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September 15, 2025
 

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ISLANDS

Philippine Army Brig. Gen. Michael Logico, who was involved in managing the latest iteration of the Balikatan U.S.-Philippine drills, told The Japan Times that he expects military ties with Japan to surge even further once Tokyo ratifies a key visiting-forces agreement with Manila.
JAPAN
May 12, 2025
Japan set for bigger role in Philippines after SDF’s debut in key drills
A top Philippine general has said he expects the Self-Defense Forces’ involvement in both bilateral and multilateral activities to grow substantially.
A Japan Coast Guard vessel sails in front of Uotsuri Island, one of the disputed Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea, in 2013.
JAPAN
May 11, 2025
Chinese research ship spotted in Japanese EEZ
The research ship sailed out of the Japan-China median line at about 1:20 p.m. after it was asked by a JCG patrol ship by radio to stop operating.
A China Coast Guard helicopter is seen near the Japanese-controlled Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea on Saturday.
JAPAN
May 3, 2025
China Coast Guard helicopter enters Japanese airspace near Senkakus
The incursion near the Japanese-controlled, Chinese-claimed islands on Saturday was just the fourth such flight by Chinese aircraft since the end of World War II.
Chinese H-6 bombers fly at the eastern edge of the disputed Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea on March 24.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Apr 30, 2025
Chinese navy patrols South China Sea, saying Philippines creating 'disturbances'
China, which claims almost the entirety of the South China Sea, has been involved in an increasingly tense stand-off with the Philippines.
China Coast Guard officers unfurl a national flag on Sandy Cay reef, near the Philippine-held Thitu Island, in disputed waters of the South China Sea this month in this screen shot taken from Chinese state broadcaster CCTV.
ASIA PACIFIC
Apr 27, 2025
China seizes disputed reef near key Philippine military outpost
Beijing's focus on claiming sovereignty over Sandy Cay reef in the South China Sea adds to fears over a clash with Manila.
Chinese H-6 bombers (top right) are seen flying near the eastern edge of the disputed Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea on March 24.
ASIA PACIFIC
Apr 21, 2025
Chinese Navy says Philippine warship 'illegally entered' Scarborough Shoal waters
Sunday's incident was a rare instance involving the militaries of both countries, and came amid fears that a clash or accident could erupt into a full-blown conflict.
Chinese H-6 bombers fly at the eastern edge of the disputed Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea on March 24.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Apr 16, 2025
Philippines and China accuse each other of dangerous moves in disputed South China Sea shoal
China claims nearly the entire South China Sea, a vital waterway for more than $3 trillion of annual ship-borne commerce.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks in a video message shown at a national rally demanding the return of the Northern Territories held in Tokyo in February.
JAPAN
Apr 7, 2025
Russia bans Japanese NGO amid disputed islands row
The four islands were captured by the Soviet military during the final months of the war, and have been held by Moscow since, in what Tokyo describes as an "illegal occupation."
Fishermen unload Pacific bluefin tuna off Miyakejima island in Tokyo.
JAPAN
Mar 31, 2025
Tokyo aiming to establish brand power of fish caught off its islands
Tuna hauls around the islands of Hachijojima and Miyakejima are on the rise, as catch quotas have been expanded thanks to the growing tuna population in the Pacific Ocean.
A Chinese H-6 bomber flies east of the disputed Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea on Monday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Mar 29, 2025
Satellite images show fresh Chinese bomber deployment in South China Sea
The move was Beijing's latest to assert sovereignty over the hotly disputed atoll in the South China Sea.
Some South Korean lawmakers have called the Chinese presence in nearby waters a "direct challenge to marine security."
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 27, 2025
South Korea installs platform to monitor Chinese presence in disputed sea
China says its structures in the sea are fish farming equipment, but they have raised alarm bells in Seoul.
Japan, despite facing multiple territorial disputes, lacks a dedicated university program on the issue, unlike Western countries, and would benefit from an interdisciplinary academic initiative to foster expertise.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 17, 2025
Japan needs academic programs focused on territorial issues
While many countries have territorial disputes with their neighbors — in fact, there are at least 150 active disputes worldwide — Japan faces issues with nearly all its neighbors.
Concept art for the renewed National Museum of Territory and Sovereignty
JAPAN
Mar 10, 2025
Japan's territory museum to reopen in April following renovations
The museum in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward is designed to publicize Japan's position on disputed territories.
A Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy helicopter is seen from aboard a Philippine Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) aircraft in the skies above Scarborough Shoal in the disputed South China Sea on Feb. 18.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Feb 26, 2025
