Tokyo picks a fight with its biggest trading partner
Subscribe nowwith a one-month trial for only $1, then enjoy the first year at an exclusive rate of just $99. Takaichi’s tough talk unravels trade ties and China diplomacy Scott Foster reports that Takaichi’s Taiwan remarks have triggered swift Chinese retaliation, from renewed seafood bans to collapsing tourism and cancelled exchanges. Her willingness to revisit…
Subscribe nowwith a one-month trial for only $1, then enjoy the first year at an exclusive rate of just $99.
Takaichi’s tough talk unravels trade ties and China diplomacy
Scott Foster reports that Takaichi’s Taiwan remarks have triggered swift Chinese retaliation, from renewed seafood bans to collapsing tourism and cancelled exchanges. Her willingness to revisit Japan’s non-nuclear principles adds a sharper strategic edge, putting decades of stable China ties – and Japan’s own economy – at growing risk.
Merz’s pension war pushes Germany’s coalition to the brink
Diego Faßnacht writes that locking pensions at ~48% beyond 2031 has split the CDU/CSU’s younger MPs from party elders and hardened SPD red lines. Even if a compromise emerges, trust inside the coalition is shot, fiscal risks are rising, and Germany’s “safe asset” reputation continues to erode.
Ukraine risks being reduced to a landlocked rump state
James Davis reports that Russian gains from Pokrovsk to Kupyansk are converging into a deeper southern threat aimed at Zaporizhzhia and, ultimately, Odesa. With Kyiv politically weakened and peace channels stalling, the battlefield is shifting faster than diplomacy and Ukraine risks losing its access to the Black Sea.
