https://www.scmp.com/rss/522919/feed The latest news and top stories on Stephen Nagy. He is an academic based in Tokyo. He holds a professorship at International Christian University, specialising in East Asian geopolitics, trade and Sino-Japanese relations. His background includes roles at the Chinese University of Hong Kong and various fellowships with Canadian and Japanese think tanks. Nagy directs policy studies for the Yokosuka Council of Asia Pacific Studies, leading their Indo-Pacific Policy Dialogue Series. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Julian Ryall Julian Ryall Japan has identified nearly 1,500 additional facilities that could serve as shelters in the event of missile or bomb attacks, amid mounting fears over the deteriorating security situation in northeast Asia. The government launched a study in 2024 to expand the existing list of facilities where the public could take cover during an attack and has since confirmed 1,489 sites – including subway stations and underground car parks – as suitable for short-term protection. The aim, the Sankei newspaper... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3346776/japan-identifies-1500-new-missile-shelters-fears-grow-over-worsening-east-asia-security?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3346776/japan-identifies-1500-new-missile-shelters-fears-grow-over-worsening-east-asia-security?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 17 Mar 2026 01:30:11 +0000 Maria Siow Maria Siow For years, the West’s answer to Chinese dominance of critical minerals was to rally around Washington. Now, some of its most important allies are reaching a different conclusion: that depending too heavily on the United States carries its own risks. Japan, France and Canada have all been exploring how to build supply chains for rare earths and other critical minerals that answer to neither Beijing nor Washington. Senior officials from the three Group of Seven economies are working on... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3346530/beyond-pax-silica-japan-france-and-canada-seek-rare-earth-autonomy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3346530/beyond-pax-silica-japan-france-and-canada-seek-rare-earth-autonomy?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 14 Mar 2026 00:00:09 +0000 Maria Siow Maria Siow Japan’s ruling coalition secured a commanding victory in Sunday’s general election, but analysts warn that Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s embrace of a hardline conservative agenda could narrow her party’s support base and ultimately weaken its dominance over time. The Liberal Democratic Party-led coalition captured 352 of the 465 seats in the House of Representatives, according to national public broadcaster NHK: well above the two-thirds supermajority required to override upper house... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3342931/japans-takaichi-won-election-what-cost-ldp?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3342931/japans-takaichi-won-election-what-cost-ldp?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 09 Feb 2026 09:38:04 +0000 Seong Hyeon Choi Seong Hyeon Choi The Pentagon has signalled a shift for US forces in South Korea, pushing them to expand their role beyond North Korea to help deter Beijing in the Taiwan Strait and elsewhere in the region, according to experts. The analysis follows a visit to South Korea this week by Elbridge Colby, the US undersecretary of defence for policy and a key architect of the Pentagon’s National Defence Strategy. In his first trip outside the United States since taking office in April, Colby hinted at a possible... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3341991/pentagon-eyes-expanded-role-south-korea-based-us-forces-help-deter-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3341991/pentagon-eyes-expanded-role-south-korea-based-us-forces-help-deter-china?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 01 Feb 2026 14:00:14 +0000 Julian Ryall Julian Ryall Ahead of US President Donald Trump’s second term, conservative groups in Japan – from right-leaning media outlets to politicians – celebrated his return to the White House as a golden opportunity for Tokyo to deepen trade with the world’s largest economy and cement its role as Washington’s key security partner in Asia. Just over a year later, that optimism has faded. The same commentators who once predicted that Japan and the US would prosper together under Trump’s leadership, marching in... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3340755/japans-conservatives-turn-sour-trump-fears-abandonment-deepen?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3340755/japans-conservatives-turn-sour-trump-fears-abandonment-deepen?