Tokyo

The Strait of Hormuz: The Military, Energy, and Economic Challenges

Japanese Prime Minister Looks To Balance Regional Issues With Iran War During Meeting With Trump

Tokyo is looking to support the United States during its ongoing war with Iran. Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi met with President Donald Trump on March 19 to discuss the possibility of...

Japanese National Elections Show Clear Limits of Chinese Coercion Towards Tokyo

Despite the swirling snow, Japanese voters braved the cold to send a clear message to China. On February 8, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) won a landslide victory in Japan’s national legislative...

China Reportedly Blocks Rare Earth Exports to Japan, Targeting Defense Supply Chains

New Year, same bullying. On January 8, The Wall Street Journal reported that China halted the export of rare earths and rare earth magnets to some Japanese firms in direct retaliation for Tokyo’s possible...

U.S. Sees Korea as Potential Key To Supporting Taiwan

It looks like the United States Forces Korea (USFK) are getting a new mission without being relieved of any of their old responsibilities. On January 4, Nikkei Asia reported comments by the USFK commander...

China Launches New Drills Around Taiwan, Regional Tensions Rise

China is targeting Taiwan with a short but intense series of military exercises around the island. On December 29, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) launched the two-day “Justice Mission 2025,”...

Chinese Jets Target Japanese Fighters, Escalating Tensions Between Beijing and Tokyo

Chinese fighter pilots have upped the ante in the East China Sea. On December 6, The Wall Street Journal reported that two Chinese J-15 fighters from the aircraft carrier Liaoning twice trained their fire-control...

Japan Has Changed How the World Must Think About Taiwan

A single word can crack the facade of a great power’s confidence. That’s what happened last month when Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi of Japan told lawmakers in Tokyo that a...

Chinese Government Mouthpiece Calls for Nuclear Attack on Japan

Guancha, a Chinese state-run media outlet, openly called for nuclear strikes on Japan after Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi told the Japanese legislature earlier this month that Tokyo might defend...

China and Japan Clash Over Taiwan

China is increasingly isolating Taiwan to force the island’s capitulation. On November 13, the Chinese Foreign Ministry strongly condemned remarks by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Japan’s...

American AI Exports Program

Maritime Protection of Taiwan’s Energy Vulnerability

Chinese Coercion of Taiwan’s Energy Lifelines: A Contest Taiwan and the West Can’t Afford to Lose

...

Trump and Xi call truce for now, but this ‘12 out of 10’ meeting leaves a lot unanswered

President Trump appeared buoyant after concluding his first face-to-face meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping since retaking the White House, confident in having achieved a breakthrough. Yet...

Trump rallies the allies to break China’s dangerous mineral, rare earths monopoly

As President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping prepared for their Thursday meeting in South Korea, trade talks between Washington and Beijing had fallen into a familiar pattern. Trump’s...

10 Takeaways From Simulated Attacks on Taiwan’s Energy Sector

China seeks not just to intimidate Taiwan, but to methodically erode its sovereignty — using coercive tools short of war to compel submission without firing a shot. FDD experts facilitated a two-day...

CNMI: China eyes control of America’s Asian frontline

China needs to be emplaced in CNMI if it is going to take Taiwan. Usually the focus is on Guam, but widen the geographic aperture and it’s clear that whatever applies to Guam applies equally to CNMI. And Beijing knows it.

Japan, South Korea Abruptly Pull Out of NATO Summit

A subtle rift is emerging between NATO and some of its most trusted Asian partners. The leaders of Japan and South Korea, two of America’s closest treaty allies in the Indo-Pacific, abruptly canceled...

FDD Uncovers Likely Chinese Intelligence Operation Targeting Recently Laid-Off U.S. Government Employees

...

Signaling Displeasure With Washington, China Conducts Military Exercises Around Taiwan

China’s psychological warfare on Taiwan is intensifying. Following its largest military exercises around Taiwan in three decades last December, Beijing has launched a new series of military drills. On...