NEWSWORTHY
A panel of experts advising the prime minister started discussions Wednesday on the revision of the National Defense Program Guidelines, a policy document that outlines the nation's defense objectives for the next decade, with the aim of addressing the new realities that permeate the ...
Japan's Defense Ministry to request record ¥5.3 trillion budget for fiscal 2019
The Defense Ministry is considering making a record request of over ¥5.3 trillion for the fiscal 2019 budget, informed sources said. The amount will be over ¥100 billion bigger than its initial budget for fiscal 2018 because of the plan to buy into Aegis Ashore, ...
The Defense Ministry plans to strengthen measures against cyberattacks by setting up its first regional cyberdefense unit, amid China's efforts to bolster its own cyber capabilities, a governmental official said Thursday. The new unit will be set up within the Ground Self-Defense Force Western Army ...
Okinawa to proceed with late governor's move to block U.S. base construction
The Okinawa Prefectural Government held a hearing with local Defense Ministry officials on Thursday over its plan, announced by late Gov. Takeshi Onaga, to revoke permission for land reclamation during construction of a U.S. military base in the Henoko coastal district of the city ...
The Defense Ministry plans to expand the age range at which it will accept Self-Defense Forces members and cadets from the current 18-26 to as high as 32 by October at the earliest — its first such hike in 28 years, officials said Tuesday. The ...
No systematic cover-up of Iraq troop activity logs: Defense Ministry
The Defense Ministry said Wednesday its probe found no organizational cover-up of troop activity logs related to a controversial deployment to war-torn Iraq starting in 2004.
Defense Ministry to outsource cybersecurity work to private sector
The Defense Ministry is set to outsource part of its cybersecurity operations to the private sector to bypass training needs for its own staff, sources close to the ministry say. The move comes amid intense competition with friendly and other nations to develop capabilities that ...
Over 383,000 documents classified under Japan's state secrets law by end of 2017
The government had 517 designated state secrets at the end of 2017, with the number of administrative documents containing them totaling 383,733, a government report showed Friday. The designated secrets involve 11 government agencies, according to the report, which was approved at the day's Cabinet ...
The Defense Ministry on Tuesday punished a senior Self-Defense Forces member for insulting a Diet member on a street while he was off duty, concluding in a report that his act degraded the "dignity" an SDF member should maintain. The incident has raised doubts about ...
The word ‘combat’ appeared multiple times in nearly 15,000 pages of logs detailing missions by the GSDF to support reconstruction efforts in the war-torn country.