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 22 Jan 2026 03:00:09 +0000 Julian Ryall Julian Ryall In Japan, “foreigner policy” has entered mainstream consciousness, with a politically middle-of-the-road newspaper concluding that xenophobia dominated the country’s “national conversation” last year. In a December 29 review of the year, the Mainichi reported that policies and attitudes towards foreign nationals “leapt to the forefront of Japanese politics and onto front pages”, propelled in part by the “xenophobic policies and rhetoric of the right-wing Sanseito party” in the July general... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3340260/japans-year-outsider-how-anti-foreigner-sentiment-went-mainstream?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3340260/japans-year-outsider-how-anti-foreigner-sentiment-went-mainstream?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 19 Jan 2026 03:00:12 +0000 Seong Hyeon Choi Seong Hyeon Choi As the new year unfolds, China finds itself grappling with strategic pressures fuelled by two US treaty allies at its doorstep – Japan and South Korea. In the second of a two-part series, Seong Hyeon Choi looks at how competing pressures in the Korean peninsula may complicate China’s security calculus. Read the first part here. In 2025, there was a major shift in China’s security environment relating to the Korean peninsula, as the North grew more open in its push for nuclear weapons and the... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3338853/korean-peninsula-arms-race-heating-how-will-china-react-2026?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3338853/korean-peninsula-arms-race-heating-how-will-china-react-2026?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 07 Jan 2026 22:00:09 +0000 Maria Siow Maria Siow The mild responses by America’s Asian allies over the US military strike on Venezuela stem from a desire not to “bite the hand that feeds” them, analysts have said, noting that some countries were buying time by claiming to monitor the situation. Following the raid that captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Saturday to face narcoterrorism charges on US soil, US President Donald Trump declared on Sunday that Washington was “in charge” of the South American nation, including its oil... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3338857/us-asian-allies-reluctant-slam-trump-over-venezuela-despite-his-cowboy-tactics?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3338857/us-asian-allies-reluctant-slam-trump-over-venezuela-despite-his-cowboy-tactics?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 06 Jan 2026 04:49:08 +0000 Seong Hyeon Choi Seong Hyeon Choi As the new year unfolds, China finds itself grappling with strategic pressures fuelled by two US treaty allies at its doorstep – Japan and South Korea. In the first of a two-part series, Seong Hyeon Choi looks at how historically fraught China-Japan ties might fare as Tokyo bolsters its military posture with record budgets and advanced weaponry. Read the second part here. China and Japan have never fully resolved the decades-old grudges of their wartime history and territorial disputes, but it... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3338769/china-japan-military-tensions-what-lies-ahead-2026?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3338769/china-japan-military-tensions-what-lies-ahead-2026?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 06 Jan 2026 01:00:29 +0000 Amber Wang,Seong Hyeon Choi,Yuanyue Dang Amber Wang,Seong Hyeon Choi,Yuanyue Dang US President Donald Trump’s new battleship plan, apparently aimed at deterring China, faces huge implementation hurdles and could cause Beijing to double down on its anti-ship weapons, according to analysts. Trump unveiled a new class of navy battleships on Monday. These “Trump-class” ships will be larger, faster and “100 times more powerful” than any previously built, according to the American leader, forming the centrepiece of what he called an expanded “Golden Fleet” aimed at cementing US... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3337739/golden-fleet-will-trumps-battleship-plan-deter-china-or-it-just-pipe-dream?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3337739/golden-fleet-will-trumps-battleship-plan-deter-china-or-it-just-pipe-dream?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 25 Dec 2025 22:00:16 +0000 Maria Siow Maria Siow Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s revival of Tokyo’s claim to islets whose symbolic weight far outweighs their size has rekindled an old dispute that may play well with nationalist supporters at home, but risks derailing hard-won diplomatic progress abroad. Seoul swiftly shot down Takaichi’s assertion last week that the rocky outcrops, known as Takeshima to Japan and Dokdo to South Korea, belong to Tokyo. “Dokdo is clearly our inherent territory,” the presidential office said in a... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3336570/china-likely-celebrating-japan-south-korea-clash-over-islets?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3336570/china-likely-celebrating-japan-south-korea-clash-over-islets?