It’s possible that I shall make an ass of myself. But in that case one can always get out of it with a little dialectic. I have, of course, so worded my proposition as to be right either way (K.Marx, Letter to F.Engels on the Indian Mutiny)
Workers across the world march for peace and better pay in May Day rallies
May Day rallies across the world brought workers out in force on Friday to protest rising energy prices caused by the US-Israeli war on Iran, with Turkish police arresting dozens of demonstrators trying to march to Taksim Square. Here's everything you need to know about the demonstrations taking place from Islamabad to Istanbul.
Workers across the world will march in May Day rallies Friday, calling for peace, higher wages and better working conditions as they grapple with rising energy costs and shrinking purchasing power tied to the Iran war.
The day is a public holiday in many countries, and demonstrations, some of which have turned violent in the past, are expected in many of the world's major cities.
“Working people refuse to pay the price for Donald Trump’s war in the Middle East,” the European Trade Union Confederation, which represents 93 trade union organisations in 41 European countries, said. “Today’s rallies show working people will not stand by and see their jobs and living standards destroyed.”
In the United States, activists opposing US President Donald Trump’s policies are planning marches and boycotts.
Here’s what to know about May Day.
Workers' unions traditionally use May Day to rally around wages, pensions, inequality and broader political issues.
Protests are planned from Seoul, Jakarta and Istanbul to most European Union capitals and cities across the United States.
Rising living costs linked to the conflict in the Middle East are expected to be a key theme in Friday's rallies.
In the Philippines' capital of Manila, protest organisers said they expect big crowds of workers.
“There will be a louder call for higher wages and economic relief because of the unprecedented spikes in fuel prices,” said Renato Reyes, a leader of the left-wing political group Bayan.
“Every Filipino worker now is aware that the situation here is deeply connected to the global crisis,” said Josua Mata, leader of the SENTRO umbrella group of labour federations.
In Indonesia, labour unions have warned against worsening economic pressures at home.
“Workers are already living paycheck to paycheck,” said Said Iqbal, president of the Indonesian Trade Union Confederation.
In Pakistan, May Day is a public holiday marked by rallies, but many daily wage earners cannot afford to take time off.
“How will I bring vegetables and other necessities home if I don’t work?” said Mohammad Maskeen, a 55-year-old construction worker near Islamabad.
Rising oil prices have fuelled inflation, which the government estimates at about 16 percent, in a country heavily reliant on financial support from the International Monetary Fund and allied nations.
Turkish police fired tear gas and arrested dozens of people holding May Day demonstrations in Istanbul.
Two groups were specially singled out in the city's European side after signalling their intention to march to Taksim square – the scene of several anti-government protests in the past – which was sealed off overnight by police.
In the Mecidiyekoy district, police were seen by AFP using tear gas on the crowd, which included members of a Marxist party, the HKP, who tried to push through while chanting "USA murderer, (Turkey's ruling party) AKP accomplice".
Police encircling the Besiktas neighbourhood stepped in – sometimes violently – whenever a chant was taken up by the demonstrators. AFP journalists reported seeing several protesters thrown to the ground.
Turkish media, including the opposition website Bir Gun, counted at least 57 arrests.
May 1 sees a major police deployment in Turkey every year, with a large area in the heart of Istanbul around Taksim Square sealed off.
Last year, protests moved to the Kadikoy area of the city and more than 400 people were arrested.
In Italy, the government approved nearly 1 billion euros in job incentives this week, aiming to promote stable employment and curb labour abuses ahead of May Day. The measures extend tax breaks to encourage hiring young people and disadvantaged women, and seek to address exploitation tied to platform-based work. Opposition parties dismissed the package as “pure propaganda”.
In Portugal, proposed labour law changes by the centre-right government sparked a general strike and street protests last year. There is still no deal after nine months of negotiations with unions and employers. Unions say the proposals would weaken workers’ rights, including by expanding overtime limits and reducing some benefits.
May Day carries special meaning this year in France after a heated debate about whether employees should be allowed to work on the country’s most protected public holiday – the only day when most employees have a mandatory paid day off.
Almost all businesses, shops and malls are closed, and only essential sectors such as hospitals, transport and hotels are exempt.
A recent parliamentary proposal to expand work on the day prompted major outcry from unions and left-wing politicians.
“Don’t touch May Day,” workers' unions said in a joint statement.
Faced with the controversy, the government this week introduced a bill meant to allow people staffing bakeries and florists to work on the holiday. It is customary in France to give lily of the valley flowers on May Day as a symbol of good luck.
