United States

China

Japan

Philippines

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Military & Security

U.S.-China Relations

An annual Pentagon report on China's military detailed on Dec. 18 the faster-than-expected expansion of China's nuclear arsenal to 600 warheads in 2024. 

China, U.S.: Pentagon Report Highlights Escalating Missile Arms Race

Politics

The Philippine Senate ratified the country's Reciprocal Access Agreement with Japan, Reuters reported on Dec. 16. 

Philippines, Japan: Manila Ratifies Reciprocal Access Agreement

Economics

Leaders of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party and the opposition Democratic Party for the People released a statement on Nov. 20 pledging to consider raising the minimum annual threshold for income tax to 1.03 million yen ($6,600), cutting gasoline taxes, and "increas[ing] the take-home pay" in an upcoming economic support package.

Japan: Ruling Party Accepts Opposition Economic and Political Demands

The secretary general of the opposition Japan Innovation Party announced on Nov. 5 that the party's lawmakers would vote for party leader Nobuyuki Baba in the Nov. 11 lower house vote for prime minister, The Asahi Shimbun reported on Nov. 5.

Japan: Key Opposition Parties To Help Secure Ishiba's Minority Government

North Korea

South Korea

South Korea's Defense Intelligence Agency discovered evidence that North Korea had deployed a transporter erector launcher to an area from which Pyongyang could attempt a long-range, low-trajectory launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile to test atmospheric reentry capabilities, Yonhap News Agency reported on Oct. 30.

South Korea: North Korea Could Test Nuke, ICBM in 2024

U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump said if he were in office now, South Korea would be paying $10 billion per year for the maintenance of United States Forces Korea, or USFK, Bloomberg reported on Oct. 15.

South Korea, U.S.: Trump Cost-Sharing Push Could Sully Regional Cooperation With Seoul

Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party revealed its manifesto for the upcoming Oct. 27 snap general election, the Sankei Shimbun reported on Oct. 10.

Japan: LDP Manifesto Drops Controversial Foreign Policies Ahead of Polls

New Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba announced the formal dissolution of the lower house of the Diet ahead of the Oct. 27 snap election, with campaigning due to begin on Oct. 15, The Asahi Shimbun reported on Oct. 9.

Japan: Ishiba Dissolves Lower House Ahead of Snap Election

Columns

On Geopolitics

South Korean marines participate in joint exercises with U.S. forces Sept. 2 in Pohang, South Korea. Japan and South Korea set the blueprint for how militaries must contend with stiff competition for human resources.

Japan and South Korea set the blueprint for how militaries must contend with stiff competition for human resources.

Demographic Decline and Military Manpower: Understanding the Shifting Role of People in Conflict

Snapshots

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks during a press conference in Tokyo on Nov. 11, 2024.

Global Elections

While Ishiba is unlikely to leave office anytime soon, Japan's new minority government will impede domestic policymaking, which could fray U.S.-Japan ties if defense spending reforms are delayed.

Japan's PM Ishiba Survives To Struggle Another Day

Assessments

Israel

Palestinian Territories

Sri Lanka

A ballot is cast in front of the Japanese flag. On Nov. 11, the country will select a prime minister and convene an extraordinary session of its bicameral Diet.

Environment, Science & Technology

Israel-Hamas Conflict

Science & Technology

A look at what the coming week will bring -- and a list of recommended RANE articles from the week that was.

The Weekly Rundown: Japan Selects a Prime Minister, Trump's Shadow Looms Over COP29

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba arrives for a plenary session at the lower house of parliament on Oct. 9, 2024, in Tokyo, Japan. 

A weaker government will slow policymaking on key economic and defense issues, and could return Japan to a period of revolving-door prime ministers.

Japan's LDP Loses Its Majority in Snap Ballot, Portending Policy Gridlock

Chile

Uruguay

United Kingdom

Georgia

Protesters hold Georgian flags during a pro-Europe rally in Tbilisi ahead of Georgia's parliamentary elections on Oct. 20, 2024. 

The Weekly Rundown: Key Elections in Georgia and Japan, Efforts to Resume Gaza Cease-Fire Talks

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba (center) waves as he arrives for a campaign rally at Onahama Port in Iwaki, Japan, on Oct. 15, 2024. 