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 16 Dec 2025 05:00:11 +0000 Maria Siow Maria Siow Japan’s struggle to accept outsiders has been exposed once again after a video of a right-wing lawmaker arguing against Muslim burials went viral. The video showed Mizuho Umemura, a House of Councillors member from the populist Sanseito party, objecting to the burial of Muslim residents during a parliamentary debate late last month. She argued that cremation was a vital national custom practised by more than 99 per cent of Japanese people and said that approving new burial grounds for Muslims... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3335390/can-japan-find-space-muslim-burials-not-if-right-wing-rhetoric-prevails?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3335390/can-japan-find-space-muslim-burials-not-if-right-wing-rhetoric-prevails?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 07 Dec 2025 00:00:09 +0000 Julian Ryall Julian Ryall When Japan’s then incoming leader Sanae Takaichi was scrambling in October for a new coalition partner so the Liberal Democratic Party could remain in power, she seemed open to requests put forth by the Japan Innovation Party in return for its support. One of the key demands of the JIP was that Osaka should be officially elevated in status to the nation’s “second capital”, with additional infrastructure for the city to enable it to become the seat of government in the event of a natural disaster... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3333748/could-osaka-be-japans-second-capital-takaichi-appears-demur-allys-plan?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3333748/could-osaka-be-japans-second-capital-takaichi-appears-demur-allys-plan?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 22 Nov 2025 04:30:14 +0000 Seong Hyeon Choi Seong Hyeon Choi China now has the largest naval fleet in the world, and its growing numbers of nuclear-powered submarines are an integral part of its efforts to project power beyond its coastal waters. But the view from Beijing is growing more complex as a handful of US allies in the Pacific also ramp up deployment of nuclear-powered subs. South Korea inched closer to attaining the technology on October 30 when US President Donald Trump said he had given the country approval to build a nuclear-powered... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3331891/us-pacific-allies-eye-nuclear-submarines-should-china-be-concerned?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3331891/us-pacific-allies-eye-nuclear-submarines-should-china-be-concerned?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 07 Nov 2025 22:00:24 +0000 Julian Ryall Julian Ryall Tokyo has rescinded a plan to allow South Korean military jets to refuel at a base in Okinawa after learning the aircraft had recently flown near contested islets in the Sea of Japan, a revelation that triggered nationalist anger and concerns about the political risks of closer defence ties between the uneasy neighbours. The now-scrapped refuelling operation would have seen South Korea’s Black Eagles aerobatic team stop over at Naha Air Base in Okinawa en route to an air show in Dubai in early... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3331317/refuel-row-japan-rescinds-airbase-access-south-korean-jets-over-dokdo-islets-dispute?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3331317/refuel-row-japan-rescinds-airbase-access-south-korean-jets-over-dokdo-islets-dispute?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 04 Nov 2025 00:00:12 +0000 Julian Ryall Julian Ryall Sanae Takaichi has made a strong debut as Japan’s first female prime minister, with early polls showing widespread public confidence in her leadership – despite her decision to appoint several politicians who have been embroiled in scandal. A Yomiuri Shimbun survey released this week found 71 per cent of respondents backed her administration, climbing to 80 per cent among voters aged 18 to 39. That places Takaichi’s debut as the fifth most popular of any new government since 1978 – surpassing... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3330104/why-japans-first-female-pm-winning-hearts-even-scandal-hit-cabinet?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3330104/why-japans-first-female-pm-winning-hearts-even-scandal-hit-cabinet?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 24 Oct 2025 01:30:18 +0000 Julian Ryall Julian Ryall With his days in power numbered, Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba appears poised to make one final, politically risky stand by invoking the country’s wartime past, a move that could complicate the agenda of his incoming, more hardline successor. Ishiba has resisted pressure from within the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and is expected to deliver a speech on Friday to mark the 80th anniversary of Japan’s surrender in World War II – a politically fraught subject that has stirred... