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April 01, 2025
 

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SDF

The focus on artificial intelligence comes as the Self-Defense Forces grapple with concerns about recruitment and its abilities to harness the power of new technologies.
JAPAN
Jul 2, 2024
Japan’s Defense Ministry unveils first basic policy on use of AI
The new policy comes as Japan looks to stave off a manpower shortage and keep pace with China and the U.S. on the technology’s military applications.
Self-Defense Force troops take part in an amphibious landing exercise on Tokunoshima island in Kagoshima Prefecture last November.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Jul 1, 2024
Japan's SDF marks 70th anniversary as it faces change and challenges
The SDF is grappling with dramatic policy shifts while facing down challenges ranging from recruitment to rising Chinese military assertiveness.
German and Japanese fighter jets take part in an exercise over Japan in September 2022.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 29, 2024
Russia protests to Japan about joint exercises with NATO countries
Moscow accused Prime Minister Fumio Kishida of placing his country "on a path to dangerous escalation" in response to the planned exercises with Germany and Spain.
A U.S. Air Force CV-22 Osprey stationed at Yokota Air Base in Tokyo in May
JAPAN
Jun 26, 2024
10 SDF and U.S. Ospreys to take part in drills in Japan after accident
Around eight Marine Corps and two GSDF Ospreys are scheduled to take part in the Resolute Dragon 24 exercise.
German and Japanese fighter jets take part in an exercise over Japan in September 2022.
JAPAN
Jun 25, 2024
Japan to hold fighter jet drills with Germany, France, Spain in July
A contingent of more than 30 military aircraft from Germany, France and Spain will arrive in Japan next month to conduct a series of training exercises with the ASDF.
A Ground Self-Defense Force member welcomes a local resident at a bathing facility set up on the grounds of an elementary school serving as an evacuation shelter in Suzu, Ishikawa Prefecture, in March.
JAPAN
Jun 23, 2024
Noto mission becomes SDF's longest quake response project
The record 175-day mission has highlighted the time-consuming work of restoring water supplies and sewerage systems.
German and Japanese fighter jets take part in an exercise over Japan. Germany's air force plans to send three of the fighters to Japan next month for the first-ever joint aerial exercise between the Luftwaffe and Air Self-Defense Force.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 19, 2024
Germany laser-focused on Indo-Pacific despite hurdles, top envoy to Japan says
German Ambassador Clemens von Goetze expects soaring ties with Japan to continue to reach unprecedented heights.
Japan is shifting its defense strategy to prioritize logistics and supply chain resilience, recognizing them as critical components of its overall defense capability.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 18, 2024
Real defense demands more than just being able to fight
U.S. Gen. Omar Bradley famously warned that “amateurs talk strategy and professionals talk logistics.”
A plan is underway to install a laser system on high-mobility vehicles of the Ground Self-Defense Force.
JAPAN
Jun 16, 2024
Japan Defense Ministry eyeing laser system to counter drones
The ministry will make a prototype of a laser system to be mounted on GSDF vehicles by the end of March 2026.
Under the DICAS forum, Japan and the U.S. could look to co-produce weapons that both countries currently do not have in large quantities, with munitions such as Patriot interceptors "low-hanging fruit," according to some experts.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Jun 11, 2024
U.S. looks to Japan for help in boosting weapons production
The allies are aiming for partnerships in areas such as U.S. warship and aircraft repairs in Japan, as well as in the joint production of advanced weaponry.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin speaks at the Shangri-La Dialogue security conference in Singapore on Saturday.
JAPAN
Jun 4, 2024
Upgrade for U.S. military's command in Japan gains steam
U.S. defense chief Lloyd Austin has said that basing a four-star commander in Japan is something the Pentagon is “looking at very closely.”
Defense Minister Minoru Kihara and his South Korean counterpart, Shin Won-sik, meet on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue security conference in Singapore on Saturday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 1, 2024
Japan and South Korea agree to prevent repeat of 2018 naval row
The move to shelve long-standing political differences is seen as a significant step toward restoring bilateral defense and security cooperation.
Ground Self-Defense Force personnel participate in a live-fire exercise at the GSDF's training grounds in the East Fuji Maneuver Area in Gotemba, Shizuoka Prefecture, on Sunday.
JAPAN
May 31, 2024
GSDF member killed during training after grenade explodes
A committee was set up to investigate the accident, with all live-fire exercises suspended until safety checks are completed.
A woman walks past a television at a railway station in Seoul on Tuesday showing a news broadcast with NHK footage of a projectile that exploded into a fireball a day earlier, following Pyongyang's failed attempt to put a second spy satellite in orbit.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
