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US-Japan relations

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US-Japan relations
Breaking news and analysis on US-Japan relations, including trade, defence and diplomacy.
A feasibility study would look into having Japanese and South Korean shipbuilders supplement the US Navy’s overstretched production lines. Photo: Shutterstock
US military

Pentagon mulls plan to outsource warship design, building to South Korea, Japan

If the proposal goes ahead it will be the first time the US has bought a major surface combatant from a foreign partner since WWII.

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Japan

‘Dragon Ball’ diplomacy: Japan’s Takaichi builds rapport with personal touches

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Japan

Japan’s Trump tariff deal faces climate backlash over projects’ 20% carbon surge

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Japan

US delays Japan’s Tomahawk missile supplies as Iran strikes take priority

The missiles are key to boosting Tokyo’s long-range strike capabilities to deal with challenges from China and North Korea.

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A Tomahawk missile launches from a US guided missile cruiser in the Mediterranean Sea in 2003. Photo: US Navy via AP
Japan

Businesses, smokers burnt by Japan’s record US$8 billion defence budget

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has pledged to increase defence spending to 2 per cent of Japan’s gross domestic product.

Japan

Trump’s ‘wind-up doll’? Japan’s PM faces backlash over White House fawning

White House imagery showing Sanae Takaichi cheering for a rock song and laughing at a jibe at Joe Biden left some in Japan feeling ‘ashamed’.

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Japan

Japan may send ‘top level’ minesweepers to Hormuz after ceasefire

Foreign Minister Motegi also announced the release and return of one of the two Japanese nationals previously detained in Iran.

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A Japanese Maritime Self-Defence Force’s minesweeper makes a port call in Cambodia last year. Photo: Kyodo
Japan

Japan PM conveys to Trump her ‘strong intent’ to meet North Korea’s Kim

Takaichi said she has ‘received full support from the president towards an immediate solution’ to Pyongyang’s abductions of Japanese nationals.

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United States

Trump compares Iran attack to Pearl Harbour in otherwise positive Takaichi talks

Two leaders tout bilateral relationship and pledge to work cooperatively on trade.

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US-China relations

Why delayed US-China summit raises stakes for Takaichi ahead of White House visit

Analysts say the combination of the Iran war and the new date for Trump’s trip to Beijing could put Japan’s leader on the defensive.

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Can US President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi maintain the rapport of their meeting in Japan last October? Photo: Kyodo
Japan

Trump wants Japanese warships in Hormuz. Can Takaichi ‘dodge the bullet’?

The Iran war complicates Trump-Takaichi talks, putting her in a bind between US demands and constitutional limits on military action.

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A naval vessel sails in the Strait of Hormuz on March 1. Photo: AFP/Getty Images/TNS
Japan

In Japan, video of exhausted Takaichi sparks health fears ahead of US trip

The prime minister is expected to announce Tokyo’s participation in the US’ ‘Golden Dome’ missile defence system when she meets Trump.

China-Japan relations

Opinion | Japan’s rightward shift puts it on a collision course with China

Any attempt by the Takaichi administration to revise the constitution and re-arm the country will ignite fierce opposition from Beijing.

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Japan

Macroscope | Why Japan should push back on Trump’s investment demands

Trump’s use of tariff threats to strong-arm foreign governments, companies and investors into funding US projects should be resisted.

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Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, with US President Donald Trump, speaks to members of the military aboard the USS George Washington aircraft carrier docked at the American naval base in Yokosuka, Japan on October 28, 2025. Photo: AP
Japan

Why plan by US and Japan to relocate Okinawa airbase is hitting turbulence

The US does not intend to vacate the current airbase for now due to disagreement over runway length at a replacement site, a report says.

Residential buildings are seen near US Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Ginowan, Japan’s Okinawa prefecture. Photo: AFP
Japan

Trump unveils first Japan investments under trade deal with US

The president hailed the projects – a critical minerals site, a gas power plant and an LNG facility in the US – ahead of PM Takaichi’s visit.

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Japan

Is Japan’s US$550-billion Trump ‘signing bonus’ a deal with strings attached?

Tokyo races to fund US projects to keep a 15 per cent tariff rate, as critics question if the ‘signing bonus’ is a gift or a high-interest loan.

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Japan

Opinion | Will Japan’s election result trigger a security spiral with China?

The result of Japan’s election has altered Tokyo’s domestic political calculus while raising the stakes for regional stability.

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Illustration: Craig Stephens
Banking & finance

Macroscope | Trump-Takaichi meddling in finance spells more turbulence ahead

The two leaders’ moves into economics despite their lack of knowledge threaten to further destabilise global finance and inflate debt levels.

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Donald Trump

Trump announces White House visit by Japanese PM Takaichi on March 19

The US and Japan have been working to strike a ‘very substantial’ deal on trade, as well as collaborating on national security, Trump said.

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Japan

Japan’s conservatives turn sour on Trump as ‘fears of abandonment’ deepen

Right-wing media outlets and politicians are now concerned that Trump’s second term will harm Japan’s trade and security interests.

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US President Donald Trump (left) and Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on board the USS George Washington aircraft carrier in the Japanese city of Yokosuka in October. Photo: AFP
US-China relations

How narrowing China-US gap could reshape global power play by 2035

Political scientist Yan Xuetong predicts Beijing will be on ‘equal footing’ in strategic rivalry with Washington in the post-Trump era.

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China and the US have been working to keep the peace ahead of possible reciprocal visits by US President Donald Trump (left) and Chinese President Xi Jinping (right), shown here in Busan, South Korea, on October 30. Photo: AFP
Japan

Japan, US vow ‘unshaken’ defence ties despite Trump’s pivot from Asia

‘We talk about America first, yes, but it doesn’t mean America alone,’ Pentagon chief Hegseth tells Japanese Defence Minister Koizumi.

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US-China relations

Trump to meet US’ China envoy after call with Japanese PM Takaichi

Trump and Takaichi telephone conversation reaffirms ‘close coordination’ of US-Japan alliance and hopes of a ‘new chapter’ for partnership.

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US-China relations

‘No worries’: Trump plays down Beijing’s military drills around Taiwan

Trump dismisses ‘routine’ drills in Taiwan Strait even as US arms sales hit record high and Pentagon repeats 2027 timeline.

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US President Donald Trump spoke about China’s military drills around Taiwan during a press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida on Monday. Photo: Getty Images via AFP
Japan

Macroscope | Japan’s economic security push heralds rising protectionism in Asia

The emphasis on securing supply chains and stockpiling critical resources is no substitute for free and open trade and investment.

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Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi gestures as US President Donald Trump delivers a speech in front of US Navy personnel on board the USS George Washington aircraft carrier at the US naval base in Yokosuka, Japan, on October 28. Photo: AFP
Japan

Japan vows never to possess nuclear weapons, rebuffing official’s idea

The government’s response came after a senior security official suggested that Tokyo needed nuclear arms to deter ‍potential aggressors.

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China-Japan relations

Donald Trump left facing ‘dilemma’ as China-Japan spat worsens: analyst

White House navigates backing long-time ally Japan while preserving trade truce with China amid fraying ties between the Asian neighbours.

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