Tag - sdf

 
Menu
Search
 
September 18, 2025
 

Today's print edition

Home Delivery
Subscribe for more access

SDF

U.S. military personnel board the USS Wasp aircraft carrier at the U.S. naval base in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, in 2019.
JAPAN
Sep 18, 2025
U.S. State Department sees Japanese role in AUKUS defense pact
Japan "expressed interest in a range" of projects underway as part of the second leg of the pact, an assessment said.
Kim Yo Jong, sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, arrives at the Vostochny Сosmodrome before a meeting between her brother and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Russia's far eastern Amur region in September 2023.
ASIA PACIFIC
Sep 14, 2025
North Korea condemns 'reckless' U.S.-Japan-South Korea drills
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's powerful sister condemned the upcoming joint military drills as a "reckless show of strength" that would bring "bad results."
The Maritime Self-Defense Force's Aegis destroyer Chokai at its Sasebo base in Nagasaki Prefecture
JAPAN
Sep 14, 2025
MSDF Aegis destroyer Chokai to test-fire Tomahawk missiles
If successful, the SDF would gain the ability to directly strike the territory of other countries using cruise missiles.
Sailors aboard the U.S. Navy's guided-missile destroyer USS John Finn conduct a small boat operation during a "Maritime Cooperative Activity" with the Maritime Self-Defense Force's Osumi tank-landing ship and the Philippine Navy's Jose Rizal frigate in the South China Sea on Saturday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Sep 14, 2025
Beijing denounces joint U.S.-Japan-Philippines patrol of South China Sea
China criticized the joint trilateral exercises, alleging that Manila has “frequently colluded with non-regional countries” to organize the patrols.
The Fujian aircraft carrier is seen in Shanghai in May 2024 as it leaves for its first sea trial.
JAPAN
Sep 12, 2025
SDF spots China’s biggest aircraft carrier for first time
The Fujian, which has a displacement of more than 80,000 metric tons, was spotted in the East China Sea on Thursday.
The Defense Ministry’s Acquisition, Technology & Logistics Agency (ATLA) conducted a ship-board railgun shooting test from June to early July this year with the support of the Maritime Self-Defense Force.
JAPAN
Sep 11, 2025
Japan's cutting-edge railgun successfully strikes target vessel
The defense ministry’s Acquisition, Technology & Logistics Agency says its test-firings marked the first time a ship-mounted railgun was successfully fired at a real vessel.
A Philippine Navy soldier observes Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyer Takanami from a Philippine ship in the South China Sea, on June 14.
JAPAN
Sep 11, 2025
Japan-Philippines visiting-forces pact comes into force as defense ties blossom
The pact will serve as the legal basis for Japanese and Philippine forces operating in each other’s countries, paving the way for greater cooperation amid tensions with Beijing.
The 3rd Multi-Domain Task Force conducts the first Typhon midrange missile system live-fire exercise outside of the continental United States on July 16, successfully sinking a maritime target during the Talisman Sabre exercises in Australia's Northern Territory.
JAPAN / ANALYSIS
Sep 10, 2025
High-tech U.S. missile systems come to Japan amid policy shifts and China concerns
Long wary of such a move, Tokyo’s acquiescence — and its own planned missile deployments — highlights a gradual but monumental shift in defense policy.
YJ-19 hypersonic anti-ship missiles are displayed in Beijing on Wednesday during a military parade to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II.
ASIA PACIFIC / ANALYSIS
Sep 3, 2025
At parade, China shows off powerful new weaponry to keep rivals at bay
From hypersonic “carrier killer” missiles to new fifth-generation fighter jets, Wednesday’s military spectacle highlighted Beijing’s growing prowess.
Members of the Ground Self-Defense Force and the U.S. Marine Corps conduct a joint military drill on Irisuna Island in Okinawa Prefecture in November 2023.
JAPAN
Sep 3, 2025
U.S. deploys cutting-edge missile system in Okinawa
Mounted on an unmanned vehicle, the remote-control missile system can swiftly be positioned along the coastline to attack enemy ships.
Royal Navy Commodore James Blackmore, the commander of U.K. CSG 25, said in an interview aboard the Prince of Wales aircraft carrier that the chance to train closely with the Maritime Self-Defense Force was a "golden moment" for military ties between the countries.
ASIA PACIFIC
Sep 2, 2025
In Indo-Pacific deployment, U.K. carrier group boosts warfighting capability, says commander
The British warship also saw F-35B fighters — one British and one American — touch down and take off from the deck of the MSDF’s Kaga de facto aircraft carrier.
A U.S. military aircraft takes off from the Kadena U.S. Air Force Base on the island of Okinawa in August 2023.
JAPAN
Aug 31, 2025
Seoul punishes 10 over unauthorized entry into Japan's ADIZ
Due to bad weather, the aircraft consumed more fuel than planned. It made an emergency landing at the U.S. Kadena Air Base in Okinawa Prefecture.
Members of the Ground Self-Defense Force take part in an exercise at Camp Naha in Okinawa Prefecture.
JAPAN
Aug 31, 2025
