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November 02, 2025
 

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SDF

Japan is deploying two officers to Lithuania for demining training in support of Ukraine, marking a key step in its evolving security strategy and the maturation of its defense policy.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 31, 2025
Japan’s demining deployment is a security milestone
This deployment is the latest in demining support that Japan has delivered to Ukraine since Russia’s full scale invasion began in February 2022.
A bear roams around a field in the town of Kuzumaki, Iwate Prefecture, on Oct. 12.
JAPAN / Society
Oct 30, 2025
Japan’s government ramps up bear control efforts amid rise in attacks
With the move, which pulls together more agencies than have previously been involved, authorities hope to cull bears that enter residential areas more quickly and accurately.
Ikken Yamamoto plays a shell-shocked Self-Defense Force veteran whose past comes back to haunt him in “Flames of a Flower.”
CULTURE / Film
Oct 29, 2025
‘Flames of a Flower’: A bold interrogation of Japan’s pacifist identity
Oudai Kojima’s PTSD drama turned politically charged thriller takes aim at Japan’s postwar contradictions.
Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi speaks at a news conference at the ministry on Tuesday.
JAPAN
Oct 28, 2025
Akita governor asks for SDF help amid 'dire' bear attacks
Bears have killed a record 10 people in Japan so far this year, a government official confirmed.
New Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi plans to boost Japan’s defense and regional security amid waning U.S. influence and rising threats from China, North Korea and Russia.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 28, 2025
With new leadership, Japan has the chance to flex its defense muscles
New Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is determined to convince Trump she’s serious about boosting the nation’s military capabilities.
Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker Takayuki Kobayashi answers questions during the LDP presidential election candidates' joint news conference at party headquarters in Tokyo on Sept. 23.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 27, 2025
LDP policy chief ramps up moves to ease rules on exporting lethal defense gear
The LDP's Takayuki Kobayashi said that he intends to push for relaxing the regulations in order to “contribute to world peace” and strengthen Japan’s defense industry.
A bear spotted in Kuzumaki, Iwate Prefecture, earlier this month.
JAPAN
Oct 27, 2025
Akita to seek SDF deployment over bear attacks
More than 100 people across the country have been killed or injured by bears in the current fiscal year.
A ground crew member guides a Russian Tu-95 nuclear-capable strategic bomber performing a flight over the Sea of Japan, in this still image taken from a video released on Friday.
JAPAN
Oct 25, 2025
Japan scrambles jets after nuclear-capable Russian bombers fly nearby
The incident took place hours before Japan's new prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, pledged in her first speech to parliament since taking office to accelerate a defense buildup.
Japan's Ground Self-Defense Force personnel march during the joint multinational exercise Garuda Shield 2025 at the Baturaja combat training center in Lampung, Indonesia, last month.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Oct 23, 2025
Takaichi to put defense push in spotlight in bid to satiate Trump demands
She is expected to raise Japan’s defense spending to 2% of gross domestic product by the end of this fiscal year, a move that could pave the way for further hikes.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba delivers remarks at a memorial service for Self-Defense Forces personnel who died in the line of duty, on Saturday at the Defense Ministry in Tokyo.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 11, 2025
Ishiba attends memorial for fallen SDF members
The prime minister pledged to "do everything we can to protect the lives and the peace of the people of Japan."
Defense Minister Gen Nakatani speaks during a news conference on Friday at the ministry.
JAPAN
Oct 10, 2025
Japan to assist Ukraine with mine removal training
Instructors will deliver lectures on explosive ordnance disposal and conduct practical exercises for Ukrainian soldiers.
The Jingei, the third of the Maritime Self-Defense Force's Taigei-class submarines, was commissioned in March last year. It is equipped with lithium-ion batteries, enabling it to have a longer diving time and cruising distance than older models with lead-acid batteries.
JAPAN / ANALYSIS
Oct 8, 2025
With nuclear sub proposal, Japan faces array of political and tech challenges
An expert panel has called for Japan’s next-generation subs to be able to operate longer and strike targets from farther way, a shift from current policy.
