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July 10, 2026
 

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DEFENSE

South Korea, the U.S. and Japan take part in joint naval missile defense exercises in international waters between the Korean Peninsula and Japan in April 2023. U.S. President Donald Trump asked South Korea and other allies to send warships to the Strait of Hormuz to protect commercial shipping.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 20, 2026
South Korea Is learning the hard truth about U.S. promises
How the U.S. balances its priorities amid the Iran conflict will reinforce longer-term concerns about its security guarantees.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi departs from Tokyo's Haneda Airport on Wednesday ahead of her summit with U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 19, 2026
Japan rejects U.S. report calling PM’s remarks over Taiwan ‘a significant shift’
The U.S. spy community’s assessment of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s comments on Japan’s military intervention in a crisis over the island was at odds with Tokyo’s view.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi heads to attend a Lower House Budget Committee meeting at parliament in Tokyo on Wednesday.
JAPAN
Mar 18, 2026
Takaichi vows to tell Trump what Japan ‘can and cannot do’ in Middle East
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi was set for a summit in Washington with U.S. President Donald Trump later this week that will be a test of her mettle amid the war in Iran.
A standard pick-up truck is mounted with a launching system for eight Cobra-3120 loitering munitions.
ASIA PACIFIC / FOCUS
Mar 18, 2026
Battlefield demand turning Taiwan into drone manufacturing hub
Taiwan’s domestic drone industry is evolving from a largely experimental sector into a burgeoning supplier of the technology — even delivering systems to war-torn Ukraine.
The private rocket company LandSpace's factory in Huzhou, China, on Dec. 17. China’s Military-Civil Fusion strategy integrates civilian and military capabilities, including space technologies.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 18, 2026
Take the China technology challenge seriously
China seeks to engage the rest of the world “to raise and strengthen its position within global technology ecosystems and markets.”
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi answers questions at an Upper House Budget Committee meeting in Tokyo on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 17, 2026
Takaichi weighs options as Trump pressures Japan on Hormuz
One option for Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi could be to formally endorse a coalition of like-minded nations aimed at ensuring freedom of navigation in the strait.
Taiwan Defense Minister Wellington Koo (left) inspects reservists during a training session in Yilan, Taiwan, in December. Koo has said that Taiwan's government is coordinating closely with the U.S. regarding a planned arms purchase as U.S. President Donald Trump seeks to delay a long-anticipated China trip.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 17, 2026
Sale of second U.S. arms package believed to be on schedule, says Taiwan
Allies and partners have been watching with concern how the shifting of U.S. forces to the Middle East could impact U.S. readiness to deal with incidents in East Asia.
U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Group of 20 summit in Osaka in 2019.
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Mar 17, 2026
Trump call for Chinese warships hits sensitive topic for Xi
Analysts see a rare strategic opening to construct a world order more suited to China’s interests as the rules-based system built by the U.S. after World War II is upended.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi speaks during an Upper House Budget Committee meeting on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 16, 2026
Takaichi says no current plan to deploy SDF for Hormuz escort mission
The prime minister said such an operation would be legally “very difficult,” adding that Japan had not been asked to join a coalition to help secure vessels in the waterway.
Peter Thiel speaks on the final day of the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Ohio, on July 21, 2016. Thiel, an early supporter of U.S. President Donald Trump, has been exploring the concept of the Antichrist in recent years.
WORLD
Mar 16, 2026
Peter Thiel’s secretive Rome conference draws Catholic Church attention
The co-founder of artificial intelligence software firm Palantir has devoted increasing attention to religious and philosophical ideas in recent years.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi during a Lower House budget committee session last week
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 15, 2026
Tough debate ahead for Japan national intelligence council bill
The government believes that the current security environment is the most severe and complex since the end of World War II.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un presided over a drill involving 12 600mm-caliber multiple rocket launchers as Washington uses military force against governments it views as hostile.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 15, 2026
North Korea fires missiles in show of force amid U.S. drills
Tensions on the Korean Peninsula come at a volatile moment with Washington using military force against Venezuela and Iran.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi speaks during the National Defense Academy's graduation ceremony in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, on Saturday.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 15, 2026