“May 1 is not just any day,” Small and Medium-sized Businesses Minister Serge Papin said. “It symbolises social gains stemming from a century of building social rules that have led to the labour code we know in France. It is indeed a special day.”
Activists and labour unions are organising street protests and boycotts across the United States, where May Day is not a federal holiday.
May Day Strong, a coalition of activist groups and labour unions, has called on people to protest under the banner of “workers over billionaires”.
Voicing strong opposition to Trump's policies, organisers listed thousands of May Day actions across the country and are seeking an economic blackout through “no school, no work, no shopping”.
Demands include taxing the rich and putting an end to the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.
While labour and immigrant rights are historically intertwined, the focus of May Day rallies in the US shifted to immigration in 2006. That’s when roughly 1 million people, including nearly half a million in Chicago alone, took to the streets to protest federal legislation that would have made living in the US without legal permission a felony.
May Day, or International Workers’ Day, dates back more than a century to a pivotal period in US labour history.
In the 1880s, unions pushed for an eight-hour workday through strikes and demonstrations. In May 1886, a Chicago rally protesting the police killing of two striking workers the day before also turned deadly when a bomb was thrown at police, who fired into the crowd in response.
Several labour activists – most of them immigrants and staunch anarchists – were convicted of conspiracy and other charges, despite the fact that the bomber had not been identified; four were executed.
Unions later designated May 1 to honour workers. A monument in Chicago’s Haymarket Square commemorates them with the inscription: “Dedicated to all workers of the world.”
May Day is now observed in much of the world from Europe to Latin America, Africa and Asia.
(FRANCE 24 with AP with AFP)
French unions rally on Labour Day to defend paid holiday rights
French unions are mobilising for Labour Day on Friday, defending the status of 1 May as a paid day off, as the government pushes to allow some businesses to open. The battle comes as inflation and fuel costs stoke calls for salary increases.
Issued on: 01/05/2026 - RFI
Unions are planning to protest to protect the sanctity of the Labour Day holiday on Friday. REUTERS - ERIC GAILLARD
Labour Day on 1 May holds a unique status in France as the only public holiday that is "férié et chômé" – non-working and paid for almost everyone.
Rooted in the labour movement, Labour Day was declared internationally in 1889 after Chicago's Haymarket riot, when a bomb killed several people during a strike for an eight-hour working day.
The holiday symbolises respect for workers, and unions view any erosion of it as a threat to broader protections.
This year’s controversy concerns artisan bakers and florists, some of whom open to sell bread and bouquets of lily of the valley flowers – traditionally given to friends and family on 1 May in France to celebrate the arrival of spring and as a symbol of good luck.
Those who open risk fines from labour inspectors, as current French law permits work on Labour Day only for indispensable activities, such as in hospitals or continuous production.
Courts have rejected automatic exemptions to the mandatory closures for bakers and florists since 2006.
The government wants to clarify this grey area for this year's holiday without fully rewriting the rules, ahead of introducing a law in 2027 setting formal branch agreements on consent and pay.
It proposes protecting these artisans from penalties in 2026 if staff working on 1 May have volunteered to do so and are paid double time.
When Labour Minister Jean-Pierre Farandou presented a bill on Wednesday concerning the 2027 law, he called for “collective wisdom” the it came to skipping fines this year.
France's five biggest trade unions, however, reject the bill outright and are demanding strict enforcement of the holiday closure for all but essential services.
On Friday, union leaders including the CGT’s Sophie Binet, the FO’s Frédéric Souillot and the CFDT’s Marylise Léon will lead the traditional May Day marches in Paris, protesting the long-term decline in manufacturing jobs and calling for higher wages.
According to business information portal Altares, in 2025 some 70,000 French businesses failed, affecting 267,000 jobs.
France’s lower income groups are under mounting pressures from a sluggish economy, with growth projected at just 1 percent for 2026 amid geopolitical strain and rising public debt.
Inflation rose to 1.7 percent in March, driven by energy costs soaring by 7.4 percent due to the Middle East conflict. This has hit low-income households hard as costs rise for essentials such as fuel and food.
(with newswires)
German trade unions to protest job and budget cuts on May Day
01.05.2026 dpa
Photo: Sebastian Willnow/dpa
Germany's trade unions plan to stage several hundred rallies across the country on Friday, the international labour day holiday known as May Day, to protest against job cuts and cuts to social benefits
"Our jobs first, your profits second" is the slogan for this year's events.
The main demands are the preservation of the eight-hour workday, social benefits and a secure state pension, as well as the introduction of higher taxes on large fortunes.
According to the trade unions, companies should only receive state funding if they also invest in Germany. Secure jobs and social security must take precedence over employers’ profit interests.
