France's Macron calls for 'new coalition' between Asia and Europe
A Europe-Asia alliance can lead to "new coalitions, new agreements" and a resetting of the rules-based order, he said. Citing the Bandung Conference that convened more than 70 years ago among African and Asian countries, Macron said the time for non-alignment has "undoubtedly passed."
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Japan Times
25 minutes ago
- Japan Times
Japan launches government body to address concerns over foreign nationals
Japan on Tuesday set up an administrative body aimed at easing citizens' concerns over the rapid rise in the number of foreign nationals in the country in recent years, as policies concerning non-Japanese residents emerge as a key issue in Sunday's national election. The body will serve as a cross-agency "control tower" to respond to issues such as crime and overtourism involving foreign nationals, the government said. Japan has long sought to maintain a homogeneous population through strict immigration laws, but has gradually eased them to supplement its shrinking and aging labor force. The number of foreign nationals hit a record of about 3.8 million last year, although that is still just 3% of the total population. The formation of the administration body comes after a group of lawmakers in Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's Liberal Democratic Party in June proposed measures to realize a "society of orderly and harmonious coexistence with foreign nationals." Those measures included adopting stricter requirements for foreign nationals switching to a Japanese driver's license and for buying real estate properties. "Crimes and disorderly conduct by some foreign nationals, as well as the inappropriate use of various administrative systems, have created a situation in which the public feels uneasy and cheated," Ishiba said at a kickoff ceremony. Concerns over the influx of foreign nationals, both temporary and permanent, have resonated with voters, with opinion polls showing a rapid surge in the popularity of tiny populist party Sanseito, which advocates a "Japanese First" agenda. Public opinion polls show the LDP and its junior coalition partner Komeito are in jeopardy of losing their majority in the Upper House election this coming Sunday.
Japan Times
2 hours ago
- Japan Times
Ex-U.S. envoy Hagerty optimistic about tariff talks with Japan
Former U.S. Ambassador to Japan William Hagerty has sounded an optimistic note about the course of the ongoing tariff negotiations between the two countries. "The odds are high that the U.S. and Japan can come to an agreement," he said in an interview. "I know from experience that it is possible for us to obtain agreement," Hagerty said, noting that the two countries have concluded two very important trade deals — one focusing on agricultural goods and the other on digital trade with a very important strategic component. He also said it is possible to reach an agreement despite "domestic political challenges" such as Sunday's election for Japan's House of Councilors, the upper chamber of parliament. "Japan has no stronger economic ally and national security ally than the United States," Hagerty said, calling on Japan to "take this opportunity," particularly in light of the persistent U.S. trade deficit with the country. In the bilateral negotiations, Japan is calling on the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump to review its high tariff policy. But no major progress has been made. The Trump administration has extended until Aug. 1 the pause on an add-on portion of the so-called reciprocal tariffs, which was originally set to expire Wednesday last week. Hagerty, a Republican senator, served as ambassador to Japan under Trump's first administration. In the interview, Hagerty indicated that Japan needs to increase its defense spending in view of the nations around it — China, North Korea and Russia — adding that tensions are rising in the Taiwan Strait. Japan's defense expenditure should be "oriented toward the highest possible interoperability" with the United States, Hagerty said, citing a need to put the two nations in the same systems. Japan's purchases of defense equipment from the United States are helpful in this regard, Hagerty said. He added, however, "This should be more than a procurement exercise." The United States and Japan should conduct more joint exercises and look at ways to exchange technologies between them and with other like-minded nations so that they can expand defense spending while strengthening the defense posture in the entire region, he said. If Japan increases its defense spending to a level equivalent to 3% of its gross domestic product, that will be "well received," Hagerty said. The former ambassador said that investments in areas like robotics and artificial intelligence are "an absolute necessity" for Japan, pointing out that the country needs to improve its productivity amid "challenging demographics," such as a drop in its workforce reflecting its aging population. "The fastest way to do that" is through superior robotics and AI, he said. He indicated that the United States and Japan can work together "very closely" in related fields such as quantum computing. On the subject of U.S.-Japan relations 80 years after the end of World War II, Hagerty stressed that the two countries should be a model for the rest of the world. The United States "has continued to provide Japan with security protections," Hagerty said. Meanwhile, Japan has continued to invest "much less" in the field of defense than the United States has and "much more" in the economy, he said, adding that Japan has become "a fully developed economy, and a very serious and respected leader on the world stage." The two countries need and can benefit from each other, he said. "I think at the very core, the U.S. and Japan should stand as an example of the strongest possible relationship that exists in the world today," Hagerty said.
Japan Times
3 hours ago
- Japan Times
Japan taps ASDF chief as new top uniformed officer
The government has appointed Gen. Hiroaki Uchikura as the next chief of staff of the Defense Ministry's Joint Staff — a key post that will work closely with the Self-Defense Force's new Joint Operations Command amid the growing military challenge from China. The appointment, which was approved by the Cabinet on Tuesday, will take effect on Aug. 1. Uchikura, 60, who currently serves as chief of staff of the Air Self-Defense Force (ASDF), will succeed retiring Gen. Yoshihide Yoshida, 62, who has held the post since March 2023. Hiroaki Uchikura, a native of Kagoshima Prefecture, graduated from the National Defense Academy in 1987, joining the Air Self-Defense Force and later serving as ASDF vice chief of staff and head of the Air Defense Command. Uchikura will take the reins as the country's top uniformed officer as the SDF undergoes dramatic transformations to respond to what the Defense Ministry has characterized as 'a new era of crisis' — including China's military muscle-flexing in the region and growing uncertainty about the U.S.-Japan alliance. He will also play a key role in working with Gen. Kenichiro Nagumo, head of the new permanent Joint Operations Command. Known as JJOC, the command was established in March to centrally oversee the SDF's three branches, allowing for the smoother integration of operations across domains to prepare for and respond to possible emergencies — including a crisis over democratic Taiwan. But Uchikura will have big shoes to fill. Yoshida was the first officer who was not a graduate of the National Defense Academy to be appointed head of the Joint Staff, and played a key role in pushing for even stronger cooperation with Tokyo's like-minded neighbors while boosting the deterrence and response capabilities of the U.S.-Japan alliance. Gen. Yoshihide Yoshida, chief of staff of the Defense Ministry's Joint Staff, speaks during a trilateral chiefs of defense meeting with his U.S. and South Korean counterparts at the Defense Ministry in Seoul on Friday. | POOL / VIA AFP-JIJI The Cabinet also approved the appointment of Gen. Takehiro Morita as the new ASDF head, and named Gen. Masayoshi Arai to replace retiring Ground Self-Defense Force chief Yasunori Morishita. It also announced that Taro Yamato, who leads the Defense Ministry's policy bureau, will replace retiring Administrative Vice Minister of Defense Kazuo Masuda as the ministry's top bureaucrat, while Hajime Aoyagi will take up the helm of the ministry's Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Agency.
