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July 19, 2025
 

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DEFENSE MINISTRY

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi speaks at a news conference at the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN / ANALYSIS
Aug 27, 2024
Japan calls Chinese military aircraft incursion 'unacceptable' threat to safety
Officials are grappling with the rationale for and response to the entry into Japanese airspace off Nagasaki Prefecture.
A Chinese military Y-9 intelligence-gathering plane that entered Japanese airspace on Monday.
JAPAN
Aug 26, 2024
Japan says Chinese military violated territorial airspace for first time
The ministry said one of the Chinese military's Y-9 intelligence-gathering planes had briefly entered Japanese territory near the Danjo Islands in Nagasaki Prefecture.
U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel has asked Japan to name its representatives for a joint task force on disaster relief hub.
JAPAN
Aug 22, 2024
U.S. urges Japan to name disaster relief hub task force members
U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel asked Japan's foreign and defense ministers to provide the names of four officials at its "earliest convenience."
Defense Minister Minoru Kihara (left) and Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa (second from left) pose for a photo with Indian defense chief Rajnath Singh and External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar in New Delhi on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Aug 21, 2024
Japan and India to update key document on security cooperation
Tokyo is also looking to provide New Delhi with advanced naval antennas and exploring the possibility of repairing Japanese warships in India.
Defense Minister Minoru Kihara speaks on July 30 during a parliamentary inquiry into a series of scandals involving the ministry and the Self-Defense Forces.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Aug 6, 2024
The wider international and domestic implications of the SDF scandals
The problems have put the spotlight on Japan’s ability to convince its partners that it’s ready to shoulder a larger security role.
Members of U.S. military services and the Self-Defense Forces wait for the arrival of then-U.S. President Donald Trump at the Air Force's Yokota Air Base, headquarters of U.S. Forces Japan, in Fussa, on the outskirts of Tokyo, in November 2017.
JAPAN
Jul 30, 2024
U.S. panel recommends four-star general as military commander in Japan
The commission reviewing the Pentagon's National Defense Strategy also said it “strongly praises” U.S. diplomatic and defense efforts to strengthen partnerships in Asia.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin (left to right), U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa and Defense Minister Minoru Kihara prior their "two-plus-two" talks at the Iikura Guest House in Tokyo on Sunday
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Jul 28, 2024
In historic move, U.S. to upgrade military command structure in Japan
The move — one of the most significant in the alliance's history — comes as Washington and Tokyo overhaul military ties in the face of an increasingly assertive China.
South Korean Defense Minister Shin Won-sik (left to right), Defense Minister Minoru Kihara and U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin pose for a photo at the Defense Ministry Sunday.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Jul 28, 2024
U.S., Japan and South Korea ink deal to 'institutionalize' security ties
The move — just months before the U.S. presidential election — is seen as part of a bid to make the trilateral relationship more difficult to reverse.
The annual number of Self-Defense Forces personnel quitting mid-career has reached around 6,000, accounting for around 2% of all SDF staff.
JAPAN / Society
Jul 22, 2024
Defense ministry concerned as more SDF staff quit citing workplace issues
The government's Defense Buildup Program, formulated in 2022, emphasized curbing mid-career resignations of SDF personnel as an "urgent issue."
SH-60K patrol helicopter
JAPAN
Jul 21, 2024
MSDF chopper in crash that left eight dead found on seabed
An unmanned probe found what appeared to be a helicopter on the seabed.
Self-Defense Forces soldiers walk past a Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) missile unit in Tokyo in October 2017.
JAPAN
Jul 20, 2024
U.S.-Japan Patriot missile production plan hits Boeing component snag
The plan to boost production by the U.S. ally is being delayed by a shortage of a critical component manufactured by Boeing.
Akira Saito (second from right), who took office as MSDF chief of staff, and his predecessor Adm. Ryo Sakai (right) attend a ceremony at the Defense Ministry on Friday.
JAPAN
Jul 19, 2024
More allowance frauds discovered at Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Forces
The amount of special allowances that divers of the Maritime Self-Defense Force fraudulently received exceeds ¥53 million, not ¥43 million as initially stated.
Maritime Self-Defense Chief of Staff Adm. Ryo Sakai (center) following a news conference in Tokyo on July 12
JAPAN
Jul 19, 2024
Poor understanding of the law behind mishandling of secrets in MSDF
The scandal has prompted the Defense Ministry to dole out mass punishments and led to the resignation of a top officer.
(From left) Kim Myung-soo, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of South Korea, Gen. Yoshihide Yoshida, chief of staff of the SDF's Joint Staff, and Gen. Charles Brown, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, at the Defense Ministry in Tokyo on Thursday