The main rally, featuring DGB trade union federation President Yasmin Fahimi, will take place in Nuremberg this year.
The Social Democrats' dual leadership will also be appearing, specifically in North Rhine-Westphalia: Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil is due to speak in Bergkamen, and Labour Minister Bärbel Bas in Duisburg, both in western Germany.
(c) 2026 dpa Deutsche Presse Agentur GmbH
Several detained in attempted Workers' Day march on Istanbul’s Taksim
01.05.2026 dpa
Turkish police on Friday clashed with demonstrators attempting to march toward Istanbul’s iconic Taksim Square to mark International Workers' Day, after authorities had banned gatherings in the area, local media reported.
Riot police used tear gas and water cannon to disperse demonstrators, blocking roads leading to Taksim as part of heavy security measures, the Cumhuriyet daily wrote.
Footage broadcast by opposition Halk TV showed several people being forced into police vehicles. The Progressive Lawyers Association (CHD), a local lawyers' union, put the number of detained at more than 300, a figure which couldn't immediately be independently verified.
The Istanbul governor’s office had earlier announced that demonstrations and marches around Taksim Square and nearby areas would not be permitted, citing public order and security concerns.
Authorities also closed some metro stations and major roads in some parts of the city ahead of planned Workers' Day rallies, allocating two sites for celebrations on Istanbul's Asian side.
May Day rallies on Taksim, a symbolic site for Turkey’s labour movement and the scene of the 2013 Gezi Park protests, have effectively been banned since 2012.
(c) 2026 dpa Deutsche Presse Agentur GmbH
Turkish police fire tear gas, arrest hundreds at Istanbul May Day rallies
Istanbul (AFP) – Turkish police on Friday fired tear gas and arrested hundreds of people holding May Day demonstrations in Istanbul, as thousands rallied nationwide.
According to the CHD Lawyers' Association, at least 370 people were arrested in Istanbul, where police fired tear gas from riot-control vehicles into the crowd, AFP journalists observed.
Images aired on the opposition channel HALK TV also showed the president of the Turkish Workers’ Party, Erkan Bas, engulfed in pepper spray.
"Those in power already speak 365 days a year, so let workers talk about the hardships they face at least one day a year," he said.
Two groups were specially singled out in the city's European side after signalling their intention to march to Taksim square -- the scene of several anti-government protests in the past -- which was sealed off overnight by police.
A union official, Basaran Aksu, was arrested just after he had denounced the Taksim lockdown.
"You can't close off a square to the workers of Turkey. Everyone uses Taksim, for official ceremonies, for celebrations. Only the labourers, the workers, the poor find the square closed to them," he fumed. Police lines
May Day, which celebrates workers and the working classes, sees a major police deployment in Turkey every year, with a large area in the heart of Istanbul around Taksim Square sealed off.
Last year, protests moved to the Kadikoy area of the city and more than 400 people were arrested.
The number of arrests this year appeared to be approaching that level.
The CHD lawyers' group, which was present at the rallies, said on a post on X that, at 1100 GMT "according to our information, the number of people in custody stands at 370".
On Friday, a large deployment of police, many in riot gear, and metal barricades were seen choking access to central neighbourhoods of Istanbul.
In the Mecidiyekoy district, police were seen by AFP using tear gas on the crowd, which included members of a Marxist party, the HKP, who tried to push through while chanting "USA murderer, AKP (Turkey's ruling party) accomplice".
Police encircling the Besiktas neighbourhood stepped in -- sometimes violently -- whenever a chant was taken up by the demonstrators. AFP saw several protesters thrown to the ground.
Unions and civil society associations had called for the May 1 demonstrations under the slogan "Bread. Peace. Freedom".
Inflation in Turkey is officially pegged at 30 percent but is closer to 40, according to independent estimates.
In Ankara, about 100 coal miners who had staged a nine-day hunger strike to demand wage arrears were cheered as they joined the May Day march, which was notably large and youthful and monitored by a significant police presence, an AFP journalist said.
Earlier this week, Turkish authorities issued arrest and search warrants against 62 people, of whom they deemed 46 -- including journalists, trade unionists and opposition figures -- were "likely to carry out attacks".
King Charles Defends U.S., NATO Alliance During Address To Congress
A 'REAL' KING LECTURES AMERIKA ON DEMOCRACY
President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump host King Charles III and Queen Camilla of the UK and Northern Ireland during a state visit, April 28, 2026. Photo Credit: White House, X
(The Center Square) – In honor of the United States’ 250th birthday, King Charles III delivered a joint address in Congress Tuesday afternoon, highlighting the bond between the U.S. and the United Kingdom.
