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August 20, 2025
 

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ASDF

An F-35B stealth fighter jet deployed to the Air Self-Defense Force's Nyutabaru base in Shintomi, Miyazaki Prefecture, on Thursday
JAPAN
Aug 8, 2025
In a first, Japan deploys F-35B stealth fighters to ASDF base
The deployment is expected to bolster the defense of Japan's southwestern remote islands amid China's growing maritime assertiveness.
An Air Self-Defense Force F-2 fighter crashed into the ocean off Ibaraki Prefecture during a training exercise on Thursday.
JAPAN
Aug 7, 2025
ASDF fighter crashes off Ibaraki Prefecture
The sole pilot on board ejected from the aircraft and was taken to a hospital after being rescued by an ASDF helicopter. The pilot is not injured.
Japan's Air Self-Defense Force takes part in a multinational tabletop space defense exercise in Townsville, Australia, in July.
JAPAN
Aug 3, 2025
Japan joins multinational space defense drill
Participants worked on procedures for dealing with and detecting satellite jamming signals and on how to avoid collisions with space debris.
The number of scrambles by Japanese fighter jets against Chinese aircraft rose by 17 in the April-June period from a year before to 122, according to the Defense Ministry.
JAPAN
Jul 25, 2025
Japanese fighter jets scramble 157 times in April-June period
The scrambles were mostly in response to Chinese and Russian aircraft.
A Chinese JH-7 fighter-bomber flies close to an Air Self-Defense Force YS-11EB intelligence-gathering surveillance aircraft over the high seas in the East China Sea on Wednesday.
JAPAN
Jul 13, 2025
China says Japanese ‘harassment’ behind close encounter with ASDF spy plane
The Defense Ministry in Beijing said “close-in reconnaissance and harassment” by the Japanese side was “the root cause” of the latest incidents.
A Chinese JH-7 fighter jet makes an near an Air Self-Defense Force YS-11EB surveillance aircraft over the East China Sea this week in this image released Thursday.
JAPAN
Jul 10, 2025
Chinese fighters came within 30 meters of Japanese spy aircraft, Tokyo says
Chinese fighter jets twice risked collisions with ASDF surveillance aircraft over the East China Sea on Wednesday and Thursday, the Defense Ministry in Tokyo said.
Blue Impulse, the Air Self-Defense Force's aerobatic team, performs ahead of the Japanese Grand Prix in Suzuka, Mie Prefecture, in September 2023.
JAPAN
Jul 2, 2025
ASDF's Blue Impulse to perform for Osaka Expo on July 12 and 13
The aerobatic team will also fly over top tourism sites in the city and the 1970 Expo site in nearby Suita.
Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya speaks to reporters at the Foreign Ministry on Friday.
JAPAN
Jun 20, 2025
Japanese nationals flee Iran and Israel amid conflict
According to the Foreign Ministry, some 1,000 Japanese citizens are still in Israel and about 220 are in Iran.
South Korea's F-15K fighters were involved in a joint aerial exercise with Japanese and U.S. fighters off South Korea's Jeju island Wednesday.
JAPAN
Jun 19, 2025
Japan, U.S. and South Korea conduct joint aerial drill
It was the first three-way joint training since the administration of South Korean President Lee Jae-myung was inaugurated on June 4.
Self-Defense Force personnel transport debris believed to be part of the wreckage of the Air Self-Defense Force's T-4 training aircraft that crashed near a lake in Aichi Prefecture on May 15.
JAPAN
May 23, 2025
Two ASDF crew members confirmed dead in training plane crash in Aichi
The Air Self-Defense Force's T-4 training aircraft crashed near a lake in Aichi Prefecture immediately after taking off from the Komaki Air Base last week.
Self-Defense Forces personnel collect apparent parts of an Air Self-Defense Force T-4 training jet from a reservoir in Inuyama, Aichi Prefeture, on Thursday. The jet crashed shortly after takeoff a day earlier.
JAPAN
May 15, 2025
Two crew feared dead after ASDF training jet crashes in Aichi
Pieces of the T-4 training aircraft and some of the crew's equipment have been recovered from the crash site — a large reservoir in Inuyama.
Scrambles against Chinese military aircraft account for 464, or 65.9%, down by 15, according to the Defense Ministry.
JAPAN
Apr 11, 2025
Japan defense force scrambled fighter jets 704 times in fiscal 2024
Scrambles against Chinese military aircraft accounted for 65.9% of the total, and the number of Chinese drones detected by the ministry more than tripled to 30.
Lt. Col. Suguru Ejiri, the head of Air Self-Defense Force's Blue Impulse aerobatics team, at the ASDF base in Higashimatsushima, Miyagi Prefecture, in March. Ejiri has revealed little about the upcoming Osaka Expo performance apart from it being based on the event's theme.
JAPAN
Apr 1, 2025
ASDF's Blue Impulse set for Osaka Expo performance
