U.S. eager to spur military tech as China innovates, but Japan industry in 'lukewarm environment'
The United States is eager to spur innovation in its defense industry at a time when China is investing in advanced technologies including fifth-generation, or 5G, high-speed communications equipment, artificial intelligence systems and hypersonic weapons. In contrast to a vibrant U.S. industry, Japanese defense-related companies ...
Amid shifting global security environment, will Japan remain the 'shield' in U.S. alliance?
At U.S. Marine Corps Air Station New River in North Carolina, three brand-new Osprey tilt-rotor transporters are waiting to be deployed to Japan next March. The aircraft, emblazoned with the Japanese flag, are used for aircrew and maintenance training for troops sent from the Air ...
Abe says Japan's ASDF may evolve into 'air and space' defense force
Referring to the 2020 plan for a space operation unit inside the ASDF, Abe said that it is “not a pipe dream” for Japan to have such combined forces.
Cabinet reshuffles provide a window into Japan's policy priorities
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is planning to reshuffle his Cabinet on Wednesday. When this action, combined with the reshuffle of Liberal Democratic Party executives, takes place, there is always huge media coverage on who will be appointed to what post and what it means ...
In the midst of a weakened, mistrusted NRA, gun owners find new outlets
Bob Mokos is a passionate gun owner who on the surface would seem like a card-carrying National Rifle Association member. The retired airline pilot has been shooting guns since he was a child. The Vietnam veteran got more serious about firearms as a civilian after ...
Akiko Santo, president of the House of Councilors, the upper chamber of the Diet, has called for discussions among ruling and opposition parties on the cancellation of the integration of neighboring prefectural constituencies for the Upper House. "Is it really OK that there could be ...
All eyes on LDP factions as Abe plots Cabinet shake-up for final term
With Prime Minister Shinzo Abe expected to reshuffle his Cabinet later this month, attention is turning to who might get what posts, and from which Liberal Democratic Party factions any new ministers might be from. Unlike most of the late 20th century, when the power ...
Head of Democratic Party for the People seeks constitutional debate not focused on Article 9
The opposition Democratic Party for the People wants to pursue discussions on constitutional reform but the discussion should not focus on the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's four-point proposal that includes changes to war-renouncing Article 9, party head Yuichiro Tamaki has said. In a recent interview, ...
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe vowed Tuesday to launch full-fledged Diet discussions on constitutional amendment. He was speaking after visiting the grave of his father, Shintaro Abe, who served as foreign minister during his political career. "I reported (to my father) that now is the time to ...
A tug-of-war between the pro- and anti-revision forces has been playing out within the DPP, with leader Yuichiro Tamaki wavering between the two sides.
The danger in Abe's constitutional amendment proposal
If there is to be any amendment to the Constitution, the substance of the Abe Cabinet's 2014 reinterpretation of Article 9 to allow collective self-defense should be made part of the proposal or withdrawn entirely.
