Tag - defense

 
Menu
Search
 
July 11, 2025
 

Today's print edition

Home Delivery
Subscribe for more access

DEFENSE

Gen Nakatani (center), who was named defense minister last week, attends an extraordinary session of the Lower House at parliament in Tokyo on Oct. 1.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 9, 2024
U.S. and Japan defense chiefs agree to beef up Nansei Islands presence
Two controversial proposals put by Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba — an Asian version of NATO or revising the U.S.-Japan Status of Forces Agreement — were not discussed.
Maritime Self-Defense Force's submarines docked at U.S. Navy's Yokosuka base in Kanagawa Prefecture
JAPAN
Oct 8, 2024
MSDF overpaid ¥81 million for submarine battery charging, sources say
Contract documents did not spell out the amount of power needed for a full charge, resulting in 15 cases in which batteries were not properly charged.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has floated an idea of creating an Asian version of the NATO security framework.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Oct 8, 2024
Ishiba's 'Asian NATO' dead on arrival as new PM set for diplomatic debut
Many Asian countries maintain delicate ties with China, making the creation of any defense group aimed at countering Beijing's influence difficult.
Local activists and tech workers protest against Google and Amazon's Project Nimbus contract with the Israeli military and government, outside the Google Cloud Next Conference in San Francisco, California, on August 29, 2023.
WORLD
Oct 8, 2024
Decoding the role Big Tech plays in the war in Gaza
The Israel-Hamas war has spotlighted how artificial intelligence and machine learning can be used on the battlefield.
Chinese destroyer Jiaozuo is moored in the Neva River ahead of the Navy Day in central Saint Petersburg, Russia, on July 26.
ASIA PACIFIC
Oct 8, 2024
Russian and Chinese ships conduct joint drills in Pacific, news agencies report
A number of training sessions and combat training exercises were planned during the patrol missions, including organizing anti-submarine defense and rescue at sea.
Philippine Navy Flag Officer-in-Command Vice Adm. Toribio Adaci Jr. speaks during the opening ceremony of exercise Sama Sama 2023, the annual bilateral exercise between the Philippine and U.S. Navy, in Manila in October 2023.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Oct 8, 2024
Six countries conduct naval drills off the Philippines amid China tensions
This year's drills, which involve almost a thousand sailors and personnel, are high-intensity exercises focusing on antisubmarine, antisurface and antiair warfare.
Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. (center right) and South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol (center left) pose for pictures as Kim Jong-uk, Commissioner General of the Korea Coast Guard (left), and Ronnie Gil Gavan, Commandant of the Philippine Coast Guard, hold up signed agreements during a meeting at the Malacanang Palace in Manila on Monday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Oct 8, 2024
Philippines and South Korea upgrade ties to strategic partnership
They also signed agreements on coastguard cooperation and nuclear energy.
Dutch Defense Minister Ruben Brekelmans speaks during an interview in Kyiv on Sunday.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 7, 2024
Netherlands to provide €400 million to develop drones with Ukraine
Ukraine is fighting to thwart Russia's troops as they inch forward in the east and attack critical infrastructure ahead of the winter months.
An Israeli aerial assault on Iran’s nuclear sites and other targets would be a very complex operation, involving dozens of F-15s, in-flight refueling and the targeting of numerous known and undisclosed facilities.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 6, 2024
An Israel-Iran war could turn into a deadly nightmare
Israel is fully justified in wanting to hit back at Iran. Yet hating your enemies too much can cloud your judgment.
Canadian Ambassador to Japan Ian McKay, who is also his country's special envoy for the Indo-Pacific, takes part in an interview with The Japan Times last week.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 6, 2024
Canada eyes joint coast guard patrols with more Asian partners, envoy says
Canada is recognized as a leader in terms of its "Dark Vessel Detection" technology designed to identify vessels fishing illegally in protected maritime areas.
French President Emmanuel Macron holds a news conference on Saturday in Paris.
WORLD
Oct 6, 2024
Macron calls for halting weapons to Israel for Gaza conflict
Macron announced that 88 Francophone countries voted unanimously to call for a cease-fire in Lebanon.
Raymonde Desiree, a member of the Chagossian community living in Crawley, south of London.
WORLD / Society
Oct 5, 2024
Chagos diaspora angry at lack of input on islands' fate
Britain will transfer sovereignty of Chagos Islands to Mauritius, and many Chagossians are angry that they were not given a say in the islands' fate.
Diego Garcia — the largest island in the Chagos Archipelago and the site of a major military base used by Britain and the United States — is seen in this undated image the U.S. Navy provided.
WORLD
Oct 4, 2024
U.K. cedes Chagos Island sovereignty to Mauritius and keeps air base
Britain's deal also could pave the way for people displaced decades ago to return home.
