Some 10,000 U.S. soldiers protect weather balloons and navigation and spy satellites from threats from above. It isn’t the only space force out there. Pituffik Space Base in Greenland on 4 October 2023. (Credit: Thomas Traasdahl/Ritzau Scanpix) Not many military...
As China and Russia tighten their alliance, Japan has emerged as an important partner to the West. A sudden change in leadership there has wider implications. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida shakes hands with U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris in Tokyo on 26...
In Japan and elsewhere, governments grapple with a frightening future: Too few young to support too many old. How big a problem is this? A maternity ward full of empty cribs. (Credit: Urosh Petrovic from Getty Images) This article was produced exclusively for News...
Japan remains a global economic powerhouse and is becoming an ever closer political partner of the West. People walk at a pedestrian crossing in Ginza shopping district in Tokyo, Japan, 31 March 2023. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko) This article was produced exclusively...
ND correspondent and Asia specialist John West takes students to Japan in this Decoder explaining the island nation’s growing geopolitical importance and evolving defense strategy. Ranked the 17th-most democratic country in the world ahead of both the United States and France, Japan remains a key Western ally in a region fraught with tension.
Exercise: Geography has always played a significant role in the founding of civilizations and countries, shaping a nation’s economy and security. Launch a class discussion about how Japan’s geographic location and topography may have influenced the developments described in the article. Then, have students brainstorm how your country’s own geographic location (and geographic features like mountains, water sources, etc.) affects its role and influence on a world stage. This exercise is particularly well-suited to be a complementary lesson after students learn about the conditions of Japan’s surrender after World War II, highlighting the lasting effects of history in the present day.