The Japan Times

South Korea has long avoided any commitment to involvement in a potential conflict over Taiwan, keeping its policy deliberately vague to balance ties with the United States and economic relations with China. Reporting by The Japan Times says that maintaining this discretion is becoming harder, as regional security pressures mount and Washington expects allies to clarify their roles in a Taiwan contingency. Observers are debating whether Seoul can continue to stay on the sidelines if tensions escalate.

Germany has chosen Munich as its candidate city for a future Olympic Games, according to the Japan Times. The decision puts Munich forward to compete internationally for the right to host, though which edition of the Games the bid targets remains unclear. Attention now turns to the International Olympic Committee's selection process and whether Bavaria's capital can build public and political support for the campaign.

Japan's Defense Ministry is planning a new system to support startups developing unmanned aerial vehicles and related products. The move would give emerging defense-tech firms backing to develop drones and other equipment for national security use, reflecting Japan's broader push to grow its domestic defense industry and adopt advanced unmanned technology.

Japan's Defense Ministry has announced a program to support startups working on unmanned aerial vehicles, according to the Japan Times. The initiative is aimed at drawing smaller companies and venture firms into defense technology development, a field long dominated by large contractors. The move reflects Japan's broader push to strengthen its defense industrial base and accelerate drone capabilities.

India are playing Japan in the first T20 International of their 2026 series, with ball-by-ball score commentary drawing a large live audience. Cricket followers are tracking the match in real time and reacting to the unusual matchup, as Japan faces one of cricket's biggest teams in a rare international fixture between the two countries.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has proposed creating a Congress of Europe, framing it as a step in the right direction given the scale of the continent's geopolitical challenges. The idea, reported by international media including the Japan Times, is being debated as a possible way to strengthen European unity and coordination on security and foreign policy.

The Japan Times carries an item headlined 'A congress for Europe's future', pointing to a gathering or initiative framed around the direction of the European project. No further details are given in the available evidence, so the specific participants, agenda and outcomes remain unspecified.

India are playing Japan in a one-off Twenty20 international, with fans following live scores and ball-by-ball commentary of the first T20 between the two sides. The fixture is drawing heavy attention from cricket followers tracking how India perform against an emerging associate nation, with updates on the score unfolding throughout the match.

New reporting revisits a striking biological legacy of the 2011 Tōhoku tsunami: the disaster appears to have brought together fish populations that then produced hybrids. Scientists found these hybrid fish in the aftermath, but they have almost completely disappeared in the years since, raising questions about how disaster-driven mixing shapes species over time.

A live results and medallists page for athletics at the 20th Asian Games Aichi-Nagoya 2026 has been published on the official Olympics website, listing results and medallists as they come in. The Games, hosted in Japan's Aichi prefecture and Nagoya, are the region's biggest multi-sport event, and attention is building around the athletics programme ahead of and during the competition.

Formula 1 champion Lando Norris has said Argentine driver Franco Colapinto should receive a race ban following a crash in Baku, according to the Japan Times. The call adds to debate over driver safety and penalties in the sport, though details of the crash and the governing body's response were not given in the report.