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A giant TV screen shows news footage of military drills conducted in the Taiwan Strait and areas to the north, south and east of Taiwan, by the Eastern Theater Command of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, in Beijing on Oct. 14.
ASIA PACIFIC
Dec 3, 2024

Taiwan watching Chinese carrier movements as drills could start over weekend

Beijing could launch large-scale drills to coincide with Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te's trip to the Pacific this week that includes visits to Hawaii and Guam.
Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te speaks during a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Friday for a new government facility in Palau that Taipei helped fund.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 6, 2024

Taiwan's Lai says he is 'confident' of deeper cooperation with Trump

Trump caused jitters during his campaign by suggesting Taiwan should pay the United States for its defense.
There has been intense speculation about the possibility of China launching military drills in response to Taiwan President Lai Ching-te's Pacific tour last week that included two stopovers on U.S. soil.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 9, 2024

Taiwan on high alert after China's military restricts airspace

There has been speculation about the possibility of China launching military drills in response to Taiwan President Lai Ching-te's Pacific tour last week.
A Taiwanese Air Force Mirage 2000 fighter jet prepares to take off at an air force base in Hsinchu, Taiwan, on Tuesday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Dec 10, 2024

Taiwan says China naval deployment is largest in decades

China has deployed the largest number of naval ships to regional waters around Taiwan since the mid-1990s, the Defense Ministry in Taipei said Tuesday.
A Taiwanese Air Force Mirage 2000 fighter jet is seen to prepare for landing at an air force base in Hsinchu, Taiwan, on Tuesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 11, 2024

Taiwan detects 53 Chinese military aircraft around island as tensions rise

The tally is the highest for a single day since China’s military last held massive drills around Taiwan in October.
A Taiwanese coast guard ship (left) monitors a Chinese coast guard ship a few nautical miles from Taiwan's northeastern coast on Thursday.
ASIA PACIFIC / ANALYSIS
Dec 13, 2024

China's 'drills that dare not speak their name' put Taiwan on alert

Analysts say that Beijing's activities, conducted in near silence and followed by an opaque statement, are meant to create confusion.
Rep. Michael Waltz, a Republican from Florida, speaks with former President Donald Trump while attending the Iowa State Fair in Des Moines in August 2023.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 18, 2024

For Waltz, advising isolationist Trump is a Taiwan-sized challenge

Florida congressman Mike Waltz has built his reputation in Washington as a China hawk, working on a House task force to coordinate policy toward Beijing.
Lawmakers from the Democratic Progressive Party and opposition party Kuomintang brawl in parliament in Taipei on Friday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 20, 2024

Taiwan lawmakers brawl over bills that would 'damage democracy'

Lawmakers were aiming to stop three amendments that would make it more difficult for voters to oust elected officials who they see as unfit.
Lawmakers from the main opposition Kuomintang try to break into parliament, where Democratic Progressive Party members spent the night to avoid the passing of the third reading of controversial bills, in Taipei on Friday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 21, 2024

Clashes between Taiwan lawmakers and legal changes test President Lai

The political wrangling comes as U.S. President Joe Biden, who has vowed to defend the island from any Chinese invasion, prepares to leave the White House.
Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te holds a news conference in Taipei on Friday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Feb 14, 2025

Taiwan’s Lai vows to lift military funding after Trump complaint

Lai said Taiwan would boost expenditure to 3% of GDP, though he didn’t indicate when that would start.
Akie Abe meets with Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te (left) at the Taiwan Presidential Office in Taipei on Friday.
JAPAN
Feb 22, 2025

Taiwan President Lai meets with Akie Abe, widow of slain prime minister

Lai told Akie at the meeting that Taiwan aims to protect the values of freedom and democracy, and deepen its friendship with Japan.
Yuichiro Tamaki, chief of Democratic Party for the People (left), meets with Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te at the presidential office in Taipei on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 25, 2025

DPP's Tamaki meets Taiwanese President Lai

Both leaders underlined the importance of cooperation among democracies for regional and global stability.
Locals in the Cook Islands are cynical about the growing attention fixed on their small country, with many saying they don't necessarily trust either superpower to do the right thing by them.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jan 19, 2024

U.S.-China fight for one Pacific nation mirrors a regional battle

The success of Beijing’s strategy in the Pacific was reinforced just this week when Nauru became the latest island nation to sever diplomatic ties with Taiwan.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Mar 29, 2024

The vocabulary of shogi can help you make moves in your conversations

The world of shogi, a game that is often described as a form of Japanese chess, has given us much more than just checkmates.
Chinese Defense Minister Dong Jun speaks at the Shangri-la Dialogue security conference in Singapore on Sunday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jun 2, 2024

A tale of two narratives: China and U.S. defense chiefs agree to disagree

Dong Jun, China’s first naval officer to be named defense minister, also took aim at U.S. allies in a speech at the Shangri-La Dialogue.
Children play on a beach near a Taiwan Navy supply ship on Nangan Island, which is part of the Matsu Archipelago that is controlled by Taipei and located close to the coast of mainland China.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 4, 2023

A year after Nancy Pelosi’s historic visit, is Taiwan more secure?

