Japan Ranked Among Asia’s Most Peaceful Nations Amid Rising Global Tensions

Hadisur Rahman, JadeTimes Staff

H. Rahman is a Jadetimes news reporter covering Asia

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Image Source: Elizabeth Beattie, REUTERS

Japan has been ranked the third-most peaceful country in the Asia-Pacific region and 12th globally, according to the Global Peace Index 2025, released this week by the Institute for Economics and Peace.

The index, now in its 19th year, evaluates 163 countries based on 23 indicators, including political stability, militarization, conflict-related deaths, nuclear and heavy weapons capabilities, and relations with neighboring states.

Despite being situated near some of the world’s most volatile geopolitical hotspots including nuclear-armed North Korea, Russia, and rising tensions with China in the Taiwan Strait Japan climbed three places in the global ranking this year. The improvement followed declines in Canada and Malaysia.

In the “Safety and Security” category, Japan placed fourth worldwide, ahead of Singapore but just behind Finland.

Globally, Iceland and Ireland retained the top two positions, while Singapore, at sixth, was the only Asian nation to make the top 10. In contrast, Myanmar and North Korea were identified as the least peaceful countries in the Asia-Pacific.

At the other end of the scale, Russia was ranked as the world’s least peaceful country, followed by Ukraine and Sudan. Researchers pointed to Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine and Sudan’s civil war, which the United Nations has described as the world’s largest humanitarian crisis.

The Middle East and North Africa remained the world’s least peaceful regions, with Israel, South Sudan, Syria, and Afghanistan also near the bottom of the index. Israel’s military operations in Gaza since October 2023 have resulted in over 53,000 Palestinian deaths, according to local health authorities, with international estimates suggesting the toll could be far higher.

Peace at a Tipping Point

The report warned that the world has become progressively less peaceful over the past 17 years, with many of the leading drivers of conflict militarization, geopolitical tensions, and economic instability at their highest levels since World War II.

“The international order is approaching a tipping point,” the report stated, citing accelerating rearmament, deepening economic fragmentation, and multiple competing spheres of influence. “These factors are creating conditions for the onset of large-scale conflict and the associated economic destruction.”

It also noted that successful conflict resolutions are now at their lowest rate in five decades, while funding for peacebuilding and development aid has steadily declined.

For Japan, the latest ranking underscores its reputation as one of the world’s most stable and secure societies even as its neighborhood becomes increasingly fraught with risk.

Canada Drops Many Retaliatory Tariffs on U.S. in Bid to Ease Trade Tensions

Hadisur Rahman, JadeTimes Staff

H. Rahman is a Jadetimes news reporter covering Business

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Image Source: Leyland Cecco, The Guardian

Canada announced Friday it is removing a wide range of retaliatory tariffs on U.S. products, signaling a potential thaw in trade relations between the two countries after months of escalating tensions.

Prime Minister Mark Carney confirmed that while tariffs on U.S. autos, steel, and aluminum will remain in place, most other counter-tariffs will be lifted effective September 1. The move follows months of back-and-forth tariff hikes that strained North American trade under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).

“As we work intensively with the United States, our focus is squarely on the strategic sectors,” Carney said at a press conference, emphasizing that Canada had secured what he called “the best trade deal” among U.S. partners.

The tariff standoff began in March, when Canada imposed 25% duties on more than CA$30 billion (US$21.7 billion) worth of U.S. goods, retaliating against Washington’s 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum imports. Trump later announced a 35% tariff on Canadian products, citing Canada’s trade practices and fentanyl-related security concerns.

Friday’s announcement came just a day after Carney’s phone call with President Donald Trump the first known discussion between the two leaders since trade talks collapsed before the August 1 tariff deadline.

Carney said Trump assured him that Canada’s decision to roll back tariffs would help “kick-start negotiations” between the countries. A White House official welcomed the move, calling it “long overdue.”

While some of the most politically sensitive tariffs remain in place, analysts say the rollback could pave the way for smoother discussions ahead of the scheduled USMCA review later this year.

The U.S. has expressed national security concerns tied to fentanyl trafficking across the northern border. According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, 43 pounds of the drug were seized in 2024, with an additional 58 pounds confiscated so far in 2025.

Carney, who succeeded Justin Trudeau earlier this year, has positioned his government as committed to cooperation with Washington. In July, he said Canada was determined to “work alongside the U.S. to come to a deal.”

Trade officials from both countries are expected to reconvene for further negotiations in the coming weeks. With economic pressures mounting on both sides, the rollback signals a cautious but notable effort to reset one of the world’s most consequential trading partnerships.

Kilmar Abrego Garcia Taken Into ICE Custody Amid Deportation Fight

Hadisur Rahman, JadeTimes Staff

H. Rahman is a Jadetimes news reporter covering the USA

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Image Source: Elizabeth Frantz/Reuters

Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran native who was wrongly deported earlier this year before being returned to the U.S. to face criminal charges, was detained by immigration officials on Monday, reigniting a contentious legal battle over his fate.

Abrego Garcia was taken into custody after reporting to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) office in Baltimore as scheduled. His attorney, Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg, said ICE officers refused to explain the grounds for his detention or disclose where he was being transferred.

“We asked the ICE officer what the reason for his detention was, [and] the ICE officer didn’t answer,” Sandoval-Moshenberg told reporters. “They wouldn’t even commit to giving us paperwork.”

The 39-year-old was mistakenly deported in March to El Salvador’s CECOT mega-prison, despite a 2019 court order barring his removal there due to threats of persecution. The Trump administration at the time alleged he was a member of the MS-13 gang, claims his family and lawyers have denied.

In June, Abrego Garcia was brought back to the U.S. to face federal charges in Tennessee for allegedly transporting undocumented migrants while living in Maryland. He has pleaded not guilty. Less than 24 hours after his release from criminal custody last Friday, ICE notified his attorneys that he could face deportation not to El Salvador or Costa Rica, but to Uganda.

According to court filings, the government had previously offered Abrego Garcia a plea deal: plead guilty to human smuggling and accept deportation to Costa Rica. When he refused, his attorneys say, officials threatened deportation to a more distant third country.

In July, U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis ruled that Abrego Garcia should be placed under ICE supervision in Maryland while awaiting trial, living with his wife and children. Xinis also ordered that if the government sought to deport him to a third country, it must give at least 72 hours’ notice.

On Monday, Abrego Garcia’s lawyers filed a habeas petition in the U.S. District Court for Maryland, accusing ICE of violating that order by detaining him without process and attempting to deport him to Uganda.

The lawsuit argues that deporting him to Uganda a country with which he has no ties is a punitive measure for exercising his constitutional rights, including rejecting the plea deal. His attorneys requested the court to:

Block ICE from detaining him more than 200 miles from Baltimore.

Prevent removal to Uganda without first attempting deportation to Costa Rica.

Require the government to grant Abrego Garcia a “reasonable fear” interview before any deportation to a third country.

The legal standoff now shifts to federal court in Maryland, where Abrego Garcia’s attorneys are seeking emergency relief. His case has drawn national attention as an example of the tension between immigration enforcement and due process rights.

For Abrego Garcia, who has already endured a wrongful deportation, the fight now centers on whether he will remain in the U.S. with his family, be deported to Costa Rica or face the possibility of removal to Uganda, thousands of miles from both his homeland and his loved ones.