Beyond a press release trumpeting “high-quality infrastructure” and “global trust standards”, things are a bit fuzzy.

Beijing is fending off African resentment over debt and for importing workers – and facing extra competition, too.

A ferocious typhoon has tested Japan amid the Rugby World Cup and before the Olympics – and taught valuable lessons.

The US Secretary of State dropped a fig leaf: Washington thinks the Quad can help put China back in its “proper place”.

Japan – through its team and wonderful crowds – put on a rugby festival worthy of the name.

Japan has made a significant contribution to regional development, especially in managing lucrative fish stocks.

Koizumi is a famous name in Japanese politics, and Shinjiro, son of the former PM, is capturing plenty of headlines.

When Toowong briefly hit the headlines in South Korea, it signalled another test for Australia’s regional engagement.

The 2012–13 crises revealed Beijing’s wedging strategy, and that needs to be understood before tensions flare again.

From used-car markets to giant infrastructure projects, Asia’s leading powers see more than a continent in need of aid.

If history is a guide, the interests of Korean victims, not US strategic goals, must be put first.

Could the Australian response to Japanese trade practices in the late 1970s be a blueprint for dealing with China now?

Any change to Japan’s constitutional “peace clause” needs securing a two-thirds majority in both houses of the Diet.

As G20 leaders gathered in Osaka, Japan let loose the whalers and the international response has so far been muted.

A radical call urges Japan delay tackling chronic deficit and huge debt – and, of course, build no bridges-to-nowhere.

The Reiwa era is about to begin and with it springs hope that the national malaise of recent decades can be left behind.

Scrambling to intercept roughly three intruders daily, wear on the fleet raises concern about keeping pace with China.

Washington often been an informal umpire for the depressingly regular spats between Seoul and Tokyo – not this time.

Japan has quietly, and successfully, been building ties with the Philippines in a way that could calm a volatile region.

With Pyongyang and Washington, the facts on the ground have not changed much for Japan and could get worse.

Far from being the sick man of Asia, Japan’s strengths appear set to grow.

Japan’s withdrawal from the International Whaling Commission may counterintuitively offer hope to conservation efforts.

Abe’s recent visit to Darwin indicates that Canberra and Tokyo acknowledge the common security challenges they face.

A deal for more frequent and larger joint military drills with Australia is part of Japan’s push for stronger partners.

<p>The recent summit showcased a strong personal chemistry but this special relationship still faces obstacles.</p>

Twice as many people move to Japan than to Australia, now Japan is finally set to accept foreign labourers.

While banks back away from coal, political and safety concerns about nuclear power are pushing Tokyo towards it.

Stay firm and don’t be swayed by Beijing’s emotional accusations should be Shinzo Abe’s lessons for Scott Morrison.

<p>Shinzo Abe was re-elected leader of the LDP but faces serious political and policy challenges in his final term.</p>

Tokyo has long understood the Bay of Bengal and the South China Sea are the lynchpins that connect the Indo-Pacific.

All the stars are aligned in Abe’s favour to secure his party presidency and continue as prime minister beyond his term.

A reality TV contest for pop music contestants from South Korea and Japan has an undertone of national competition, too.

Despite Western concern the ballot will be neither free or fair, Tokyo is seeking to counter China’s influence.

The Japanese Prime Minister derives strength from weak domestic opposition and assertive external powers.

Overcoming the politics of victimhood is one way Japan’s leader could involve himself again in regional denuclearisation talks.

After nearly two dozen bilateral meetings with Russia’s Vladimir Putin, Japan’s Shinzo Abe still cannot show meaningful progress on a territorial dispute between the two nations.

Australia needs to cooperate with Japan, in addition to China, on open and sustainable projects across the Indo-Pacific.

Japan’s Prime Minister is scrambling to reassert relevance while local media is searching for metaphors.

It is one thing to be in possession of an unrivalled deposit of unmined ore, and quite another to unlock its vast potential.

A new deal for amphibious aircraft shows just how far ties between the two countries have come.

Why did Japan and South Korea not join the expulsion of Russian diplomats after the Skripal attack?

If Japan caused headaches, a fight with China about activists at sea will be very awkward for Australia.

Reform of Japan’s pacifist constitution might be the least of the Prime Minister’s worries.

North Korea policy is seen by some Japanese media as a debate with a South Korean stooge.

Last year saw a surge in testing and deployment of both ballistic and cruise missile technology throughout the Indo-Pacific.

The 'quasi-allies' have a fundamental difference in strategic perspective.

Abe's ambivalent relationship with the Japanese public concerns some members of his party.

Winning a two-thirds parliamentary majority is no guarantee of change for Japan's pacifist constitution.

Glorified rocks reveal the limits of the contemporary ‘rules-based order’ to settle disputes.

Organising a loose strategic coalition might upset Beijing, but that's no reason not to forge ahead.