Still reeling from a slush fund scandal, the ruling party and its coalition partner are set to lose seats but remain in power, portending slow and arduous policymaking in the years ahead.

Japan's Snap Elections Set To Weaken the LDP's Governing Capacity

Newly-elected leader of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), Shigeru Ishiba, speaks during a press conference on Sept. 27, 2024, in Tokyo, Japan. 

As prime minister, Shigeru Ishiba will focus on strengthening the Japanese military and regional defense ties. But the opposition would seek to roll back such efforts if it wins the Oct. 27 snap general election.

Japan's New PM Will Seek To Revive His Party -- if He Survives a Snap Election

Mexico

Austria

Supporters of the far-right Freedom Party of Austria (FPO) wave flags during an election rally in Vienna, Austria, on Sept. 27, 2024. 

The Weekly Rundown: Austrian Elections and a U.S. Port Workers Strike

Media

Podcasts

What key factors are informing the outcome of the elections?

Essential Geopolitics: What to Expect from Japan's Leadership Elections

Lebanon

Germany

The site of an Israeli strike on Sept. 19 in the southern Lebanese border village of Mahmoudiyeh. Fighting between Israel and Hezbollah will continue to intensify in the next week.

Social Issues

The Weekly Rundown: Escalating Israel-Hezbollah Conflict, the Sri Lankan Presidential Election

The candidates for Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party's (LDP) leadership election sit on stage during a debate in Tokyo on Sept. 14, 2024.

Whoever the ruling LDP picks as its new leader will remain focused on improving Japan's military ties, but if he or she is replaced quickly, the turnover could harm Tokyo's preparedness for regional conflicts.

Previewing Japan's LDP Leadership Election

Turkey

Cambodia

France

Uzbekistan

Turkmenistan

Kazakhstan

Russia

Kyrgyzstan

Afghanistan

The Geopolitics of Water

Energy

The escalating impacts of climate change and water scarcity will inflame tensions between Central Asian countries, raising the risk of violent state conflict in the coming decades. 

The Geopolitics of Water: The Looming Threat of Central Asian 'Water Wars'

<p>Japan is a mountainous, volcanic island chain located in the western Pacific Ocean. The islands arc from Russia in the north toward the Korean Peninsula in the south. The country has four main islands, Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku and Kyushu, plus thousands of minor ones extending through the Ryukyu island chain framing the East China Sea. Japan&#39;s rugged terrain and lack of interregional connecting rivers isolated its population into separate, densely populated coastal plains. The Yamato plain, which dominates the &quot;Inland Sea,&quot; the birthplace of Japanese civilization. The Inland Sea saw the rise of early Japanese maritime culture and facilitated communication and political control. As Japanese culture expanded over the island chain, the seat of power moved to the more productive and strategically located Kanto plain, Japan&#39;s core region and home to Tokyo, the world&#39;s largest metropolitan area. The country&#39;s primary geographic challenge is sustaining its large population on an island with little arable land and few natural resources. Japan&#39;s geography has prompted the country to alternate between periods of isolationism and expansion. When Japan unifies under strong centralized control, it is often drawn toward the continent for resources and land. This happened in the late 1500s and again in the early 1900s, leading to World War II. Given its location, the Korean Peninsula has been the corridor of invasion between Japan and China, and its status remains of strategic importance to Tokyo. The lack of natural resources in Japan continues to force the country to seek them abroad, leaving the country to balance between U.S. naval dominance and China&#39;s expanding maritime interests.</p>

SITUATION REPORTS

China, U.S.: Pentagon Report Highlights Escalating Missile Arms Race

Philippines, Japan: Manila Ratifies Reciprocal Access Agreement

Japan: Ruling Party Accepts Opposition Economic and Political Demands

Japan: Key Opposition Parties To Help Secure Ishiba's Minority Government

South Korea: North Korea Could Test Nuke, ICBM in 2024

South Korea, U.S.: Trump Cost-Sharing Push Could Sully Regional Cooperation With Seoul

Japan: LDP Manifesto Drops Controversial Foreign Policies Ahead of Polls

Japan: Ishiba Dissolves Lower House Ahead of Snap Election

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