Tag - sdf

 
 

SDF

The Maritime Self-Defense Force's Aegis destroyer Chokai
JAPAN
Sep 1, 2024
Japan to add Tomahawk launch function to Aegis destroyer Chokai
Deployed at the MSDF's Sasebo base in Nagasaki Prefecture, the Chokai will be the first Japanese Aegis destroyer equipped with a counterstrike capability.
A Chinese Navy Shupang-class survey ship
JAPAN
Aug 31, 2024
Tokyo protests after Chinese Navy ship enters Japanese territorial waters
The move came just days after Japan strongly protested the first entry into its airspace by a Chinese military aircraft.
Members of the Ground Self-Defense Force hold a live-fire exercise at the GSDF's training grounds in the East Fuji Maneuver Area in Gotemba, Shizuoka Prefecture, in May. Japan's Defense Ministry is seeking another record-breaking budget for fiscal 2025.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Aug 30, 2024
Japan seeks another record-breaking defense budget for fiscal 2025
The request by the Defense Ministry is expected to send a clear message to both its allies and adversaries.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi speaks at a news conference at the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN / ANALYSIS
Aug 27, 2024
Japan calls Chinese military aircraft incursion 'unacceptable' threat to safety
Officials are grappling with the rationale for and response to the entry into Japanese airspace off Nagasaki Prefecture.
A Self-Defense Forces member carries out a missing person search operation in Suzu, Ishikawa Prefecture, on Jan. 30.
JAPAN
Aug 26, 2024
SDF to end Noto earthquake relief mission at end of August
The mission is already the SDF's longest disaster response operation.
A Chinese military Y-9 intelligence-gathering plane that entered Japanese airspace on Monday.
JAPAN
Aug 26, 2024
Japan says Chinese military violated territorial airspace for first time
The ministry said one of the Chinese military's Y-9 intelligence-gathering planes had briefly entered Japanese territory near the Danjo Islands in Nagasaki Prefecture.
Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto speaks during an interview with The Japan Times in Tokyo on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 26, 2024
Interoperability with Japan ‘crucial,’ Italian defense chief says
Engagement between the two partners is already paying dividends, including in terms of lessons for the future deployment of F-35Bs from MSDF carriers.
The Italian Navy's aircraft carrier ITS Cavour at the Yokosuka naval base on Thursday. The 244-meter, 27,100-ton Italian flagship arrived at the base in Kanagawa Prefecture Thursday morning for a port call.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 22, 2024
Italy-Japan ties enter ‘new era’ amid deepening alignment, top envoy to Tokyo says
Underscoring this rapidly expanding partnership was the 244-meter, 27,100-ton flagship's visit to the Yokosuka naval base in Kanagawa Prefecture.
Berlin's growing military engagement with Indo-Pacific allies and partners is meant to signal that Germany "stands firmly at the side of those countries that are committed to complying with international law and do not accept it being called into  question," German Navy chief Vice Adm. Kaack told The Japan Times.
JAPAN
Aug 20, 2024
Sea lane fears drive German military's Asian engagement, navy chief says
Developments in the Indo-Pacific, both economic and geopolitical, have direct implications for the security and prosperity of Germany, Vice Adm. Jan Christian Kaack says.
Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa, Defense Minister Minoru Kihara, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin attend the Japan-U.S. Extended Deterrence Dialogue in Tokyo on July 28.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 7, 2024
Japan-U.S. alliance transforms with concrete 'two-plus-two' talks
Despite the long and challenging history of Japan-U.S. two-plus-two meetings, this year's Tokyo meeting was truly groundbreaking.
Defense Minister Minoru Kihara speaks on July 30 during a parliamentary inquiry into a series of scandals involving the ministry and the Self-Defense Forces.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Aug 6, 2024
The wider international and domestic implications of the SDF scandals
The problems have put the spotlight on Japan’s ability to convince its partners that it’s ready to shoulder a larger security role.
Chief of staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, Gen. Romeo Brawner (left), and Yoshihide Yoshida, chief of staff of the Joint Staff of the Self-Defense Forces, in Manila in July
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 2, 2024
Philippines and Japan militaries hold first joint exercises in South China Sea
The drills, which took place within the Philippines' exclusive economic zone, followed similar exercises between Manila and Washington on Wednesday.
Cadets at the Maritime Self-Defense Force’s Kure Recruit Training Center row in unison during a cutter boat drill in Kure Bay, Hiroshima Prefecture, in June.
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Hiroshima
Jul 29, 2024
MSDF’s Kure base faces recruitment challenges as youngsters shy away
The stressful nature of service and an increasing likelihood of actual combat are causing many to opt for other careers.
Minamitorishima
JAPAN
Jul 25, 2024
Ground Self-Defense Force eyes missile training on remote Tokyo island
The GSDF is holding talks with local communities in hopes of starting missile training on Minamitorishima in 2026.
A German Air Force Eurofighter jet takes off from Chitose Airbase in Hokkaido during Germany and Japan's first-ever bilateral fighter exercise, which ran from Monday to Thursday.
JAPAN
Jul 25, 2024
Japan and Germany elevate ties with first joint fighter exercise
Named Nippon Skies, the aerial maneuvers took place in the airspace around the Air Self-Defense Force’s Chitose Air Base in Hokkaido.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi says a Japanese man in his 20s died last month fighting for Russia against Ukraine.
JAPAN
Jul 23, 2024
Tokyo announces death of Japanese man in Russian military
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi has urged Japanese people again to refrain from traveling to Ukraine and Russian regions bordering Ukraine.
Parliamentary Vice Minister of Defense Shingo Miyake speaks at a news conference in Kitadaito, Okinawa Prefecture, on Monday.
JAPAN
Jul 23, 2024
Okinawa island accepts ASDF radar deployment
An ASDF mobile radar will monitor the Chinese military's growing activities in the Pacific.
The annual number of Self-Defense Forces personnel quitting mid-career has reached around 6,000, accounting for around 2% of all SDF staff.
JAPAN / Society
Jul 22, 2024
Defense ministry concerned as more SDF staff quit citing workplace issues
The government's Defense Buildup Program, formulated in 2022, emphasized curbing mid-career resignations of SDF personnel as an "urgent issue."
SH-60K patrol helicopter
JAPAN
Jul 21, 2024
MSDF chopper in crash that left eight dead found on seabed
An unmanned probe found what appeared to be a helicopter on the seabed.
(From left) Kim Myung-soo, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of South Korea, Gen. Yoshihide Yoshida, chief of staff of the SDF's Joint Staff, and Gen. Charles Brown, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, at the Defense Ministry in Tokyo on Thursday
JAPAN
Jul 19, 2024
Japan and South Korea top uniformed officers resume dialogue
The meeting emphasized strong Japan, South Korea, and U.S. ties as the international community faces a crucial moment for maintaining order and the rule of law.

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