On November 23, during an inspection visit to Yonaguni Island, Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi announced that plans were underway to deploy medium-range surface-to-air missiles on the island. Yonaguni Island is located at the westernmost point of the Yaeyama Islands in the Ryukyu Islands Archipelago, only about 110 kilometers east of China's Taiwan region. This move represents a significant step in the Japanese government's efforts to advance the Southwest Shift of the Japan Self-Defe

Recently, the erroneous remarks on Taiwan region made by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi have led to a sharp deterioration in Sino-Japanese relations. In response, the Chinese side initiated a series of resolute countermeasures, and voices criticizing her remarks also emerged within Japan. However, recent opinion polls conducted by Japanese mainstream media outlets suggest that the approval ratings of the Takaichi Cabinet have not declined noticeably, and in some cases, have even shown a

What are the characteristics of global economic crashes and how do economies adapt to them? Harold James, in his Seven Crashes: The Economic Crisis That Shapes Globalization, addresses this question that is fundamental to economic historians, investors, and policymakers. He argues that global economic crashes happened due to either supply or demand shocks; and in each crisis, major economies had to go beyond expectation to restore economic order and confidence.

The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has been the largest infrastructure project devised by a single country in history. It was first announced in 2013 by President Xi Jinping and has since then become China’s flagship strategic initiative. Over the past decade, the cumulative BRI investments around the world have been over 1 trillion USD. A crucial question that many policymakers and researchers ask is, Has the BRI been a success or a failure?