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July 24, 2026
 

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Stephen R. Nagy

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Stephen R. Nagy
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney attends a news conference with his Japanese counterpart, Sanae Takaichi, in Tokyo on March 6.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 30, 2026
Mark Carney has given Canadians something to celebrate
Carney has improved Canada¡¯s global reputation, but economic weakness, domestic political challenges and relations with the U.S. will determine whether his early gains endure.
Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, during a welcoming ceremony before talks at the Kremlin in Moscow in May 2025.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 25, 2026
Scarier than fiction: ¡®The Wizard of the Kremlin¡¯ comes to life
The objective is not to promote authoritarianism directly, but to corrode the trust that sustains democratic societies and international cooperation grounded in rule of law.
A giant screen shows Chinese leader Xi Jinping meeting U.S. President Donald Trump in Beijing on May 14. China distorts narratives portraying Japan as a military threat while similar dynamics in the U.S. erode truth and accountability.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 3, 2026
Defending democracy from the global war on reality
From Beijing to Washington, the very concept of objective truth feels unattainable
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney meets with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Beijing in January. Tokyo faces a more acute strategic challenge than Ottawa, balancing engagement with Beijing while strengthening regional deterrence capabilities.
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 27, 2026
Lessons for Japan from Canada¡¯s ¡®reset¡¯ with China
Takaichi should neither retract her Taiwan remarks nor amplify them for domestic applause.
The U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson leads Japanese destroyers JS Ashigara (left) and JS Samidare during a transit of the Philippine Sea on April 26, 2017. Tokyo fears growing uncertainty as rivalry between Washington and Beijing deepens.
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 21, 2026
Japan caught in the U.S.-China geoeconomic crossfire
For Japan, this creates a precarious environment. More than 80% of its energy imports ¡ª and much of its trade ¡ª passes through waters around Taiwan and the South China Sea.
U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping attend a dinner at Mar-a-Lago in West Palm Beach, Florida, on April 6, 2017. Trump informed Xi that night that he had ordered missile strikes on Syria.
COMMENTARY / World
May 13, 2026
Trump¡¯s superpower, unpredictability, has given way to unreliability
It is an open question whether commitments made this week in Beijing will survive the flight home.
The West must look beyond caricatures and recognize that China¡¯s aggressive actions are driven by insecurity, misperception and a calculated strategy to manage its rivals.
COMMENTARY / World
May 7, 2026
To counter China, the West must first understand its phobias
For a regime built on these institutional genes, the ultimate imperative is survival.
In a bipolar system dominated by America and China, Japan should navigate the rivalry by deepening its alliances, diversifying economic ties and maintaining flexible, practical diplomacy in Asia.?
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 30, 2026
Japan¡¯s balancing act in an era of U.S.-China dominance
Tokyo¡¯s move toward defense spending of 2% of GDP is not militarism. It is overdue burden-sharing within an alliance that is the foundation of regional deterrence.
Demonstrators march past riot police outside the Japanese Embassy in Beijing in September 2012. The global media often misrepresents Japan as nationalistic, driven in part by China-backed narratives and unfair stereotypes.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 23, 2026
Falling for Beijing¡¯s anti-Japan propaganda is dangerously naive
This mischaracterization is rooted in Japan¡¯s wartime history, but also shaped by blatant ideological bias and propaganda.
U.S. allies should resist distancing themselves from Washington over Donald Trump and instead strengthen long-term economic and defense ties with the U.S. to safeguard their interests against emerging global rivals.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 16, 2026
The case for ¡®hardened engagement¡¯ with America
Allowing a distaste for one U.S. president (no matter how bombastic) to sever the ties that bind the free world is not only bad policy, it¡¯s a recipe for strategic irrelevance.
Pedestrians cross Enghelab Square in Tehran, near a billboard showing Mojtaba Khamenei, Iran's new supreme leader, in the Iranian capital on Saturday.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 12, 2026
The Indo-Pacific price of a hasty war with Tehran
The allies are not abandoning the U.S.; they are recoiling from a war that lacks a defined strategy.
The United States has serious domestic flaws, but its freedoms, alliances and global influence distinguish it from authoritarian states, a distinction its allies must recognize and actively invest in through engagement.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 3, 2026
The Moon and the Turtle: A lesson in false equivalence
Following the United States does not mean following blindly; it means understanding that the CRINKs offer no alternative order worth living in.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi meets with U.S. President Donald Trump in the Oval Office on March 19. When interpreting the mercurial U.S. leader's negotiating style, the prime minister must focus on his signals, not his promises.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 30, 2026
Decoding ¡®Trump-Speak¡¯ ¡ª a guide for Japan¡¯s leaders
For Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the challenge of dealing with U.S. President Donald Trump is not about language or translation. The real difficulty lies in interpreting a presidential communication style that departs sharply from the postwar norms of diplomacy....
