Best time of the year in Seoul 🍁🍂🍃

Several South Korean firms have pulled or prolonged a pause on investment in U.S. projects after a massive immigration raid on a Hyundai plant in Georgia that resulted in hundreds of Koreans arrested. By @laurenkaorigurley.bsky.social www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...

Delicious dinner, inspiring conversation, and Korean American power ✨ With the great @minjinlee.bsky.social & Chef Edward Lee in Seoul.

Just opened this app to see so much baseball commentary/hyperventilation. Reminds me of the fun Twitter days. Go sports!

China shot back to Trump's social media post saying he approved South Koreans to build a nuclear-powered submarine, by urging South Korea and the US to “fulfill their nuclear non-proliferation obligations.” english.hani.co.kr/arti/english...

Takaichi and Lee's gifts: Lee gave Takaichi K-cosmetics and Korean seaweed after she expressed her personal “love” for both items. Takaichi gifted Lee with a set of go stones and bowls in Kamakura, a sister city of Lee's hometown, Andong. www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/10...

TOMORROW: join @asiapolicy.asiasociety.org for a rapid reactions webinar to the outcomes of Trump's Asia tour. With Wendy Cutler, @myhlee.bsky.social, @shayhouston.bsky.social, and @emmachanlettavery.bsky.social. Register to attend: asiasociety.org/policy-insti...

It’s been a newsy few weeks with Japanese politics and Trump’s Asia trip, with so many stories and deadlines. My brain needs a minute, so here are pics of Darcy with her two best friends at doggy daycare, Peanut and Barley. 🥹

On his nearly week-long swing through Asia, President Donald Trump accepted glittering gifts. But there was one thing the president wanted that he didn’t get: a meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Free link to our analysis on the one gift that got away: wapo.st/4hx23ba

This will require Congressional Authorization of both houses and is not a certainty.

President Donald Trump said he has authorized South Korea to build a nuclear-powered submarine, allowing access to military technology possessed by few other nations. Details are scarce, but it’s a big deal for South Korea, facing growing security concerns with North Korea and China. wapo.st/3JxtkOd

In South Korea, Trump secures a trade deal — and a glittering crown. The trade agreement will lower U.S. tariffs on Korean cars and parts to 15 percent in exchange for $350 billion in investment. Gift link to our story from Gyeongju: wapo.st/4qCYULk

Wow. This crown... "It's really beautiful. I'd like to wear it right now," Trump says.

President Trump is in South Korea, where he will receive a national honor and a gold crown, and meet business and political leaders -- and Chinese leader Xi Jinping. Gift link to today's story, which will be updated throughout the day: wapo.st/4qCYULk

Trump speech at APEC CEO summit so far (30 minutes in) is a greatest hits of his stump speech: electoral college wins, cutting regulations, shipbuilding cooperation with South Korea, bashing the Biden admin for not drawing enough foreign investments to the U.S..... also, "Barack Hussein Obama"

Of course

Trump has landed in South Korea. He will speak at the APEC conference, and then meet with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung. Lee will present Trump with the "Grand Order of Mugunghwa," the highest decoration of the South Korean government, and gift Trump a replica of a Silla dynasty gold crown.

Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs lined up Ford and Toyota pickups outside the Akasaka Palace. The semiotics of US-Japan summits are always a rich text but we're discovering new levels this time around. www.nikkei.com/article/DGXZ...

Watch this space. South Korea is pressing the Trump administration on enrichment and reprocessing: ”We asked the United States to allow the same level as Japan, and there was a positive response from the United States.” biz.chosun.com/en/en-scienc...

Less than a week into her tenure, Japanese PM Sanae Takaichi positioned herself to become President Trump’s top ally in Asia with a charm offensive that catered to Trump’s soft spots: golf, gold, deals and the Nobel Peace Prize. Our story on today’s summitry: www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

President Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Takaichi on Tuesday signed a deal to cooperate on critical minerals, as the U.S. seeks to limit dependency on China for the materials that are essential components in everything from cellphones to jet engines. www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

Takaichi told Trump that she intends to nominate him for the Nobel Peace Prize, according to White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt. She also presented him papers about the intended nomination during their bilateral meeting. (Unclear yet what the papers are)

Op-ed in the @washingtonpost.com by Kurt Campbell, a former U.S. deputy secretary of state: "In the Tuesday meeting, Takaichi would do well to channel Abe’s approach to Trump in the U.S. president’s first term and Thatcher’s approach to Ronald Reagan." www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...

Following Trump's Asia trip, join @asiapolicy.asiasociety.org and Wendy Cutler, @myhlee.bsky.social, Shay Wester, and @emmachanlettavery.bsky.social to unpack the outcomes and implications of Trump’s Asia tour on Oct. 31 at 8:30 AM. asiasociety.org/policy-insti...

