Europe's capitulation to Trump
How times have changed.
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NZ Herald
an hour ago
- NZ Herald
Eighty years after Hiroshima, Japan debates military expansion and pacifism
The destruction of the two cities was followed by Japan's submission days later, ending its decades of brutal conquest. However, the bombings also announced a more terrifying age in which human innovation could spark death and destruction on a previously unimaginable scale. As the flattened city of Hiroshima was rebuilt, it dedicated itself to promoting peace. Survivors of the atomic bombing have campaigned for a world free of nuclear weapons. But 80 years on, that dream is fading. Three of Japan's neighbours – Russia, China and North Korea – are nuclear powers, and Tokyo depends on the American nuclear umbrella to protect it. With tensions in the Pacific heightening and firsthand memories of nuclear devastation waning, more Japanese are questioning the national commitment to peace at all costs. Why did Japan go all-in on pacifism after World War II? The Americans forced it to. The Imperial Japanese Armed Forces' harsh invasion of much of Asia, its shock attack on Pearl Harbour and its willingness to sacrifice a generation of young soldiers for the empire, made the victorious Americans adamant that the country should never again wage war. Japan's so-called 'peace constitution', drafted by the Americans who occupied the country for nearly seven years, forever renounced war. Its Article 9 has been interpreted to mean that Japan should never possess a military with offensive capabilities. In return, the US promised to defend Japan should it come under attack. The security treaty made Japan a beneficiary of the theory of nuclear deterrence, in which the fear of nuclear retaliation is thought to deter a first-strike attack. So why does Japan have a military? To take into account these constitutional limitations, Japan's military is called the Self-Defence Forces. It cannot take on combat roles in international conflicts. That hasn't stopped Japan from expanding its arsenal to counter potential threats from Asian neighbours such as China that, in turn, worry about Japan's rearmament, given its wartime record. If budget hikes continue, Japan will soon be among the world's top military spenders. All of this modern hardware is supposed to be only for defensive purposes, although a debate in Japan about its global military profile has been getting louder. What do Japanese think of their country's rearming? While many in the older generations worry about Japan's waning commitment to pacifism, younger Japanese tend to be more sanguine. Supporters of a military expansion say Japan shouldn't be forced into a defensive crouch forever, especially with security threats ratcheting up in the Pacific. In addition to superpower jousting, Japan has territorial disputes with China, Russia and the two Koreas. They worry that the US may not always be a constant security guarantor for Japan, especially under President Donald Trump, who has criticised Japan for relying too heavily on the presence of US military bases. And with first-hand memories of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki disappearing, most Japanese are now removed from the kind of searing testimony that underwrote the country's pacifist, non-nuclear stance. Nippon Kaigi, an ultra-nationalist political bloc that aims to revise Article 9 of the constitution, has significant support among lawmakers from the governing Liberal Democratic Party. Amending the constitution was once unthinkable; it's now a political talking point. What about nukes? Nihon Hidankyo, a group representing atomic bomb survivors, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize last year for its campaign to rid the world of nuclear weapons. However, Japan has never signed the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. In 2023, Fumio Kishida, then the Prime Minister of Japan, whose family is from Hiroshima, supported a statement at a Group of Seven summit he hosted in the city that implied nuclear deterrence might bring its own kind of peace. Kishida's stance reflects a growing feeling in Japan that while nuclear weapons are dangerous and their eradication is a noble ideal, the real world also requires deterrence and robust defence. This article originally appeared in The New York Times. Written by: Hannah Beech Photograph by: Chang W. Lee ©2025 THE NEW YORK TIMES
NZ Herald
an hour ago
- NZ Herald
Italy approves $15.6b project for world's longest suspension bridge
