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July 11, 2026
 

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DEFENSE

Cars destroyed by a late evening Russian drone strike in Dnipro, Ukraine, on Wednesday
WORLD
Jan 8, 2026
Zelenskyy seeks new Trump meeting as peace negotiators tackle land issue
Kyiv is under U.S. pressure to secure peace but wants security guarantees from allies and is pushing back on Russian demands ​to cede its eastern Donetsk region.
China has banned the export of dual-use products to Japan following remarks about Taiwan by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 7, 2026
China’s dual-use export ban on Japan a decisive escalation
Established trade flows are at risk if the restrictions are fully implemented.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi speaks during a ceremony marking the last trading day of the year at the Tokyo Stock Exchange on Dec. 30.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 7, 2026
Takaichi’s political landscape for 2026
Unlike her predecessors who were consistently forced to address turmoil over the past two years, Prime Minister Takaichi will have time and capital to tackle real policy issues.
U.S. and Japanese officials inspect a Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) missile interceptor at the Ministry of Defense in Tokyo on Feb. 7, 2018.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 7, 2026
Lockheed strikes deal with Pentagon to triple output of Patriot missiles
The framework agreement clears the way for talks over a contract to increase production of the most advanced variant from about 600 missiles a year to 2,000.
An aerosol drone in Beijing. China’s catalogue of dual-use goods includes drones, nuclear materials and facilities, aerospace engine components and specialist alloys.
ASIA PACIFIC
Jan 6, 2026
China slaps export controls on Japan military for Taiwan remarks
All dual-use items are banned from being exported to Japan for military use effective immediately, China’s Ministry of Commerce said Tuesday.
Rusting anti-invasion barricades on Taiwan’s Lieyu Island, Kinmen County, sit across from the city of Xiamen on China’s southeastern coast, one of the closest points between the two sides, in September 2015.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 6, 2026
Trump’s Venezuela coup, Taiwan and lessons for China
Even if unification is successful, “China would have gained Taiwan but sacrificed its larger ambition of becoming a global superpower.”
Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan leader Yoshihiko Noda speaks during a news conference in Ise, Mie Prefecture, on Sunday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 5, 2026
CDP to issue new perspective on Japan’s security legislation
The party may consider reviewing a clause in its basic policy platform that calls for abolishing what it claims are unconstitutional parts of the legislation enacted in 2015.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi speaks during a news conference at the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo on Dec. 17.
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 4, 2026
Takaichi avoids criticizing U.S. removal of Venezuela’s Maduro
Some Japanese officials, including ex-defense chief Itsunori Onodera, voiced concern over the U.S. toppling of President Nicolas Maduro — and the precedent it could set for China.
Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi speaks to reporters at the Defense Ministry in Tokyo on Sunday following North Korea's launch of at least two ballistic missiles.
JAPAN
Jan 4, 2026
North Korea launches multiple missiles in first tests of 2026
Tokyo said the missiles flew on “irregular trajectories,” traveling 900 and 950 km, respectively — a distance that puts a large section of southern Japan within striking distance.
A destroyed anti-aircraft unit at La Carlota military airbase in Caracas is seen after U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. struck the country and captured President Nicolas Maduro on Saturday.
WORLD / FOCUS
Jan 4, 2026
Mock house, CIA source and special forces: The U.S. operation to capture Maduro
The action came as a surprise, but planning for one of the most complex U.S. operations in recent memory had been in the works for months and included detailed rehearsals.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi speaks to reporters after a phone call with U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday at the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo.
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 2, 2026
In call, Takaichi and Trump agree to work toward spring visit to U.S.
The Japanese leader avoided a clear answer to a question about whether China’s large-scale military exercises around Taiwan earlier this week had been broached during the talks.
This screenshot from undated video footage released on Tuesday shows a Chinese launcher firing rockets at an undisclosed location during military exercises surrounding Taiwan.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jan 2, 2026
U.S. urges China to halt military pressure on Taiwan, days after Japan and others
A State Department spokesman said China’s military activities and rhetoric toward Taiwan and others in the region “increase tensions unnecessarily.”
Chinese leader Xi Jinping, accompanied by his wife, Peng Liyuan, meets with his North Korean and Russian counterparts, Kim Jong Un and Vladimir Putin, during the military parade marking the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II in Beijing in September.  
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 2, 2026
Buckle up for a volatile year of Trump-Xi, Taiwan and Kim
Asia in 2026 is not on the brink of war. But the region will be more volatile than it has been in recent memory.
Chinese ground forces conduct long-range live-fire drills targeting waters south of Taiwan, at an undisclosed location in this screenshot from a video released Tuesday.
JAPAN
Dec 31, 2025
Japan says Chinese military exercises around Taiwan ‘increase tensions’
Tokyo joined Australia and several European nations in conveying concern to Beijing over the large-scale drills as Taipei remained on high alert. 
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi shakes hands with Chinese leader Xi Jinping during a meeting on the sidelines of an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum meeting in South Korea on Oct. 31.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Dec 31, 2025
Dangerous new equilibrium awaits Japan-China ties in 2026
The deterioration of ties after Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s remarks on a possible Japanese military intervention in a Taiwan crisis will test both Tokyo and Beijing’s resolve.
Chinese soldiers fire rockets during military drills on Pingtan Island, in eastern China's Fujian province — the closest point to Taiwan — on Tuesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 30, 2025
China fires rockets during military exercises simulating Taiwan blockade
The Chinese military held a second day of large-scale exercises on Tuesday focused on isolating the democratic island and deterring aid from Taipei’s partners.
Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force amphibious troops take part in a military drill observed by U.S. Marines on the uninhabited island of Irisuna near Okinawa in November 2023. Such exercises highlight Japan’s growing military focus, even as public understanding lags in what can be called the country’s “security autism.” 
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 30, 2025
Memo to liberal democracies: Beware ‘security autism’
Japan’s variant is different but equally dangerous, a society so fragmented in its security perceptions that it cannot form coherent responses to existential threats.
Sanae Takaichi addresses reporters at a news conference in Tokyo soon after she was elected the new leader of the Liberal Democratic Party in October. Recent incidents raise questions about how public discourse and democratic debate are affected when off-the-record rules are unclear or breached.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 30, 2025
What exactly does ‘off the record’ mean in Japan?
“Off the record” should be a tool for protecting sources, not a tool for maintaining cozy relations with those in power.
Filipino and Australian soldiers during the opening ceremony marking the start of a multinational military exercise, at a military base in Palawan, Philippines, on Aug. 15. Formal mutual defense treaties with Japan, Australia, New Zealand, the Philippines, and South Korea are still in force, but relations between the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump and the governments of Asia’s democracies are a far cry from what one typically finds between long-standing allies.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 29, 2025
Asia adrift, Asia alone
Relations between the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump and the governments of Asia’s democracies are a far cry from that typically found between long-standing allies.
A woman works at a noodle store in Taipei on Monday near a television screen showing a news report on China's "Justice Mission 2025" military drills around the self-ruled island.
ASIA PACIFIC
Dec 29, 2025
China announces ‘major’ military exercises around Taiwan
The large-scale drills are the first since Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s remarks that Japan could intervene militarily in a crisis over the democratic island.
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.
‘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.
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.

Podcast

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

Longform

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