From 1957-1960 Japan was led by the rightwing Prime Minister Nobusuke Kishi, a barely reconstructed figure of the Pacific War. Kishi had gained the trust of US Cold Warriors, however, and they were rewarded when he forcefully pushed Japan into a new treaty alliance with the United States.
In a stunning reversal, Donald Trump won the popular vote in the November 2024 election, leading a Republican wave that took control of the presidency and both chambers of Congress.
Shigeru Yoshida’s second premiership from 1948-1954 was one of the most transformative in Japanese history, taking the nation from its progressive, unstable early postwar era into a long period of entrenched conservative rule, ostensibly exercising independence but in reality functioning as a client state absorbed into the informal American empire.
Tetsu Katayama served as Japan’s first socialist prime minister in 1947-1948. His moderate approach, however, proved unable to satisfy the increasingly contradictory demands of his political base and the US occupiers.
For years the internationally-recognized government of Somalia, based in Mogadishu, has been in a running battle with the Al-Shabab insurgency, but recent advances by the Somali Armed Forces, backed by the US military, as well as division within the Islamist movement itself, appears to have put Al-Shabab on the back foot.
Kurt Campbell, White House Coordinator for Indo-Pacific Affairs, has indicated that Washington is keen to see India diversify away from its “reliance” on Russian military supplies, while another State Department official highlighted the potential threat to the subcontinent posed by China.
A pair of nonprofit advocacy groups are suing a Texas company in a bid to stop it from generating so-called “forever chemicals” while manufacturing plastic containers. These are the same chemicals which have been leaking out of US military bases in Japan, contaminating nearby communities.
Germany, led by Social Democratic Party (SDP) Chancellor Olaf Scholz, considers China both an essential economic partner and a “systemic rival.” This seemingly contradictory stance has produced political fractures within the coalition government, but it is part of a pragmatic geopolitical strategy.
In a move that critics are calling a “dangerous escalation,” the United States is reportedly preparing to deploy up to six nuclear-capable B-52 bombers to northern Australia, where they would be close enough to strike China.
New aid offered by Australia to Pacific island nations is aimed at reducing Beijing’s influence over Pacific island nations, an issue which has emerged as a major concern for US allies in the region.