It has been designed with two railway lines in the middle and three lanes of traffic on either side, with a suspended span of 3.3km – a world record – stretching between two 400m high towers. Strait of Messina Bridge, the numbers of the project. Photo / Webuild Strait of Messina bridge. Photo / Webuild Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini, who is also responsible for transport and infrastructure, told reporters work could begin as soon as September or October. He said the bridge and the associated new roads, railways and stations would act as a 'development accelerator' for impoverished Sicily and Calabria, boosting economic growth and creating tens of thousands of jobs, many of them skilled. Yet the project has sparked local protests over the environmental impact and the cost, with critics saying the money could be better spent elsewhere. Nicola Fratoianni, an MP of the Greens and Left Alliance, slammed a 'mega-project that will divert a huge amount of public resources' and 'risks turning into a gigantic black hole'. The Italian Court of Auditors has criticised the extent of the debt-laden state's investment in this one project in its assessment of the 2024 budget. The centre-left Democratic Party warned that the project 'tramples environmental, safety and European norms – and common sense'. The public prosecutor of Messina also recently warned of the risk that organised crime would benefit from the project. Salvini on Wednesday insisted the Government would do everything to prevent mafia infiltration. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's coalition claims the bridge will boost the economy, but critics warn of financial and environmental risks. Photo / Webuild Nato spending The longest suspended bridge in the world is currently the 1915 Canakkale Bridge in Turkey, which has a main span of 2.023km between its towers and opened in 2022. Many believe that Italy's ambitious project will never actually materialise, pointing to a long history of public works announced, financed, yet never completed in Italy. The project has had several false starts, with the first plans drawn up more than 50 years ago. Eurolink, a consortium led by Italian group Webuild, won the tender in 2006 only for the government to cancel it after the eurozone debt crisis. The consortium remains the contractor on the revived project. This time, Rome may have an added incentive to press ahead – by classifying the cost of the bridge as defence spending. Italy has agreed with other Nato allies to massively increase its defence expenditure to 5% of GDP, at the demand of US President Donald Trump. Of this, 1.5% can be spent on 'defence-related' areas such as cyber security and infrastructure – and Rome is hoping the Messina bridge will qualify, particularly as Sicily hosts a Nato base. Currently, the only way to cross the Messina Strait is by ferry, taking at least an hour by car and two on the train – where individual carriages are loaded on to the ferry – but the bridge aims to cut journey times to 10 and 15 minutes, respectively. Meloni insisted it was a 'demonstration of Italy's willpower and technical expertise' that would 'form the backbone of a faster and more modern nation'. – Agence France-Presse
NZ Herald
3 hours ago
- NZ Herald
Could Trump's tariffs force NZ to rethink its trade diversity?
Italy got the same deal as us, 15%. The Italian Institute of International Political Studies dug into the numbers and found that the country's agricultural, pharmaceutical, and automotive sectors are likely to be hit the hardest, with the country's GDP projected to dip by 0.2%. On the other hand, the likes of Australia and the UK have secured a 10% tariff. So, how will the duties actually affect Kiwi businesses? Or is it really American consumers who'll pay the price? University of Auckland Emeritus Professor of Law Jane Kelsey told The Front Page it's hard to know the impact. 'It's very hard to be specific about what the consequences would be, and when people put figures on that, you should be quite skeptical. 'Tariffs are kind of blunt instruments, so it will mean that exports from New Zealand imports into the US will have a higher cost for importers in the US and consumers in the US. That could affect how much New Zealand goods they buy,' she said. She said New Zealand has a 'pretty basic export commodity model' and suggests that recent events should serve as a 'wake-up call to start thinking differently' about the diversification of our domestic market. 'There are real opportunities here, and we seem to have an aversion to taking those opportunities. 'It's not simply about diversifying to other markets, but it's also about rethinking our domestic economic model, which is currently based largely on the housing market and secondly on relatively low-value-added exports to a relatively small number of countries. 'But, we have a great difficulty generating that discussion here. There was a Productivity Commission report several years ago, before it was disbanded, that set out a process for diversification, which would thicken our domestic production, and that, unfortunately, seems to have fallen on deaf ears,' she said. Listen to the full episode to hear more about: Why the World Trade Organisation is 'in chaos'; The erosion of the rules-based trading system over successive US governments; And why it might be a mistake to view Trump's tariffs as purely economic. The Front Page is a daily news podcast from the New Zealand Herald, available to listen to every weekday from 5am. The podcast is presented by Chelsea Daniels, an Auckland-based journalist with a background in world news and crime/justice reporting who joined NZME in 2016. You can follow the podcast at iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
