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March 31, 2025
 

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DEFENSE

Relatives and friends of prominent Ukrainian writer Victoria Amelina, who died after she was injured by a Russian missile strike in the city of Kramatorsk, attend her funeral in Kyiv on July 4, 2023.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 31, 2025
Contemplating victory and defeat in Ukraine
Ukrainians and their friends still cling to hope for victory — some are idealistic, others just fueled by anger.
Defense Minister Gen Nakatani and U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth chat after reviewing an honor guard during a welcome ceremony at the Defense Ministry in Tokyo on Sunday.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Mar 31, 2025
On defense, Japan may avoid Trump's worst impulses — for now
In his first official trip to Japan, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth appeared to have been looking to tamp down on concerns in Tokyo.
Defense Minister Gen Nakatani (left) and U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth review an honor guard during a welcome ceremony at the Defense Ministry in Tokyo ahead of their talks Sunday.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 30, 2025
In Tokyo, Pentagon chief provides assurances that Japan-U.S. alliance remains robust
U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth described Japan as an “indispensable partner” in confronting China and sought to dispel lingering unease in Tokyo.
Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya (second from right) addresses a meeting of the International Group of Eminent Persons for a World without Nuclear Weapons (IGEP) in Tokyo on Sunday.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 30, 2025
Experts start talks on proposals for NPT review conference
Participants include experts from nuclear powers such as the United States, China and Russia, as well as from non-nuclear states.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Defense Minister Gen Nakatani pose for a photo on Ioto, the far-flung Japanese island known widely as Iwo Jima, on Saturday for an event honoring those who died in bloody fighting there 80 years ago during World War II.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 29, 2025
Pentagon chief joins war memorial ceremony on first visit to Japan
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth called the alliance with Japan key to peace in the region, a view he said “will continue.”
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to the press aboard Air Force One before arriving at Palm Beach International Airport in Palm Beach, Florida, on Friday.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Mar 29, 2025
Trump prompts U.S. allies to reopen nuclear weapons debate
Donald Trump's attacks on NATO and the established world order are undermining the confidence of its allies under the U.S. security umbrella.
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.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi speaks during a news conference on Thursday at the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 28, 2025
Japan unveils evacuation plan for Taiwan contingency
Under the plan, Fukuoka Prefecture will host the most evacuees, with 47,400 people.
U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee chairman Jack Reed (left) and co-chair Roger Wicker at Capitol Hill in Washington in April 2024.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 28, 2025
U.S. senators from both parties urge formal probe of Signal chat attack plan
The Pentagon was asked to investigate the Trump administration's use of the Signal messaging app to discuss sensitive attack plans.
European leaders pose for a family photo during a meeting on Ukraine at Elysee Palace in Paris on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 28, 2025
Europeans back strong Ukraine army but differ on future 'reassurance force'
Progress on what role Europe might play in providing peacetime security guarantees is proving difficult with the prospect of a ceasefire distant.
A Chinese Navy missile frigate. Beijing has been ramping up efforts to project power in the Indo-Pacific region.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / FOCUS
Mar 27, 2025
Xi tests U.S. allies in Indo-Pacific as Trump looks elsewhere
From sending warships off Australia’s coast to putting pressure on Thailand over human rights, Beijing is ramping up efforts to project power.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un supervises the test of suicide drones with artificial intelligence technology, according to local media, at an unknown location in this photo released on Thursday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Mar 27, 2025
North Korea's Kim supervises test of AI suicide drones
Kim said unmanned control and AI capability must be the top priorities in modern arms development, state media reported.
U.S. President Donald Trump's deal-focused approach to diplomacy may prevent a hostile China-Russia-North Korea-Iran alliance, but weakens U.S. global leadership.
COMMENTARY
Mar 27, 2025
The art of the deal meets a four-power axis