Newly appointed Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya speaks during his first news conference as Japan's top diplomat at the Foreign Ministry in Tokyo on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 3, 2024
Japan's new top diplomat calls 'Asian NATO' an idea for the future
Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya hinted that such a grouping would be open to all countries and partners in the region — including rivals such as China.
Defense Minister Gen Nakatani, 66, has experience as the onetime head of Japan’s former Defense Agency before it became a full-fledged ministry and is seen as a pair of steady hands.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Oct 2, 2024
Ishiba looks to 'defense tribe' to fill key Cabinet positions
The new prime minister has named four former defense ministers to key posts — most notably, the defense and foreign affairs portfolios.
Sailors stand guard near petrol boats at the Cambodian Ream Naval Base in Sihanoukville, Cambodia, on July 26, 2019.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Oct 2, 2024
Cambodia says it would welcome U.S. Navy at port China helped expand
Ties between the U.S. and Cambodia have been strained in recent years.
A Russian submarine arrives at the port of Dagang, in Qingdao, Shandong province, China, in April 2019 for a joint Chinese-Russian naval exercise.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 2, 2024
The China-Russia relationship once derided, now looks to endure
Both China and Russia are concerned about U.S. alliances in the Indo-Pacific and are acting to counterbalance them.
People take shelter on Tuesday during an air raid in central Israel after Iran fired a salvo of ballistic missiles at the country. Iran has targeted Israel twice in recent months with little to show for its efforts, risking further loss of credibility in the region.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 2, 2024
Iran’s missile salvo was yet another strategic blunder
The intended message was clear — we don’t want a real war, but if it comes to one, look what we can do. And yet the attack projected weakness instead.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks during a news conference at the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 2, 2024
Ishiba holds first phone call with Biden as prime minister
In their talks, Ishiba noted that the U.S.-Japan alliance “has been strengthened considerably” under his predecessor, and pledged “to continue along that path.”
Chinese People’s Liberation Army soldiers march in the Victory Day Parade in Moscow in 2020. China and Russia are working together to undermine the liberal international order through military means.
COMMENTARY / World / Geoeconomic Briefing
Oct 2, 2024
Tackling an international order in disarray
The liberal international order is fraying at the edges. A more assertive stance against leaders trying to undermine the status quo, Putin and Xi most notably, is needed.
NGOs condemn rise in anti-immigrant rhetoric ahead of Upper House vote
Sanseito head Sohei Kamiya holds a board that reads "Japanese First" in Tokyo on July 2. In a joint statement on Tuesday, eight human rights nongovernmental organizations described the far-right party's stance as "hate speech."
Japan and Canada ink key intel-sharing deal
Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand shakes hands with Japan's top diplomat, Takeshi Iwaya, at the end of a signing ceremony for an information security agreement, after bilateral talks in Tokyo on Tuesday.
Foreign drivers in Japan to face tougher license conversion rules from October
According to the National Police Agency, there were 75,905 people who converted their foreign driver’s license to a Japanese one in 2024, up from 48,885 in 2019.
Tokyo hit by torrential rainfall at rush hour
People line up at Shibuya Station in Tokyo as they try to avoid the heavy rain on Thursday.
Japan stands its ground after Trump letter delivers 25% U.S. tariff shock
U.S. President Donald Trump (left) and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick at Morristown Airport, New Jersey, on Sunday. Trump on Monday sent letters to 12 countries notifying them of new "reciprocal" tariff rates effective Aug. 1.
NGOs condemn rise in anti-immigrant rhetoric ahead of Upper House vote
Sanseito head Sohei Kamiya holds a board that reads "Japanese First" in Tokyo on July 2. In a joint statement on Tuesday, eight human rights nongovernmental organizations described the far-right party's stance as "hate speech."
Japanese dancers find a home abroad at Houston Ballet
“Giselle” lead Yuriko Kajiya (center), performing with Connor Walsh as Albrecht, is one of six Japanese dancers at Houston Ballet.
From the Abes to the Ohtanis: How siblings shape athletic development
Olympic judoka Uta Abe (second from left) and Hifumi Abe (second from right) with their brother Yuichiro (center) and their parents. “I’m always consciously trying to be a good older brother,” Yuichiro said.
Foreign nationals' presence in Japan emerges as key issue in Upper House poll
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba delivers a campaign speech next to a Liberal Democratic Party candidate for the Upper House (top center left) in Yokohama on Sunday.
Scams involving police impersonation surge
A video by the National Police Agency warns about fake scams.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji
By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Ishii Iron Works remakes self for workers, new energy
Ishii Iron Works remakes self for workers, new energy

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS note

Read more

SUPPLEMENTS BINDER