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July 11, 2026
 

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DEFENSE

The Shield AI booth at the Singapore Airshow at Changi Exhibition Center in Singapore on Tuesday
BUSINESS / Tech
Feb 5, 2026
U.S. drone-makers debut at Singapore Airshow eyeing Asia sales amid China threat
The companies believe their early battlefield experience and initial Pentagon backing prove they can deliver the systems needed ‌as China builds its presence in the region.
Then-U.S. President Barack Obama (left) and his Russian counterpart at the time, Dmitry Medvedev, sign the New START arms control treaty at Prague Castle in Prague on April 8, 2010. The treaty has expired.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 5, 2026
Russia says lapse of arms treaty with U.S. means no more nuclear limits
Moscow says Washington has not responded to Russian President ‍Vladimir Putin’s proposal ⁠to keep observing the missile and warhead limits for another 12 months.
DF-41 nuclear-capable intercontinental ballistic missiles are paraded in Beijing's Tiananmen Square in October 2019. Some analysts and even lawmakers are urging Japan and other countries to consider developing their own nuclear weapons.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 5, 2026
The unthinkable is on the list of Japanese security options
In the 2016 campaign, then-candidate Trump suggested that both Japan and South Korea should consider the acquisition of nuclear weapons to counter the North Korean threat.
Nihon Hidankyo executives release the results of a survey conducted on lawmakers, during a news conference in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 4, 2026
117 lawmakers say Japan should join nuclear ban treaty, survey shows
The atomic bomb survivor group said that only 20% of members of parliament responded to the survey.
Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te speaks at a news conference in Taipei on Tuesday. A counterproposal that would slash Lai's eight-year, special defense budget request by almost 70% has raised concerns with the Defense Ministry and prompted dismay in Washington.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
Feb 4, 2026
Taiwan military capabilities in jeopardy as defense budget row deepens
The dispute over a bill that would slash by 70% a DPP-backed defense spending request has prompted unease in both Taipei and Washington.
A Pakistan Air Force JF-17 Thunder fighter jet
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Feb 3, 2026
Pakistan faces crunch as demand for China-developed jets surges
In the past month, Iraq, Bangladesh and Indonesia have expressed interest in acquiring the JF-17 Thunder, as have Saudi Arabia and Libya.
U.S. President Donald Trump meets with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz at the White House in August.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 3, 2026
Appeasing Trump only invites betrayal — as Europe’s far right just learned
The Europeans have misunderstood who they are dealing with. Trump does not want willing cooperation. He wants painfully extracted submission.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi takes office as Europe grows disillusioned with U.S. leadership, forcing Japan to navigate a fracturing global order while trying to align economic security goals with partners moving in increasingly divergent directions.
COMMENTARY / World / Geoeconomic Briefing
Feb 2, 2026
Trump, Takaichi and Japan’s strategic crossroads
Takaichi takes office as the Japan-U.S.-Europe order fractures, forcing Japan to balance economic security goals with allies moving in different directions.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer addresses Chinese and British business delegations at the House of U.K. reception, in Shanghai on Friday.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 2, 2026
Starmer renews U.K. bid to join EU defense fund after rejection
In November, the European Union rejected the British bid for its defense companies to be able to benefit from the fund.
A Ukrainian officer watches as an SS-24 nuclear missile booster is removed from its bunker at a military base in Pervomaisk in southern Ukraine in September 1998 as part of the dismantling of the country’s remaining SS-24 missiles under the START I treaty.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 1, 2026
Goodbye arms control, hello nuclear anarchy
This marks the first time since the iciest days of the Cold War when no formal arms-control regime will limit the two atomic superpowers.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi during a meeting at the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo on Saturday
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 1, 2026
Britain and Japan agree to deepen defense and security cooperation
Starmer arrived in Tokyo after a four-day visit in China, where he followed in the footsteps of other Western leaders looking to counter an increasingly volatile United States.
Russian President Vladimir Putin visits the National Defense Control Center to oversee the test of a Russian hypersonic missile system called Avangard, which can carry nuclear and conventional warheads, in Moscow in December 2018.
