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April 15, 2025
 

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Gabriel Dominguez
Japanese Ambassador to NATO Osamu Izawa (left) meets with the alliance's secretary-general, Mark Rutte, at NATO headquarters in Brussels recently.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 13, 2025
Japan’s NATO envoy targets industrial tie-ups to boost defense supply chains
Tokyo's first dedicated ambassador to the alliance says this will also boost interoperability with partners amid the tense regional security environment.
U.S. President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba at the White House in February
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 11, 2025
Trump calls U.S.-Japan alliance ‘one-sided’ as nations prepare for tariff talks
The U.S. president's remarks rekindled fears that he might use the talks to ask Tokyo to pay more for hosting troops, buy more weapons or further boost defense spending.
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte speaks during a forum at Keio University in Tokyo on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 9, 2025
NATO chief calls on allies and partners to ‘outproduce and outpace’ rivals
In Tokyo on Wednesday, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte called on members of the alliance and its four Indo-Pacific partners to work more closely together.
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte speaks after touring the Maritime Self-Defense Force's Mogami frigate at the Yokosuka Naval Base in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 8, 2025
NATO chief makes Japan debut with focus on defense industry tie-ups
Rutte will speak with defense industry representatives to get their assessment on “what they do to ramp up production and how we can better work together.”
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte speaks during a news conference at the alliance's headquarters in Brussels last week.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / FOCUS
Apr 7, 2025
With focus on ‘projecting power,’ NATO eyes greater Indo-Pacific role
NATO chief Mark Rutte expects the alliance to ramp up its engagement in the strategically important region as threats become increasingly interconnected.
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte plans to visit Japan on Tuesday and Wednesday — his first to the Indo-Pacific region since taking office in October, as he seeks to implement lessons from the ongoing war in Ukraine.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 5, 2025
‘Let’s make it practical’: NATO chief eyes greater defense-industrial ties with Japan
Japan and NATO plan to take their partnership to the next level by stepping up information-sharing and defense-industrial cooperation, Secretary-General Mark Rutte said.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio shakes hands with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte on the sidelines of a NATO foreign ministers meeting at the alliance's headquarters in Brussels on Thursday.
WORLD
Apr 3, 2025
U.S. to remain in NATO, Rubio says, but higher defense spending needed
Rubio said Washington’s goal is for member states to prioritize defense spending to enable the alliance to become “stronger and more viable.”
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte holds a news conference in Brussels on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 3, 2025
At summit, NATO eyes growing industrial collaboration with Asian partners
The summit comes as the military alliance seeks to step up ties with its Indo-Pacific partners.
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. (left) meets with U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth at the Malacanang palace in Manila on Friday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 28, 2025
U.S. to deploy more advanced defense capabilities to Philippines
The move comes as Washington seeks to reassure its oldest treaty ally in Asia of its “ironclad” defense commitment amid heightened tensions with China.
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba pose for photos before their joint news conference at the Akasaka Palace state guest house in Tokyo on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 27, 2025
Brazilian leader's Tokyo visit lifts ties to new heights
The two leaders have adopted a five-year action plan and a flurry of agreements as the countries mark their 130th anniversary year of diplomatic relations.
A Maritime Self-Defense Force SH-60K "Super Auk" from JS Shiranui prepares to land on HMAS Brisbane during Exercise Malabar 2023 while off the coast of New South Wales, Australia.
JAPAN
Mar 25, 2025
New SDF command will be key for contingency planning, Australian commander says
The framework will enable direct communication with counterparts in partner nations and speed up coordination, the Australian Defence Force's chief of joint operations says.
Officials from Taiwan's Institute for National Defense and Security Research (INDSR), the Ministry of National Defense’s research arm, say the lessons from the Ukraine conflict are clear for the democratic island: drones and other autonomous systems are crucial for its defense.
ASIA PACIFIC / ANALYSIS
Mar 14, 2025
Drones, budgets and infighting: Taiwan's daunting defense challenges
In bridging its military gap with China, Taiwan needs to both overcome key technical challenges of asymmetric warfare.
The level of intraparty animosity between the KMT and DPP is so high that brawls have repeatedly broken out in parliament as the government and opposition try to block each other from physically participating in voting on bills.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / FOCUS
Mar 13, 2025
Taiwan’s DPP and KMT lock horns amid specter of recall votes
Recall votes could potentially alter the balance of power in the Legislative Yuan in favor of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party.