Trump's deal-focused approach may prevent a hostile China-Russia-North Korea-Iran alliance but weakens U.S. global leadership.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth addresses American service members assigned to Kane'ohe Bay, Hawaii, on Tuesday. Hegseth’s itinerary during his first visit to Asia in his new role will include visits to the Philippines and Japan.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 27, 2025
Hegseth’s Asia tour won’t fix U.S. credibility crisis
The timing of Hegseth’s first Asian tour couldn’t be more awkward. U.S. President Donald Trump’s "America First” mantra is raising eyebrows.
Gen. Timothy Haugh of U.S. Cyber Command and director of the National Security Agency; FBI Director Kash Patel; Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard; CIA Director John Ratcliffe; and Defense Intelligence Agency Director Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Kruse depart after testifying at a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on worldwide threats, at the Capitol in Washington on Tuesday. The hearing came a day after news of a major security breach roiled the Trump administration.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 26, 2025
Trump team scrambles to handle fallout from Signal chat assailed as 'sloppy, careless'
The administration sought to contain the fallout after a journalist said he had inadvertently been added to a discussion on highly sensitive war plans.
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth (bottom center) and other Trump administration officials mishandled security by discussing a military strike on a commercially available messaging app, exposing vulnerabilities and raising questions about poor judgment.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 26, 2025
U.S. allies get a Signal chat’s worth of red flags
In the short term, that may have few real consequences. Although insulting, the administration’s assessment of Europe’s weak military capabilities is correct.
European Union nations and Japan fret about a world without the U.S. security umbrella. They could ease their fears by moving closer together.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 26, 2025
Japan-Europe: The security alliance the world needs now
Even before Trump’s return, Europe and Japan both rapidly needed to shift from their peacetime posture to one preparing for war.
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.
The head of the Self-Defense Forces' new Joint Operations Command, Gen. Kenichiro Nagumo, inspects an honor guard Monday morning at the Defense Ministry in Tokyo.
JAPAN
Mar 24, 2025
Japan launches new Joint Operations Command to unify SDF branches
The new command will allow for the smoother integration of operations across domains to prepare for and respond to possible emergencies.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer speaks to Royal Navy soldiers outside a BAE Systems factory in Barrow-in-Furness, England, on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 23, 2025
Keir Starmer on Putin, Trump and Europe’s challenge: ‘We’ve known this moment was coming’
Behind a whirlwind of diplomacy is Starmer's true goal: Persuading Trump of the value of NATO.
Japan's biggest beef bowl chain Sukiya to shut nearly 2,000 stores after rat and bug contamination
Zensho Holdings, operator of fast-food chain Sukiya, said it will close all of its stores in Japan, except for a small number in shopping centers, between Monday and Friday following recent contamination incidents.
School-age suicides in Japan hit all-time high
A volunteer handles an incoming call at the Tokyo Befrienders call center, a suicide hotline center in Japan's capital.
Japan considers all possible options as Trump threatens new auto tariffs
Subaru cars awaiting export at a port in Yokohama on Thursday.
In Tokyo, Pentagon chief provides assurances that Japan-U.S. alliance remains robust
Defense Minister Gen Nakatani (left) and U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth review an honor guard during a welcome ceremony at the Defense Ministry in Tokyo ahead of their talks Sunday.
Japan, South Korea and China vow to strengthen trade ties amid looming U.S. tariffs
Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Yoji Muto (left), South Korean Trade Industry and Energy Minister Ahn Duk-geun (center) and Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao during a trilateral meeting in Seoul on Sunday
A Canadian made a weekend trip to Costco a Japanese pastime
Under the watchful eye of Ken Theriault, Costco representative director and Japan country manager, the American membership-model wholesaler has flourished in Japan.
Tokyo tech failures lean into misfortune, mistakes and missteps
Tsuyoshi Domoto in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward on March 28. As an entrepreneur, Domoto experienced plenty of setbacks but maintains a positive attitude and continues to pursue his dreams.
Who among the opposition would join the ruling coalition?
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba enters his office in Tokyo on Friday.
Traveling the Three-Star Road, the tourist route made from thin air
Scenes like this snow-covered bridge leading to the village of Shirakawa-go are what make the Three-Star Road worth traveling — its name notwithstanding.
Recent spate of wildfires in Japan and South Korea linked to climate change
Smoke and flames rise from a wildfire in Andong, South Korea, on Tuesday.

Podcast

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

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
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