JAPAN
Jul 19, 2024
Japan and South Korea top uniformed officers resume dialogue
The meeting emphasized strong Japan, South Korea, and U.S. ties as the international community faces a crucial moment for maintaining order and the rule of law.
Lower House Speaker Fukushiro Nukaga (center) receives a recommendation document from a parliamentary board to improve the Defense Ministry's system of handling of security secrets at parliament on Wednesday.
JAPAN
Jul 17, 2024
Parliamentary board to seek improvements over MSDF information handling
In the scandal, many personnel not given security clearance were assigned to roles with access to confidential information.
Maritime Self-Defense Force Chief of Staff Adm. Ryo Sakai says during a news conference Friday that he will step down on July 19 to take responsibility for a string of scandals involving MSDF members.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 14, 2024
Crisis grips Japanese government over Defense Ministry scandals
Some believe such scandals may influence the debate over tax hikes that were proposed to finance the five-year defense spending boost through fiscal 2027.
The Defense Ministry in Tokyo
JAPAN / Society
Jul 12, 2024
Defense Ministry hands out rare mass punishment over SDF issues
The ministry has disciplined a total of 218 Self-Defense Force members and senior officials following a wide-ranging investigation.
Members of Japan’s Self-Defense Forces take part in a military review at Camp Asaka in October 2018. The nation’s public is currently favorable to the SDF, but if scandals aren’t handled correctly, that opinion may change. 
EDITORIALS
Jul 12, 2024
A multitude of scandals threaten Japan’s national defense
Individually, recent scandals are troubling. Together they are reflective of a problematic culture within the defense forces and bureaucracy.
Ground Self-Defense Force troops conduct a military drill on the uninhabited island of Irisuna in Okinawa Prefecture in November.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 12, 2024
Japan’s new defense white paper delivers strongest words yet on Taiwan
Tokyo pins the blame squarely on China's large-scale military exercises around the democratically ruled island for continued tensions in the region.
Ground Self-Defense Force members participate in a seminar to prevent harassment at Camp Asaka in Tokyo in April.
JAPAN / FOCUS
Jul 10, 2024
Spate of scandals threaten to tarnish Defense Ministry and SDF’s reputation
The emergence of multiple scandals is the latest challenge for the Defense Ministry as it seeks to strengthen Japan’s defense capabilities.
Living conditions index hits lowest level in 15 years in Japan
The share of respondents to a Bank of Japan quarterly survey in June who said they have become worse off came to 61.0%, up 5.1 percentage points from the previous survey.
Tokyo emerges as a top market for global tech talent
Tokyo ranks among the world's top tech talent hubs alongside Beijing, the San Francisco Bay Area, Bengaluru, Paris, New York and Dublin, according to Colliers' newly released global tech markets report.
From stalking to death threats, female candidates still face harassment
Mayu Ushida, a former NHK newscaster running for election in the Tokyo electoral district on the Democratic Party for the People ticket, signs an autograph for a voter after a public rally at Shinjuku Station in Tokyo on Tuesday.
CDP leader criticizes ‘Japanese First’ policy and calls for inclusive society
Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan leader Yoshihiko Noda said it is obvious that Japanese society could not function without the help of foreign workers in manufacturing, health care, construction and public transportation.
JSA’s 100th anniversary event is a once-in-a-lifetime chance for sumo fans
Egyptian wrestler Osunaarashi has some fun with children during a special Japan Sumo Association event in 2017.
Japan's rice farmers are confounded by Shinjiro Koizumi’s policies
Kiyoshi Shibata stands in front of one of the rice paddies in Murayama, Yamagata Prefecture, where he produces the prefecture's signature rice brand Tsuyahime.
From stalking to death threats, female candidates still face harassment
Mayu Ushida, a former NHK newscaster running for election in the Tokyo electoral district on the Democratic Party for the People ticket, signs an autograph for a voter after a public rally at Shinjuku Station in Tokyo on Tuesday.
Kawaii Lab redefines idol pop for the TikTok generation
Misa Kimura is the main producer for Kawaii Lab, a project by entertainment agency Asobisystem whose groups have found success by pairing a social media-first strategy with a fresh perspective on traditional idol-pop tropes.
Craig Mod's life in motion in a disappearing Japan
Mod's memoir “Things Become Other Things” chronicles his walking trips across the Kii Peninsula, surveying “a graceful end to a certain life cycle.”
With China and Trump, Japan defense report says world entering ‘new era of crisis’
A senior member of a Self-Defense Forces honor guard inspects a formation before the arrival of Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba for a visit to the Defense Ministry in Tokyo on June 30.

Podcast

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After pandemic-era border regulations eased, Indian migrants began returning to Japan. Their population now stands at more than 50,000 across the country.
How remote work is rewriting the migrant experience in Japan
By Megha Wadhwa

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