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July 08, 2026
 

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CHINA

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi holds talks with U.S. President Donald Trump in Tokyo on Oct. 28. Japan can no longer rely on the U.S. because American leaders are now seeing the alliance through cost and convenience rather than shared history.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 13, 2026
Japan can no longer afford strategic confusion
While Japan’s central challenge is often framed in terms of China’s rise, that is only part of the story.
Demonstrators hold a banner reading "No to imperial interventionism!" during a march in Mexico City on Jan. 10 in support of deposed Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro and against a possible U.S. intervention in Mexico.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 13, 2026
The U.S. sphere of influence is bigger than it looks
While this shows a big shift in U.S. cultural priorities, there isn’t a whiff of willingness to leave Russia or particularly China alone in their own spheres of influence.
A Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. facility under construction in Phoenix on Oct. 17.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jan 13, 2026
Trump team nears Taiwan trade deal with more U.S. chip investment
Under the deal taking shape, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. would pledge to build at least four more chip manufacturing plants in Arizona, one source said.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks with members of the media aboard Air Force One en route from Florida to Joint Base Andrews, in Maryland, on Sunday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 13, 2026
Trump vows 25% tariff on goods from Iran ‘business’ partners
The action has the potential to disrupt major U.S. trading relationships across the globe, including large economies such as India, Turkey and China.
Nexperia’s headquarters in Nijmegen, Netherlands. The Dutch chipmaker is at the center of a fight over technology with China.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jan 12, 2026
Europe and China’s feud over chips is reaching a breaking point
Since a Dutch court intervened in chipmaker Nexperia’s ownership in October, the standoff with China has threatened to disrupt auto production in Europe and around the world.
Japan's drilling-equipped research vessel Chikyu departs from Shimizu port in Shizuoka Prefecture on Monday to conduct a test recovery of mineral-rich mud near Minamitori Island, marking the world’s first attempt to continuously lift rare earth seabed sludge from a depth of about 6 kilometers onto a ship.
JAPAN
Jan 12, 2026
Japan sets sail on rare earth hunt as China tightens supply
A mining ship has departed for a remote coral atoll to probe mud rich in critical minerals — 6 kilometers deep on the seabed.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney (left) met Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in late October, the first sign of warming ties following a series of diplomatic spats between Ottowa and Beijing in recent years.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 12, 2026
Carney’s visit to Beijing could reset Canada-China ties
The Canadian prime minister and Chinese President Xi Jinping will likely try to dial down trade tensions between their two countries, which are heavily targeted by U.S. tariffs.
China is the world’s dominant supplier of rare earths, helping Beijing last year counter punitive tariffs from the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump by restricting their export.
JAPAN
Jan 12, 2026
U.S. to host meeting on rare earths as China-Japan tensions simmer
Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama has said she would meet with counterparts from other industrialized democracies to discuss the rare earths during a trip to the U.S.
People visit a bookstore in Beijing on Dec. 18.
ASIA PACIFIC
Jan 12, 2026
Novel concept: China’s spellbinding bookstores draw selfie snappers
While physical book sales have failed to bounce back in postpandemic China, some bookstores have become tourist hot spots for their photo opportunities.
Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te holds a news conference at the Presidential Office in Taipei in November.
ASIA PACIFIC / ANALYSIS
Jan 12, 2026
Venezuela-style strike on Taiwan’s leader could prove tricky for China
Taiwan has prepared for years against a “decapitation operation,” has extensive defenses and radar, and would likely receive support from the U.S. in the event of a conflict.
Media members wait inside the crowd control barriers outside the West Kowloon Magistrates’ Courts building for the mitigation in the national security collusion trial of Jimmy Lai, founder of the now-defunct pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily, in Hong Kong on Monday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jan 12, 2026
Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai’s mitigation hearing set to begin ahead of sentencing
The landmark national security trial ​has drawn international condemnation and could see Lai jailed for life.
A cargo ship is seen at the Kwai Tsing Container Terminals in Hong Kong last April. China appears to be quietly contemplating an unconventional approach to rapidly boosting its naval power — transforming its vast commercial shipping fleet into an armada of makeshift warships.
