Japan’s cabinet has approved a record high defence budget as tensions with China continue to spiral, with Beijing this week accusing Tokyo of “fuelling a space arms race”. The draft defence budget for the next fiscal year – approved on Friday – is more than ¥9tn ($58bn) and 9.4% bigger than the previous budget, which will end in April. The increase comes in the fourth year of Japan’s five-year program to double its annual arms spending to 2% of GDP. The budget plan focuses on fortifying strike-back capability and coastal…
Tag: Japan
Labubus, TikTok and KPop Demon Hunters: how childhood went east Asian – podcast
From matcha and bubble tea to manga and Studio Ghibli, east Asian culture has become mainstream culture for millions of young people around the world. Jeff Yang, the co-author of Rise: A Pop History of Asian America from the Nineties to Now, describes to Nosheen Iqbal how after decades of American pop-cultural exceptionalism, the Covid-19 pandemic ushered in a new era of interest in east Asian culture, particularly as western attitudes towards subtitles shifted. The pair discuss the influence of social media on young people, the South Korean government’s deliberate…
Japan PM vows ‘resolute’ response after Chinese aircraft accused of locking radar on to Japanese fighter jets
The diplomatic dispute between Japan and China appeared to deepen over the weekend after Chinese military planes were accused of locking their radar on to Japanese fighter jets near the Okinawa islands. Japan’s prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, vowed to “respond calmly and resolutely” to the alleged incident, saying her country would take all possible measures to strengthen maritime and airspace surveillance and closely monitor Chinese military activities. The country’s foreign ministry also summoned China’s ambassador on Sunday. China’s government has roundly rejected Japan’s accusations, instead lodging its own counterprotests. The…
Japan ‘One Piece’ singer stopped mid-performance as Japan-China relations sour
Japanese “One Piece” singer Maki Otsuki was forced to halt her performance on stage in Shanghai, her management said, one of the latest events hit by a diplomatic spat between Tokyo and Beijing. Otsuki, known for the theme song of the popular anime, had been slated to perform for two days from Friday at the Bandai Namco Festival 2025 in the Chinese city. However, she “had to abruptly halt her performance due to unavoidable circumstances” on Friday “even though she was in the middle of performing”, her management posted on…
China is bearing down on Taiwan – enabled by Trump’s weakness and vacillation | Simon Tisdall
Sheer ignorance, fed by malign intent, historical prejudice and mutual misunderstanding, is often the crucial spark that ignites simmering international conflicts. If Adolf Hitler, remarkably ignorant of the US, had grasped the true extent of American industrial might, would he still have fatefully declared war on Washington in 1941? When the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in 1979, it evidently had no idea what it was getting into. Humiliating defeat contributed greatly to its subsequent disintegration. In 1990, Iraq’s Saddam Hussein attacked Kuwait, convinced he had a green light from the…
Trump reportedly urged Japan’s PM to avoid further escalations in dispute with China
Donald Trump asked the Japanese prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, to avoid further escalation in a dispute with China during a call this week, according to two Japanese government sources who spoke to the Reuters news agency. Takaichi sparked the biggest diplomatic bust-up with Beijing in years when she told parliament earlier this month that a hypothetical Chinese attack on Taiwan could trigger Japanese military action. Her words drew a furious response from Beijing – which claims democratically governed Taiwan – and demanded Takaichi retract her remarks, which to date she…
Taiwan plans extra $40bn in defence spending to counter China’s ‘intensifying’ threats
Beijing’s threats to Taiwan are “intensifying” and its preparations to invade are speeding up, Taiwan’s government has said while announcing a $40bn special defence budget and a swathe of measures to counter Chinese attacks. The Taiwan president, Lai Ching-te, said there was “no room for compromise on national security”, and he was committed to boosting Taiwan’s defences in conjunction with US support. “This is not an ideological struggle, nor a ‘unification vs independence’ debate, but a struggle to defend ‘democratic Taiwan’ and refuse to submit to being ‘China’s Taiwan’.” Lai…
Japan PM fails to achieve breakthrough in row with China – but polling shows public backs her
When she selected her wardrobe for this weekend’s G20 summit in South Africa, Japan’s prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, took extra care to choose something that – in her words – would “give her the upper hand” in negotiations. But she never got the opportunity to test the theory in what would have been her most pressing engagement – talks with the Chinese premier, Li Qiang, aimed at easing a deepening diplomatic row between the north-east Asian neighbours. Instead, they kept their distance during a group photoshoot on Saturday – setting…
China suspends seafood imports from Japan as Taiwan row escalates
China has suspended imports of Japanese seafood again, as the fallout over the Japanese prime minister’s comments about Taiwan continues to escalate in one of worst bilateral disputes in years. The ban was first reported on Wednesday by the Japanese outlets Kyodo News and NHK, and appeared to be confirmed by China’s foreign ministry, which said there was “no market for Japanese seafood in the current climate”. The reports said China’s government had informed Japan it was suspending all seafood imports, months after it partly lifted a previous ban issued…
Chinese travellers estimated to have cancelled 500,000 flights to Japan amid rising tensions
Chinese travellers are estimated to have cancelled hundreds of thousands of flights to Japan amid reports of suspended visa processing and cultural exchanges as a diplomatic dispute over Japan’s stance on Taiwan continues. Under pressure from business groups, Japan has sent a senior diplomat to Beijing in an attempt to calm tensions after Japan’s prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, said her country could get militarily involved if China attempted to invade Taiwan. Her comments prompted fury from China’s government, which issued warnings against Chinese travellers and students going to Japan. At…