Into Asia

Japan's first female prime minister, Takaichi Sanae, a hard-line conservative, rose to power on promises of national renewal and a “Japan First” agenda. Her rise follows the stunning breakthrough of the Sanseito, a Trump-style populist party that captured 14 seats in the upper house this summer, drawing support from disaffected youth and social-media activists.Takehiro Masutomo, author of Runri: Tracking the Mass Exodus of Wealthy Chinese to Japan, talks about the Chinese immigrants behind Japan's right-wing turn.Maustomo's book is on Amazon (Japanese version only)Masutomo's podcast Asia Frontline

From Shanghai’s World AI Conference to start-up incubators across the city, the Chinese tech analyst Rui Ma shares what she’s seeing on the ground, and where China actually stands in the global AI race.Follow Rui on X: https://x.com/ruimaFollow her newsletter via Tech Buzz China (Substack): https://techbuzzchina.substack.comRelated Links: https://techbuzzchina.substack.com/p/china-deep-tech-trip-what-we-did

In September, China staged a boisterous military parade to mark the 80th anniversary of World War II. The spectacle is part of a broader campaign in recent years, from museums openings, movies, and memorials, to elevate its role in what it calls the “victory over fascism.”How accurate is China’s official narrative of WWII — and what political purpose does it serve? How does it differ from the way Japan, the aggressor nation, or Europe and the U.S., the allies, remember the war?Rana Mitter, historian and S.T. Lee Chair in U.S.–Asia Relations at the Harvard Kennedy School, joins us.See also Face-Off with Jane Perlez and Rana Mitter: https://open.spotify.com/show/1XnPbxcS20PCgamDoEmEba