The king received a warm and enthusiastic welcome in a chamber often at odds with each other, while defending the NATO alliance.
The monarch’s speech was peppered with historical references and a bit of humor, bonding the two nations through their shared values and history.
The monarch began his speech by addressing Saturday’s shooting at the White House Correspondence Dinner, “with unshakable resolve, such acts of violence will never succeed.”
“Whatever our differences, whatever disagreements we may have, we stand united in our commitment to uphold democracy, to protect all our people from harm, and to salute the courage of those who daily risk their lives in the service of country,” the king said.
“Standing here today, it is hard not to feel the weight of history on my shoulder, because the modern relationship between our two nations and our own peoples spans not merely 250 years, but over four centuries,” he told Congress.
“As I look back across the centuries, Mr. Speaker, emerge certain patterns, certain self-evident truths from which we can learn and draw strength with a spirit of 1776, in our minds, we can perhaps agree that we do not always agree, at least in the first instance,” he continued.
“King George, as you know, never set foot in America, and please rest assured, I’m not here as a part of some cunning rear-guard action,” the king quipped, with the chamber erupting in laughter.
“Two hundred and fifty years ago, or as we say in the United Kingdom, just the other day, they declared independence by balancing contending forces and drawing strength in diversity. They united 13 disparate colonies to forge a nation on the revolutionary idea of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness,” Charles said. “They carried with them and carried forward great inheritance of the British enlightenment, as well as the ideals which had an even deeper history in English, common law and the Magna Carta.”
King Charles underscored the importance of the two nations uniting in leading the rest of the world.
“It is my hope, my prayer, that in these turbulent times, working together and with our international partners, we can stem the beating of plowshares into swords,” the king said.
“The alliance that our two nations have built over the centuries, and for which we are profoundly grateful to the American people, is truly unique, and that alliance is part of what Henry Kissinger described as Kennedy’s soaring vision of an Atlantic partnership based on twin pillars, Europe and America.”
Charles pointed to the challenges in the world, highlighting the current threat in Europe as the war between Russia and Ukraine continues.
“It is an era that is in many ways more volatile and more dangerous than the world to which my late mother spoke in this chamber in 1991, the challenges we face are too great for any one nation to bear alone, but in this unpredictable environment, our alliance cannot rest on past achievements or assume that foundational principles simply endure. As my prime minister said last month, ours is an indispensable partnership. We must not disregard everything that has sustained us for the last 80 years. Instead, we must build on it, renewal,” said the monarch.
The king reminded the chamber of NATO’s response following the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, in an attempt to defend the alliance following threats by President Donald Trump to pull out of it.
“This year, of course, also marks the 25th anniversary of 911, this atrocity was a defining moment for America, and your pain and shock were felt around the whole world….We stood with you then, and we stand with you now in solemn remembrance of a day that shall never be forgotten…In the immediate aftermath of 911 when NATO invoked Article Five for the first time, and the United Nations Security Council was united in the face of terror, we answered the call together, as our people have done so for more than a century, shoulder to shoulder through two world wars, the Cold War, Afghanistan and moments that have defined our shared security,” Charles said.
“Our common ideals were not only crucial for liberty and equality, they are also the foundation of our shared prosperity, the rule of law, the certainty of stable and accessible rules, an independent judiciary resolving disputes and delivering impartial justice, these speeches created the conditions for centuries of unmatched economic growth in our two countries,” he added.
The monarch also highlighted the two nations’ annual trade of $430 billon, arguing that it binds the two nations.
“The story of the United Kingdom and the United States is at its heart a story of reconciliation, renewal and remarkable partnership from the bitter divisions of 250 years ago, we forged a friendship that has grown into one of the most consequential alliances in human history. I pray with all my heart that our alliance will continue to defend our shared values with our partners in Europe and the commonwealth and across the world.”
The king ended his historic address reiterating a commitment the two leading nations have made over the last century to the safety and security of the free world.
“And so to the United States of America on your 250th birthday, let our two countries rededicate ourselves to each other in the selfless service of our peoples and of all the peoples of the world,” the king concluded.
The king’s speech marks the first time a monarch has addressed a joint session of Congress since 1991, when his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, delivered an address. This marks King Charles III’s first official trip to the U.S. since rising to the throne in 2022.
A WRY WIT
'You'd be speaking French': King Charles pokes fun at Trump during state dinner
Britain's King Charles III used his speech at a state dinner at the White House on Tuesday to poke fun at US President Donald Trump who, in January, told European leaders that without US aid in World War II they would be speaking German. "Dare I say that, if it wasn't for us, you'd be speaking French," Charles quipped.
