Tag - military

 
 

MILITARY

Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / ANALYSIS
Feb 9, 2016
U.S. tries to balance democracy, defense in Thai relations
One of Asia's largest war games kicks off in Thailand on Tuesday with scaled back U.S. involvement, highlighting tensions between the longtime allies over Thailand's lack of democracy at a time of growing Chinese influence in Southeast Asia.
Japan Times
WORLD
Feb 8, 2016
U.S. Navy is urged to slow littoral ship deployments until more testing
Two top senators on defense issues say U.S. Navy leaders should consider delaying deployment of the new littoral combat ship (LCS) and tone down their effusive rhetoric about the vessel until it successfully completes more testing.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / ANALYSIS
Feb 8, 2016
Deployment of U.S. missile defense system could reshape security in East Asia
The U.S. has opened the door to parking a ballistic missile defense system on North Korea's doorstep.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 7, 2016
North Korea defies U.N. by firing long-range rocket over Okinawa
Tokyo condemns a purported North Korean satellite launch that is widely viewed as another covert ballistic missile test in violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions.
Japan Times
WORLD
Feb 7, 2016
NATO plans biggest build-up against Russia since the Cold War
Backed by an increase in U.S. military spending, NATO is planning its biggest build-up in Eastern Europe since the Cold War to deter Russia, but it will reject Polish demands for permanent bases.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Feb 6, 2016
U.N. panel questions effectiveness of sanctions on North Korea, urges better implementation, broader measures
North Korea's continued efforts to undertake prohibited nuclear tests and ballistic missile launches despite multiple rounds of sanctions call into question the United Nations' sanctions regime, according to excerpts of a U.N. report obtained by Kyodo News.
ASIA PACIFIC
Feb 3, 2016
China says U.S. looking for excuses to raise defense budget
China said on Wednesday the United States was just looking for excuses to pump taxpayers' money into its military, after U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter named China as a reason for seeking a $582.7 billion defense budget next year.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 3, 2016
Tokyo orders SDF to shoot down North Korean missile if threat to Japan
Japan condemns Pyongyang's plan to launch a space rocket, calling it a thinly disguised test of a long-range ballistic missile.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 3, 2016
New calls for reopening talks on U.S. Okinawa base closure emerge after Ginowan elects new mayor
The newly re-elected mayor of the Okinawan town hosting U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma has called on the prefectural governor to reopen negotiations on closing the controversial base within five years.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Feb 3, 2016
Travel ban fuels talk of Myanmar constitutional challenge
The party of Myanmar's Aung San Suu Kyi has instructed its lawmakers not to leave the capital, rank-and-file members said, fueling speculation of a legal bid to sidestep a clause in the constitution barring the democracy champion from the presidency.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Feb 3, 2016
U.S. says open to patrols with Philippines in waters disputed with China
The United States is open to the possibility of joint naval patrols with the Philippines in the South China Sea, a U.S. diplomat said Wednesday, stressing it would continue to exercise "freedom of navigation" in the disputed waters.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Feb 3, 2016
An unforgiving look at 'Unbroken' in Japan
Flashback to 1983: Director Nagisa Oshima's "Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence," set during World War II in a Japanese-run POW camp in Java, is opening in theaters across Japan. It starred David Bowie with two huge local stars: comedian Beat Takeshi and musician Ryuichi Sakamoto. The film confronted the reality...
Japan Times
WORLD
Feb 3, 2016
Carter says U.S. reacting to China's isles moves, including in defense budget
U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter listed a rising China and North Korea's nuclear programs as among the challenges facing the United States as he called Tuesday for defense outlays in fiscal 2017 to be maintained at current levels.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Feb 1, 2016
Okinawa sues Japan again over U.S. base relocation
The Okinawa Prefectural Government on Monday filed a fresh lawsuit against the central government over the planned relocation of the Futenma base.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jan 31, 2016
U.S. defies Chinese maritime claims after warship sails near island in disputed South China Sea
The U.S. Navy sent a Japan-based warship within 12 nautical miles (22 km) of an island in the South China Sea Saturday that is claimed by Beijing and others in an effort to challenge what the Pentagon called "excessive maritime claims."
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jan 31, 2016
Despite military build-up, China struggles with warplane engine technology
China has built a potent military machine over the past 30 years but is struggling to develop advanced engines that would allow its warplanes to match Western fighters in combat, foreign and Chinese industry sources said.
JAPAN
Jan 30, 2016
Sanctions resolution on North Korea should be top priority, Yoshikawa tells UNSC
Japanese Ambassador to the United Nations Motohide Yoshikawa on Friday urged the U.N. Security Council to speed up efforts to adopt a new resolution to sanction North Korea for advancing its nuclear development program and said it should be the body's top priority.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 28, 2016
Japan, U.S., South Korea brace for possible launch of North Korean long-range ballistic missile
Japan, South Korea and American military forces in the region were braced Thursday for a potential launch by North Korea of a banned long-range ballistic missile.
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 28, 2016
U.S. admiral vows to defend Senkakus if attacked, names China as potential aggressor
A top officer of the U.S. Navy reaffirmed Washington's commitment to defending a group of Japan-administered islets in the East China Sea under a bilateral security treaty, while taking the rare step of naming China as a potential aggressor.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 27, 2016
Implications of the U.S. Navy's FONOP program
When the U.S. last fall sent a warship on a Freedom of Navigation Operation near a Chinese-occupied reef, the message was unfortunately both confused and confusing.

Longform

Traditional folk rituals like Mizudome-no-mai (dance to stop the rain) provide a sense of agency to a population that feels largely powerless in the face of the climate crisis.
As climate extremes intensify, Japan embraces ancient weather rituals