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July 02, 2026
 

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TAIWAN

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi addresses a news conference at her ruling party's headquarters in Tokyo on Monday, a day after the Liberal Democratic Party won a landslide victory in the Lower House election.
EDITORIALS
Feb 13, 2026
After another historic victory, Takaichi takes command
Not only is she the country’s first female prime minister and a symbol of a new Japan, her career also marks a break from traditional politics.
Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Feb 12, 2026
Taiwan leader warns countries in region are ‘next’ in case of China attack
President Lai Ching-te warned in an exclusive interview that countries in the region would be China’s next targets should Beijing seize Taiwan.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s election win is fueling regional backing for Japan to take on a bigger defense role as Asian nations seek balance against China and shifting U.S. policy.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 12, 2026
Most in Asia want a stronger Japanese security presence — except for China
A more confident Tokyo complicates Beijing’s preferred regional order. For many of Asia’s middle powers, that makes Japan an appealing counterweight.
A soldier speaks to Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te in Hsinchu, Taiwan, last July.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Feb 11, 2026
Taiwan says defense budget delay jeopardizes collective deterrence against China
Officials in Taipei say a failure to pass the government’s nearly $40 billion defense budget would “seriously weaken” the island’s defense buildup.
The resounding victory by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's Liberal Democratic Party in Sunday's general election has sent a strong signal that Takaichi is likely to be around for some time, giving her the bandwidth to adhere to her strategy of putting the onus on Chinese President Xi Jinping to reengage with Japan.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Feb 10, 2026
Landslide election victory lets Takaichi confront China on her terms
Undeterred by Beijing’s economic retaliation for Sanae Takaichi’s Taiwan remarks, voters endorsed the prime minister’s unyielding stance on China.
Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference Chairman Wang Huning speaks at the opening session of the conference at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing in March 2025.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Feb 10, 2026
China to support ‘pro-unification forces’ in Taiwan and strike ‘separatists’
China, which views Taiwan as its own territory, has ramped up its military and ‍political pressure against the island as Beijing seeks to assert its sovereignty claims.
A People's Liberation Army Air Force Chengdu J-20S stealth fighter jet. China sent an average of 5.4 aircraft per day across the median line of the Taiwan Strait in January, the lowest number since Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te took office.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Feb 10, 2026
China sends fewer flights near Taiwan in sign of training shift
Beijing sent an average of 5.4 aircraft per day across the median line of the Taiwan Strait in January, the fewest since Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te took office.
Singapore’s stalled birthrate reflects a broader pattern across wealthy Asian economies where higher living standards, shifting values and gender imbalances have made low fertility persistent and resistant to quick policy fixes.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 10, 2026
Why Asia can’t undo decades of falling fertility rates
The challenge is shared by most successful nations. Ultralow fertility is a byproduct of rapid development and elevated living standards.
The Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company's fabrication plant in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, on June 7, 2025
BUSINESS / Tech
Feb 10, 2026
Taiwan says ‘impossible’ to move 40% chip capacity to U.S.
Taiwan is a powerhouse in producing chips — a critical component in the global economy — but the White House wants more of the technology made in America.
U.S. President Donald Trump, accompanied by U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, addresses the media in the Oval Office on Sept. 5, the day he signed an executive order to rename the Department of Defense the Department of War.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 9, 2026
Trump has killed American deterrence
Trump has shown countless times that he cannot keep promises. His reversals on TikTok, tariffs and Ukraine demonstrate that his commitments have the lifespan of a mayfly.
Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks pitcher Livan Moinelo was named to Cuba's team for the World Baseball Classic.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / NPB NOTEBOOK
Feb 9, 2026