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3328144/japans-outgoing-pm-eyes-risky-final-act-blunt-hawkish-china-tilt?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3328144/japans-outgoing-pm-eyes-risky-final-act-blunt-hawkish-china-tilt?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 08 Oct 2025 02:30:07 +0000 Maria Siow Maria Siow As Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party begins the process of selecting a new leader – and by extension, the country’s next prime minister – the race is quickly shaping into a duel between a conservative heir to Shinzo Abe’s legacy and a reformist standard-bearer promising broader appeal within the divided party. The party’s internal election on October 4 follows Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s resignation after barely a year in office, with the winner expected to assume leadership through a... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3327041/japans-next-leader-ldp-showdown-pits-abe-protege-against-reformist-scion?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3327041/japans-next-leader-ldp-showdown-pits-abe-protege-against-reformist-scion?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 29 Sep 2025 00:00:14 +0000 Maria Siow Maria Siow When Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba announced on September 7 that he would step down after his party was trounced at the parliamentary polls earlier this year, the country was already staring at what could be an era of flux, marked by revolving door leaders who are slaves to approval ratings amid relentless electoral cycles. And this trend, according to observers, is likely to persist, pulling Tokyo into a period reminiscent of the 1990s and 2000s when prime ministers were replaced... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3327047/ishiba-exits-japan-doomed-revolving-door-era-political-instability?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3327047/ishiba-exits-japan-doomed-revolving-door-era-political-instability?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 27 Sep 2025 00:00:23 +0000 Alcott Wei,Seong Hyeon Choi Alcott Wei,Seong Hyeon Choi The successful launch of fighter jets from China’s most advanced aircraft carrier signals the country’s enhanced military influence in the western Pacific, analysts have said. The J-15T fighter jet, the fifth-generation J-35 stealth fighter and the airborne early warning aircraft KJ-600 successfully completed catapult launches and arresting gear landing tests aboard the Fujian, state broadcaster CCTV reported on Monday. The Fujian is China’s first fully domestically designed aircraft carrier and... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3326581/fujian-aircraft-carrier-launches-show-china-gaining-ground-western-pacific-analysts?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3326581/fujian-aircraft-carrier-launches-show-china-gaining-ground-western-pacific-analysts?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 23 Sep 2025 12:14:28 +0000 Julian Ryall Julian Ryall Japan’s police are turning to artificial intelligence (AI) to identify individuals who appear likely to commit “terrorist attacks” based on their social media posts, but observers say the move could backfire by sweeping up innocent citizens engaging in normal political discussion. The National Police Agency is seeking 49.5 million yen (US$338,000) in next year’s budget for a pilot project that would use AI to analyse online activity and flag individuals deemed potential threats. Officials say... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3325890/japan-ai-powered-policing-thwart-lone-wolf-threats-sparks-civil-liberties-concerns?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3325890/japan-ai-powered-policing-thwart-lone-wolf-threats-sparks-civil-liberties-concerns?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 18 Sep 2025 00:00:08 +0000 Julian Ryall Julian Ryall Outgoing Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba plans to deliver a speech at the UN General Assembly later this month when he is expected to share his views on the causes of World War II, prompting concerns among conservatives that he may offer a more sweeping apology than any previous Liberal Democratic Party leader. Ishiba announced on Sunday that he would step down, with an election to replace him as party president and prime minister of the nation expected to take place in early... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3324896/why-japan-worried-about-ishiba-giving-wwii-speech-un?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3324896/why-japan-worried-about-ishiba-giving-wwii-speech-un?