The Abe playbook: Nippon Television reports that PM Takaichi is preparing to recommend Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize and making arrangements to inform him of her intention to nominate him. Much like Abe, who nominated Trump in 2019.

WaPo editorial board on goal for Trump<>Kim meet is stuck in broken thinking. "Persuade Kim to relinquish his nuclear ambitions, keep America’s allies on the same page and remain willing to walk away from a bad deal." Yes, that worked great in 2019... www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...

President Trump suggested aboard Air Force One on Monday that he would extend his Asia trip to meet with North Korea;s Kim Jong Un happen, if Kim agrees. “If he’d like to meet, I’m around,” Trump said. “I’ll be in South Korea, so I could be right over there.” www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

Trump, en route to Tokyo, says of new JPN PM Takaichi: “I hear phenomenal things. She was a great ally and friend of Shinzo Abe, who was my friend. … And I know they were very close, and I think philosophically they were close ... That really helps Japan and the United States.”

Trump has arrived in Tokyo. He will meet with the emperor this evening, and it will be their second time meeting.

Merci ben to @myhlee.bsky.social for including some reflections on how Trump's thinking on Japan remains locked in the 1980s:

Japan was the genesis of President Donald Trump’s tariff-led approach to reshaping the global economy. When he lands in Tokyo today, trade will again be on his agenda. But his views on trade and Japan are stuck in the 1980s. Gift link: wapo.st/4qAjMTp

Here's who's in the Pentagon's new "press corps," covering world's most powerful military: Out: New York Times, Washington Post. In: Tim Pool's Timcast, Gateway Pundit, the MyPillow guy's LindellTV. wapo.st/49iiXbn @scottnover.bsky.social

It's official: Sanae Takaichi, a firebrand nationalist and security hawk, has been chosen prime minister of Japan, becoming the nation’s first female head of government. wapo.st/4nYz02y

After a very dramatic 2+ weeks, the Japanese Diet is voting for the new prime minister. After Sanae Takaichi -- who is expected to win -- cast her ballot, the lower chamber applauded for her.

South Korea's president: “Even under current circumstances, I find it hard to understand that there are still some citizens who believe that South Korea must rely on others for its national defense.”

Sanae Takaichi, a firebrand nationalist and security hawk, is set to be chosen as prime minister of Japan on Tuesday, becoming the nation’s first female head of government during an unusually rocky time in Japanese politics. Gift link to our latest from Tokyo: wapo.st/4nYz02y

new: Bari Weiss, the new editor in chief of CBS News, surprised senior staff at “60 Minutes” last week when she asked a provocative question — Why does the country think you’re biased? Inside Bari’s first two weeks, with Michael Grynbaum: www.nytimes.com/2025/10/19/b...

The new Bvlgari exhibit at the National Arts Center in Tokyo is really spectacular and opulent. So … how many articles do I need to write to afford one of these? Or maybe I should just try again in another life

The 5K pedestrian loop around the Imperial Palace in Tokyo is a popular running spot in the fall/spring. I always see throngs of people running, but didn’t try it out myself until today. It was great! Lots to see, easy incline/decline. Plenty of water fountains and bathrooms along the path.

These American athletes are finding a second home in South Korean sports -- love this KBO story by @bartschaneman.bsky.social www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2025/...

Media across the ideological spectrum said they will not sign the Defense Department’s restrictive new press policy. The Washington Post, the New York Times, the Associated Press and CNN said they wouldn’t sign, as did Newsmax and the Washington Times. www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...

Love this. If I weren’t a journalist, I’d give it a try… www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/int...

North Korea unveiled a new intercontinental ballistic missile and honored soldiers who fought in Russia at a huge military parade celebrating the 80th anniversary of the ruling party, an event that hosted top Chinese and Russian guests in a show of solidarity against the West. wapo.st/4nWHKGo

Kim Jong Un's power move (seated across the Chinese delegation, with Chinese premiere Li Qiang at the center)

Interesting story on Japan's potential first-ever "first husband" www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/10...

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is preparing to host a huge military parade to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the ruling party, showing off his newest and biggest nuclear weapons alongside top Chinese and Russian guests in a show of solidarity against the West. wapo.st/42wSTVX

BREAKING: Sanae Takaichi, a hardline conservative security hawk, is set to become Japan’s new — and first female — prime minister. www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/1...

BREAKING: Sanae Takaichi has been elected leader of the LDP, and is set to become Japan’s first female prime minister.

While we wait for the count in the runoff, I ran through the numbers quickly here: open.substack.com/pub/observin...