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February 13, 2026
 

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COMMENTARY

Japan

World
Japan
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi¡¯s election win is fueling regional backing for Japan to take on a bigger defense role as Asian nations seek balance against China and shifting U.S. policy.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Most in Asia want a stronger Japanese security presence ¡ª except for China
A more confident Tokyo complicates Beijing¡¯s preferred regional order. For many of Asia¡¯s middle powers, that makes Japan an appealing counterweight.
COMMENTARY / Japan / Geoeconomic Briefing
Challenges for Japan during the U.S.-China ¡®truce¡¯
Leaders in Beijing ¡ª and some in Washington ¡ª have a shared vision of U.S.-China co-leadership of the global order.
COMMENTARY / Japan
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.
Sanai Takaichi and the Liberal Democratic Party¡¯s landslide victory demonstrated that when candidates find compelling issues that affect their lives, young people show up.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 10, 2026
Japan¡¯s youth are quietly securing their nation¡¯s future
By Waka Ikeda
Young voters didn¡¯t just express opinions in polls, they showed up at voting stations in increased numbers, many for the first time.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi at Liberal Democratic Party headquarters in Tokyo on Sunday. The party secured a fresh mandate and a supermajority in the Lower House in an election the same day.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 9, 2026
Five key takeaways from Takaichi¡¯s landslide victory
By Michael MacArthur Bosack
The LDP secured a supermajority on its own, giving Takaichi the golden opportunity to implement her policy agenda.
U.S. President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi arrive on board the U.S. Navy's USS George Washington aircraft carrier in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, on Oct. 28.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 9, 2026
Takaichi¡¯s victory holds a foreign-policy lesson for the U.S.
By Chris Estep
Simply relying on China to alienate its neighbors will not lead to a more stable Indo-Pacific region.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy prepares to meet with then-Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Kyiv in March 2023. Four years into the war, Japan stands out as a leading supporter of Ukraine through economic and humanitarian aid.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 6, 2026
Four years of war and Ukraine still needs the world
By Kumiharu Shigehara
Four years into the war, Japan stands out as a leading supporter of Ukraine through economic and humanitarian aid, testing its ability to sustain international economic diplomacy.
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
By Brad Glosserman
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.
A screen displays Japanese and U.S. 10-year government bonds outside a securities firm in Tokyo on Jan. 21.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 4, 2026
Japan¡¯s bond market has a warning for America
By Allison Schrager
Reality, however, has a way of catching up with theory eventually, and now it has for Japan, whose long-term bond yields are rising as the yen is depreciating.
Yoshihiko Noda, co-leader of the Centrist Reform Alliance, the nation¡¯s largest?opposition?party, greets supporters during a campaign event in Osaka on Tuesday.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 4, 2026
Is this election really unpredictable?
By Edo Naito
Despite media uncertainty, opposition weaknesses and recent polls suggest Takaichi and the LDP are likely headed for a strong victory.

Germany considers joining GCAP fighter project with Japan, U.K. and Italy
A concept model of the Global Air Combat Program fighter jet on display at the Defense and Security Equipment International Japan conference in Chiba last May
Struggling Nissan forecasts $4.2 billion full-year net loss
Nissan intends to reduce the number of its vehicle production plants from 17 to 10 by March 2028, and is targeting 20,000 job cuts worldwide by that date.
Why Asia can¡¯t undo decades of falling fertility rates
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.
Why we¡¯ll never see a yokozuna in the Super Bowl
Wrestlers from Onoe stable with Fujitsu Frontiers cornerback Al-Rilwan Adeyemi (front) at the Rice Bowl at Tokyo Dome on Jan. 3, 2017
Yen strengthens decisively after strong showing by LDP boosts confidence
The yen has strengthened decisively since the Liberal Democratic Party gained a supermajority in the Lower House.
Landslide election victory lets Takaichi confront China on her terms
The resounding victory by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's Liberal Democratic Party in Sunday's general election has sent a strong signal that Takaichi is likely to be around for some time, giving her the bandwidth to adhere to her strategy of putting the onus on Chinese President Xi Jinping to reengage with Japan.
Is Takaichi on course for a long-term reign?
Sanae Takaichi, prime minister and leader of the Liberal Democratic Party, at the party¡¯s headquarters in Tokyo on Sunday
Against the grain: Japanese wine aged in local barrels
At Buryu Winery, owner Keiji Yamaguchi (left) and assistant winemaker Kaede Narita created a cedar-infused red wine by fermenting it in a 1,000 liter "kioke" cedar tub.
Foreign residents breathe new life into bubble-era resort town
A craft beer brewery run by California native Brian Shevlin and his wife Mariko Furuta, Joynt Brewing Co. regularly hosts events that highlight different cultural communities.
Japan¡¯s SkyDrive hopes to have flying cars in service by 2028
SkyDrive¡¯s flying car unit at its flight test base in the city of Yamaguchi

Podcast

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

Longform

Experts say emotional bonds with AI are often shaped by prior experiences ¡ª or disappointments ¡ª in human relationships.
Love, engineered in the age of AI
By Elizabeth Beattie

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