As the heads of state traded jokes during their dinner toasts, Charles referenced previous comments by Trump aimed at European allies he accuses of freeloading on defense since World War II.
"You recently commented, Mr. President, that if it were not for the United States, European countries would be speaking German. Dare I say that, if it wasn't for us, you'd be speaking French," Charles quipped.
The king was talking about places with British and French origins in North America, where the rival colonial powers battled for control of the continent before US independence 250 years ago.
At the Davos summit in January, Trump said that without US help in World War II, "you'd be speaking German and a little Japanese."
But the king's lighthearted remark reflected the warm tone as he and Trump bonded over the "special relationship" between London and Washington, despite tensions over the war in Iran.
He made further jokes at Trump's expense, saying he could not help noticing the "readjustments" to the White House East Wing, which the former real estate tycoon has demolished to build a giant $400 million ballroom.
"I am sorry to say that we British, of course, made our own attempt at real estate redevelopment of the White House in 1814," he said, when British soldiers torched the building.
Charles also quipped that the dinner was "a very considerable improvement on the Boston Tea Party", when colonists dumped shiploads of taxed British tea into the sea in 1773.
Trump – an avid fan of the British royals whose mother hailed from Scotland – saved most of his humour for domestic targets.
"I want to congratulate Charles on having made a fantastic speech today at Congress," Trump said. "He got the Democrats to stand – I've never been able to do that."
The king meanwhile came bearing a gift, part of a British charm offensive aimed at Trump after he lambasted Prime Minister Keir Starmer over his refusal to help against Iran.
Charles presented the president with the bell from the British submarine HMS Trump, which was launched in 1944 during World War II.
"May it stand as a testimony to our nations' shared history and shining future. And should you ever need to get hold of us, well, just give us a ring," the king said to applause.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP)
From Self-Defence To Deterrence: The Quiet End Of Japan’s Postwar Experiment – Analysis
Even as the world’s attention is on West Asia, significant developments have been unfolding in the East. On April 21, Japan endorsed scrapping a ban on the export of lethal weapons, the last major hurdle in its move away from its post-war pacifist policy. As part of this shift, the country is now seeking to build up its arms industry and deepen cooperation with its defence partners.
For now, exports will be limited to 17 countries, including India, that have signed defence equipment and technology transfer agreements with Japan. Such exports will require approval from the National Security Council and will be monitored by the government to ensure proper end-use. In principle, Japan will not export lethal weapons to countries at war. Even so, Japan’s shift has generated interest in countries such as Poland and the Philippines.
Facing serious security concerns related to China and North Korea, and influenced in part by uncertainties in US alliance commitments under Trump, Japanese strategic thinking had already begun to shift. The war in Ukraine added further urgency. Now, with the United States fully preoccupied in West Asia, the Japanese assessment is that the US pivot to the Indo-Pacific is unlikely to materialise anytime soon.
Despite isolating itself from the global arms market for decades, Japan has developed significant capabilities through its domestic industry and licensed production. At present, the United States dominates the Japanese market, accounting for 95 percent of its defence imports. Yet well-known companies such as Mitsubishi, Kawasaki, and Fujitsu have meaningful defence divisions, and the country maintains an extensive defence-industrial base. It is capable of manufacturing submarines, fighter jets, and warships.
In terms of technology, Japan is second to none. However, it faces gaps in certain areas of military technology, which it is seeking to address through the new Defense Innovation Science and Technology Institute established in 2025 by its Ministry of Defense. Its Taigei-class submarines, equipped with lithium-ion batteries, are considered among the most advanced conventional submarines in the world. The Hyper Velocity Gliding Projectile (HVGP), under development since 2018, was formally deployed for the first time to the Japan Ground Self-Defence Force’s Camp Fuji in Shizuoka Prefecture. A more advanced variant is scheduled for the 2030s. In 2025, Japan conducted the first successful test firing of an electromagnetic railgun at a sea-based target and is likely to become the first country in the world to deploy such systems.
Things on the export front are already moving faster. In its biggest deal ever, Japan formalised an agreement to deliver three frigates to Australia, to be built in Japan by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, with Australia constructing the remaining eight domestically. The initial three-ship contract is valued at approximately A$10 billion (US$6.5-7 billion), part of a total programme estimated at A$15-20 billion for all eleven Mogami-class frigates, with the first vessel due for delivery by December 2029.
