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May 09, 2024
 

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DEFENSE MINISTRY

Members of the Polish military train with the Patriot air defense system at an airport in Warsaw in February 2023.
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
May 4, 2024
Missile defense successes fuel global urgency to acquire systems
Experts say the practical and political incentives of investing in the systems will be too hard to ignore — and intensify arms races.
From left: U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, Australian defense chief Richard Marles, Japanese Defense Minister Minoru Kihara and Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro hold a joint news conference in Honolulu on Thursday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 3, 2024
With eye on China, defense chiefs agree to bolster interoperability
Although “China” was not uttered by the officials during their news conference in Hawaii, Beijing’s growing assertiveness was clearly on their minds.
Crew members check an SH-60K helicopter on the deck of the Maritime Self-Defense Force's Hyuga-class destroyer JS Ise during a three-day maritime exercise between the United States and Japan in the Philippine Sea on Jan. 31.
JAPAN
May 3, 2024
MSDF chopper crash likely caused by human factors
The accident off the Pacific island of Torishima on the night of April 20 left one crew member dead and seven other still missing.
Defense Minister Minoru Kihara takes part in an arrival ceremony with U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin at the Pentagon in Washington last October.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Apr 30, 2024
‘Collective capacity’ to top agenda at four-way defense talks in Hawaii
One thing will be on Defense Minister Minoru Kihara's mind: how to deepen military and security cooperation with allies to counter China.
The Ground Self-Defense Force's Amphibious Rapid Deployment Brigade takes part in a military drill on the uninhabited Irisuna island in Okinawa Prefecture, close to the prefecture's main island, in November. Japan's defense-related spending for fiscal 2024 is expanding to 1.6% of its gross domestic product.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 29, 2024
Japan ups defense spending to 1.6% of GDP with eye on 2027 goal
The budget edges closer to the 2% of GDP standard that many Western nations have targeted, which Tokyo aims to achieve by 2027.
Defense Minister Minoru Kihara said he has instructed his ministry to investigate whether or not there have been any further incidents.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 26, 2024
Five senior SDF officers punished for mishandling secret info
They passed on secret information to personnel within their units who were not cleared to handle such data.
Defense Minister Minoru Kihara (third from left) attends a ceremony last month for the Ground Self-Defense Force's systems communications and cyber school.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Apr 26, 2024
The glitch in Japan's plans to bolster U.S. defense
Japan has suffered high-profile hacks in recent years that have elevated concerns over whether Tokyo can fully support its security partners.
A crew member walks past an SH-60K helicopter on the deck of the Maritime Self-Defense Force's Hyuga-class Ise helicopter carrier during a joint exercise between the U.S. and Japan in the Philippine Sea on Jan. 31.
JAPAN
Apr 23, 2024
U.S. military and MSDF ocean observation ship to join hunt for crashed helicopters
The search effort is ramping up as officials work to narrow down the cause of the deadly crash.
Saturday's crash involved two Maritime Self-Defense Force SH-60K helicopters that were conducting nighttime anti-submarine training about 270 kilometers east of Torishima in the Izu Islands.
JAPAN
Apr 22, 2024
No sign of aircraft issues in MSDF chopper crash, defense officials say
As the search for survivors continues, officials acknowledge the difficulty of salvaging the helicopters due to the depth of waters at the crash site.
The Air Self-Defense Force's T-4 jet trainers are expected to be replaced with a new trainer co-developed by Japan and the United States.
JAPAN / FOCUS
Apr 22, 2024
Japan-made jet trainer plans dim after Kishida-Biden summit
Some lawmakers in Japan's ruling bloc have questioned the idea of joint development
Contact was lost with the two SH-60K helicopters, each carrying four crew, in an area east of Torishima in the Izu Island chain during anti-submarine warfare training Saturday night.
JAPAN
Apr 21, 2024
At least one dead, seven missing after two MSDF helicopters crash off Izu Islands
The two aircraft were believed to have collided during a nighttime training anti-submarine drill, Defense Minister Minoru Kihara said.
Defense Minister Minoru Kihara is considering visiting Hawaii for talks with his U.S. counterpart, Lloyd Austin.
JAPAN
Apr 18, 2024
Japan and U.S. mull holding defense ministers meeting in Hawaii
Kihara and Austin are expected to agree to accelerate efforts to realize more effective command and control systems for the Japan-U.S. alliance.
U.S. Indo-Pacific Command chief Adm. John Aquilino speaks at the IISS Special Lecture in Singapore in March last year.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 18, 2024