May 28, 2024
Pyongyang’s fiery space-race failure cold comfort as more launches expected
The launch failure was also viewed as a possible symbolic success in being disruptive just as a rare summit involving Japan, South Korea and China was concluding.
Self-Defense Forces soldiers walk past a Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) missile unit at the Defense Ministry in Tokyo in October 2017.
JAPAN / ANALYSIS
May 26, 2024
Evolving drone and missile threats prompting Tokyo to rethink air defense
The low cost of mass-producing tools for modern warfare is pushing the Defense Ministry to find ways to upgrade detection, tracking and interception capabilities.
A P-8 Poseidon flies over the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Benfold as part of information-gathering operations during Valiant Shield 2016 in the Philippine Sea.
JAPAN
May 24, 2024
Japan's SDF to take part in U.S. 'valiant shield' drill for first time
The large-scale military exercise started in 2006 and is held in areas including Guam and involves about 10,000 personnel.
Defense Minister Minoru Kihara is expected to hold bilateral talks with his South Korean counterpart, Shin Won-sik, during the Shangri-La Dialogue to be held in Singapore from May 31.
JAPAN / Politics
May 21, 2024
Tokyo and Seoul to bolster defense ties with deal to prevent radar row repeat
The two neighbors' defense ministers hope to use an agreement to kick-start their defense relationship, which has been in limbo since the incident.
The modernization of Japan's defense strategy is not just about military capabilities, it is also about building consensus and fostering public understanding.
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 21, 2024
The winding road to Japan's defense modernization
The government's efforts to engage the public on defense issues are crucial for building consensus and ensuring the sustainability of defense reforms.
Members of the Self-Defense Forces are dispatched to Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, in January after a massive quake. The SDF will conduct a week-long quake drill in Hokkaido starting Monday.
JAPAN
May 19, 2024
Japan SDF to conduct drill for quake in Pacific trenches
The drill includes about 12,000 SDF members, U.S. troops in Japan and Australian military personnel and the Hokkaido prefectural government.
U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel meets with members of the Self-Defense Forces stationed on Yonaguni, Okinawa Prefecture, on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
May 17, 2024
U.S. envoy to Japan makes landmark visit to front-line island near Taiwan
Rahm Emanuel is the first U.S. ambassador to travel to the far-flung Japanese island, which is home to a Ground Self-Defense Force base and is just 160 km from Taipei.
Japan's biggest beef bowl chain Sukiya to shut nearly 2,000 stores after rat and bug contamination
Zensho Holdings, operator of fast-food chain Sukiya, said it will close all of its stores in Japan, except for a small number in shopping centers, between Monday and Friday following recent contamination incidents.
School-age suicides in Japan hit all-time high
A volunteer handles an incoming call at the Tokyo Befrienders call center, a suicide hotline center in Japan's capital.
Japan considers all possible options as Trump threatens new auto tariffs
Subaru cars awaiting export at a port in Yokohama on Thursday.
In Tokyo, Pentagon chief provides assurances that Japan-U.S. alliance remains robust
Defense Minister Gen Nakatani (left) and U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth review an honor guard during a welcome ceremony at the Defense Ministry in Tokyo ahead of their talks Sunday.
Japan, South Korea and China vow to strengthen trade ties amid looming U.S. tariffs
Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Yoji Muto (left), South Korean Trade Industry and Energy Minister Ahn Duk-geun (center) and Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao during a trilateral meeting in Seoul on Sunday
A Canadian made a weekend trip to Costco a Japanese pastime
Under the watchful eye of Ken Theriault, Costco representative director and Japan country manager, the American membership-model wholesaler has flourished in Japan.
Tokyo tech failures lean into misfortune, mistakes and missteps
Tsuyoshi Domoto in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward on March 28. As an entrepreneur, Domoto experienced plenty of setbacks but maintains a positive attitude and continues to pursue his dreams.
Who among the opposition would join the ruling coalition?
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba enters his office in Tokyo on Friday.
Traveling the Three-Star Road, the tourist route made from thin air
Scenes like this snow-covered bridge leading to the village of Shirakawa-go are what make the Three-Star Road worth traveling — its name notwithstanding.
Recent spate of wildfires in Japan and South Korea linked to climate change
Smoke and flames rise from a wildfire in Andong, South Korea, on Tuesday.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Professional cleaner Hirofumi Sakurai takes a moment to appreciate some photographs in a Gotanda apartment whose occupant died alone. 
The last cleanup: Life and death in a lonely Japan
By Johan Brooks

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