Japan’s post-2022 security policy moves reflect a strategic pivot: from a strictly defensive “self-defence” policy to a more assertive, deterrence-oriented posture equipped with stand-off strike capabilities, integrated air and missile defence, multi-domain operations, and deeper alliance cooperation. While still framed under the rubric of self-defence, the underlying shift seeks to adapt Japan to a rapidly deteriorating regional security environment and position it as a more resilient actor in Indo-Pacific stability.
Japan’s pacifist restrictions were rooted in Article 9 of its 1947 Constitution, which renounced war and the maintenance of “war potential.” Over time, however, Japan began to loosen its pacifist stance, beginning in 1954 with the establishment of the Self-Defence Forces (SDF), on the argument that Article 9 permitted “individual self-defense.”
By 1972, this had evolved into a strict “exclusive defence” policy that banned collective self-defence, limited military spending to below 1 percent of GDP, prohibited the export of lethal arms, and barred the possession of “offensive” weapons such as long-range bombers or aircraft carriers. Arms exports were governed by the “three principles” adopted in 1967, which banned exports to communist countries, countries under UN Security Council embargoes, and those involved in or likely to be involved in international conflicts. In 1976, Japan clarified that, as a peace-loving country, it would refrain from promoting arms exports regardless of destination.
The long road to change began in 1987, when Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone effectively removed the 1 percent GDP cap, and in 1992, the SDF was permitted to participate in overseas peacekeeping operations.
The key shift, however, began with the prime ministership of Shinzo Abe (2006-7 and 2012-2020). In 2014, his Cabinet passed a resolution permitting collective self-defence, allowing the Self-Defence Forces (SDF) to be used to protect allies such as the United States in a crisis. Thereafter, the government allowed limited arms transfers for humanitarian relief and international cooperation. In 2016, the Philippines leased five used trainer aircraft for maritime patrols over the disputed South China Sea. Later, new air surveillance radars were also sold to Manila.
In 2022, the Cabinet of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida approved new security documents — a National Security Strategy, a National Defense Strategy, and a companion Defense Buildup Program (2023–2027). The new National Security Strategy stated that Japan was “facing the most severe and complex security environment since the end of World War II.” Tokyo stopped short of formally designating Beijing as a “threat,” but described the rise of China as “the greatest strategic challenge that Japan has ever faced.”
In a further policy shift, Japan decided to acquire counter-strike capabilities against adversaries and announced plans to raise defence spending to 2 percent of GDP within five years. In 2023, a new rule was adopted enabling the export of licence-produced weapons manufactured in Japan to the original licence holders.
Policy changes were accompanied by specific capability programmes. The first was the acquisition of US Tomahawk cruise missiles and the decision to upgrade Japan’s own Type 12 missiles, aimed at striking enemy staging areas and missile launch sites. The second was the expansion of its integrated missile defence architecture and sensor networks to counter ballistic and cruise missile attacks. This includes Aegis-equipped ships, land-based interceptors, space-based and persistent ISR capabilities, and investment in early-warning satellites. Third, Japan began investing in unmanned maritime and aerial systems. Fourth, it significantly upgraded its offensive and defensive cyber capabilities to protect critical national infrastructure.
Japan is not pursuing these steps alone. The United States remains Tokyo’s central security partner and is cooperating with Japan on areas such as integrated air and missile defence development, high-power microwave systems, and hypersonic glide-phase interceptors. Beyond the United States, Tokyo is deepening trilateral and multilateral cooperation with partners such as Australia, the United Kingdom, and European states on capability development, intelligence sharing, and joint exercises. In 2022, Japan joined the United Kingdom and Italy in an effort to build a new sixth-generation fighter aircraft by the mid-2030s. Japan is also being considered as a partner in advanced military technology projects with the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia under AUKUS, particularly in the area of autonomous maritime systems.
India and Japan share a “Special Strategic and Global Partnership,” manifested in a range of agreements and institutionalised dialogues. Yet efforts to deepen defence technology cooperation remain below potential — as much a result of Japanese restrictions until recently as of Indian bureaucratic lassitude.
The two countries also have an agreement to jointly develop an advanced underwater surveillance system and other maritime technologies — areas of direct relevance given their shared concerns about Chinese naval expansion in the Indian Ocean and the Western Pacific. In February, New Delhi hosted the 11th India-Japan Naval Staff Talks. According to one analyst, the talks “demonstrate that the India-Japan relationship has transitioned from a consultative phase to a phase that is deeply integrated and operational.” The naval talks followed the 18th round of the India-Japan Foreign Ministers’ Strategic Dialogue, which focused on security and defence, investment, and innovation.
Japan’s transformation is neither sudden nor complete. It has been a slow, at times reluctant, evolution of its post-war identity — nudged along by an aggressive, nuclear-armed North Korea, an increasingly assertive China, and an unreliable American patron in a neighbourhood that has steadily grown more dangerous. The April 21 decision represents less a rupture than the removal of the last symbolic fig leaf.