U.S. Indo-Pacific Command chief Aquilino to visit Japan as term set to expire
Adm. John Aqulino is expected to discuss a planned revamp to the command and control framework for U.S. forces in Japan with the SDF chief of staff.
The Maritime Self-Defense Force's Kaga vessel was unveiled Monday in the city of Kure, in Hiroshima Prefecture, after completing the first stage of work to turn it into a flattop for F-35B stealth fighter jets.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 9, 2024
MSDF unveils modified Kaga vessel refurbished for F-35B stealth fighters
The former helicopter carrier's flat deck has been given heat-resistant paint, new markings and a reshaped deck.
A woman walks past a TV showing a news broadcast with file footage of a North Korean missile test, at the main railway station in Seoul on March 18.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Apr 2, 2024
North Korea launches intermediate-range missile as elections loom for South
The Defense Ministry said the weapon had traveled some 650 kilometers before splashing down in waters outside Japan's exclusive economic zone.
Defense Minister Minoru Kihara told reporters after the Cabinet approval that Japan will remain committed to the "basic philosophy of a pacifist nation" by going through "strict decision processes" for exports.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 26, 2024
Japan eases weapon export rules to allow the sale of fighter jets
The move removes a hurdle for its joint project with Britain and Italy to develop next-generation warplanes.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida attends a graduation ceremony for the National Defense Academy in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, on Saturday.
JAPAN
Mar 23, 2024
Kishida vows to strengthen Japan's deterrence capabilities
The PM also urged the National Defense Academy graduates, expected to become senior members of the SDF, to eradicate harassment in the organization.
Gen. Hiroaki Uchikura, the Air Self-Defense Force's chief of staff, speaks during a news conference at the Defense Ministry on Thursday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 22, 2024
ASDF lieutenant general suspended over workplace bullying
It is the first punitive action against an ASDF lieutenant general for harassment.
A U.S. Marine Corps MV-22 flies near Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Ginowan, Okinawa Prefecture, on Thursday morning.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 14, 2024
U.S. military resumes Osprey flights in Japan
The resumption came after Washington last week lifted a worldwide flight ban on the aircraft following a deadly crash last year.
Tokuryū, a new crime menace in Japan, emerges from the shadows
The National Police Agency coined the term "tokuryū" to classify individuals involved in dark part time jobs and quasi-gangsters, using the words "tokumei" (anonymous) and "ryūdo" (fluid) to reflect their characteristics.
Thanks, tourists. Views of Mount Fuji are now blocked.
Tourists pose in front of a convenience store with Mount Fuji on Friday in the town of Fujikawaguchiko, Yamanashi Prefecture. Local residents are upset over littering, overcrowding and the inconvenience caused by the visitors.
Is Modi’s party heading for a stunning election loss?
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's campaign tactics have escalated, including anti-Muslim rhetoric and fearmongering, reflecting his ruling party's desperation.
Two more arrested over brutal murder of couple in Tochigi
A vehicle carrying Seiha Sekine, the 32-year-old common-law husband of the deceased Tokyo couple's first daughter, leaves a police station in Tokyo's Shinagawa Ward on Tuesday.
After blockbuster boxing victory, what next for ‘Monster’ Inoue?
Naoya Inoue celebrates his victory over Luis Nery in their IBF-WBA-WBC-WBO super bantamweight title boxing match at Tokyo Dome on Monday.
Stormy seas ahead as Beijing and Manila trade barbs over secret deal
Philippine Marines wave to Philippine Navy personnel and the media during a resupply mission at their military outpost, the BRP Sierra Madre, a warship run aground in the disputed Second Thomas Shoal in 1999, in the South China Sea, in March 2014.
Unlike 10 years ago, Japan's new security bill sparks little debate
The Lower House starts discussing a security clearance bill on April 19 in Tokyo.
After blockbuster boxing victory, what next for ‘Monster’ Inoue?
Naoya Inoue celebrates his victory over Luis Nery in their IBF-WBA-WBC-WBO super bantamweight title boxing match at Tokyo Dome on Monday.
Xi bristles as Macron and von der Leyen urge China to do more on Ukraine
French President Emmanuel Macron, Chinese leader Xi Jinping and European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen walk after their meeting in Paris on Monday.
How a Japanese scientist is turning the climate crisis into music
A screencap of a performance of Hiroto Nagai's “String Quartet No. 1 ‘Polar Energy Budget’” by the PRT Quartet

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[Rebroadcast] Japan is doing better on accessibility than you may think

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