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July 12, 2026
 

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TAIWAN

Singapore’s stalled birthrate reflects a broader pattern across wealthy Asian economies where higher living standards, shifting values and gender imbalances have made low fertility persistent and resistant to quick policy fixes.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 10, 2026
Why Asia can’t undo decades of falling fertility rates
The challenge is shared by most successful nations. Ultralow fertility is a byproduct of rapid development and elevated living standards.
The Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company's fabrication plant in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, on June 7, 2025
BUSINESS / Tech
Feb 10, 2026
Taiwan says ‘impossible’ to move 40% chip capacity to U.S.
Taiwan is a powerhouse in producing chips — a critical component in the global economy — but the White House wants more of the technology made in America.
U.S. President Donald Trump, accompanied by U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, addresses the media in the Oval Office on Sept. 5, the day he signed an executive order to rename the Department of Defense the Department of War.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 9, 2026
Trump has killed American deterrence
Trump has shown countless times that he cannot keep promises. His reversals on TikTok, tariffs and Ukraine demonstrate that his commitments have the lifespan of a mayfly.
Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks pitcher Livan Moinelo was named to Cuba's team for the World Baseball Classic.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / NPB NOTEBOOK
Feb 9, 2026
Japan will not be only team with NPB talent at World Baseball Classic
Though Samurai Japan will have a good roster of NPB stars to help bolster its ranks ahead of the World Baseball Classic, they won’t be the only team.
A U.S.-made TOW-2A wire-guided anti-tank missile is launched by Taiwanese soldiers from an M1167 TOW carrier vehicle at the Fangshan training grounds in Pingtung, Taiwan, in August 2024.
ASIA PACIFIC
Feb 7, 2026
Taiwan to seek extension of arms deals with U.S. amid budget standoff
Taiwan’s Defense Ministry has ‍urged the opposition to approve the spending proposal, saying that any delay could postpone much-needed weapons deliveries.
A missile being prepared to be loaded onto a fighter jet during a military exercise at Chiayi Air Base in Taiwan.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Feb 6, 2026
Taiwan’s political standoff stalls $40 billion defense plan
Opposition lawmakers refuse to consider Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te’s ambitious spending plan without government concessions, sparking criticism in Washington.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.’s plant in Kumamoto Prefecture. The go-to chipmaker for Nvidia and Apple has decided to adopt cutting-edge technology for its second wafer fabrication plant in the prefecture.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 5, 2026
TSMC plans major upgrade of Japan chip plant in win for Takaichi
The go-to chipmaker for Nvidia and Apple has decided to adopt cutting-edge technology for its second wafer fabrication plant in Kumamoto.
DF-41 nuclear-capable intercontinental ballistic missiles are paraded in Beijing's Tiananmen Square in October 2019. Some analysts and even lawmakers are urging Japan and other countries to consider developing their own nuclear weapons.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 5, 2026
The unthinkable is on the list of Japanese security options
In the 2016 campaign, then-candidate Trump suggested that both Japan and South Korea should consider the acquisition of nuclear weapons to counter the North Korean threat.
U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping walk as they leave after a bilateral meeting at Gimhae International Airport, on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, in Busan, South Korea, on Oct. 30, 2025.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 5, 2026
Trump and Xi discuss Taiwan and soybeans in call aimed at easing tensions
The last nuclear treaty between Russia and the United States is soon to expire, raising the risk of a new arms race in which China’s growing nuclear stockpile could play a role.
Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te speaks at a news conference in Taipei on Tuesday. A counterproposal that would slash Lai's eight-year, special defense budget request by almost 70% has raised concerns with the Defense Ministry and prompted dismay in Washington.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
Feb 4, 2026
Taiwan military capabilities in jeopardy as defense budget row deepens
The dispute over a bill that would slash by 70% a DPP-backed defense spending request has prompted unease in both Taipei and Washington.
Japan's exports of agricultural, forestry and fishery products and food rose 12.8% from the previous year to a record ¥1.7 trillion in 2025, though they fell short of the government’s ¥2 trillion target, the agriculture ministry said Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 3, 2026
Japan’s farm, food and fishery exports in 2025 set record for 13th year
The total failed to reach the government’s target of ¥2 trillion for 2025 even though exports to all top 10 destinations increased year on year.
Russian Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu attends a meeting at a residence outside Moscow in August 2024.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Feb 2, 2026
Shoigu backs China’s position on Taiwan, says Russia watching Japan’s ‘militarization’