Standoff in the skies: Witnessing an unsafe intercept over the South China Sea
A Chinese military helicopter edged dangerously close to a Philippine plane on patrol over the flash point Scarborough Shoal, an incident witnessed by The Japan Times.
Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro assists Defense Minister Gen Nakatani as he signs a guest book prior to their bilateral meeting at a hotel in Manila on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 24, 2025
Japan and Philippines to establish high-level defense gear framework
The two sides also agreed to establish a “strategic dialogue” between the Self-Defense Forces and the Philippine Armed Forces to deepen operational collaboration.
People protest against the decision to virtually shut down the United States Agency for International Development, in Washington on Feb. 5. U.S. President Donald Trump's foreign aid freeze has halted vital projects in the South Pacific, aid workers and analysts say, risking lives and hurting U.S. efforts to woo the region.
BUSINESS
Feb 19, 2025
U.S. aid freeze stops crucial South Pacific projects
For years the U.S. has helped to buy life-saving medicine, combat illegal fishing and better prepare coastal hamlets for earthquakes and typhoons.
Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown addresses the media in Bonn, Germany, in October 2023.
ASIA PACIFIC
Feb 14, 2025
Cook Islands in talks with China on deep-sea mining
The Cook Islands causes concern in New Zealand as it moves toward a possible collaboration with China on deep-sea mining.
China frequently shifts between warming and freezing relations with Japan, driven by its domestic issues, often using softer rhetoric while masking aggressive actions.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 14, 2025
Are China-Japan relations truly 'warming,' or is this just fool’s gold again?
As the trade war between the U.S. and China heats up, Beijing is turning to its familiar playbook, using softer language to court American allies and partners while offering things like greater cooperation and more dialogue — part of its ongoing divide-and-conquer strategy.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 12, 2025
China removes buoy in Japan's EEZ near Senkakus amid warming ties
The buoy’s removal comes as Beijing looks to further improve relations with Tokyo — and drive a wedge between the U.S. and Japan.
Japanese Ambassador to the Philippines Kazuya Endo (third from left) joins a tour of the BRP Melchora Aquino, the BRP Melchora Aquino, last May. The Philippine Coast Guard ship was provided to Manila under Japan's official development aid program.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 11, 2025
Japan exploring more defense transfers to Philippines, envoy says
As Tokyo revises its export guidelines to ease defense equipment transfers, the partners expect more security cooperation on the horizon.
Is America ready for Japanese-style 7-Elevens?
Convenience stores are a fixture of Japanese life and 7-Eleven, a chain that began in the U.S. in 1927, opened its first store in Japan in 1974 — and then became wholly Japanese-owned in 2005 through parent company Seven & I Holdings.
Japan's cutting-edge railgun successfully strikes target vessel
The Defense Ministry’s Acquisition, Technology & Logistics Agency (ATLA) conducted a ship-board railgun shooting test from June to early July this year with the support of the Maritime Self-Defense Force.
‘Fairytale’ Shirakawago ranked one of the world’s most beautiful villages
Forbes and Unforgettable Travel Company have ranked Shirakawago in Gifu Prefecture as Asia's most beautiful village.
People rush to make furusato nozei donations ahead of tighter rules
A booth from the town of Betsukai in Hokkaido at an Amazon Japan furusato nо̄zei promotion event, on Sept. 5 in Tokyo's Minato Ward.
Why more hotels in Japan are offering room-only service
Nipponia Hotel Ise Kawasaki Merchant Town in Ise, Mie Prefecture
Strikes on Qatar and Poland shake U.S. sway among friend and foe
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks at the Museum of the Bible in Washington on Sept. 8. Israeli strikes in Qatar and Russian drone incursions into Poland have challenged the U.S. leaders claims of global respect.
Japan's major art events converge this fall
Shinji Ohmaki’s “Tokinokage” exhibited at Fuji Textile Week 2021 shows the use of fabric as art.
An aesthetic escape to Hakone’s art-drenched hills
Between traditional examples of fine art and sleek, modern exhibitions that blend with nature, Hakone offers a unique escape from Tokyo's urban sprawl.
Niinami’s ouster quick but not unusual as corporations protect reputation
Takeshi Niinami resigns as chairman and CEO of Suntory Holdings.
As Manila modernizes its military, new opportunities emerge for Tokyo
A Brahmos missile system is displayed during a rehearsal for a military parade in New Delhi in January. The Philippines will soon receive its second batch of the supersonic cruise missiles from India.

Podcast

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

Longform

Sumadori Bar on Shibuya Ward's main Center Gai street targets young customers who prefer low-alcohol drinks or abstain altogether.
Rethinking that second drink: Japan’s Gen Z gets ‘sober curious’
By Alex K.T. Martin

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