Tag - philippines

 
 

PHILIPPINES

A worker cultivates rice plants at a farm in Bangkok. Rice supply is expected to fall this year due to impacts of the Iran war and an emerging El Nino weather phenomenon that is set to usher in hotter, drier conditions.
BUSINESS
May 1, 2026
From surplus to strain: Iran war and El Nino threaten global rice supply
Rice is central to global food security, and even small supply disruptions can ripple through countries, raising prices and straining household budgets.
Gen. Xavier Brunson, commander U.S. Forces Korea, delivers remarks at a House Armed Services Committee hearing in Washington on Apr. 22.
ASIA PACIFIC
Apr 30, 2026
A vision for the peninsula: Our interview with the head of the U.S. military in South Korea
A transcript of The Japan Times’ interview with U.S. Forces Korea Commander Gen. Xavier Brunson.
Visitors stand under the Espiritu Santo, a full-scale representation of a 17th century galleon, on display at the Museo del Galeon in Manila on April 23.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Apr 28, 2026
Philippine museum brings deadly and lucrative galleon trade to life
Museumgoers will starting May 1 be able to walk on the deck of a full-size replica of a Spanish galleon that was built and crewed by Filipinos.
U.S. Army Gen. Xavier Brunson (center), commander of U.S. Forces Korea, walks on a pontoon bridge with U.S. and South Korean Army soldiers during a U.S.-South Korea joint river-crossing exercise, part of the annual Freedom Shield joint military training, near the Demilitarized Zone separating the two Koreas, in Yeoncheon, South Korea, on March 14.
ASIA PACIFIC
Apr 28, 2026
Head of U.S. military in South Korea calls for ‘kill web’ linking Seoul, Tokyo and Manila
U.S. Army Gen. Xavier Brunson said the strategy seeks to fuse the strengths of Washington’s regional treaty allies into a single, networked system capable of coordinated actions.
Then-Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in New York in September 2024. Kishida is set to visit the Philippines this week.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 28, 2026
Takaichi entrusts ex-PM Kishida with letter to Philippine president
Amid lingering tensions in the Middle East, Takaichi hopes to speed up work on beefing up Japan’s cooperation with the Philippines in the fields of energy and other matters.
A vendor sits next to used air conditioners at a roadside shop in Manila on April 24. A heat wave is sweeping across Southeast Asia as governments put energy-saving measures in place due to the war in Iran.
ASIA PACIFIC
Apr 28, 2026
Southeast Asia office workers swelter in energy-saving drive amid heat wave
As the prolonged shutdown of the Strait of Hormuz drains energy reserves, relief does not look to be coming anytime soon with countries set to bake in abnormally hot weather.
Head of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, Chief of Staff Romeo Brawner Jr., speaks during the opening ceremony of the U.S.-Philippines Balikatan joint military exercises, at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City, Metro Manila, on Monday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Apr 25, 2026
China holds live-fire drills in waters near Luzon as Japan joins military exercises in Philippines
The Chinese drills included live-fire shooting, sea-air coordination, rapid maneuvers and ⁠maritime replenishments to test integrated joint combat capabilities.
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. speaks during a news conference at Malacanang Palace in Manila in March.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 24, 2026
Philippines President Marcos to make state visit to Japan
The two nations have been strengthening military ties in recent years, with Tokyo supplying Manila with coast guard ships and radar systems.
Nanette Castillo, mother of drug war victim Aldrin Castillo, reacts after the International Criminal Court's rejection of former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s challenge to the court’s jurisdiction over his crimes against humanity charges, in Quezon City, Philippines, on Wednesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Apr 23, 2026
ICC judges reject bid to release former Philippine President Duterte
The Philippines formally withdrew its International Criminal Court membership in 2018, and the defense had argued this meant ​the court had no jurisdiction over the case.
A mock model of an upgraded Type-12 missile made by Japan is displayed during the DSEI Japan security show at Makuhari Messe in the city of Chiba in May last year.
