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July 05, 2026
 

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DEFENSE

Japan’s pacifist identity, rooted in Article 9 of the Constitution, has hardened into a reflex that avoids confronting modern security realities facing the world.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 22, 2026
Repeating Article 9 like a mantra isn’t a foreign policy
Any serious defense debate becomes, by rhetorical sleight of hand, a warning of imperial revival.
The Pentagon published a ​joint statement on Friday that said ​the U.S. and its allies had ‌agreed to set up a new program to produce solid rocket motors — the propulsion systems used in many guided weapons — with Japan taking the lead.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 21, 2026
U.S. and allies move to build missiles and drones closer to Asia’s flashpoints
A U.S.-led defense manufacturing partnership said ​it had ‌agreed to set up a new program to produce solid rocket motors, with Japan taking the lead.
An Iranian missile with cluster munitions flies over Jerusalem on Friday.
WORLD / EXPLAINER
Mar 21, 2026
How hard would it be to stop Iran’s missile threat?
Neutralizing Iran’s missile and drone capabilities is a crucial war aim for both the U.S. and Israel, but that may prove very difficult.
Ukrainian Ambassador to Japan Yurii Lutovinov speaks during an interview at the Ukrainian Embassy in Tokyo on Thursday.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 20, 2026
Ukraine ready to share combat expertise and drone tech with Japan, ambassador says
Discussions on defense cooperation are already underway, with a focus on how Kyiv’s experience could inform Tokyo’s own efforts to develop its capabilities.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi meets with U.S. President Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on Thursday.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Mar 20, 2026
At summit, Takaichi avoids rift with Trump on Iran — for now
While Japan managed to dodge direct U.S. criticism, experts say the meeting’s success should not be overstated.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi attends a dinner with U.S. President Donald Trump in the White House's State Dining Room on Thursday.
EDITORIALS
Mar 20, 2026
Prime Minister Takaichi outperforms again
Prime Minister Takaichi deserves praise for her performance in this difficult moment. She continues to impress and surprise.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi addresses a news conference at the Liberal Democratic Party’s headquarters in Tokyo on Feb. 9, a day after her party's landslide Lower House election victory.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 20, 2026
Memo to Takaichi: Reject the temptations of populism
The year 2026 has crystallized a geopolitical landscape defined by nationalist leadership.
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.
‘My dream is broken’: Japan visa rules push out foreign residents
A man orders from a kebab shop in the Okubo district in Tokyo.
Japan plans to sharply raise fees for residence permits from October
Foreign tourists walk on the path leading to the Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto in May.
Japan’s princesses face life-altering legal revisions
Princess Aiko, the daughter of Emperor Naruhito, said in a 2022 news conference upon coming of age that she hopes to “spend a long time together” with her parents.
Japanese police arrest nine over Sierra Leone-based special fraud
Japanese police have arrested nine individuals for their alleged involvement in a special fraud case using Sierra Leone as a base.
Japanese-language education is at a turning point
The country is gradually transforming Japanese-language education from a volunteer-driven system into a professional, government-supported network to better serve its growing foreign population. 
Japan plans to sharply raise fees for residence permits from October
Foreign tourists walk on the path leading to the Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto in May.
X Games returns to Chiba with new team format
Skateboarder Sora Shirai practices at Makuhari Messe in Chiba on Friday afternoon. X Games Chiba begins on Saturday.
NU Festival tests Takanawa Gateway City complex’s culture cred
Veteran improvisers Kazuo Imai and Atsuhiro Ito brought some unruly energy to NU Festival, a three-day multimedia event held at the Takanawa Gateway City complex.  
Japan’s princesses face life-altering legal revisions
Princess Aiko, the daughter of Emperor Naruhito, said in a 2022 news conference upon coming of age that she hopes to “spend a long time together” with her parents.
Six of the best: rikishi of note in each sumo division
Kazuma (right) faces off against future <i>yokozuna</i> Onosato during the All Japan Amateur Sumo Championships at the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo in December 2020.

Podcast

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

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The Terasaka Rice Terraces are seen with Mount Buko in the background.
What Yokoze can teach Japan about rural revival
By Alex K.T. Martin

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