Joseph Belbruno Blog

  China Revives Economic Coercion to Punish Japan By Victor Ferguson And Audrye Wong Sino-Japanese relations are in freefall again after comments by new Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Nov. 7 suggesting that Chinese use of force against Taiwan could lead to Japan deploying its Self Defense Forces. Beijing quickly retaliated by sending Chinese coast guard vessels into waters around disputed islands and military drones near an outlying Japanese island. The more consequential steps have been economic. China has unearthed its old playbook of informal coercive moves. Unlike clear-cut export controls, these disguised measures are harder to manage and pose escalatory risks. Governments and companies must grapple with how to respond. Since Nov. 14, China has issued a  series of escalating restrictions: cautioning tourists and students against travel to Japan; postponing the release of at least two Japanese films; and reinstating a blanket ban on Japanese seafood imports. Tha...

  REVIEW & OUTLOOK The High Stakes in Venezuela President Trump is in a high-stakes showdown with Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro and the dictator’s backers in Havana  and Moscow. One of the two presidents is going to lose, and it will be Mr. Trump if Mr. Maduro isn’t ousted one way or another. Mr. Trump has never said explicitly that regime change is his goal in Caracas, but the evidence is clear that it is. He’s predicted Mr. Maduro’s days are numbered, and Mr. Trump is gradually raising political pressure with the message that the dictator should go into exile for his own good, and perhaps survival. The President has assembled an invasionsized naval force in the Caribbean, including a carrier task force. The political cover for this intimidation campaign is that Mr. Trump is fighting drug cartels, but you don’t send 25% of the Navy’s deployed warships, F-35 fighters, and thousands of Marines merely to blow up drug boats. Administration sources have whispered to the press tha...

  Russia Gains Upper Hand in Drone Battle Moscow has gotten better with the war’s deadliest weapons, once Ukraine’s forte By Ian Lovett, Marcus Walker and Nikita Nikolaienko KHARKIV, Ukraine—The four Ukrainian soldiers were speeding down a supply road more than 20 miles behind the front line when a Russian drone exploded behind them, throwing the rear of their Nissan Pathfinder into the air. Capt. Stanislav Derkach was slammed into the dashboard, dislocating his kneecap. He and the three other soldiers hobbled into the woods and watched as a second fixed-wing Molniya drone finished off the SUV. A few months ago, such rear areas were relatively safe. Now any movement can come under attack. “I consider us very lucky,” said Derkach, who is recovering in a hospital. Russia’s growing prowess at hitting Ukrainian supply lines with drones is the most important shift in the war in 2025, Ukrainian front-line fighters and analysts studying the conflict say. The tilting tactical balance is al...

  Navigated Menu Back Financial Times Financial Times Europe 1 Dec 2025 Buttons.Search Options Is Volk­swa­gen’s revamp rad­ical enough? A year after the group hammered out a plan to close car pro­duc­tion and axe jobs in its home­land, some believe a down­turn in China and tar­iffs in the US mean more cut­backs will be needed. By Sebas­tien Ash Settings Print Share Listen Say­ing good­bye to Volk­swa­gen was tough for Mar­tin Maatz. Accept­ing the car maker’s vol­un­tary redund­ancy offer after 15 years at the com­pany’s Dresden fact­ory involved a lot of “hand wringing”, the 40-year-old tells the FT. Get­ting a job at Volk­swa­gen had been a dream for him. The auto giant “was simply the brand with the biggest draw”, he recalls, before adding that its image has “suffered a lot in recent years”. Maatz, who works on the assembly line and acts as a shop stew­ard, is one of 35,000 Ger­man work­ers whose jobs will dis­ap­pear by the end of the dec­ade, under a sweep­ing cost-cut­ting p...