ASIA PACIFIC / ANALYSIS
Jan 12, 2026
Civilian or military? China turns to merchant fleet to boost military power.
In one example, a midsize cargo ship appeared to be fitted with advanced tech, including containerized missile launchers and a system for launching large drones.
Captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro is escorted toward the Daniel Patrick Moynihan United States Courthouse in Manhattan for an initial appearance to face U.S. federal charges including narco-terrorism, conspiracy, drug trafficking, money laundering and others, at Downtown Manhattan Heliport, in New York on Jan. 5.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Jan 12, 2026
With Venezuela raid, U.S. tells China to keep away from the Americas
China’s progress in Latin America — from satellite tracking stations in Argentina to a port in Peru — has been an irritant for U.S. leaders.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will urge Group of Seven and other nations to reduce reliance on Chinese critical minerals when the bloc meets on Monday.
WORLD
Jan 11, 2026
U.S. to push for quicker action in reducing reliance on China for rare earths
Aside from Japan, which took action after China abruptly cut off its ​critical minerals supplies in ‌2010, G7 members remain heavily dependent on critical minerals from China.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, in October in Gyeongju, South Korea
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Jan 11, 2026
Takaichi and Lee set for talks on cementing ties as China-Japan dispute simmers
Despite a stated goal of strengthening ties between Tokyo and Seoul, the meeting comes in the looming shadow of the ongoing row with Beijing.
The Bayan Obo rare-earth mine in Inner Mongolia. China cutting off rare-earth exports to Japan over the Taiwan issue will have a limited impact because Japan and other countries have diversified supplies and taken steps to weaken Beijing’s long-term leverage.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 11, 2026
China is overplaying its rare-earth hand in Japan
While China produces about 80% of the world’s neodymium magnets, Japan on its own manufactures about half of the remainder.
A mine containing rare earth minerals in China's Inner Mongolia province.
JAPAN
Jan 10, 2026
Japan seeks support as fears rise over China’s rare earth grip
Tensions have continued to rise between Asia’s two biggest economies, dragging out a dispute that began in early November.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi speaks during a news conference at the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo on Dec. 17.
JAPAN
Jan 10, 2026
China widens attack on Japan nuclear ‘threats’ as ties sour
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has said her government abides by the principles, but hasn’t been clear on whether that commitment will remain unchanged.
In a government survey released on Friday, 68% of 1,534 respondents pointed to advances in ​Chinese military technology and its activities close to ‍Japan and in ⁠the South China Sea as their ‍top security worry, up from 61% when the poll was last conducted three years ago.
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 9, 2026
China tops Japanese public’s security worries in latest government poll
Beijing’s growing military power is now the leading security concern, overtaking the threat posed by North Korean nuclear missiles.
Economy, trade and industry minister Ryosei Akazawa said that Japan would respond firmly but calmly to China’s dual-use item trade threats.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 9, 2026
China blinks again following dual-use export threat earlier in the week
For a second day running, it signaled that the restrictions are not meant to upend trade.
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.
Prior to launch, Japan ‘strongly urged’ China to reconsider missile test in Pacific
A missile is fired from a Chinese Navy nuclear-powered submarine on Monday.
Suspected Asian fraud ring exec served fresh warrant in Japan
The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department and Osaka Prefectural Police have issued arrest warrants for three people, including a suspected fraud network leader, over alleged immigration and residency violations.
Japan might be giving the currency market the silent treatment
Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama has issued verbal warnings recently using the same language and the same tone, saying authorities “will take appropriate action at any time, as necessary.”
Japanese teen arrested for booting users off streaming service
The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department has arrested a 15-year-old boy for allegedly creating a malicious program and canceling subscription accounts on the Bandai Channel.
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.
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.
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.
‘Defense,’ not ‘warfare,’ stressed as pacifist Japan beefs up capabilities
Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi attends an annual training session near Mount Fuji at Higashifuji Training Field in Gotemba, Shizuoka Prefecture, on June 7.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
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The Terasaka Rice Terraces are seen with Mount Buko in the background.
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