 16, 2023
Japan and Malaysia sign ¥400 million maritime security aid deal
Jakarta became the third country to receive the grant under Japan's new official security assistance program.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim at the start of a bilateral meeting in Tokyo on Saturday
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 16, 2023
Japan-ASEAN summit aims to advance 'security cooperation'
Japan is also expected to use the summit to push energy cooperation as it seeks to export emissions-reducing tech that critics have questioned.
Tokyo hit by torrential rainfall at rush hour
People line up at Shibuya Station in Tokyo as they try to avoid the heavy rain on Thursday.
Foreign drivers in Japan to face tougher license conversion rules from October
According to the National Police Agency, there were 75,905 people who converted their foreign driver’s license to a Japanese one in 2024, up from 48,885 in 2019.
Nissan clinches $4.5 billion bond deal after orders soar
Nissan Motor has raised $4.5 billion through a junk bond sale in U.S. dollars and euros, part of which carries a record-high coupon rate.
Chinese fighters came within 30 meters of Japanese spy aircraft, Tokyo says
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.
What Japanese politics could look like after Upper House election
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, who heads the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (center) waves to attendees as he departs after delivering a campaign speech in Yokohama on Sunday.
‘Our ultimate goal is to save every single Japanese video game’
After nearly shuttering earlier this year, the Tokyo-based Game Preservation Society continues its work to save the early history of Japanese gaming.
New IG Arena set to dial down temperature at Nagoya Basho, in a good way
With IG Arena getting glowing early reviews as the Nagoya Basho’s replacement venue, it may be a while before fans wax nostalgic about the Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium.
Once a niche, anime is now mainstream content for Netflix and other streaming services
Though Netflix remains the dominant choice globally for anime viewers, Amazon Prime Video has also invested heavily in anime, steadily adding titles to their catalogue.
NGOs condemn rise in anti-immigrant rhetoric ahead of Upper House vote
Sanseito head Sohei Kamiya holds a board that reads "Japanese First" in Tokyo on July 2. In a joint statement on Tuesday, eight human rights nongovernmental organizations described the far-right party's stance as "hate speech."
Japanese dancers find a home abroad at Houston Ballet
“Giselle” lead Yuriko Kajiya (center), performing with Connor Walsh as Albrecht, is one of six Japanese dancers at Houston Ballet.

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