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September 19, 2025
 

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PACIFIC

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Papua New Guinea leader James Marape attend a flag-lowering ceremony in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, on Tuesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Sep 17, 2025
Australia and Papua New Guinea delay mutual defense pact
The postponement was Canberra’s latest stumble as it seeks to counterbalance Beijing’s expanding presence and clout in the Pacific region.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio meets with Foreign Minister Iwaya Takeshi, Indian External Affairs Minister Dr. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong at the State Department in January.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 17, 2025
Japan and India must anchor America in the Indo-Pacific
Neither Japan or India possess the military strength to counter China independently.
U.S. soldiers participate in the Freedom Shield joint U.S.-South Korea exercise near the North Korean border in Yeoncheon, South Korea, in March.
COMMENTARY / World / Geoeconomic Briefing
Sep 16, 2025
Trump 2.0 and the U.S.-South Korea alliance
Debate in Seoul over the future of the U.S.-South Korea alliance has intensified since Trump returned to the White House
Artificial intelligence avatar Una will appear at the U.N. pavilion at Osaka Expo later this month as part of initiatives to combat climate change.
JAPAN
Sep 16, 2025
Japan-backed AI avatar to promote climate action at expo
The anime-inspired female character, Una, was developed as part of climate initiatives supported by the Japanese government.
Japan head coach Eddie Jones ahead of a match against England in June last year.
MORE SPORTS / Rugby
Sep 16, 2025
Japan and Fiji cruise into Pacific Nations Cup rugby final rematch
Fiji rolled over Japan 41-17 in last year's final, and Japan coach Eddie Jones admitted his side has plenty of work to do to flip the script this year.
Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles speaks during an announcement at the Kuttabul Australian Navy base in Sydney on Wednesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Sep 14, 2025
Australia to spend $8 billion on AUKUS nuclear sub shipyard facility
The investment is part of a major military restructure to improve Australia's long-range strike capabilities in the face of China's expanding military strength across the Pacific.
A Philippine Navy soldier observes Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyer Takanami from a Philippine ship in the South China Sea, on June 14.
JAPAN
Sep 11, 2025
Japan-Philippines visiting-forces pact comes into force as defense ties blossom
The pact will serve as the legal basis for Japanese and Philippine forces operating in each other’s countries, paving the way for greater cooperation amid tensions with Beijing.
Children walk past Nepal's Parliament house in Kathmandu Thursday, just days after it was set on fire by protesters angered by a social media ban and government corruption.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 11, 2025
Gen-Z protesters across Asia are challenging the old guard
On Tuesday, Nepal’s Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli resigned after two days of demonstrations over a sweeping social-media ban.
Australian defence chief Richard Marles (second from left), Minister for Defence Industry Pat Conroy (left), and navy chief Vice Adm. Mark Hammond inspect a "Ghost Shark"-class autonomous undersea vehicle at a naval base in Sydney on Wednesday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Sep 10, 2025
Australia to field 'Ghost Shark' underwater strike drones
The $1.1 billion fleet will be designed to conduct intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and strike operations, both stealthily and at long range.
A Chinese Navy ship speeds past a Philippine fishing boat while the Philippine, Australia and Canadian navies conduct a joint drill near Scarborough Shoal in the disputed South China Sea on Sept. 2.
ASIA PACIFIC
Sep 10, 2025
Manila working on new protocols for dealing with Beijing in South China Sea
As tensions heat up in the waterway, the Philippines is updating its existing rules of engagement as part of a whole-of-government approach.
U.S. President Donald Trump salutes the troops during the U.S. Army’s 250th Birthday parade in Washington on June 14, which coincided with his 79th birthday. Trump 2.0 is reshaping global alliances with new defense and diplomatic strategies.
COMMENTARY / World / Geoeconomic Briefing
Sep 9, 2025
‘Trump Doctrine’ a fundamental challenge to allied unity
Many in traditional foreign-policy circles struggle to see the method in Trump’s pursuit of “strategic surprises.”
The coast of the Red Sea. Microsoft on Saturday said its Microsoft Azure users may experience increased latency due to multiple undersea fiber cuts in the Red Sea.
WORLD
Sep 8, 2025
Red Sea cable cuts disrupt internet across Asia and the Middle East
It was not immediately clear who was responsible for the damage, but an internet monitoring group identified failures affecting cable systems near Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Canadian frigate Ville de Quebec and Australian destroyer HMAS Brisbane sailed through the Taiwan Strait on Saturday. The Ville de Quebec had been operating in the Philippine economic zone, taking part in freedom of navigation exercises.
ASIA PACIFIC
Sep 7, 2025
China criticizes Canadian and Australian warships transiting Taiwan Strait
