Economy | ANALYSIS
Households to take hit from tax hike
by Tomoko Otake
The consumption tax increase will hit every household in Japan hard, with many people’s financial future hanging on whether their wages rise enough to offset the hike's impact.
Politics & Diplomacy Jul 7, 2013
Japan eyes two new Aegis destroyers to counter N. Korea missile threat
The Defense Ministry will likely purchase two new Aegis-equipped destroyers to raise Japan’s fleet of the vessels to eight in light of the mounting North Korean missile threat, a ministry source revealed Saturday. The government plans to unveil its policy for bolstering the country’s ...
Voices | VIEWS FROM THE STREET Jun 25, 2013
Tokyo: Do you think conscription — in Japan or elsewhere — is a good thing or a bad idea?
by Mark Buckton
Alice GicqueauStudent, 16 (French)I think conscription is a bad idea because we always say people are equal and can do what they want, and I myself am all for liberty and freedom of choice. To that end, people, whoever they are, must be able ...
National Jun 21, 2013
Japan plans joint forces commander under joint staff chief
The Defense Ministry plans to create a new post of joint forces commander just under the joint staff chief for the Self-Defense Forces, ministry sources said Thursday. The joint commander will take over SDF command duties from the joint staff chief who has become ...
National Jun 16, 2013
Ospreys land on MSDF destroyer in joint drill
In a first, U.S. Marine Corps pilots landed two MV-22 Ospreys on the Japanese helicopter destroyer Hyuga during a joint exercise Friday involving the U.S. military and the Self-Defense Forces in California. The landing by the hybrid tilt-rotor aircraft, which takes off like a ...
Japan-related | SENTAKU MAGAZINE May 13, 2013
Is missile defense useful?
As Japan pours huge sums of taxpayer money into its missile defense system, the SDF is functioning more like a subcontractor for the U.S. armed forces.
National Apr 19, 2013
Cabinet backs letting SDF use land vehicles for overseas rescues
The Cabinet of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Friday endorsed a revision to the Self-Defense Forces law that would allow emergency transportation of Japanese and other nationals overseas using land vehicles. The government and the ruling parties will aim for approval of the bill ...
National Apr 11, 2013
Japan stays on alert amid N. Korean missile threat
Japan remained on alert Wednesday for a North Korean ballistic missile launch expected in the next few days, but Tokyo acknowledged that it was unsure whether Pyongyang would take any action within the day. Amid growing tensions over North Korea’s belligerence, Japan has sent ...
National Apr 9, 2013
PAC-3 batteries deployed as North Korea threatens missile launch
by Reiji Yoshida
The Defense Ministry has deployed Patriot PAC-3 antimissile air defense units to three Self-Defense Forces installations, in Tokyo and Chiba, to defend against possible North Korean missile strikes, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said Tuesday. The PAC-3 units were deployed to the Defense Ministry’s ...
National Apr 5, 2013
Funds gripe snags SDF isle defense deployment
by Mizuho Aoki
The Defense Ministry may have to abandon a plan to station a Ground Self-Defense Force coastal monitoring unit on Okinawa’s Yonaguni Island because negotiations with the town over the price of land have deadlocked. “If the current situation continues, we have no choice but ...
National Feb 15, 2013
GSDF personnel train on Ospreys for the first time
Ground Self-Defense Force personnel boarded MV-22 Osprey aircraft for training for the first time Wednesday. During a joint drill open to the media, about 50 members of the GSDF Western Army Infantry Regiment for defending Japan’s remote islands boarded four of the tilt-rotor aircraft ...
Editorial Feb 13, 2013
Securing Japanese safety abroad
Allowing intervention by the Self-Defense Forces in conflicts and terrorist attacks overseas is not the way to raise the safety bar for Japanese nationals.
National Jan 28, 2013
Ishiba takes shot at SDF weapons curb
Liberal Democratic Party Secretary General Shigeru Ishiba uses the Algerian hostage crisis to advocate lighter rules on weapons use overseas so the SDF can fly around the world rescuing Japanese.