Tag - defense

 
 

DEFENSE

The government plans to develop a shelter strategy for foreign armed attacks by the end of fiscal 2025, according to sources.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 5, 2025
Japan to decide plans for shelters from armed attacks within fiscal 2025
The government will also compile basic guidelines for evacuating residents in Okinawa Prefecture's Sakishima Islands, apparently with a possible Taiwan contingency in mind.
The draft also expresses strong concern about China's attempts to unilaterally change the status quo by force in the East China Sea and the South China Sea.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 5, 2025
Japan to name China as its biggest strategic challenge
It is unusual for the annual economic and fiscal policy guidelines to criticize China for its coercive behavior toward neighboring countries.
America's reluctance to provide air defenses sought by its European partners highlights how the western allies are at odds over how to deal with Russian aggression in Ukraine.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 5, 2025
U.S. said to deny air cover to Europe force in postwar Ukraine
The U.S. reluctance to provide the backup sought by its European partners highlights how the allies are at odds over the way to deal with Russia.
French President Emmanuel Macron gives the keynote address at the Shangri-La Dialogue summit in Singapore on Friday.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 4, 2025
The 'Macron Doctrine' goes to Asia: Autonomy with partners, steady on China
Macron affirmed that "France is a friend and ally of the United States, and a friend that cooperates — even if we sometimes disagree and compete — with China”.
Self-propelled guns are refurbished at a Rheinmetall plant in Unterluess, Germany, in June 2023.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 4, 2025
The Europeans are facing an existential choice
U.S. officials are openly stating that they do not intend to devote most of their time or resources to dealing with what they deem European issues such as the war in Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy meeting with the head of Ukraine's Security Service Vasyl Malyuk in Kyiv, in this image released Sunday.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 3, 2025
'Aces up the sleeve': Ukraine drone attacks in Russia shake up conflict
Despite being outgunned, Kyiv used inexpensive drones at the weekend to destroy Russian nuclear-capable bombers worth billions of dollars.
U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer passes a Royal Navy nuclear-powered submarine at a shipyard in Barrow-in-Furness, England, on March 20.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 3, 2025
Welfare demands put pressure on Starmer's commitment to defense overhaul
Labour lawmakers want to prioritize domestic issues blowing back on the left-leaning party at the ballot box, such as controversial benefit cuts.
Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles delivers an address during the Shangri-La Dialogue security summit in Singapore on Saturday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jun 3, 2025
Australian defense chief doubles down on trilateral ties but rules out Asia pact
A key factor behind the trilateralization push has been the speed at which Japan-Australia ties have been expanding.
The joint venture in the United Kingdom will be responsible for overseeing the design, manufacturing and delivery of the aircraft.
JAPAN
Jun 3, 2025
EU approves fighter jet joint venture between Japan, U.K. and Italy
The joint venture in Britain will be responsible for overseeing the design, manufacturing and delivery of the aircraft.
Defense Minister Gen Nakatani meets with his U.S. counterpart, Pete Hegseth, at the Shangri-La Dialogue security summit in Singapore on Saturday.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 3, 2025
Why Japan isn’t panicking about Trump’s foreign policy
Hegseth’s SLD speech is the first extended statement about U.S. policy and it checked all the boxes.
Philippines Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro speaks at the Shangri-La Dialogue security summit in Singapore on Sunday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jun 2, 2025
Philippines vague on U.S. missile deployments, but clear on one thing
Manila has already secured the funds to buy its own midrange missiles, according to Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro.
Australian defense chief Richard Marles speaks during the Shangri-La Dialogue security conference in Singapore on Saturday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jun 2, 2025
U.S demands Australia increase defense spending to 3.5% of GDP
Officials in Tokyo are closely watching how U.S.-Australia defense spending talks unfold, with U.S. President Donald Trump thought to be pushing Japan to also spend more.
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Singapore's Minister of Defense Chan Chun Sing and EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission Kaja Kallas attend a ministerial lunch on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue security summit in Singapore on Saturday.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 2, 2025
Asia defense summit reveals gaps between U.S. and European perspectives
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth made clear he wanted Europeans to concentrate on European security while the U.S. focuses on the Indo-Pacific.
Defense Minister Gen Nakatani (second from right) and Philippine Secretary of National Defense Gilberto Teodoro (second from left) attend a meeting in Singapore on Sunday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 2, 2025
Japan and Philippines agree to strengthen defense cooperation
The two ministers confirmed expanding joint exercises after signing a reciprocal access agreement to ease military visits between their countries.
The Silver Dania, a Norwegian-owned ship suspected of cable sabotage in the Baltic Sea, whose crew are Russian citizens, in Tromso, Norway, on Jan. 31
WORLD / Politics
Jun 2, 2025
Southeast Asia joins Europe’s calls to defend subsea cables
A spike in cable damage in European waters, particularly in the Baltic Sea, has heightened fears about the global network of subsea cables' vulnerability.
An Israeli Druze woman looks over the border between the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights and Syria on May 4.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 1, 2025
Israel’s Syria policy could fuel more conflict and disorder
Israeli policy, part of a decades-old strategy of undermining Sunni power, risks paving the way for the emergence of a formidable new threat.
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth arrives for a trilateral meeting between Japan, the U.S. and Australia at the Shangri-La Dialogue security summit in Singapore on Saturday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
Jun 1, 2025
Hegseth to prioritize China and more allied spending in Asia — but questions remain
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth made a clear statement of the United States' commitment to the region, but getting allies to spend more on their defense will be an uphill battle.
The defense chiefs of “the Squad” grouping, which brings together Japan, Australia, the U.S. and the Philippines, meet Saturday in Singapore for talks on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue regional security summit.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 31, 2025
‘Squad’ defense chiefs meet with eye on countering China
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth called the grouping the most “strategically positioned to manifest deterrence" amid “an unprecedented military buildup by China.”
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth speaks at the Shangri-La Dialogue security summit in Singapore on Saturday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 31, 2025
Hegseth warns of Chinese threat to Taiwan, urging allies to upgrade defenses
In a speech to regional defense officials, U.S. defense chief Pete Hegseth also sought to ease concerns among those skeptical of America’s commitment to the Indo-Pacific.
Defense Minister Gen Nakatani delivers an address at the Shangri-La Dialogue conference in Singapore on Saturday.
JAPAN / Politics
May 31, 2025
Nakatani urges closer defense tie-ups amid erosion of rules-based order
Without directly naming China, the Japanese defense chief had strong words for Beijing and its moves in the South China Sea and near Taiwan.

Longform

After the asset-price bubble crash of the early 1990s, employment at a Japanese company was no longer necessarily for life. As a result, a new generation is less willing to endure a toxic work culture —life’s too short, after all.
How Japan's youth are slowly changing the country's work ethic