Trump’s call for Japan to send warships to Strait of Hormuz heaps pressure on Takaichi
The U.S. president’s push for a “team effort” to reopen key waterway comes less than a week before Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is due in Washington for a summit with Trump.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and his daughter Kim Ju Ae observe a cruise missile test launch at an unknown location in North Korea on Tuesday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Mar 14, 2026
North Korea fires off barrage of around 10 ballistic missiles, Seoul says
The weapons traveled about 340 kilometers before landing outside Japan’s exclusive economic zone in the Sea of Japan.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi delivers an address at the graduation ceremony of the National Defense Academy of Japan in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, on Saturday
JAPAN
Mar 14, 2026
Takaichi vows to bolster Japan’s defense capabilities
The prime minister delivered an address at the graduation ceremony of the National Defense Academy of Japan on Saturday.
A U.S. Marine Corps F-35B fighter jet assigned to Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 121, 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, lands aboard the forward-deployed amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli in the Philippine Sea on Feb. 12.
JAPAN
Mar 14, 2026
U.S. sending more than 2,200 Okinawa-based marines to Middle East, reports say
The U.S. military deployment to the region comes as Iran ramps up attacks in the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial artery for oil shipping.
A Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system at a U.S. military base in Seongju on March 5.
ASIA PACIFIC / ANALYSIS
Mar 14, 2026
How the war in Iran could help China and change Asia
The war in Iran is already straining America’s promise of security in a region that U.S. military leaders have called “our priority theater.”
U.S. President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi aboard the USS George Washington aircraft carrier in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, in October last year.
JAPAN
Mar 13, 2026
Japan to join Trump’s Golden Dome project and expects missile requests
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi will announce the latest plan when she meets U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington at a summit on March 19.
An F-35C Lightning II is staged for flight operations on the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, in support of Operation Epic Fury, on March 2.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 13, 2026
U.S. allies near China on edge as weapons shift from Asia to Iran
Even if fighting wraps up soon, there is concern that depleted stockpiles of munitions could take years to replace, leaving Taiwan and other places vulnerable.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and U.S. President Donald Trump speak to sailors and others aboard the aircraft carrier USS George Washington during a visit to the U.S. naval base in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, in late October.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 13, 2026
Takaichi needs a new blueprint for a lasting U.S. alliance
To succeed, Takaichi must deploy a disciplined mix of flattery and hard deliverables, demonstrating to the 47th U.S. president that Tokyo is taking its own security seriously.
Japanese payment processor’s collapse hits banks and restaurants
Zentoshin served around 200,000 shops, many of which rely on early payments to maintain cash flow, raising concerns over their financial stability following the disruption.
Japan needs caregivers. Young Indians are answering the call.
Young people in India's northeast are increasingly studying Japanese in hopes of building new lives and careers in Japan.
Trump says ‘Japan’ instead of Iran at meeting in Ankara
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks at a news conference during a NATO leaders' summit in Ankara on Wednesday.
Wakatakakage injury casts pall over July meet, but potential new stars loom
Nicholas Tarasenko trains at Minato stable in August 2024.
Osaka trumps Tokyo as both ranked among world’s top 10 most livable cities
Osaka’s infrastructure earned higher marks than Tokyo’s in the Economist Intelligence Unit’s latest Global Liveability Index.
The beating heart inside ‘Human Vapor’
Different forms of love and connection form the emotional backbone of Netflix’s “Human Vapor,” says actor Shun Oguri, who plays troubled detective Kenji Okamoto.
Japan bets on character IP to drive global growth
Born on social media platforms in 2022, Opanchu Usagi has become a major hit, especially among Generation Z.
Filmmaker explores history of discrimination against foreign nationals in Japan
Takashi Nishihara, the director of "Now and Then," in Tokyo on Wednesday. The director has spent 10 years traversing politically charged terrain while exploring youth-driven grassroots political movements that scrutinize the status quo.
Okinawa’s prized seaweed under threat as oceans warm
Local harvesters gather <i>mozuku</i> during low tide at Hyakuna Beach in the city of Nanjo, Okinawa Prefecture. As the planet warms, rising ocean temperatures are placing increasing pressure on the seaweed industry.
Japanese nail salons are tourists’ new obsession
Tourists in Japan have always been interested in quintessentially Japanese approaches to modern culture, and, increasingly, visits to nail salons have become the new hot thing.

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