China said the Canadian frigate Ville de Quebec and the Australian guided-missile destroyer Brisbane were engaged in "trouble-making and provocation."
East Asia’s fertility plunge is driven not just by financial costs but by perfectionist cultural expectations that burden parents with intense educational and social demands.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 5, 2025
‘Confugenics’ and East Asia's demographic crisis
The numbers are staggering when you dig into them. Parents in Japan covered half of higher education costs in 2024 — more than double the OECD average.
Royal Navy Commodore James Blackmore, the commander of U.K. CSG 25, said in an interview aboard the Prince of Wales aircraft carrier that the chance to train closely with the Maritime Self-Defense Force was a "golden moment" for military ties between the countries.
ASIA PACIFIC
Sep 2, 2025
In Indo-Pacific deployment, U.K. carrier group boosts warfighting capability, says commander
The British warship also saw F-35B fighters — one British and one American — touch down and take off from the deck of the MSDF’s Kaga de facto aircraft carrier.
A Philippine Navy sailor looks at a China Coast Guard vessel just off the coast of Pag-asa Island in the disputed South China Sea last month.
ASIA PACIFIC / FOCUS
Sep 1, 2025
Surrounded by Chinese bases, a tiny Philippine island stands firm
Pag-asa Island — population 400 — sits on the front line of a simmering territorial dispute between Beijing and Manila in the flash point South China Sea.
A Y-20 tanker aircraft and Chengdu J-20 jet fighters fly in a formation during a flyover rehearsal ahead of a military parade to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, in Beijing on Aug. 24.
ASIA PACIFIC / FOCUS
Aug 30, 2025
Beyond the 'bling,' China aims for deterrence in military show
Questions remain about how effectively China's armed forces — untested since a bloody border conflict with Vietnam in 1979 — could knit its gear together in a future conflict.
Defense Minister Gen Nakatani and British Defense Minister John Healey speak in Tokyo on Thursday ahead of the Pacific Future Forum.
JAPAN
Aug 29, 2025
In a first, U.S. skips Asia security forum being held in Japan
The Pacific Future Forum features the U.K. and Japanese defense ministers as speakers and senior military officials from Japan and Western nations, but no U.S. representatives.
Japan faces a strategic dilemma between an unreliable U.S. security alliance and an assertive China, requiring it to pursue flexible, resilient and multilayered partnerships while avoiding dependence on either power.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 28, 2025
Japan must prepare for a post-American Indo-Pacific
Tokyo must confront an uncomfortable truth: The U.S.-led order that enabled Japan’s postwar success is dead and no one knows what comes next.
Visitors look at paper cranes hung at Peace Park in Nagasaki on Aug. 8, a day ahead of the 80th anniversary of the World War II atomic bombing of the city.
JAPAN / Society
Aug 25, 2025
Japan ranked one of the most peaceful places in Asia as global tensions rise
Japan’s geography places it in close proximity to some of the biggest current geopolitical tensions and conflicts, but it still ranked highly in the Global Peace Index 2025.
Wealthy foreign nationals picking up ultimate souvenir — a condo in Tokyo
A high-end property in the fashionable Daikanyama district in Tokyo
Japan dispatches five language education 'partners' to India
Five members of the Japan Foundation's Nihongo Partners program (front) gather at the Japanese Embassy in New Delhi on Monday.
End of U.S. de minimis exemption causes headaches for some businesses in Japan
Proxy-shopping services — companies that ship Japanese products ranging from cosmetics and snacks to limited-edition stationery on behalf of customers abroad — are already feeling the impact of the U.S. suspending de minimis exemptions.
Over 90% of low-income families in Japan struggling to feed children
Save the Children Japan domestic program chief Sonoko Kawakami speaks at a news conference in Tokyo in July. A survey conducted by the group in June has found that over 90% of low-income households with children face food insecurity.
Struggling train firm in Chiba Prefecture turns to self-deprecating humor
"Laughter is important when you're in a difficult situation," said Katsunori Takemoto, president of Choshi Electric Railway, on Aug. 5 in Choshi, Chiba Prefecture.
Japan’s front-line researchers see bright path ahead for dementia treatment
A scientist looks at scans of grains at the Memory Centre at the Department of Readaptation and Geriatrics of the University Hospital (HUG) in Geneva, Switzerland, on June 6, 2023.
Still plenty to fight for, says Japan’s team leader at worlds
Race walker Hayato Katsuki earned bronze for Japan on the opening day of the World Athletics Championships on Saturday.
Wealthy foreign nationals picking up ultimate souvenir — a condo in Tokyo
A high-end property in the fashionable Daikanyama district in Tokyo
Japanese athletes inspired by raucous home fans at World Athletics Championships
Fans cheer on the home favorites during the women's marathon at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo on Sunday.
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.

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

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

We are pleased to announce the winners of the 6th annual Sustainable Japan Award.
We are pleased to announce the winners of the 6th annual Sustainable Japan Award.

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