For the Indo-Pacific, a rearmed and strategically assertive Japan is a major asset. It strengthens the web of security partnerships that the United States helped build, but may no longer be relied upon to anchor alone. For India, it opens avenues in defence technology and industrial cooperation that go well beyond what the bilateral relationship has so far achieved. Japan spent seven decades seeking to limit its military profile. That post-war experiment, born of genuine guilt and enforced by American design, is now almost certainly over.
About the author: Manoj Joshi is a Distinguished Fellow at the Observer Research Foundation.
Japan and South Korea sit smack bang in the centre of a tightening strategic vice in Northeast Asia, where the long-standing parity between decades old US security guarantees and being dragged into China’s economic orbit is being tested by both Beijing’s growing regional aggression and Washington’s increasingly erratic modus operandi.
For decades, the regional order has rested on a clear division of labour. The United States has provided hard security through formal alliances, forward area troop deployments and nuclear deterrence. At the same time, both Japan and South Korea have leveraged access to global markets - most notably China - to help drive export-led growth. That model as well as once steady links to the US are both under strain.
An estimated 28,500 US troops remain stationed in South Korea under the Mutual Defense Treaty, according to the US Department of Defense, while Japan hosts over 50,000 American troops and support personnel across a network of bases from Okinawa in the south, just east of Taiwan, to Misawa Air Base in the north, 600 miles from North Korea. Together these permanent US troop placements underpin Washington’s Indo-Pacific Command operations.
Crucially, these deployments are not simply legacy arrangements, however, as they also form the operational backbone of deterrence against North Korea and, increasingly, China. It is a reality in Northeast Asia that has repeatedly been seen as key to maintaining a balance of power across the region.
Yet that balance is shifting, and it is only partially the result of Chinese actions. Beijing’s military modernisation, documented in annual Pentagon reports, has accelerated across naval, missile and air capabilities in recent years, with a clear focus on denying US access to the Western Pacific. At the same time, China has long worked at economic integration with both Japan and South Korea – so much so that as of 2026, China is now the largest trading partner for South Korea while Japanese exports to China are approaching 20% of its total and could overtake US exports in the next few years.
This dual dependency in the form of Washington providing the security, with Beijing a key player in regional prosperity, has become increasingly difficult to manage.
And the flashpoint, if it comes, will be Taiwan, the self-governing nation of 24mn still claimed as part of China by Beijing.
US and Japanese defence planning now routinely treats a Taiwan contingency as the primary scenario around which force posture and alliance expectations in the Indo-Pacific should rotate. The Pentagon’s National Defense Strategy identifies Taiwan as the most likely trigger for any major conflict in the region and geography only reinforces that. With Taiwan just over 100 km west of Japan’s Yonaguni Island, a speck of land Tokyo is working to reinforce as a perimeter defence outpost of sorts, sea lanes connecting Japan and South Korea as well as Taiwan to global energy routinely supplies pass through waters already watched day and night by Chinese naval forces.
In the event of such a crisis, neutrality would be almost impossible to sustain as Japanese defence white papers have explicitly linked Taiwan’s security to Japan’s own. Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi in late 2025 also said that any instability in the Taiwan Strait would directly threaten Japanese territory and trade routes. This was a comment that did not go down well in Beijing.
As such, while Japan’s status on any future Taiwan-related conflict is clear, South Korea’s position is more ambiguous even if US bases on the southern half of the peninsula would almost certainly be drawn into logistical or operational support roles.
This creates a structural dilemma for both countries. Both Seoul and Tokyo would face a significant economic punch in the guts should China opt to put a block on imports in the event of conflict – a method Beijing has used in the past with restrictions on South Korean goods coming into the country following the deployment of the THAAD missile defence system by the US in 2017.
Economic coercion by China aside, uncertainty over US policy itself is a major issue both Japan and South Korea are now being forced to ponder, especially in light of US insults aimed at long-standing allies it has failed to pull into its latest military quagmire in the Middle East.
Under Donald Trump’s previous administration, alliance commitments were frequently framed in transactional terms, with demands for increased host-nation support payments and periodic suggestions that troop withdrawals were under consideration. While many of these proposals were not fully implemented, they did introduce a degree of doubt about the long-term reliability of US guarantees.
And now, under Trump’s second administration, one built atop a tower of diplomatic playing cards always wobbling and looking like collapse is imminent, grandstanding is too often given priority over structural discipline. Because of this, things look a lot worse.