Pacifist Japan struggles to boost troops as China anxiety grows
In 2023, the Self-Defense Forces aimed to hire almost 20,000 people, but recruited just half that number, according to the Defense Ministry.
Defense Minister Gen Nakatani, British Defense Minister John Healey (center) and British Ambassador to Japan Julia Longbottom walk after the welcome ceremony upon arrival of Britain's Prince of Wales aircraft carrier at Tokyo International Cruise Terminal on Thursday.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 30, 2025
British defense chief emphasizes close security ties with Japan
British Defense Secretary John Healey has underlined his country's close security ties with Japan amid the changing security environment.
A Typhon Midrange Capability launcher arrives as part of the capability’s first deployment into theater on Northern Luzon, in the Philippines, in April 2024.
JAPAN
Aug 30, 2025
U.S. to temporarily deploy powerful Typhon missile system to Japan for drills
The intermediate-range missile system will be deployed to the U.S. Marine Air Station Iwakuni as a part of the Resolute Dragon exercise.
Japan on Friday announced that it will deploy for the first time its domestically made, extended-range Type-12 surface-to-ship missiles in March next year.
JAPAN
Aug 29, 2025
With eye on China, Japan to deploy longer-range missiles for first time
Japan will send its extended-range Type-12 missiles to a GSDF base in Kumamoto Prefecture from next March and to another base in Shizuoka Prefecture in fiscal 2027.
A group of Ground Self-Defense Force service members discuss drone operations and capabilities at a joint static display during the Orient Shield 24 opening ceremony at the Yausubetsu Training Area in Hokkaido in July last year.
JAPAN
Aug 29, 2025
Japan looks to build drone ‘shield’ in record defense budget request
The Defense Ministry is seeking a budget exceeding ¥8.8 trillion that includes a ¥128.7 billion plan to build a multilayered coastal defense system.
Jet fighters from the North American Aerospace Defense Command intercept a Chinese long-range H-6 bomber operating in the Alaska air defense identification zone in July 2024.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 27, 2025
Joint Sino-Russian patrols push Japan to rethink defense posture
Over the past two years, joint China-Russia overflights have become increasingly sophisticated and extended.
Tokyo is looking to transfer Abukuma-class vessels to the Philippines as part of broader efforts to boost the defense capabilities of like-minded neighbors amid growing Chinese military assertiveness in the region.
JAPAN
Aug 26, 2025
Philippine bid to acquire used Japanese warships gains steam
A decision is expected in the “coming months,” a senior government official in Manila said, following an inspection of the Abukuma-class destroyer escorts.
Wealthy foreign nationals picking up ultimate souvenir — a condo in Tokyo
A high-end property in the fashionable Daikanyama district in Tokyo
Japan dispatches five language education 'partners' to India
Five members of the Japan Foundation's Nihongo Partners program (front) gather at the Japanese Embassy in New Delhi on Monday.
Struggling train firm in Chiba Prefecture turns to self-deprecating humor
"Laughter is important when you're in a difficult situation," said Katsunori Takemoto, president of Choshi Electric Railway, on Aug. 5 in Choshi, Chiba Prefecture.
Japan's elderly population down at around 36.2 million
The estimated number of people age 65 or older in Japan stands at 36.19 million as of Monday, accounting for record 29.4% of the country's total population, according to the internal affairs ministry.
Japan’s front-line researchers see bright path ahead for dementia treatment
A scientist looks at scans of grains at the Memory Centre at the Department of Readaptation and Geriatrics of the University Hospital (HUG) in Geneva, Switzerland, on June 6, 2023.
Wealthy foreign nationals picking up ultimate souvenir — a condo in Tokyo
A high-end property in the fashionable Daikanyama district in Tokyo
Japanese athletes inspired by raucous home fans at World Athletics Championships
Fans cheer on the home favorites during the women's marathon at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo on Sunday.
Japan's major art events converge this fall
Shinji Ohmaki’s “Tokinokage” exhibited at Fuji Textile Week 2021 shows the use of fabric as art.
Tara Davis-Woodhall leaps to gold and finds redemption at world championships
Tara Davis-Woodhall celebrates after winning the women's long jump final at the World Athletics Championships at Tokyo's National Stadium on Sunday night.
An aesthetic escape to Hakone’s art-drenched hills
Between traditional examples of fine art and sleek, modern exhibitions that blend with nature, Hakone offers a unique escape from Tokyo's urban sprawl.

Podcast

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

Longform

Sumadori Bar on Shibuya Ward's main Center Gai street targets young customers who prefer low-alcohol drinks or abstain altogether.
Rethinking that second drink: Japan’s Gen Z gets ‘sober curious’
By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Foreign wrestlers have a long history in sumo
Foreign wrestlers have a long history in sumo

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS note

Read more

SUPPLEMENTS BINDER