Mitsubishi Electric data likely compromised in massive cyberattack blamed on Chinese group
Highly sensitive information on defense, electricity or other infrastructure operations, however, was not breached, the company said.
Japan defense chief Taro Kono tours Aegis missile defense test site in Hawaii
Defense Minister Taro Kono on Monday visited a test complex of a U.S.-developed land-based missile defense system in Hawaii amid a stalemate over its introduction to Japan, with candidate sites angered by errors in government surveys used to select the locations. Vice Adm. John Hill, ...
Japan defense chief observes map exercise ahead of MSDF Mideast dispatch
Defense Minister Taro Kono observed an exercise conducted by Maritime Self-Defense Force personnel Thursday ahead of their dispatch to the Middle East on an information-gathering mission later this month. Commanding officers — including the captain of the Takanami destroyer, which is scheduled to be sent ...
Critics assail secrecy over unexploded chemical weapons left by Imperial Japanese Army
At the end of World War II, the Imperial Japanese Army left a number of unexploded shells filled with poison gas used as munitions. In the 2000s, when such artillery shells were discovered and retrieved from the seabed off the coastal town of Kanda, ...
Work on U.S. base at Henoko in Okinawa to cost nearly triple initial estimate
Building the replacement facility is now expected to cost ¥930 billion, far exceeding its initial ¥350 billion estimate, the Defense Ministry said Wednesday.
Japanese defense budget hits new high with focus on space and cyberspace
The government Friday approved a record draft defense budget for fiscal 2020 totaling ¥5.31 trillion ($48.5 billion) as it seeks to strengthen the nation's defense capabilities in outer space and cyberspace. The draft budget, including outlays linked to hosting U.S. military bases, is up 1.1 ...
Yamaguchi site still a candidate for Aegis missile defense system, Japan Defense Ministry says
A ministry report concluded the SDF’s Mutsumi training area was the “only suitable place among state-owned lands to meet requirements” for deploying the system in the area.
Japan's dispatch of SDF unit to Middle East set for Cabinet approval on Dec. 23
The plan has the SDF deploying an Izumo-class helicopter carrier and 250 personnel to boost intelligence-gathering to ensure the safety of Japan-related ships in the region.
Japan's initial fiscal 2020 budget to top ¥100 trillion again, hitting new record
Japan's initial budget for fiscal 2020 will hit a record high and top ¥100 trillion ($920 billion) for the second straight year due to swelling social security and defense costs, government sources said Monday. The initial general account budget for the current fiscal year ending ...
Ministry to step up monitoring of defense firms' business conditions
In an effort to ensure stable and safe procurement, the Defense Ministry will strengthen its surveillance of the financial conditions of domestic equipment suppliers to the Self-Defense Forces, a government source said Sunday. It will also consider using state funds to bail out firms in ...
With hazy plan for SDF dispatch to Mideast, is Japan pursuing contradictory goals?
It was an unusual meeting starting at around 7:30 a.m. at the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's headquarters in Tokyo on Oct. 23, hastily organized so government officials could get lawmakers up to speed. In the week before, the government had abruptly announced plans to dispatch ...
Taro Kono: A different kind of defense minister
For the first time ever, the Defense Ministery is headed by a prime minister-ready politician.
