Tag - military

 
 

MILITARY

Elbridge Colby (center) speaks at the Threat and the Strategy panel during the Air Force Association Air, Space and Cyber Conference in National Harbor, Maryland, in September 2019.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 23, 2024
Trump's Pentagon policy pick pushed for Japan to spend 3% of GDP on defense
Elbridge Colby said in an interview earlier this year that Japan is moving at a leisurely pace on defense despite being under threat from China and North Korea.
A "midrange capability" launcher arrives as part of a deployment to Northern Luzon, Philippines, in April.
ASIA PACIFIC
Dec 23, 2024
Philippine military says will acquire U.S. Typhon missile system
The U.S. Army deployed the midrange missile system in the northern Philippines earlier this year for annual joint military exercises.
Sorane Sakihama, a 22-year-old college student, speaks at a rally in the city of Okinawa on Sunday protesting against sexual assaults by U.S. soldiers.
JAPAN
Dec 23, 2024
Okinawa people stage rally against sexual assaults by U.S. servicemen
The Okinawan protesters adopted a resolution demanding apologies for sexual assault victims, compensation and a revision of the Japan-U.S. Status of Forces Agreement.
A Japan Ground Self-Defense Force V-22 Osprey tiltrotor military transport aircraft participates in a live fire exercise at GSDF's training grounds in Gotemba, Shizuoka Prefecture, in May.
JAPAN
Dec 22, 2024
Japan's SDF to resume Osprey flights
Officials announced the decision after the U.S. military said that its Ospreys will resume flights after undergoing an additional safety inspection.
One of two Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy Type 056 gray corvettes is seen docked at a pier at Cambodia's Ream Naval Base on Monday.
JAPAN
Dec 21, 2024
Cambodia to grant Japan visitation rights to China-linked naval base
Hun Sen, Cambodia's Senate president, announced the decision to grant U.S. ally Japan access during a visit by Takeo Akiba, its national security adviser.
The Yokota Air Base in western Tokyo in September 2019. An inspection of the base by Japanese government officials on Friday came amid public pressure to investigate suspected links between the use of PFAS-containing firefighting foam by the U.S. base and contamination of soil and groundwater in western Tokyo.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Dec 20, 2024
Japanese officials inspect Yokota Air Base over PFAS concerns
The inspection follows a reported leak in August of water containing "forever chemicals" outside the U.S. base in western Tokyo.
Businessman George Glass has been selected by U.S. President-elect Donald Trump to be the next ambassador to Japan.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 17, 2024
Trump picks businessman George Glass as Japan ambassador
Glass, who served as ambassador to Portugal during Trump's first administration, is known as one of the biggest fundraisers for his reelection bid.
Defense Minister Gen Nakatani (left) meets with Okinawa Gov. Denny Tamaki at the Okinawa Prefectural Government Office on Sunday.
JAPAN
Dec 16, 2024
Okinawa governor seeks timetable for transfer of U.S. marines
Okinawa Gov. Denny Tamaki on Sunday called on the government to provide a concrete timetable for the transfer of U.S. Marines in Okinawa to Guam, following the recent start of the relocation.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol delivers an address to the nation at his official residence in Seoul on Saturday after the National Assembly voted to impeach him earlier in the day.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 15, 2024
South Korean president impeached over martial law decree
The 204-85 vote means Yoon Suk Yeol's ultimate fate now rests with the Constitutional Court, which can either decide to formally oust him or return him to office.
The U.S. Air Force's CV-22 Osprey displayed during Japanese-American Friendship Festival at Yokota Air Base in Tokyo on May 18
JAPAN
Dec 15, 2024
U.S. and Japanese Ospreys grounded this month after precautionary landing
While the details about the precautionary landing are not known, the incident has raised concerns over the vulnerability in Osprey components.
U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Ginowan, Okinawa Prefecture, in 2021
JAPAN
Dec 14, 2024