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Feb 1, 2026
Barring last-minute nuclear deal, U.S. and Russia teeter on brink of new arms race
Meanwhile, China’s arsenal is growing, unchecked by agreements between Washington and Moscow.
Pierre Gramegna, managing director of the European Stability Mechanism, speaks during a meeting between EU finance ministers and heads of central banks, in Stockholm in April 2023.
WORLD
Feb 1, 2026
European crisis fund worth over $500 billion could be used for defense
U.S. President ‍Donald Trump’s open hostility towards Europe is forcing its political leaders to scour for alternative means of defending the region against Russian aggression.
A China Coast Guard vessel sails near a Japan Coast Guard vessel around a group of disputed islands called the Senkaku Islands in Japan, and known in China as Diaoyu Islands, on Sep.14.
JAPAN
Jan 30, 2026
China coast guard patrolled Japan-held islands almost daily last year
China’s coast guard patrolled the islands for 357 days last year, coast guard ‌head Zhang Jianming said.
The island of Diego Garcia. British ministers are trying to establish whether the U.S. administration intends to veto a deal with Mauritius over the Chagos Islands, according to a person familiar with the matter.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 29, 2026
U.K. examines whether Trump can derail Chagos deal after U.S. reversal
The U.S. president supported the agreement last year, but last week called it an “act of total weakness” and “great stupidity.”
A billboard threatening action against American warships in Enghelab Square in Tehran on Tuesday
WORLD / Politics
Jan 29, 2026
Trump weighs Iran strikes to inspire renewed protests, sources say
The U.S. president wanted to create conditions for “regime change,” in Iran after a crackdown crushed a nationwide protest movement earlier this month, two sources said.
China’s DeepSeek received extensive technical assistance from Nvidia as a legitimate commercial partner hone artificial intelligence models that were later used by the Chinese military, it has been revealed.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jan 29, 2026
Nvidia helped DeepSeek hone AI models later used by China’s military
When Nvidia provided DeepSeek help, there was no public indication that its technology was ​being used ‌by the Chinese military, U.S. lawmaker John Moolenaar says.
British and Japanese flags are displayed ahead of a welcome ceremony as the HMS Prince of Wales, flagship of the U.K. Carrier Strike Group, arrives at Tokyo International Cruise Terminal in August.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 29, 2026
Time for a revamped Japan-U.K. strategic architecture
Pax Americana imposed order through dominance. The system that succeeds it will not be hegemonic but networked — a lattice of partners capable of collective action.
U.S. Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Elbridge Colby exchanged views on the regional security environment with Vice Foreign Minister Takehiro Funakoshi in Tokyo on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 29, 2026
Top U.S. and Japan officials discuss reinforcing military alliance
U.S. Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Elbridge Colby exchanged views on the regional security environment with Vice Foreign Minister Takehiro Funakoshi.
The Maritime Self-Defense Force's diesel-electric-powered Uzushio submarine sails during an international fleet review to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the MSDF's founding, in Sagami Bay, off Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, in November 2022.
JAPAN / ANALYSIS
Jan 28, 2026
Japan is considering nuclear subs. But are they worth the costs?
The strategic role that the vessels would play remains unclear, with questions brewing about Japan’s ability to deploy these boats between the late 2020s and early 2030s.
China’s demand for Soviet-style apartments shows limits to revival
Apartments built during a Soviet Union-inspired construction drive in the 1970s and 1980s tend to suffer from poor insulation and outdated plumbing, but they are seeing a revival in interest due to their attractive locations.
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.
Lenders seek $700 million after Japanese payments firm’s collapse
The financial failure of Osaka-based Zentoshin has left 63 creditors with claims totaling ¥115.16 billion, according to Tokyo Shoko Research.
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.
World’s first fully sealed vertical-farming facility opens in Tokyo
Fully sealed units are stacked on top of each other at Plantx's vertical-farming facility in Tokyo's Koto Ward on Wednesday.
Over 70% of accommodations in Japan say they are understaffed amid tourism influx
The number of foreign visitors to Japan reached a high of 42.68 million in 2025.
‘Princess Mononoke’ comes alive in Super Kabuki staging
The “Princess Mononoke” adaptation was created under Shochiku’s Super Kabuki initiative, a modern form of kabuki with more technology in staging and open to pop culture collaborations.
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.

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
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