Reflecting on 2025 – Overseas: World Enters Precarious Era by Major Powers’ Self-Centered Behavior

Editorial

13:29 JST, December 22, 2025

The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump prioritizes its own interests under his “America First” approach, and the administration of Chinese President Xi Jinping is intensifying its economic and military coercion. The world is growing increasingly precarious as a result of the self-centered behavior of major powers.

The inauguration of the second Trump administration topped this year’s top 10 international news events selected by Yomiuri Shimbun readers.

Trump is actively undermining the international order based on the rule of law and free trade that the United States has led since the end of World War II. The prime example is his imposition of “reciprocal tariffs” on imports from nearly all countries and regions, including U.S. allies, in pursuit of eliminating the trade deficit. This move was ranked third.

As the situation escalated into tit-for-tat impositions of high tariffs between the United States and China, Trump and Xi met in person in October for the first time in six years — a news event that ranked 11th on the Yomiuri list — and the leaders agreed on a truce in the trade war.

Nevertheless, the United States and China remain at odds on security matters as well as trade issues. Tensions between the two countries are likely to persist.

The second-ranked news item was China’s increased pressure on Japan in its response to Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s remark in the Diet regarding a survival-threatening situation in connection with potential Taiwan contingency. The Xi administration has urged its citizens to refrain from traveling to Japan and has also halted imports of Japanese seafood products.

Furthermore, China repeatedly makes baseless criticisms at the United Nations and other forums, as if Japan was a militaristic country. China’s international propaganda campaign to disgrace Japan is absolutely unacceptable.

Earlier this month, China took a step toward military coercion when its military aircraft directed radar toward Self-Defense Forces jets over international waters off Okinawa Prefecture. Japan must widely convey to the international community the current situation, in which China is unilaterally escalating tensions, and protect the stability of Japan and the region.

Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, which has entered its fourth year, ranked seventh. While Trump has expressed a willingness to mediate, his pro-Russian stance is conspicuous, and the prospects for achieving peace remain unclear.

Middle East-related news events did not make the top 10, but the death toll in the Palestinian territory of Gaza has exceeded 70,000 due to Israeli attacks and other factors. The international community must not turn a blind eye to this severe humanitarian crisis.

Ranked ninth was the arrest of then South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol on suspicion of insurrection and other charges in connection with his declaration of martial law. The election of Lee Jae Myung to succeed Yoon ranked 16th, and it is commendable that Lee places importance on Japan-South Korea relations following the Yoon administration.

Large-scale wildfires in Los Angeles and its vicinity ranked fourth, while a powerful Myanmar earthquake that killed over 3,700 people, including a Japanese national, was sixth. Many people in Japan must have recalled the frequent fires and past major earthquakes in this nation and been deeply saddened by these news events.

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Dec. 22, 2025)