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March 29, 2025
 

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DEFENSE

Lithuania will become the first country in the EU to leave a multilateral arms regulation agreement when it withdraws on March 6.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 4, 2025
Lithuania to walk out on global disarmament treaty
Lithuania's controversial move comes at a time of heightened tensions in international relations over its neighbor Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Female crew members chat in the women-only rest area aboard the Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyer Shiranui in November 2022.
JAPAN
Mar 4, 2025
Women in SDF see their roles expand — but challenges remain
Issues such as harassment prevention and a lack of promotion to senior positions remain significant hurdles for women wanting to join.
The Maritime Self-Defense Force's destroyer Akizuki (far left) leads the MSDF fleet during a naval review in Sagami Bay, south of Tokyo, in October 2012.
JAPAN
Mar 3, 2025
Japanese destroyer passes through Taiwan Strait for just second time
The solo passage last month by the Maritime Self-Defense Force's Akizuki comes amid warming ties with Beijing, but also follows ramped-up military pressure by China.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, with the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Charles Q. Brown, Jr. by his side, speaks with the media during his first official arrival at the Pentagon to take his new post on Jan. 27.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 28, 2025
Firing top generals makes the U.S. less secure
How should we think about this rare purge at the very top of the uniformed military? Is it unprecedented?
China's recent naval exercises near Australia and New Zealand, though legal, highlight Beijing’s growing reach and willingness to test other nations' responses.
EDITORIALS
Feb 28, 2025
China pushes the military envelope with power projections
This week, Chinese ships conducted military exercises, including live-fire drills, in waters near Australia and New Zealand. While legal, the moves expose its hypocrisy.
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.
Taiwanese Air Force Indigenous Defense Fighter aircraft taxi for takeoff during a scramble as part of a combat readiness exercise at the Ching Chuan Kang Air Base in Taichung, Taiwan, on Jan. 7.
ASIA PACIFIC
Feb 26, 2025
China holds 'shooting' drills off Taiwan's coast, vows 'reunification' push
Taipei said the exercises endanger the safety of international flights and shipping and are a "blatant provocation" to regional peace and stability.
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.
The People's Liberation Army Navy's Jiangkai-class frigate Hengyang, part of a flotilla sailing inside Australia's exclusive economic zone on Wednesday, is seen at an undisclosed location in this image taken on Feb. 11.
ASIA PACIFIC
Feb 26, 2025
'Provocative' Chinese warship near Australia puts Japan on notice
Canberra surmised that China's military moves were intended to “shape the responses of those in the region and observe and learn from our reactions.”
Canada's Liberal Party leadership candidates gather for a debate ahead of the March 9 vote to replace Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, in Montreal on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 26, 2025
U.S. threats mean Canada must bolster military, candidates say
The four candidates sparred over how fast Canada can realistically roll out the billions of dollars needed to reach the NATO threshold of 2% GDP.
A Chinese H-6 bomber flies between Okinawa’s main island and Miyako Island in October 2013. Former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe warned that Japan must strengthen its defenses in case of a Taiwan contingency.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 26, 2025
As Ukraine endgame intensifies, don’t forget Taiwan
The scale of China’s air and naval exercises around Taiwan has grown from fewer than a dozen planes and ships a few years ago to over 250 in the December exercise alone.
French President Emmanuel Macron and U.S. President Donald Trump meet at the White House on Monday. The French leader has been forced to appease Trump knowing Europe is unprepared to defend itself without U.S. support.
COMMENTARY
Feb 26, 2025
America is turning its alliances into a protection racket
Trump has no compunction in using his leverage as a global security provider for extortion of allies.
U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer delivers a statement on defense spending on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 26, 2025
Trump’s threats push U.K.'s Starmer into a more global, military agenda
U.S. President Donald Trump's apparent refusal for the U.S. to be the final guarantor of security in Europe has prompted the prime minister to act.
The Togolese-registered ship Hongtai in Penghu, Taiwan. Taiwan detained a Chinese-crewed cargo ship after a subsea telecoms cable was severed off the island, the coast guard said.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Feb 25, 2025
Taiwan detains Chinese-crewed ship after subsea cable cut
It is the latest in a series of Taiwanese undersea cable breakages, with previous incidents blamed on natural causes or Chinese ships.
Amid rising global defense spending, U.S. President Donald Trump's push for 5% of GDP on military budgets poses a challenge for American allies, including Japan, which is already struggling to meet its 2% target.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 25, 2025
U.S. defense spending demands could transform global security
The level of spending the U.S. is demanding could spark an arms race as adversaries try to match NATO and America's Asian allies.
U.S. President Donald Trump's approach to ending Russia’s war in Ukraine appears to prioritize re-establishing U.S.-Russia relations over securing a fair settlement for Ukraine.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 25, 2025
Ukraine is just a pawn in a Russian reset
Donald Trump's approach makes U.S. actions more logical, but no less shameful.
Sailors on board the Royal Australian Navy ship HMAS Arunta observe the People's Liberation Army Navy Fuchi-class replenishment vessel and Weishanhu Jiangkai-class frigate Hengyang in the Tasman Sea. Australia's foreign minister voiced concern on Friday over live-fire drills conducted by three Chinese warships sailing off the country's east coast.
ASIA PACIFIC
Feb 25, 2025
Chinese navy drill in Tasman Sea forced 49 flights to change paths
Authorities had been alerted to the rare live-fire exercise in international waters by an airline pilot, the head of Australia's air traffic control agency says.
The logo of Rheinmetall is displayed at the Eurosatory international defense and security trade fair in Villepinte, near Paris, in June 2022.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 25, 2025
Rheinmetall to convert German factories to make defense equipment
The move by Europe's top ammunition maker to repurpose two automotive plants highlights the impact of an expected surge in spending in the region.
Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro assists Defense Minister Gen Nakatani as he signs a guest book prior to their bilateral meeting at a hotel in Manila on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 24, 2025
Japan and Philippines to establish high-level defense gear framework
The two sides also agreed to establish a “strategic dialogue” between the Self-Defense Forces and the Philippine Armed Forces to deepen operational collaboration.
Japan considers all possible options as Trump threatens new auto tariffs
Subaru cars awaiting export at a port in Yokohama on Thursday.
Massive quake kills at least 150 in Myanmar and Thailand
Medical workers treat a earthquake survivor on a bed in the compound of a hospital in Naypyitaw on Friday, after an earthquake in central Myanmar.
Student 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.
Tourist submarine sinks in Red Sea of Egypt, leaving 6 people dead
The interior of a Sindbad submarine vessel at sea off Hurghada, Egypt, in August 2024, in this still image obtained from video.
Yellow sand blankets cities across Japan
The Meteorological Agency forecast the yellow sand to move away from eastern Honshu by 6 p.m. on Wednesday. But it will continue to cover parts of western Honshu and Shikoku until Thursday morning, it said.
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.
Hanami season to have record ¥1.39 trillion economic impact on Japan
Cherry blossoms along a road in Tokyo on Tuesday. The 2025 cherry blossom season is expected to have an economic impact of around ¥1.39 trillion on Japan.
Tokyo Series proves to be big business for MLB — and Japanese companies
An advertisement featuring Shohei Ohtani in Tokyo.
New SDF command will be key for contingency planning, Australian commander says
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.
Japanese wages likely to rise more than 5% again this year
Wages are set for another big increase this year as annual negotiations secure generous agreements.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
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Longform

The sun shines from behind a waving Philippine flag at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial.
Eighty years after the Battle of Manila, old foes forge new ties
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