China and Russia have forged close ties in ‍recent years and declared a “no limits” strategic partnership days before the war in Ukraine started in 2022.
A China Coast Guard vessel sails near a Japan Coast Guard vessel around a group of disputed islands called the Senkaku Islands in Japan, and known in China as Diaoyu Islands, on Sep.14.
JAPAN
Jan 30, 2026
China coast guard patrolled Japan-held islands almost daily last year
China’s coast guard patrolled the islands for 357 days last year, coast guard ‌head Zhang Jianming said.
China’s marriage market is being hollowed out by a shrinking pool of women of childbearing age and a severe gender imbalance, while those women who do marry are doing so later and having fewer children.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 28, 2026
Can China reverse its demographic decline?
China’s births have fallen to historic lows and deep structural forces make any lasting fertility rebound unlikely.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, who serves concurrently as head of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, delivers her first campaign speech for the Lower House election in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 27, 2026
Takaichi says Japan-U.S. alliance would ‘collapse’ if Tokyo ignored Taiwan crisis
The prime minister hinted that an attack during a joint military action to rescue Japanese nationals from the democratic island would prompt a response.
Zhang Youxia (center), then newly elected vice chairman of China's Central Military Commission, swears an oath as he is flanked by CMC members He Weidong (left) and Li Shangfu after their election during a session of the National People's Congress at Beijing's Great Hall of the People in March 2023. Both He and Li were later removed from their posts and purged from the Communist Party, while Zhang has been placed under investigation.
ASIA PACIFIC / ANALYSIS
Jan 26, 2026
Downfall of top Chinese military officer raises questions about Xi and Taiwan
The true reasons behind the probe of Gen. Zhang Youxia may never be known — but the move has prompted a closer look at Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s aims.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi holds a joint news conference with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in Tokyo on Jan. 16. Europe should follow Japan’s lead by clearly acknowledging the risks posed by China and Taiwan, rather than relying on ambiguity.
COMMENTARY
Jan 26, 2026
Why Europe should follow Japan’s lead on Taiwan
The era in which strategic ambiguity could substitute for strategic decision-making is coming to an end.
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth speaks to the media on Capitol Hill in Washington on Jan. 7.
ASIA PACIFIC
Jan 25, 2026
U.S. defense strategy downplays China threat and says it will limit support for allies
The document, which guides the Pentagon’s policies, is expected to rattle nervous U.S. allies in Asia, including Japan.
Alex Honnold climbs Taipei 101 on Sunday.
MORE SPORTS / Sport climbing
Jan 25, 2026
American daredevil free-climbs Taiwan’s tallest building
Alex Honnold climbed Taipei 101, which towers 508 meters into the air, as large crowds gathered and cheered below.
People hold umbrellas under the Taipei 101 building, which U.S. climber Alex Honnold was schedule to scale on Saturday.
MORE SPORTS / Sport climbing
Jan 24, 2026
Netflix’s live, high-risk skyscraper climb postponed due to rain
Alex Honnold, the famed U.S. free-solo climber, was set to begin ascending the exterior of Taipei 101 at 9 a.m. local time but the event was postponed due to rain.
China’s demand for Soviet-style apartments shows limits to revival
Apartments built during a Soviet Union-inspired construction drive in the 1970s and 1980s tend to suffer from poor insulation and outdated plumbing, but they are seeing a revival in interest due to their attractive locations.
Japanese scientists identify neural mechanism that may explain why we dislike people
The aggressive mouse (left) used in the experiment and a mouse defending itself
Japanese payment processor’s collapse hits banks and restaurants
Zentoshin served around 200,000 shops, many of which rely on early payments to maintain cash flow, raising concerns over their financial stability following the disruption.
Over 70% of accommodations in Japan say they are understaffed amid tourism influx
The number of foreign visitors to Japan reached a high of 42.68 million in 2025.
Lenders seek $700 million after Japanese payments firm’s collapse
The financial failure of Osaka-based Zentoshin has left 63 creditors with claims totaling ¥115.16 billion, according to Tokyo Shoko Research.
Japan’s largest exhibition of women photographers rights a wrong in cultural history
Miwa Yanagi’s “Elevator Girl House” series skewers the superficiality of gender roles through staged images.
Over 70% of accommodations in Japan say they are understaffed amid tourism influx
The number of foreign visitors to Japan reached a high of 42.68 million in 2025.
‘Princess Mononoke’ comes alive in Super Kabuki staging
The “Princess Mononoke” adaptation was created under Shochiku’s Super Kabuki initiative, a modern form of kabuki with more technology in staging and open to pop culture collaborations.
The beating heart inside ‘Human Vapor’
Different forms of love and connection form the emotional backbone of Netflix’s “Human Vapor,” says actor Shun Oguri, who plays troubled detective Kenji Okamoto.
Japan bets on character IP to drive global growth
Born on social media platforms in 2022, Opanchu Usagi has become a major hit, especially among Generation Z.

Podcast

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

Longform

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