Japan will not be only team with NPB talent at World Baseball Classic
Though Samurai Japan will have a good roster of NPB stars to help bolster its ranks ahead of the World Baseball Classic, they won’t be the only team.
A U.S.-made TOW-2A wire-guided anti-tank missile is launched by Taiwanese soldiers from an M1167 TOW carrier vehicle at the Fangshan training grounds in Pingtung, Taiwan, in August 2024.
ASIA PACIFIC
Feb 7, 2026
Taiwan to seek extension of arms deals with U.S. amid budget standoff
Taiwan’s Defense Ministry has ‍urged the opposition to approve the spending proposal, saying that any delay could postpone much-needed weapons deliveries.
A missile being prepared to be loaded onto a fighter jet during a military exercise at Chiayi Air Base in Taiwan.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Feb 6, 2026
Taiwan’s political standoff stalls $40 billion defense plan
Opposition lawmakers refuse to consider Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te’s ambitious spending plan without government concessions, sparking criticism in Washington.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.’s plant in Kumamoto Prefecture. The go-to chipmaker for Nvidia and Apple has decided to adopt cutting-edge technology for its second wafer fabrication plant in the prefecture.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 5, 2026
TSMC plans major upgrade of Japan chip plant in win for Takaichi
The go-to chipmaker for Nvidia and Apple has decided to adopt cutting-edge technology for its second wafer fabrication plant in Kumamoto.
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.
U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping walk as they leave after a bilateral meeting at Gimhae International Airport, on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, in Busan, South Korea, on Oct. 30, 2025.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 5, 2026
Trump and Xi discuss Taiwan and soybeans in call aimed at easing tensions
The last nuclear treaty between Russia and the United States is soon to expire, raising the risk of a new arms race in which China’s growing nuclear stockpile could play a role.
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.
Japan's exports of agricultural, forestry and fishery products and food rose 12.8% from the previous year to a record ¥1.7 trillion in 2025, though they fell short of the government’s ¥2 trillion target, the agriculture ministry said Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 3, 2026
Japan’s farm, food and fishery exports in 2025 set record for 13th year
The total failed to reach the government’s target of ¥2 trillion for 2025 even though exports to all top 10 destinations increased year on year.
Russian Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu attends a meeting at a residence outside Moscow in August 2024.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Feb 2, 2026
Shoigu backs China’s position on Taiwan, says Russia watching Japan’s ‘militarization’
China and Russia have forged close ties in ‍recent years and declared a “no limits” strategic partnership days before the war in Ukraine started in 2022.
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.
Japan triples departure tax in push to combat overtourism
Tourists in Yanaka Ginza, Tokyo, on Wednesday. Japan tripled its International Tourist Tax (departure tax) to ¥3,000 from ¥1,000 on Wednesday for all travelers leaving Japan, regardless of nationality.
More facilities in Japan placing sanitary bins in men’s restrooms
A sanitary bin with an awareness sticker placed in a men's restroom in the Nagasaki Municipal Government building
Inside Japan’s rigid adoption system, a British family finds a way
James Benstead, his wife, Jesse, and their three children. Their adopted son is in the rear stroller.
Life inside Japan’s largest prison for women
Western-style rooms spanning the size of four tatami mats with hardwood floors, a toilet and soft mattresses on bed frames are designated for foreign nationals and those with health conditions at Tochigi Prison.
‘My dream is broken’: Japan visa rules push out foreign residents
A man orders from a kebab shop in the Okubo district in Tokyo.
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.
Some startups see opportunity in an aging Japan
Yasmin Baba, CTO of Amilis, wins the Grand Prize at the Pitch2Tokyo Grand Final on Feb. 19.
Japan’s fertility system offers few safe paths for same-sex couples
A Tokyo Pride parade participant holds a sign that says "we want to be a married couple, not a couple."
Life inside Japan’s largest prison for women
Western-style rooms spanning the size of four tatami mats with hardwood floors, a toilet and soft mattresses on bed frames are designated for foreign nationals and those with health conditions at Tochigi Prison.
Inside Japan’s rigid adoption system, a British family finds a way
James Benstead, his wife, Jesse, and their three children. Their adopted son is in the rear stroller.

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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