U.S. Marines begin to relocate from Okinawa to Guam
The movement of troops comes 19 years after an initial agreement for the relocation by the governments of Japan and the U.S.
The Kadena Air Base in Okinawa Prefecture. Brennon Washington was stationed at the base when he abducted a minor on Dec. 24, 2023.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Dec 13, 2024
U.S. serviceman sentenced over sexual assault of underage girl in Okinawa
Brennon Washington persuaded the girl to get into his car under the pretense of cooking and watching a movie together at his home. Once there, he assaulted her.
An SM-3 interceptor is launched by the Aegis Guam System during a test at Andersen Air Force Base in Guam on Tuesday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Dec 12, 2024
Can a U.S. missile defense system shield Guam from Chinese threat?
Building the island's missile defenses as envisioned will cost about $10 billion over the next decade.
Members of the Ground Self-Defense Force disembark from a V-22 Osprey aircraft during the annual live-fire exercise at East Fuji Maneuver Area in Gotemba, Shizuoka Prefecture, in May 2022.
JAPAN
Dec 11, 2024
Japan GSDF grounds Osprey fleet after U.S. suspension
The Ground Self-Defense Force said it will give top priority to ensuring safety until further details are shared.
The U.S. decision to suspend the use of a firing range in the Senkakus has had lasting consequences, undermining Japan's claims to the islets and sending mixed signals about U.S. support for Japanese sovereignty over the area.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 10, 2024
A restart of Senkaku firing ranges is long overdue
The suspension also had strategic consequences, depriving both U.S. and Japanese forces of vital military training ranges.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who lost his bid for the Republican presidential nomination to Trump, was on an earlier list of potential defense secretary candidates but U.S. President-elect Donald Trump decided to go with Pete Hegseth, a report said Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 4, 2024
Trump considers replacing Hegseth with DeSantis to run Pentagon, report says
Pete Hegseth's nomination has run into trouble over allegations about his personal and professional life.
Activated on Wednesday, U.S. Space Forces Japan — a component similar to the one established at South Korea’s Osan Air Base in 2022 — will operate out of Yokota Air Base in the city of Fussa, western Tokyo, with a staff of about 10.
JAPAN / ANALYSIS
Dec 4, 2024
U.S. Space Force launches first unit in Japan
The move is part of an effort to boost coordination and interoperability with its ally, including the Air Self-Defense Force’s own Space Operations Group
Chinese Defense Minister Dong Jun attends the opening ceremony of the Xiangshan Forum at the Beijing International Convention Center on Sept. 13. Dong is the third consecutive incumbent or former defense chief to be probed over alleged corruption.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Nov 27, 2024
China defense minister being investigated for corruption, report says
The probe could undermine efforts to maintain military-to-military communications just months before Donald Trump returns to the White House.
A U.S. Marine Corps M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) and a Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force Type 12 Surface-to-Ship Missile (12SSM) system are put on display at a symposium at a base in Kisarazu, Japan, in June 2022.
JAPAN
Nov 24, 2024
Japan and U.S. to form missile plan in case of Taiwan emergency
Under the plan, the U.S. would deploy missile units to the Nansei Islands in Kagoshima and Okinawa prefectures, as well as the Philippines.
U.S. 7th Fleet Commander Vice Adm. Fred Kacher speaks to reporters shortly after the arrival of aircraft carrier USS George Washington at Yokosuka naval base in Kanagawa Prefecture on Friday.
JAPAN
Nov 22, 2024
U.S. aircraft carrier returns to Japan carrying navy’s ‘most capable fighter’
USS George Washington was accompanied by a squadron of state-of-the-art F-35C Lightning II fighters.

Longform

Visitors to Kyoto walk along a street near Kiyomizu Temple in April. A popular tourist spot, Kyoto has seen what locals feel to be an overwhelming amount of tourists in 2024.
Is Japan ready for 60 million tourists?