Even limited ambiguity in US commitments and statements of intent criticising allies, can have outsized effects on planning. Concepts such as whether or not the current US assets stationed in Korea would remain dedicated to peninsula defence in the event of an attack by North Korea are being openly questioned – and doubted.
If US engagement remains consistent, both Japan and South Korea as well as Taiwan are likely to remain embedded within a US-led deterrence plan. All three countries would expand their roles as operational partners.
However, a much more volatile possibility emerges if US policy becomes less predictable - as is being seen. Should any level of US troop withdrawal take place or inconsistent signalling from Washington continue, both Japan and South Korea would, sensibly, start to look to a time when the US can no longer be trusted.
Japan would likely accelerate its ongoing military build-up and deepen ties with other regional partners such as Australia and India, as seen in frameworks like the now largely defunct Quad, an informal grouping essentially put out of action by the US. South Korea meanwhile would face a much sharper trade-off, given its proximity to North Korea and deeper economic links to China.
Tokyo could even reconsider its self-imposed long-standing constraints on military power, including debates over nuclear deterrence. South Korea, already within range of North Korean artillery and missiles, is one of the world’s leading nations in terms of nuclear know-how and may be forced to walk down the same path.
For China though, any reduced US presence in Northeast Asia would essentially signal victory while expanding Beijing’s strategic space. The deterrence balance in the Taiwan Strait would shift, increasing the feasibility of coercive measures against Taipei and the possibility of outright invasion would not be such a remote concept.
Northeast Asia, thanks to the ever erratic 47th occupant of the White House, is fast becoming a region where stability depends less on alliances and more on perceptions of credibility.
The role of Japan and South Korea is becoming more fluid and more precarious. China’s rise is a constant, measurable in defence budgets and industrial capacity, but US policy is increasingly variable, shaped by domestic politics, transactional needs, and at times which side of the bed its leader wakes up on.
Why is ‘The Devil Wears Prada 2’ facing backlash and calls for boycott?
Copyright AP Photo - 20th Century Studios / YouTube screenshot
'The Devil Wears Prada 2' - out this week - is facing a boycott in Asia after a social media clip released before the film hits cinemas presents a character deemed to be an offensive stereotype.
The hotly anticipated sequel to 2006’s The Devil Wears Prada hits theatres this week, and a 38-second clip from the film has already sparked backlash online.
The extract shows “the former assistant’s new assistant” Jin Chao, played by Chinese-American actress Helen J Shen. She introduces herself to Anne Hathaway’s Andy Sachs, who is back at work at the fictional Runway magazine.
During their interaction, Chao displays the characteristics of social awkwardness, is eager to please, dressed in unflattering clothing, and proceeds to list her academic achievements...
“If you don’t want me, you can interview someone else, I don’t mind,” she tells Hathaway’s character. “I did go to Yale, 3.86 GPA, lead soprano of the Whiffenpoofs and my ACT score was 36 on the very first try.”
This clip has been viewed over 26 million times and has been blasted online for being guilty of caricaturing Asian behaviour and leaning on dated stereotypes, with accusations of “blatant anti-Asian racism”.
“Hollywood is so out of touch it’s embarrassing. It’s 2026 and THIS is your Asian rep? The name, styling, whole look. Lazy stereotypes,” wrote one X user, while another commented: “Child-like dress, glasses, overqualified, Ivy League credentials and at top of her game yet obsequious and insecure of her competency: these are not Asian American stereotypes, they’re white women’s fantasies.”
Other social media posts have also highlighted that the character’s name sounds like a racist slur.
Racist slur called outX
One Japanese post, which has been viewed over a million times on X, states:
“The Devil Wears Prada 2
・Asian (Chinese)
・Name is Chinchon
・Glasses
・Nerdy bookworm
・Even if they graduated from a prestigious school, they’re uncool
Hits us with the most blatant racial stereotype racism in 2026 and it gives me chills. Did they use this scene in the promo because it’s “funny”? #BoycottTheDevilWearsPrada2″
On the Reddit forum r/asianamerican, one commenter said the name “is what a white person thinks a Chinese name should sound like”, before drawing comparisons to Cho Chang - the name of the Asian student at Hogwarts in the Harry Potter series.
Helen J. Shen attends 'The Devil Wears Prada 2' world premiere in New York - Monday 20 April 2026AP Photo
The Devil Wears Prada 2 sees Hathaway joined by returning cast members Meryl Streep, Emily Blunt and Stanley Tucci.
The Devil Wears Prada grossed $326 million globally and became a streaming hit.
The Devil Wears Prada 2 is out on 30 April in China and on 1 May worldwide.
