https://www.scmp.com/rss/523131/feed The latest news and top stories on Michael Cucek, an Assistant Professor of Asian Studies at Temple University's Japan Campus and a Research Associate at MIT’s Center for International Studies. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Julian Ryall Julian Ryall Japan’s effort to shield itself from President Donald Trump’s tariffs is facing a new backlash, with environmental groups warning that US projects tied to Tokyo’s investment pledge could generate greenhouse gases equal to around 20 per cent of Japan’s annual emissions. The Japanese government agreed to invest 5.7 trillion yen (US$35.6 billion) in the three projects as part of the first round of spending on US infrastructure in return for Trump’s tariffs being suspended. In total, the bilateral... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3349936/japans-bid-avert-trump-tariffs-draws-fire-over-climate-impact-us-projects?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3349936/japans-bid-avert-trump-tariffs-draws-fire-over-climate-impact-us-projects?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 14 Apr 2026 00:00:15 +0000 Julian Ryall Julian Ryall Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is facing accusations of diplomatic sycophancy after White House footage showed her giggling at a portrait of an autopen – placed by US President Donald Trump in the spot reserved for his predecessor Joe Biden – during summit talks last week. The clip, posted on the official White House website, shows Takaichi pointing at the framed picture, then laughing and covering her mouth. It was filmed on the “Presidential Walk of Fame”, a gallery unveiled by Trump... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3347717/japan-pm-mocked-trump-sycophant-after-giggling-bidens-autopen-portrait?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3347717/japan-pm-mocked-trump-sycophant-after-giggling-bidens-autopen-portrait?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 24 Mar 2026 09:40:50 +0000 Julian Ryall Julian Ryall The broad anti-base alliance that has shaped Okinawa’s politics for nearly a decade is reeling after a bruising election defeat, raising questions about the future of organised resistance to the US military presence on Japan’s southernmost islands. All Okinawa – a coalition of opposition parties and civic groups that backs Governor Denny Tamaki and campaigns to curb the US military footprint in the prefecture – failed to win a single one of Okinawa’s four single-seat constituencies in the... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3343763/what-next-okinawas-anti-base-alliance-after-japan-election-loss?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3343763/what-next-okinawas-anti-base-alliance-after-japan-election-loss?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 17 Feb 2026 01:30:14 +0000 Julian Ryall Julian Ryall Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s bid to strengthen her slim parliamentary majority through a widely expected snap election has grown riskier after the country’s largest opposition party struck an alliance with a former ruling coalition partner. The new alliance between the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (CDP) and Komeito, announced on Thursday, complicates Takaichi’s bet that she will be able to significantly build on her razor-thin majority in the lower house of... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3339879/japans-takaichi-faces-uphill-task-lower-house-election-after-allys-exit?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3339879/japans-takaichi-faces-uphill-task-lower-house-election-after-allys-exit?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 15 Jan 2026 00:00:13 +0000 Julian Ryall Julian Ryall An editorial in the Sankei Shimbun has reopened a long-taboo debate in Japan over whether the country should even discuss acquiring nuclear weapons, after off-the-record remarks by a senior security official arguing the country should have them sparked domestic and regional backlash. The conservative daily argued that growing threats from Japan’s neighbours meant no option for protecting the public should be beyond discussion, a stance that has drawn praise from some on the right and alarm from... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3338570/why-talk-japanese-nuclear-option-resurfacing-and-why-it-alarms-critics?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3338570/why-talk-japanese-nuclear-option-resurfacing-and-why-it-alarms-critics?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 03 Jan 2026 01:30:24 +0000 Julian Ryall Julian Ryall Japan is no stranger to political volatility, often characterised by a rapid turnover of prime ministers, and when Sanae Takaichi took office in October, many had believed her premiership would not last long. But more than two months later, Takaichi has proved the sceptics wrong and even managed to bring back voters who abandoned the long-ruling Liberal Democratic Party and rallied behind far-right groups like the anti-immigrant Sanseito party in the July election. The LDP under then prime... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3338138/takaichi-shaping-japans-thatcher-amid-china-feud-can-her-popularity-last?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3338138/takaichi-shaping-japans-thatcher-amid-china-feud-can-her-popularity-last?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 31 Dec 2025 00:00:13 +0000 Julian Ryall Julian Ryall Japan’s sharp reduction in funding for a leading international body fighting infectious diseases risks damaging Tokyo’s credibility and long-held “peace diplomacy”, in a move analysts say could give China an opening to expand its influence across developing nations. The Switzerland-based Global Fund to Fight Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria, established in 2002, has saved an estimated 70 million lives in more than 100 countries by boosting testing capacity, surveillance systems, community networks... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3336378/japans-retreat-global-health-funding-hands-china-diplomatic-opening?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3336378/japans-retreat-global-health-funding-hands-china-diplomatic-opening?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 15 Dec 2025 03:14:05 +0000 Julian Ryall Julian Ryall As Japan grapples with an uncertain leadership transition, a rash of domestic scandals risks further contributing to its political circus. In recent months, a female mayor has been accused of repeatedly taking a male subordinate to a nearby “love hotel”, another dissolved a city council after it was discovered that she had falsified her academic records, and a male mayor from Okinawa is accused of sexually harassing female staff. Elsewhere, a female mayor stepped down after being accused of... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3328986/love-hotel-meetings-abuse-japanese-politicians-get-mired-scandals?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3328986/love-hotel-meetings-abuse-japanese-politicians-get-mired-scandals?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 15 Oct 2025 01:30:14 +0000 Julian Ryall Julian Ryall Sanae Takaichi is poised to make history as Japan’s first female prime minister, but her government may be imperilled before it even begins amid a deepening rift within the ruling coalition. The Liberal Democratic Party Takaichi now leads and its long-time junior partner, Komeito, have been in coalition for 26 years. Without Komeito’s parliamentary support, the LDP would lose its majority in the Diet, forcing its leader to seek new political allies. Yet analysts warn that Takaichi’s hardline... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3328004/japans-first-female-pm-hits-political-gridlock-she-even-takes-office?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3328004/japans-first-female-pm-hits-political-gridlock-she-even-takes-office?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 07 Oct 2025 00:00:09 +0000 Julian Ryall Julian Ryall Komeito, the Buddhist-backed political partner of Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), is grappling with what it calls an “existential crisis” after a bruising defeat in July’s Upper House election compounded internal fractures and exposed a growing disconnect with its traditional support base. The party’s stark assessment was contained in a postmortem report, formally approved on Thursday, that acknowledged the scale of the setback. At a subsequent senior party meeting, Secretary... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3325380/japans-buddhist-backed-komeito-facing-existential-crisis-after-bruising-election-defeat?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3325380/japans-buddhist-backed-komeito-facing-existential-crisis-after-bruising-election-defeat?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 15 Sep 2025 00:00:13 +0000 Julian Ryall Julian Ryall With his grasp on power slipping, Japan’s Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has vowed to remain in office despite a stinging electoral rebuke that plunged his ruling coalition into fresh turmoil. The humiliating setback, confirmed late on Sunday, has fuelled doubts about Ishiba’s leadership as rivals within his Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) circle and stoked anxiety in the world’s fourth-largest economy, already reeling from rising prices, mounting security threats and the disruptive effects of US... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3319039/ishibas-last-stand-japans-ldp-turmoil-sanseito-surge-erodes-pms-grip-power?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3319039/ishibas-last-stand-japans-ldp-turmoil-sanseito-surge-erodes-pms-grip-power?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 22 Jul 2025 00:00:12 +0000