Japan's then-foreign minister, Yoko Kamikawa (left), and Philippine defense chief Gilberto Teodoro shake hands after signing a Reciprocal Access Agreement at the Malacanang Palace in Manila in July last year.
JAPAN
Oct 7, 2025
Tokyo and Manila apply visiting-forces pact for first time to supply relief goods
The two countries employed the Reciprocal Access Agreement as part of a disaster relief mission following a deadly quake in the Philippines last week.
Takumi Yamaguchi (right), head of startup AirKamuy, and a colleague retrieve a drone made of cardboard after a test flight in a field near Nagoya.
JAPAN / Society
Oct 7, 2025
Startups lead charge as Japan warms to defense and dual-use technologies
Opinion polls show public support growing for a stronger defense, and the new leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, Sanae Takaichi, has called for more military spending.
A Self-Defense Forces officer tries driving a passenger bus during an internship session in Hirosaki, Aomori Prefecture.
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Tohoku
Oct 6, 2025
Bus and taxi firms look to retiring SDF members to fill driver shortage
Many SDF officers retire in their mid-50s, and most of them hold a driver’s license for large vehicles, creating the potential for them to work as drivers.
Air Self-Defense Force F-15Js arrive at RAF Coningsby in England on Sept. 18.
JAPAN
Oct 1, 2025
Japan shows NATO support with first fighter jet deployment to Canada, Europe
The mission, which involved four F-15Js along with two refueling and two transport aircraft, demonstrates the Air Self-Defense Force’s long-distance operational capabilities.
An Air Self-Defense Force aircraft went off the runway at Niigata Airport on Friday.
JAPAN
Sep 19, 2025
ASDF plane strays off runway at Niigata Airport
None of the five crew members aboard the U-125A search and rescue aircraft was in a life-threatening condition, ASDF officials said.
The Izumo destroyer docks at a port in Singapore after completing a mission to escort a U.S. vessel under Japan's security laws, in May 2017.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 19, 2025
10 years on, security laws continue to boost Japan-U.S. defense ties
The laws, enacted in 2015, allow Japan to exercise its right to collective self-defense and have helped the SDF expand its activities with like-minded countries.
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."
Takaichi and Xi reaffirm pledge in first meet to pursue ‘mutually beneficial’ ties
A screenshot from Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's X account shows Takaichi exchanging greetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping ahead of an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit meeting in Gyeongju, South Korea, on Friday.　
Anime isn’t competing with Hollywood — it’s beating it
After its July release, “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba — Infinity Castle,” an animated feature adapted directly from a TV arc, became the highest-grossing Japanese film ever.
Japan to introduce joint child custody system in April 2026
Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara (center) and other ministers prior to a Cabinet meeting at the Prime Minister’s Office on Friday
Woman, 69, arrested over 1999 Nagoya housewife's murder
A police sketch released in 2020 of a woman spotted near the scene of the 1999 murder of a housewife in Nagoya's Nishi Ward
From France to Mali, a deportee's struggle far from home
Moussa Sacko, a Malian deported from France — where he had lived since he was a young child — stands on a street in Bamako, Mali, in December. Compared with his home in France, Bamako feels like a different planet, Sacko said.
Anime isn’t competing with Hollywood — it’s beating it
After its July release, “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba — Infinity Castle,” an animated feature adapted directly from a TV arc, became the highest-grossing Japanese film ever.
Oasis returns to Japan after 16 years — and fans can still sing every word
Liam Gallagher commanded the stage with effortless charisma during Oasis' Tokyo Dome set on Saturday.
At Japan Mobility Show, BYD gears up to conquer Japan's EV market
BYD Auto Japan President Atsuki Tofukuji unveils the Racco at the Japan Mobility Show in Tokyo on Wednesday.
Oasis returns to Tokyo: Rain, rapture and rock
Fans wait to get into the Oasis show at Tokyo Dome on Saturday. While lining up in the rain, some broke into impromptu versions of the British rock group's hits.
Kyushu banzuke sets the stage to cement 2025’s sumo narratives
Onosato ahead of his bout against Aonishiki at The Grand Sumo Tournament at the Royal Albert Hall in London on Oct. 18

Podcast

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Longform

Mamoru Iwai, stationmaster of Keisei Ueno Station, says that, other than earthquake-proofing, the former Hakubutsukan-Dobutsuen (Museum-Zoo) Station has remained untouched.
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By Alex K.T. Martin

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