Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Tuesday announced her country will begin selling lethal weapons abroad, a major shift from a post-World War II pacifist commitment during a time of heightened security concerns in the region.
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Watching the Iran war warily, Beijing has tried to position itself as a peacemaker of sorts — but also to maintain distance from the war in a region where it has minimal military influence.
Our latest, on China’s delicate diplomacy:
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Japan bolstering its defense is especially important now that Japan’s only security ally — the United States — has been engulfed in war in the Middle East, leaving Asian middle powers like Japan to confront hard questions, Japanese officials and analysts say.
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“Since the attacks on Iran began, it has been frightening to see how quickly both the world and Japan seem to be heading toward war,” said Jun Takahashi, 36, who attended a protest for the first time. “I also strongly dislike the idea that Japan … might be seen as complicit.”
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The specific change Takaichi and her party are seeking would be more symbolic than substantive and would not alter the part of the constitution that renounces war. Public pushback, however, is mounting with rare nationwide protests.
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As a security hawk, Japan’s prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, has initiated a plan to consider changes to the pacifist clause in the country’s constitution, which has constrained its military and defined its national identity since World War II.
Gift link to our latest from Tokyo:
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The front page photo on today’s Joongang Ilbo, one of the main conservative newspapers in South Korea:
Michelle Park Steel, a former two-term Republican lawmaker from California, has been named the U.S. ambassador to Seoul. The ambassador post in Seoul has been left vacant since former Ambassador Philip Goldberg left Seoul in January last year.
m-en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN2026...
Hello, I made you a feed of your cats watching the Artemis II splashdown bsky.app/profile/did:...
Thread on the South Korean president’s evolving stance on Israel, as he faces increasing economic pressure from the war in Iran:
Artemis splashdown was so incredible and made me emotional. Welcome home, team!!
After Trump pivoted on Iran and announced a two-week ceasefire, the acronym “TACO” made its way to headlines around the world — along with some creative translations to help explain the concept of “chickening out.”
Decoding TACO,from Japan to China to France, Italy, and beyond:
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Across Asia, far from President Trump’s war in Iran, companies and consumers are facing or preparing for shortages of everyday goods as the economic consequences ripple across the map.
As the war grinds on, supply problems are expected to get worse.
As the oil and gas crisis set off by the war in Iran drives governments to accelerate their transitions to renewable energy, China stands to benefit most from the war-driven energy crisis.
Gift link:
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Japanese potato chips. Instant ramen. K-beauty cosmetics. School uniforms. Garbage bags.
Across Asia, far from President Trump’s war in Iran that has driven up fuel prices for Americans, companies and consumers are facing or preparing for shortages of everyday goods.
Gift link:
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Tokyo cherry blossoms 🌸 the rain washed away a lot of the leaves just after peak bloom, but they were beautiful while they lasted.
Allies and partners of the U.S. in Asia are steeling themselves for what they see as the nightmare scenario of a long American war in the Middle East that would distract from their own security concerns about China.
By @rebtanhs.bsky.social & Huiyee Chiew in Taipei, gift link:
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Iran is escalating attacks on its neighbors, betting it can ratchet up global economic pain faster than the Trump administration can relieve it with military force, according to an Iranian diplomat, two European diplomats and a senior Arab official.
finally, japan answers america’s call to help open the strait of hormuz
BTS is back, and the K-pop boy band’s fans have taken over Seoul.
Tens of thousands attended a free comeback concert by the K-pop sensation. Restaurants, bars, coffee shops celebrated their return with specialty items. Seoul’s landmarks were lit, red like their album.
Gift link:
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President Donald Trump joked about Pearl Harbor in a meeting Thursday with the Japanese prime minister, invoking the surprise attack on the U.S. on Dec. 7, 1941, to explain his decision not to notify American allies ahead of strikes on Iran.
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The U.S.-Japan summit today was supposed to be a feel-good event with cherry trees and investments. Tokyo was happy to get face time with Trump before he meets with Xi.
But with the war in Iran, the mood has completely shifted, and now it’s become a tricky endeavor for Takaichi.
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As the U.S. wages war with no clear endgame, large swaths of the globe -- Europe and Asia in particular -- are suffering worse than Americans from the economic fallout, weathering gasoline shortages, falling currencies and more severe energy shocks.
Gift link to our story:
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Japan’s prime minister’s visit to D.C. was supposed to celebrate friendship, with a gift of 250 cherry trees to mark America’s birthday.
Instead, she’ll be greeted by a president looking for a different gift: Military assistance in the Middle East.
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is heading to Washington for her second summit with President Trump.
It was supposed to be a triumphant celebration of the U.S.-Japan alliance. Now, the war in Iran looms large and Takaichi is walking a tight rope.
Gift link: wapo.st/4cUO92l
My latest in @foreignpolicy.com: with a war in the Middle East, the world appears to have missed that North Korea is now officially getting into the space weapons game (with strong incentives to put nukes in space). My analysis: foreignpolicy.com/2026/03/09/n...
Two ships owned by an Iranian company that the U.S. has accused of supplying material to Tehran’s ballistic missile program departed a Chinese chemical-storage port this week laden with cargo and headed for Iran, according to a Washington Post analysis.
www.washingtonpost.com/investigatio...
Why is the U.S. at war with Iran?
Trump: “They would have had a nuclear weapon within two weeks”
Vance: “I think the president was looking for the long haul”
Rubio: “We knew that there was going to be an Israeli action”
Trump: “If anything, I might have forced Israel’s hand”
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