Japan
🇯🇵 Japan’s PM Ishiba is seeking a swift meeting with U.S. President-elect Trump this month to bolster ties amid concerns over potential trade tensions and defense cost-sharing demands. Following a friendly call, Ishiba aims to emphasize alliance strength rather than monetary disputes.
🇯🇵 Seismic shift in Japanese politics as LDP-Komeito coalition loses majority, securing just 209 seats. Opposition CDPJ surges to 143 seats amid voter anger over inflation and scandals, throwing world’s 4th largest economy into uncertainty.
🇰🇵🇷🇺 The U.S., South Korea, and Japan express deep alarm over North Korean troops stationed in Russia to join the fight in Ukraine. This brazen alliance between Moscow and Pyongyang widens the war beyond Europe, defying global sanctions as troops and weapons mobilize to fuel Putin’s vanity conflict.
🇰🇵 North Korea, hardly known for respecting international law, denounces US-led sanctions team as “unlawful,” escalating tensions. With NK’s military ties to Russia growing amid accusations of sending troops to Ukraine, Washington, Seoul, and Tokyo remain on alert.
🇯🇵 Japan’s political tensions are boiling over. A masked man was arrested after ramming his car into a security fence at Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s office and throwing incendiary devices at the ruling party’s HQ. Thankfully, no injuries were reported, but this attack adds to a troubling trend.