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi addresses a news conference at the Liberal Democratic Party¡¯s headquarters in Tokyo on Feb. 9, a day after her party's landslide Lower House election victory.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 20, 2026
Memo to Takaichi: Reject the temptations of populism
The year 2026 has crystallized a geopolitical landscape defined by nationalist leadership.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and U.S. President Donald Trump speak to sailors and others aboard the aircraft carrier USS George Washington during a visit to the U.S. naval base in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, in late October.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 13, 2026
Takaichi needs a new blueprint for a lasting U.S. alliance
To succeed, Takaichi must deploy a disciplined mix of flattery and hard deliverables, demonstrating to the 47th U.S. president that Tokyo is taking its own security seriously.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and his wife Diana arrive in Sydney on Tuesday ahead of his Friday stop in Tokyo, where he will hold talks with Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 5, 2026
Canada has an opportunity to redefine its role in the Pacific
The solution for Canada is not to seek an alternative to the U.S. in Japan, but to join Japan in the project of keeping the U.S. engaged.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi must steer Japan between pressure from China and an unpredictable United States by bolstering defense, diversifying partnerships and asserting strategic autonomy.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 27, 2026
Keeping the Chinese ¡®tiger¡¯ and U.S. ¡®wolf¡¯ at bay
Often mischaracterized by detractors as a radical nationalist, Takaichi represents a center-right continuity of the ¡°Abe line.¡±
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi meet on the sidelines of the 62nd Munich Security Conference on Feb. 14.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 20, 2026
In a new Cold War, Japan-U.S. ties grow in importance
After a decade of strategic drift, Washington has finally aligned its resources with the reality Japan has lived with for a generation.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi speaks at Liberal Democratic Party headquarters in Tokyo on Monday, a day after her ruling coalition secured an overwhelming majority in Sunday¡¯s Lower House vote.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 10, 2026
Takaichi¡¯s big win: A major victory for hard-nosed realism
The turnout was driven primarily by a craving for security. Voters rallied behind Takaichi¡¯s willingness to stand up to Chinese economic coercion and disinformation campaigns.
China¡¯s promise of stability is undercut by its tendency toward coercion and control, leaving middle powers still reliant on the U.S. for security and deterrence.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 6, 2026
Memo to middle powers: Time for a reality check
Middle powers do not design the system they inhabit. They can maneuver inside it, but they cannot wish away the forces that set the boundaries of that maneuvering.
Japan scientists identify clusters of protein believed to trigger Alzheimer¡¯s disease
A team of researchers said they found a ¡°seed¡± that accelerates the amyloid beta accumulation process in the brain, naming it ¡°Peak 1 amyloid beta,¡± as seen in a mouse's brain.
Indian brothers make manga debut in Japan
Two Indian brothers made their manga debut in Japan with "Kung Fu Kung Fool" ¡ª an action-comedy series that follows the adventures of a notorious thief and a young boy.
Low-income families in Japan cut food and air conditioning during summer break
Yumiko Watanabe, the chairperson of nonprofit Kidsdoor, explains the results of a survey in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward on July 1.
Iran strikes on CIA facilities prompt questions about possible Russian role
Iranian drones are displayed in an undisclosed location in Iran, in this handout image obtained on Jan. 13, 2025.U.S. officials have acknowledged that Russia has ?provided targeting ?and other support for Iran in its drone strikes on U.S. targets in the Persian Gulf region.
Intervention is the word after yen moves beyond ?163 and sits there
The government could prop up the yen at any moment, though its signaling is hard to read.
Can Japanese comedy get laughs in English? Yoshimoto Kogyo lets the jokes rip
Wes-P has millions of followers and his viral clips made him recognizable out of Japan.
The 180-day locals: Life on Japan¡¯s digital nomad visa
Christopher Flinn works remotely from Tokyo earlier this month. Japan issued 646 digital nomad visas in 2025, but tourism officials are hoping to increase that figure in the coming years, with Japan's relatively cheap cost of living and the weak yen seen as potential draws for young professionals.
Japan reveals hint of new defense spending target in fiscal blueprint
The Self-Defense Forces' Type 16 mobile combat vehicle fires during a joint live-fire drill with U.S. Marines as part of the annual Resolute Dragon exercises in Yufu, Oita Prefecture, on June 28.
Summer has arrived in Japan and so have hot sleepless nights
Amid the heat and humidity in Japan, a good night¡¯s sleep is growing increasingly elusive without the heavy use of air conditioning.
Maya Ongaku¡¯s DIY dream is getting bigger
The members of Maya Ongaku ¡ª (from left) Tsutomu Sonoda, Shoei Ikeda and Ryota Takano ¡ª grew up on the Shonan Coast south of Tokyo and have been friends since their school days.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo¡¯s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo¡¯s ¡®stadium of desire¡¯

Longform

For many people, utility poles and power lines have become such a familiar part of Japan¡¯s landscape that they often go unnoticed.
Why Japan¡¯s utility poles won¡¯t be disappearing anytime soon
By Alex K.T. Martin

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