JAPAN
Apr 22, 2026
Partners line up for arms deals as Japan opens defense industry door
“A number of countries” have approached Tokyo with “expressions of interest and various needs” about Japanese defense equipment, Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said.
Tourists on the beach in Mirissa, Sri Lanka in 2022. Some hotels in South Asia have seen a sharp drop in occupancy.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 21, 2026
The forces of scarcity hitting Asia may soon spread across the world
Many countries across the region are experiencing sudden jolts of disruption that they are struggling to manage.
The LNG Aquarius liquefied natural gas tanker in the Java Sea, off Indonesia.
BUSINESS
Apr 17, 2026
Iran war pushes Asia to think twice before doubling down on LNG
The near-closure of the Strait of Hormuz and the serious damage sustained by Qatar’s LNG export plant has sent prices higher and buyers scrambling for alternatives.
The Ilocos empanada, a popular street food in the Philippines, gets a jazzed-up presentation at Bananas, a Filipino bistro.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Apr 15, 2026
No buffet, no karaoke: Filipino food gets elevated at Bananas
Breaking out of the confines of simple eateries and community events, the cuisine is making a stylish statement at a new bistro in Shinjuku.
Ground Self-Defense Force members during a training exercise at Narashino exercise field in Funabashi, Chiba Prefecture, in January.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Apr 15, 2026
Rattled by Trump, U.S. allies eye Japan’s biggest arms opening since WWII
The interest comes amid shaky U.S. security commitments to allies and the wars in Iran and Ukraine that are straining U.S. weapons supplies.
Philippine soldiers fire a howitzer during the annual joint Balikatan military exercises in Aparri, Cagayan province, the Philippines, last May.
JAPAN
Apr 14, 2026
Japan to deploy 1,400 troops and missiles to large-scale drills in expanded role
The scale and diversity of the contingent means that Japan will be the third-largest troop contributor to the biggest-ever iteration of the drills in the Philippines.
Philippine Navy spokesman Rear Adm. Roy Vincent Trinidad points to an image showing where Filipino soldiers seized yellow bottles, suspected to contain cyanide, from Chinese fishermen in the disputed South China Sea, in Manila on Monday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Apr 14, 2026
Philippines warns of ‘sabotage’ after cyanide seizure in disputed South China Sea atoll
Officials warned ​that the cyanide could damage marine life and weaken the reef supporting a warship that Manila grounded there to reinforce its maritime claim.
Storage tanks are seen at an oil refinery with Mount Fuji in the background in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Apr 9, 2026
Regional cooperation on oil stocks and supplies could offer Japan more stability
Agreements with Asian countries on communal stockpiling and reciprocal supply arrangements may help ease future disruptions to supply and price stability.
Five members of the Philippines-based JP Dragon crime ring were arrested for allegedly posing as police in 2022 to defraud an elderly woman in Gifu Prefecture of ¥1.4 million.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 8, 2026
Police arrest five more alleged members of Philippines-based Japan crime ring
The latest arrests have brought the total number of apprehended members and people with ties to the group to 14.
U.S. service members conduct early morning security rounds at the Cryptologic Operations Center in Misawa, Japan. Japan needs its own central agency to integrate signal and human intelligence, as well as open-source and cyber data, to produce actionable analysis.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 8, 2026
Japan’s intelligence overhaul is overdue, not ominous
Japan’s planned reforms would upgrade the existing Cabinet Intelligence and Research Office (CIRO) into a national intelligence bureau.
U.S. Army soldiers and Philippine Marines and Rangers carry out a simulated air assault on Calayan Island in the Philippines in May last year.
JAPAN
Apr 6, 2026
Japanese troops make history by joining military drills in Philippines
The GSDF soldiers on Monday became the first “combat-capable” Japanese troops to train in the Southeast Asian country since the end of World War II.

Longform

The Terasaka Rice Terraces are seen with Mount Buko in the background.
What Yokoze can teach Japan about rural revival