The latest deterioration of Japan-China ties has highlighted that a dangerous new equilibrium between the two countries is emerging — one that will test each other’s resolve, especially in the year ahead. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/12/31/japan/politics/japan-china-relations-2026-analysis/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #china #chinajapanrelations #usjapanrelations #xijinping #sanaetakaichi #taiwan #taiwanjapanrelations #donaldtrump #defense #sdf #pla
"Security autism" isn’t a moral failing; it’s a cognitive one. Just as individuals on the autism spectrum struggle with social cues and environmental awareness, nations can lose the ability to read geopolitical signals. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2025/12/30/japan/beware-of-security-autism/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #commentary #japan #us #china #usjapanrelations #chinajapanrelations #defense #sdf #northkorea #donaldtrump
U.S. military police in Okinawa Prefecture temporarily detained a civilian by mistake in the city of Okinawa on Nov. 22, a joint U.S.-Japan government panel has said. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/12/27/japan/us-military-police-detain-civilian-okinawa/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #us #usmilitary #usbases #okinawa #usjapanrelations
As the Year of the Wood Snake promised subtlety and adaptation, the U.S., China and Japan instead delivered strategic blundering, authoritarian overreach and geopolitical instability. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2025/12/26/world/good-riddance-year-of-the-serpent/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #commentary #worldnews #china #chinesezodiac #2025 #2026 #yearofthewoodsnake #yearofthefirehorse #indopacific #us #donaldtrump #xijinping #ishibashigeru #sanaetakaichi #usjapanrelations #chinajapanrelations #uschinarelations
The Japanese government under then-Prime Minister Morihiro Hosokawa faced trouble dealing with a strong U.S. request for support during the 1994 North Korea nuclear crisis, according to newly disclosed records. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/12/25/japan/politics/japan-diplomatic-records-north-korea-crisis/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #morihirohosokawa #foreignministry #northkorea #usjapanrelations #billclinton
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is considering visiting the United States in March to hold talks with U.S. President Donald Trump, sources have said. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/12/25/japan/politics/japan-takaichi-us-visit/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #sanaetakaichi #donaldtrump #usjapanrelations #chinajapanrelations
The United States has informed Japan of its hope to additionally use heavy weapons, such as antitank missiles and rocket launchers, in training at Ground Self-Defense Force firing ranges. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/12/24/japan/us-heavy-weapons-use-gsdf/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #us #usjapanrelations #okinawa #gsdf #defense #rockets #missiles #defenseministry #hokkaido #miyagi #yamanashi #shizuoka #oita
Japan and the U.S. held a second consultation meeting on Japan’s $550 billion investment pledge, with both Economy Minister Ryosei Akazawa and U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick attending. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/business/2025/12/24/economy/550-billion-consultation/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #business #economy #ryoseiakazawa #tariffs #donaldtrump #trade #carmakers #us #japaneseeconomy #usjapanrelations
In a draft resolution, a bipartisan group of U.S. representatives blasted China’s coercion against Japan and urged Trump to work with Pacific allies to counter Beijing. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/12/23/japan/politics/us-condemnation-china-draft-resolution/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #us #china #taiwan #sanaetakaichi #usjapanrelations #chinajapanrelations
Japan must create strategic conditions in which the U.S. cannot abandon the Indo-Pacific without abandoning its own core interests. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2025/12/18/world/tokyos-musashi-moment/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #commentary #worldnews #us #japan #usjapanrelations #chinajapanrelations #indopacificdefense
A U.S.-Japan consultation panel held its first meeting to consider initial projects for a $550 billion investment pledge that is a pillar of the two countries’ trade deal. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/business/2025/12/18/us-japan-panel-investment-projects/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #business #usjapanrelations #investments #tariffs #donaldtrump #howardlutnick
For Japan’s top uniformed military officer, reinforcing the country’s defense capabilities to counter complex and diverse threats most think only exist in Hollywood movies has become one of his top priorities. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/12/18/japan/sdf-joint-staff-uchikura-interview/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #defense #defenseministry #hiroakiuchikura #missiles #china #drones #pla #usmilitary #usjapanrelations
The U.S. government said it has approved support for upgrading the MSDF's Aegis destroyers, with the estimated cost for the Japanese government being $100.2 million. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/12/17/japan/us-aid-japan-aegis-destroyers/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #usjapanrelations #us #defense #aegis #budgets #sdf
The United States and Japan are set to review energy projects as the potential debut investments in a landmark $550 billion joint fund that was a centerpiece of their trade deal. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/business/2025/12/17/550-billion-japan-us-energy/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #business #usjapanrelations #us #donaldtrump #investments #energy
Japan’s $550 billion investment pledge might fall short of U.S. President Donald Trump’s hopes and Tokyo’s worst fears as negotiations over implementation continue and Japan focuses on the fine print of the agreement. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/business/2025/12/16/economy/550-billion-pledge/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #business #economy #ryoseiakazawa #tariffs #donaldtrump #trade #carmakers #us #japaneseeconomy #usjapanrelations
Trump's National Security Strategy 2025 emphasizes tactical priorities over grand strategy, shifting focus to the Western Hemisphere and Asia, while keeping the overall limits of U.S. policy largely unchanged. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2025/12/12/world/reading-trumps-national-security-strategy/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #commentary #worldnews #donaldtrump #joebiden #defense #eu #indopacific #usjapanrelations #russiaukrainewar #europe #china #africa #asia #middleeast
U.S. President Donald Trump can keep a “good working relationship” with China while maintaining a “very strong alliance” with Japan, the White House said, as tensions between the two Asian countries continue to grow. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/12/12/japan/politics/us-japan-china-defense/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #usjapanrelations #chinajapanrelations #china #us #sanaetakaichi #defense #donaldtrump #taiwan
Japan is taking a “calm and resolute” response in its ongoing dispute with China — a row that grew more heated with last week’s radar incident — as it looks to the international community to help lower the temperature. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/12/11/japan/politics/japan-china-dispute-diplomacy/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #china #pla #japanchinarelations #us #usjapanrelations #donaldtrump #taiwan #defense #shinjirokoizumi
Two Democrats in the U.S. Congress have urged U.S. President Donald Trump to support Japan in the face of China's escalating economic and military coercion against the U.S. ally. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/12/09/japan/politics/us-lawmakers-support-japan-spat-china/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #usjapanrelations #chinajapanrelations #taiwan #donaldtrump
The Trump’s new National Security Strategy emphasizes "America First," prioritizing business, migration control and hemispheric defense while largely ignoring traditional security threats and international commitments. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2025/12/09/world/an-america-first-national-security-strategy/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #commentary #worldnews #donaldtrump #defense #petehegseth #euusrelations #asiausrelations #usjapanrelations #russiaukrainewar