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 10 Sep 2025 00:00:17 +0000 Shi Jiangtao Shi Jiangtao Ahead of the 80th anniversary of Victory Day, marking the end of the Sino-Japanese war and the global fight against fascism, we look at the profound changes of the post-war period and how they continue to affect China’s place in the world. In the second part of this series, Shi Jiangtao looks at the often contradictory sentiments in relations between the two countries. Eighty years after the end of World War II, a harrowing cinematic portrayal of Japanese wartime atrocities during the 1937... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3323532/love-hate-and-post-war-paradox-china-japan-relations?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3323532/love-hate-and-post-war-paradox-china-japan-relations?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 28 Aug 2025 22:00:28 +0000 Ralph Jennings Ralph Jennings China’s recent exit bans on two American businesspeople do not raise the travel risk for US-based executives, as neither case appears “geopolitical or retaliatory”, an American trade advocacy group has said. “The risk of exit bans, detentions, or other complications has not changed for most travellers,” according to the US-China Business Council, though it acknowledged that the high-profile cases had led companies to reassess their travel procedures to limit risks. In July, Beijing said it had... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3323081/china-travel-risk-american-citizens-unchanged-despite-exit-bans-us-trade-group?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3323081/china-travel-risk-american-citizens-unchanged-despite-exit-bans-us-trade-group?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 25 Aug 2025 13:00:10 +0000 Seong Hyeon Choi Seong Hyeon Choi Japan’s latest naval drills signalled its desire to broaden military ties as uncertainties grow over US defence support, while also sending a message to China, analysts said. Earlier this month, F-35B Lightning II fighters from the British Royal Navy’s 809 Naval Air Squadron conducted landings and launches on the Japanese destroyer-carrier JS Kaga as part of a multinational exercise in the Philippine Sea. The British Royal Navy and Royal Air Force, as well as the US Marine Corps, were present on... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3322908/us-mixed-signals-leading-japan-broaden-defence-ties-eye-china-analysts?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3322908/us-mixed-signals-leading-japan-broaden-defence-ties-eye-china-analysts?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 23 Aug 2025 10:00:22 +0000 Maria Siow Maria Siow Japan’s recent dispatch of warships to New Zealand – its first in nearly 90 years – signals Tokyo’s intention to take on a greater security role in the region and counter what analysts call increasing Chinese “geopolitical opportunism”. Carrying more than 500 crew, the two Maritime Self-Defence Force destroyers docked in Wellington last Friday as part of an Indo-Pacific deployment that included war games with Australia, New Zealand and other partners. The symbolic visit reflects Japan’s intent... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3321992/japans-naval-move-new-zealand-challenges-chinas-geopolitical-opportunism?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3321992/japans-naval-move-new-zealand-challenges-chinas-geopolitical-opportunism?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 15 Aug 2025 09:00:17 +0000 Maria Siow Maria Siow Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba may have hailed the 15 per cent tariff imposed on his country by the United States as a “win-win” deal, but Tokyo is expected to push back if the levies adversely affect Japan’s economy – especially the vital vehicle sector. One of the biggest sources of domestic criticism has been the absence of a joint text on the agreement, observers say. While Ishiba has touted the trade deal reached last month as benefiting both nations, he also acknowledged on Monday... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3320785/all-talk-no-paper-japans-us-tariff-deal-hits-snag?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3320785/all-talk-no-paper-japans-us-tariff-deal-hits-snag?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 06 Aug 2025 00:00:08 +0000 Alyssa Chen Alyssa Chen Even as Washington ramps up pressure on Japan and South Korea to settle trade disputes with the US, diplomatic observers believe tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump are not likely to push its two Asian allies closer to Beijing. However, they suggest that the trade tensions could create an opportunity for China to offer stronger incentives to enhance trilateral cooperation with Tokyo and Seoul. The assessment was made following US announcements that reciprocal tariffs on Japan and South... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3317440/will-us-tariff-pressure-japan-and-south-korea-push-them-closer-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3317440/will-us-tariff-pressure-japan-and-south-korea-push-them-closer-china?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 08 Jul 2025 14:10:37 +0000