Though both U.S. and broader international support for Taipei has accelerated, the Chinese military is regularly operating closer to the island than ever.
Wang Chih-chuan, 93, a Korean war prisoner who came to Taiwan and eventually fought in Kinmen, joined the Chinese army when he was 13, which he said was a result of press-ganging.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 14, 2023

Taiwan's last generation to fight China

Veterans' vivid memories of war make them more likely to cling to their Chinese identity to avert another conflict, unlike most of Taiwanese society.
People have their dinner at a restaurant as a screen broadcasts Chinese leader Xi Jinping's New Year's speech in Beijing on Sunday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jan 1, 2024

China's Xi says 'reunification' with Taiwan is inevitable

Chinese leader Xi Jinping's comments come less than two weeks to go before Taiwan elects a new president.
Futures of robusta coffee beans have hit their highest price in over 40 years, while cocoa prices have more than doubled this year.
BUSINESS / Markets
May 9, 2024

Cocoa’s dizzying volatility is spilling into the coffee market

Many major traders deal in both commodities, so soaring cocoa prices are squeezing market players for cash and forcing them out of coffee trading.
The idea of quitting tends to be associated with weakness, but moving on from a problematic situation can sometimes be extremely positive.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
May 10, 2024

Sometimes there's power in quitting

Modern society tends to see quitting as a sign of weakness, but Buddhist teaching has extolled the benefits of letting go of something at the right time.
New Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te speaks on stage during his inauguration ceremony outside the Presidential Office in Taipei on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
May 22, 2024

Japan protests Chinese envoy's 'inappropriate remarks' over Taiwan

Ambassador Wu Jianghao appeared to insinuate that the Japanese people would be “brought into the fire” of conflict over support for self-ruled Taiwan.
Chinese military vessels sail in an unknown location around Taiwan on Thursday amid joint military drills aimed at punishing the self-ruled island and its new president.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 24, 2024

China says Day 2 of Taiwan drills tests ability to 'seize' key areas

The Chinese military said the exercises test its ability “to jointly take control of (the) battlefield and launch joint strikes, and to seize control of crucial areas.”
American Institute in Taiwan Director Sandra Oudkirk looks at a Switchblade 300 drone during the 2023 Taipei Aerospace and Defense Technology Exhibition at the Nangang Exhibition Center in Taipei last September.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jun 19, 2024

U.S. approves sale of more than 1,000 ‘suicide drones’ to Taiwan

The $360 million arms sale comes as Washington doubles down on helping Taipei counter a potential Chinese attack on the self-ruled island.
Anti-landing barricades protrude from the beach in Kinmen, Taiwan, in February, with China's Xiamen city visible in the distance. Taipei has demanded that Beijing release a Taiwanese-registered fishing boat boarded and seized by the China Coast Guard near Kinmen late Tuesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jul 3, 2024

China’s detention of Taiwan fishing boat risks raising tensions

The incident follows the expansion of China Coast Guard regulations allowing it to detain foreigners suspected of trespassing in waters Beijing claims for up to 60 days.
From left: Kan Kikuchi, Ryunosuke Akutagawa, Muto Chozo and Nagami Tokutaro
LIFE / Language
Jul 19, 2024

Dive into Akutagawa's world of creepy 'kappa' and prewar kanji

In order to read Japanese works written before the war, you'll need to watch out for the different roles hiragana play in addition to unfamiliar kanji.
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris speaks aboard the USS Howard destroyer at the Yokosuka Naval Base, in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, in September 2022.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Jul 23, 2024

Continuity in Asia: Harris' policies likely to assuage concerns in Japan

Tokyo is already quite familiar with the approach of the U.S. vice president, who will likely continue her predecessor's foreign policy if she is elected president.
Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Oct 22, 2024

China tension highlights risk of Taiwan’s nuclear phase-out plan

Public opinion had turned sharply in the wake of the 2011 Fukushima disaster in Japan, prompting the government to halt construction on all projects.
Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson drops back to pass during a game against the Giants on Dec. 15.
MORE SPORTS / Football
Jan 11, 2025

Ravens QB Lamar Jackson leads NFL All-Pro team selections

Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen trailed Jackson with 18 first-place votes, with Cincinnati Bengals QB Joe Burrow nabbing two.
Taiwan worries that Donald Trump’s dealmaking with Vladimir Putin over Ukraine signals uncertainty for its own security, and the island democracy is boosting  efforts to strengthen U.S. ties and defense spending.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 19, 2025

Trump’s phone call with Putin is causing a stir in Taiwan

Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te’s government should consider what it can offer Trump to avoid becoming a pawn in the U.S.-China rivalry.
JAPAN
Jul 20, 2023

Akie Abe wraps up Taiwan trip, continuing late husband's legacy

Akie Abe traveled to the self-ruled island to continue her husbands legacy of reorienting Japan’s policy toward Taiwan.

Longform

Professional cleaner Hirofumi Sakurai takes a moment to appreciate some photographs in a Gotanda apartment whose occupant died alone.
The last cleanup: Life and death in a lonely Japan