The aerobatics team flew for the 1970 World Expo in Osaka Prefecture as well, during which the team drew "EXPO 70" in the sky.
An F-35B stealth fighter jet loaded in the hangar of the Maritime Self-Defense Force's Kaga destroyer
JAPAN / FOCUS
Feb 17, 2025
SDF's biggest ships are being converted into de facto aircraft carriers
The Izumo and Kaga, each about 248 meters in length and 38 meters in width, are the largest vessels in the MSDF.
Makeshift housing units are built on Tanegashima island, Kagoshima Prefesture, for workers involved in construction of an Air Self-Defense Force base on nearby Mageshima island.
JAPAN
Jan 19, 2025
ASDF base construction on Mageshima to be delayed by three years
The completion is expected for the end of March 2030 due to bad weather and a labor shortage.
The air-to-surface standoff missiles have a range of about 900 kilometers, enabling strikes from beyond enemy firing ranges.
JAPAN
Jan 16, 2025
U.S. approves sale of air-to-surface missiles to Japan
The move comes in response to the Japanese government's request to purchase up to 16 Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missiles with Extended Range.
An Air Self-Defense Force airman sets up a drone during a bilateral live fire exercise at Draughon Range, near Misawa Air Base, in Aomori Prefecture in July 2023.
JAPAN / FOCUS
Jan 5, 2025
Taking a page from Ukraine war, SDF carves out growing role for drones
Whether for use in the air, on land or at sea, the SDF is gradually integrating these increasingly capable and often autonomous systems into their units.
A U.S. Air Force B-1B bomber (front) flies in formation with South Korean, Japanese and U.S. fighter jets during a joint air drill in South Korean airspace south of Jeju Island on Sunday.
JAPAN
Nov 3, 2024
U.S. bomber joins air drill with South Korea and Japan
The exercise took place three days after Pyongyang launched one of its most powerful and advanced solid-fueled intercontinental ballistic missiles.
A building in Tokyo housing the Tokyo District Court
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Oct 30, 2024
Ex-ASDF colonel pleads not guilty to confidentiality breach
According to his indictment, So Kanno is alleged to have leaked information about the systems of E-2D early warning planes.
A Russian Tu-142 aircraft that circled Japan on Thursday
JAPAN
Sep 13, 2024
Japan scrambled jets after Russian military aircraft circled country
Russia's planes did not enter Japanese airspace but flew over an area subject to a territorial dispute between Japan and Russia.
JICA to designate four Japanese cities as 'hometowns' for African nations
The Japanese flag (left) with the flag of the African Union
Osaka fire kills two firefighters and leaves four injured
Firefighters work at the scene of a fire in the Dotonbori district in the city of Osaka on Monday.
Winning warship bid gives Japan confidence boost as Tokyo eyes more exports
Australia’s decision to select Japan's upgraded Mogami-class warship, seen in this computer-generated image, has been “well received across Japanese industry," a Defense Ministry official said.
Two Japanese nationals shot dead in Manila
Commuters cross the street through traffic in Manila.
A factory town in crisis shows Japan’s fading manufacturing era
Nissan workers walk outside its Oppama plant in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture. Nissan plans to shut the plant by the end of fiscal 2027.
Candidates preparing to make final pitches for Sawamura Award
Hawks pitcher Livan Moinelo has a 1.13 ERA in 19 starts this season.
Winning warship bid gives Japan confidence boost as Tokyo eyes more exports
Australia’s decision to select Japan's upgraded Mogami-class warship, seen in this computer-generated image, has been “well received across Japanese industry," a Defense Ministry official said.
In Paris, chefs Chizuko Kimura and Kei Kobayashi make their mark
Chef Kei Kobayashi is France's only Japanese chef with three Michelin stars.
In preserving Japanese hospitality, ‘details are everything’
Beniya Mukayu, a traditional "ryokan" inn located in Ishikawa Prefecture, considers itself at "the heart of onsen towns, local residents, farmers, fishermen, sake brewers and artisans" — all of which need new, sustainable methods of serving visitors to survive into the future.
A seaside hotel built on competitive Japanese cycling
In a region more associated with art, Keirin Hotel 10 takes a decidedly more athletic approach to attracting tourists.

Podcast

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

Longform

Members of the nonprofit group Japan Youth Memorial Association search for the remains of dead soldiers in a cave in Okinawa Prefecture in February.
The long search for Japan’s lost soldiers
By Tomoko Otake

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