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July 12, 2026
 

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DEFENSE

The Iran war, like the Russia‑Ukraine war, shows how low‑cost unmanned weapons can overwhelm expensive defense systems.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 27, 2026
What Tokyo can learn from Kyiv’s war experience
The Iran war, like the Russia‑Ukraine war, shows low‑cost unmanned weapons can overwhelm expensive defense systems.
Military vehicles carrying intercontinental ballistic missiles drive past Tiananmen Square during a military parade in Beijing in 2019.
WORLD
Mar 27, 2026
States deploying more nuclear weapons, monitor warns
Nearly all of the nine nuclear-armed states have begun increasing their arsenals or have announced plans to do so, a report found.
Tanker trucks line up at an oil terminal in Yokohama earlier this month amid surging oil prices due to the Iran conflict.
EDITORIALS
Mar 27, 2026
Iran war exposes the global economy’s vulnerability
Oil is the Achilles heel of the global economy. Skyrocketing gasoline prices get considerable attention with good reason, but their real impact is more extensive than imagined.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte meet in London earlier this month. Ukraine is struggling to secure funds from NATO allies to purchase U.S. weapons.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 26, 2026
Ukraine struggles to find more NATO donors to pay for U.S. weapons
Currently, a small handful of countries are paying for the bulk of the weapons, and the U.K. is the only contributor that has recently joined the fold.
The Finance Ministry projected in December that revenue from tobacco tax increases would total ¥44 billion for the 2026 fiscal year and ¥116 billion in 2027.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Mar 26, 2026
Tobacco and corporate tax hikes to help finance defense expansion
The new taxes are being introduced as the government is looking to secure over ¥9 trillion in defense spending for the 2026 fiscal year, reaching 2% of GDP.
Taiwan Defense Minister Wellington Koo visits the United States pavilion during the Taipei Aerospace and Defense Technology Exhibition in Taipei on Sept.18.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 26, 2026
Taiwan says next U.S. arms purchase is on track after guarantee
The development comes as as the U.S. and Chinese leaders prepare to ‌meet in ‌May.
Japan’s tonal shift about China is likely less a dramatic shift in Tokyo’s approach to Beijing, and more of a reflection of both long-standing policy trends and a response to recent flare-ups.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Mar 26, 2026
Japan’s change of China’s description is not a ‘significant shift’
Tokyo’s adjusted phrasing is likely more a reflection of both long-standing policy trends and a response to recent flare-ups.
Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi. The Defense Ministry plans to deploy the current model HVGP domestically next week.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 26, 2026
U.S. approves support for Japan’s development of upgraded HVGP missiles
HVGPs are launched from the ground, travel at supersonic speeds from high altitudes and fly in irregular trajectories, making them difficult to intercept.
Taiwanese sailors prepare the ROCS Chang Chien ahead of National Day celebrations in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, in October 2021. Japan’s growing military and technological support is also a boost to the island's security.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 26, 2026
What the war in Iran means for Japan and Indo-Pacific security
Japan’s technological and industrial strategy is becoming a cornerstone of Taiwan’s security environment.
A photo provided by the U.S. Central Command shows LUCAS drones, made by SpektreWorks. After years of criticism and financial risk, Palantir, Anthropic and small startups are generating rewards from their investments in defense tech.
BUSINESS / Tech
Mar 26, 2026
Tech startups’ role in U.S.-Israeli war on Iran shows changing shape of conflict
For the first time, military-industrial pillars like Lockheed Martin and Boeing are being joined by rising technology giants Palantir, Anthropic and Anduril.
Maritime Self-Defense Force Enoshima-class minesweepers Chichijima and Enoshima. Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has said that the possibility of dispatching the SDF to the Strait of Hormuz for a minesweeping mission will be examined in the future.
JAPAN
Mar 25, 2026
Japan to consider SDF minesweepers for Hormuz depending on situation
Whether to dispatch SDF minesweepers “has to be decided depending on the situation at that time and based on law,” Takaichi said.
An oil tanker anchors off Muscat, Oman, on March 7, as regional tensions amid the U.S.-Israeli-Iran conflict have virtually closed off the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway.
COMMENTARY / Japan / Geoeconomic Briefing
Mar 25, 2026
War in the Persian Gulf means volatility in the global energy market
Japanese companies have long assumed a stable future energy supply. That assumption is no longer secure.
Japan’s response to Chinese economic coercion shows other democracies that resilience requires diversifying supply chains, strengthening domestic capabilities and aligning economic policy with national security.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 25, 2026
The West should learn from Japan how to stand up to China
Trade policy and national security are no longer mutually exclusive. We live in an age where they are increasingly interconnected.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi attends the House of Councilors plenary session at parliament on Monday.
JAPAN
Mar 25, 2026
Japan to designate more underground emergency shelters
The government wants to make maximum use of underground spaces, which are safer, to protect people in case of military attacks.
The Iran war has exposed the limits of the “protection for sale” system that has defined Gulf geopolitics for decades.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 24, 2026
Iran conflict reveals cracks in U.S.-backed deterrence
No amount of foreign weaponry can substitute for a stable regional order built on cooperation, interdependence and rational economic incentives.
Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi speaks during a news conference at parliament in Tokyo on March 13.
JAPAN
Mar 24, 2026
Japan again denies U.S. official’s claim Takaichi pledged to send MSDF to Mideast
Japan’s defense minister denied the claim by U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Mike Waltz that Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi had committed to sending vessels to the region.
A nuclear-powered Type 094A Jin-class ballistic missile submarine of the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy in waters during a military display in the South China Sea in April 2018.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 24, 2026
China is mapping the ocean floor as it prepares for submarine warfare with the U.S.
Beijing has been monitoring operation across the Pacific, Indian and Arctic oceans.
Donald Trump's decades-long unchanging foreign policy approach, combined with erratic behavior, has amplified risks and confusion in U.S. dealings with Russia, Iran and the wider world.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 24, 2026
We’re all trapped in Trump’s 1980s worldview
Current events provide a vivid example of how Trump’s failure to evolve distorts policy making.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's government approved a draft revision to the drone law at a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday.
JAPAN
Mar 24, 2026
Government approves bill to expand no-fly zones for drones in Japan
While the designated no-fly zones have not changed since the law entered into force in 2016, drones’ maximum speeds, ranges and load capacities have drastically improved.
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius and Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi shake hands at the end of their joint press statement at the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force naval base in Yokosuka, south of Tokyo on Sunday.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 23, 2026
Germany steps up Indo-Pacific push, eyeing visiting-forces pact with Japan
Germany and Japan, both U.S. allies, have embraced the argument that the security of Europe is “inseparable” from that of the Indo-Pacific region.
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 scientists identify neural mechanism that may explain why we dislike people
The aggressive mouse (left) used in the experiment and a mouse defending itself
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.
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.
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.
Japan’s largest exhibition of women photographers rights a wrong in cultural history
Miwa Yanagi’s “Elevator Girl House” series skewers the superficiality of gender roles through staged images.
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.

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
By Alex K.T. Martin

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