National Government
Appears in 3 stories
Japan’s fiscal choices increasingly determine whether higher rates look safe—or scary. - Increasingly forced to manage FX optics and inflation politics as higher BOJ rates fail to immediately strengthen the yen
Japan’s shift away from ultra-easy money is now colliding with the currency market. After the Bank of Japan’s December 19, 2025 hike to around 0.75%, Governor Kazuo Ueda stressed in post-meeting remarks that real rates remain “very low”/negative and that the BOJ will decide the pace of further tightening meeting by meeting—while standing ready to respond with flexible operations if long-term yields make “exceptional” moves.
Updated Dec 20, 2025
Tokyo is trying to deter Chinese pressure near Taiwan while avoiding an accident that drags it into war. - Managing simultaneous military, diplomatic, and economic clashes with China while relying on U.S. backing.
Chinese J-15 fighter jets flying from the aircraft carrier Liaoning repeatedly locked targeting radar onto Japanese F-15s near Okinawa on December 6, forcing Japan to scramble jets and lodge an emergency protest. Days later, Washington publicly accused Beijing of destabilizing behavior and vowed its commitment to Japan was “unwavering,” turning a dangerous cockpit decision into a trilateral showdown.
Updated Dec 11, 2025
The Government of Japan, led by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi during the 2025 crisis, is responsible for setting and implementing the country’s increasingly assertive defense and foreign policy toward China and Taiwan. - Primary state actor confronting Chinese military activity and redefining Japan’s security role
In early December 2025, China’s Liaoning aircraft carrier strike group sailed through waters near Japan’s southwest island chain and into the western Pacific, conducting roughly 100 take-offs and landings of J-15 fighters and helicopters over two days between Okinawa’s main island and Minamidaito and then east of Kikai Island. Japan’s Self-Defense Forces say Chinese fighters repeatedly directed fire-control radar at Japanese F-15s shadowing the group near Okinawa, a step that can signal preparations to fire weapons. Tokyo summoned China’s ambassador Wu Jianghao to protest what it called a dangerous and regrettable act, while Beijing denied the radar targeting and accused Japanese aircraft of harassing normal training.
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