U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has warned that “free-riding” allies will “face consequences” if they fail to ramp up defense spending and assume more responsibilities for defending their regions. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/12/07/japan/hegseth-allies-japan-defense/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #us #usjapanrelations #defense #budgets #china #taiwan #petehegseth #pla

Japan must spend “far more” on defense and assume greater responsibility in Asia, the White House said in a new National Security Strategy that also lays out a vague plan for a “burden-sharing network.” https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/12/06/japan/politics/japan-us-national-security-strategy/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #us #china #usjapanrelations #uschinarelations #taiwan #pla #defense #budgets #donaldtrump #sanaetakaichi

Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi is planning to visit the United States next month to hold talks with his U.S. counterpart, Pete Hegseth, government officials have said. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/12/06/japan/politics/koizumi-us-visit-january/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #shinjirokoizumi #defense #defenseministry #budgets #us #usjapanrelations #petehegseth

Japanese kei cars and trucks could soon be made in America after Trump promised to clear the road for minicar production in the United States. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/business/2025/12/04/companies/trump-kei-cars/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #business #companies #carmakers #cars #us #donaldtrump #us #usjapanrelations #tariffs #trade

U.S. affiliates of nine Japanese companies, including trading house Toyota Tsusho, have sued the U.S. government, challenging the legality of tariffs imposed by the Trump administration. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/business/2025/12/03/japan-firms-sue-us-tariffs/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #business #us #usjapanrelations #tariffs #donaldtrump

Tokyo must be wary of antagonizing Beijing while not irritating Washington. The difficulty is finding the “just right” sweet spot. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2025/12/02/japan/navigating-japans-goldilocks-challenge/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #commentary #japan #china #us #chinajapanrelations #usjapanrelations #sanaetakaichi #donaldtrump #xijinping #minorukihara #trade #defense #taiwan

A record 76% of people in Japan believe it is important to promote relations with South Korea, preliminary results from a survey showed on Friday. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/11/28/japan/japan-south-korea-positive-value/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #surveys #southkoreajapanrelations #usjapanrelations #chinajapanrelations #southkorea #us #china

A recently established U.S.-Philippine military task force designed to deter coercion and respond to crises in the disputed South China Sea will not likely stay a two-country effort for long. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/11/28/world/politics/us-philippine-military-task-force/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #worldnews #politics #us #philippines #defense #china #australia #canada #usjapanrelations

A strategic administration in Tokyo could seize this moment to craft an Indo-Pacific strategy that leads its ally, rather than take its cues from Washington. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2025/11/25/japan/takaichi-window-of-opportunity/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #commentary #japan #sanetakaichi #donaldtrump #usjapanrelations #defense

Prime Minister Sanae Takachi has held her first talks with U.S. President Donald Trump since her remarks in parliament that Japan could intervene militarily in a Taiwan crisis kicked off a diplomatic row with China. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/11/25/japan/politics/takaichi-trump-phone-call/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #sanaetakaichi #donaldtrump #us #usjapanrelations #china #taiwan #defense #xijinping #uschinarelations

The U.S. remains committed to Japan’s defense, a State Department spokesperson said on Thursday, in the first official comment from the department since tensions between Japan and China flared up. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/11/21/japan/politics/us-commitment-defense-japan/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #us #usjapanrelations #defense #sanaetakaichi #taiwan #china #chinajapanrelations

Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said that Japan has completed the delivery of Patriot Advanced Capability-3, or PAC-3, surface-to-air guided missiles to the United States. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/11/20/japan/japan-us-missile-export-pac-3/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #usjapanrelations #defense

The U.S. government plans to buy and own as many as 10 new, large nuclear reactors that could be paid for using Japan’s $550 billion funding pledge, part of a push to meet surging demand for electricity. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/business/2025/11/20/economy/us-nuke-reactors-japan-money/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #business #economy #nuclearenergy #donaldtrump #usjapanrelations

The Pentagon’s No. 3 official has heaped praise on South Korea for being the first U.S. treaty ally outside of NATO to hike spending 3.5% of GDP on defense — a move expected to impact Japan’s own spending plans. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/11/16/japan/politics/south-korea-defense-spending-us-japan/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #southkorea #us #usjapanrelations #budgets #defense #donaldtrump #elbridgecolby #sanaetakaichi

The Bank of Japan signals it's inclined to increase interest rates, with the usual caveats about the need for data, especially on wages, to stay in line with forecasts. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/business/2025/11/10/economy/nagata-boj-october-meeting-opinions/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #business #economy #boj #us #tariffs #usjapanrelations #inflation #japaneseeconomy

Japan and the U.S. will join forces to extract rare earths in waters around a small Pacific island, after the two struck an agreement to work to cut their reliance on China for the material. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/11/07/japan/us-rare-earth-pacific-island/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #us #usjapanrelations #rareearths #china #sanaetakaichi #donaldtrump

Japan's strategic positioning is central to countering China’s economic and geopolitical influence, with a focus on technological collaboration, military alignment and supply chain security. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2025/11/05/japan/us-china-meaning-for-japan/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #commentary #japan #sanaetakaichi #china #rareearths #us #donaldtrump #xijingping #trade #tariffs #apec #uschinarelations #usjapanrelations #chinajapanrelations

After months of tariff threats and brow-beating on defense spending, U.S. allies in Asia had ample reason to be wary of President Donald Trump. But the message after his Asia tour? The U.S. still has your back. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/11/02/asia-pacific/politics/trump-asian-allies-focus/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #asiapacific #politics #asean #asia #donaldtrump #sanaetakaichi #xijinping #china #uschinarelations #usjapanrelations #apec #trade #tariffs #usmilitary

Nagasaki’s mayor on Thursday condemned U.S. President Donald Trump’s order to restart nuclear tests, calling it “absolutely unacceptable.” https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/10/31/japan/nagasaki-mayor-trump-nuclearg/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #nagasaki #shirosuzuki #donaldtrump #us #usjapanrelations #nuclearweapons #atomicbombings #nobelprize

The Bank of Japan kept the policy rate at 0.5% despite high inflation, sticking to a wait-and-see approach owing to continued uncertainty. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/business/2025/10/30/economy/boj-meeting-oct-2025/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #business #economy #boj #us #tariffs #usjapanrelations #inflation #japaneseeconomy