Taiwanese Deputy Foreign Minister Francois Wu told The Japan Times in an interview last week in Taipei that he hopes with the island democracy can strengthen ties with Japan and other like-minded nations “at every level.”
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 12, 2025
Taiwan’s No. 2 diplomat seeks higher-level ‘unofficial’ Japan meetings as ties grow
Taipei has been shifting away from its competition with China over formal recognition, focusing instead on pragmatism to circumvent diplomatic obstacles.
People hold a Ukrainian flag and a Taiwan flag during a protest to mark the third anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, in Taipei on Feb. 23.
ASIA PACIFIC / FOCUS
Mar 11, 2025
‘We are not Ukraine’: Top Taiwan officials temper comparisons after U.S. U-turn
Top Taiwanese officials believe the U.S. will stay invested in the island's security as Washington remains united on the need to counter China.
People rest inside the sports hall of an elementary school that was transformed into temporary accommodations for people fleeing the Russian invasion of Ukraine, in Przemysl, Poland, in March 2022. Geography and geopolitical interests mean that Japan could find itself assuming a supporting role similar to Poland's should China ever attack Taiwan.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 10, 2025
Poland’s role in Ukraine war offers lessons for Japan, top envoy says
Geography and geopolitical interests mean that Tokyo could find itself assuming a supporting role similar to Warsaw’s should China ever attack Taiwan.
A rendering of a next-generation, high-speed landing craft for the Self-Defense Forces to be built by Japan Marine United and British-based maritime design and consultancy firm BMT
JAPAN
Feb 27, 2025
In rare move, Japan to jointly develop and design SDF landing craft with U.K.
Japan Marine United and Britain's BMT have secured a multimillion-dollar contract to build the next-generation, high-speed vessels for the SDF.
Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski has urged U.S. partners and allied nations to follow his country's example and increase military expenditure and preparedness.
JAPAN
Feb 27, 2025
Poland’s top diplomat calls on U.S. allies to spend more on defense
Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski touts the example of Warsaw whose defense spending is set to rise to 4.7% of gross domestic product this year.
A Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy helicopter is seen from aboard a Philippine Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) aircraft in the skies above Scarborough Shoal in the disputed South China Sea on Feb. 18.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Feb 26, 2025
Standoff in the skies: Witnessing an unsafe intercept over the South China Sea
A Chinese military helicopter edged dangerously close to a Philippine plane on patrol over the flash point Scarborough Shoal, an incident witnessed by The Japan Times.
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries' announcement is believed to be part of a push by Japan as it vies with Germany for a lucrative contract to build new Mogami-class frigates for Australia.
JAPAN
Feb 26, 2025
MHI to ramp up Australian business activities with eye on frigate contract
The expansion is seen as a push by Japan to improve its chances of securing a winning bid over Germany to supply the Australian Navy with seven to 11 warships.
A new tour of Tokyo’s most underground attraction
When you stare into the abyss at the bottom of the No. 3 shaft of the Metropolitan Area Outer Underground Discharge Channel, the abyss stares back.
China halts critical rare earth exports as trade war intensifies
Workers transport soil containing rare earth elements for export at a port in Lianyungang, in China's Jiangsu province, in October 2010.
'Chikan' incidents rise as Japan grapples with mental health and cultural challenges
Overcrowded trains and a lack of legal consequences for groping in Japan have led to a rise in "chikan," or groping, which has been linked to a mental condition and compounded by cultural stigmas.
Japan doesn’t plan to use U.S. Treasurys as tariff talk leverage
Liberal Democratic Party policy chief Itsunori Onodera speaks at LDP headquarters in Tokyo last October.
Osaka Expo throws open its doors as mega-event kicks off
People visit the Osaka Expo on the first day it opened to the public, in the city of Osaka on Sunday.
A new tour of Tokyo’s most underground attraction
When you stare into the abyss at the bottom of the No. 3 shaft of the Metropolitan Area Outer Underground Discharge Channel, the abyss stares back.
Osaka Expo-bound? Take your pick of the city’s new luxury hotels.
The Four Seasons Hotel Osaka opened in 2024, just one of many new luxury accommodations the city boasts ahead of the 2025 World Expo.
Heaven from hells: The sulfuric pleasure of Unzen Onsen
While Unzen Onsen's "hells" can be visually striking, locals describe them and their effects as "a source of emotional healing."
Osaka Expo throws open its doors as mega-event kicks off
People visit the Osaka Expo on the first day it opened to the public, in the city of Osaka on Sunday.
Japan’s NATO envoy targets industrial tie-ups to boost defense supply chains
Japanese Ambassador to NATO Osamu Izawa (left) meets with the alliance's secretary-general, Mark Rutte, at NATO headquarters in Brussels recently.

Podcast

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

Longform

Visitors walk past Sou Fujimoto's Grand Ring, which has been recognized as the largest wooden structure in the world.
Can a World Expo still matter? Japan is about to find out.
By Tomoko Otake

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BOARDING & INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL DAY 2025 (Sunday, April 20)
BOARDING & INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL DAY 2025 (Sunday, April 20)

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