Tag - defense

 
 

DEFENSE

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.
Work begins on the Oura Bay side of the Henoko area in Nago, Okinawa Prefecture, on Tuesday for a replacement facility for U.S. Marine Corps' Futenma air station from Ginowan.
JAPAN
Aug 20, 2024
Construction begins in Oura Bay for Henoko base relocation project
The Okinawa prefectural government is demanding that the work be halted, claiming that the ministry has not completed its prior consultation with the prefecture.
Berlin's growing military engagement with Indo-Pacific allies and partners is meant to signal that Germany "stands firmly at the side of those countries that are committed to complying with international law and do not accept it being called into  question," German Navy chief Vice Adm. Kaack told The Japan Times.
JAPAN
Aug 20, 2024
Sea lane fears drive German military's Asian engagement, navy chief says
Developments in the Indo-Pacific, both economic and geopolitical, have direct implications for the security and prosperity of Germany, Vice Adm. Jan Christian Kaack says.
Sailors line the deck of the German frigate F222 Baden-Wuerttemberg as it arrives in New York Harbor in New York on May 22 during a parade of ships to kick off "Fleet Week 2024.”
ASIA PACIFIC
Aug 19, 2024
German warships await orders on crossing disputed Taiwan Strait
While the U.S. and other nations have sent warships through the strait in recent weeks, it would be the German navy's first passage through it since 2002.
The USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier (left) and its strike group sails in formation with Italy's Cavour carrier (right) strike group in the Pacific Ocean on Aug. 9.
ASIA PACIFIC / FOCUS
Aug 17, 2024
NATO steps up naval presence in Western Pacific to counter China
The latest entrant is the Italian aircraft carrier Cavour, the first time Rome has deployed its lone carrier to the Pacific.
A F-18 jet lands on the runway of the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier during the Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) military exercises about 160 kilometers south of Oahu, Hawaii, on July 19.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Aug 15, 2024
U.S. Navy's newest long range missile could shift balance in South China Sea
The AIM-174B can fly several times farther than alternatives, does not require new production lines, and is compatible with Australian aircraft.
Philippine Defense Minister Gilberto Teodoro (right) speaks during a joint press conference with German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius at a hotel in Makati, Metro Manila, Philippines, on Aug. 4.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Aug 14, 2024
Manila looks beyond Asia for defense support
Germany is the latest Western power to announce plans to deepen security ties with the Philippines amid Manila's escalating territorial disputes with China.
An Israeli tank near the Israel-Gaza border on July 25
WORLD / Politics
Aug 14, 2024
U.S. approves sale to Israel of $20 billion weapons package
Washington is facing mounting domestic and international criticism for its support of Israel.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg (second right) takes part in the inauguration ceremony for the Deep Tech Lab - Quantum in Copenhagen on Sept. 29.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 13, 2024
The growing strategic race in emerging technologies
Japan’s security and trading partners are increasingly serious about developing quantum capabilities. Japan has to do more to both keep pace.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida meets with Chinese leader Xi Jinping at a summit in Bangkok in November 2022. Despite Japan-China relations stagnating in recent years, Xi's administration presents some interesting opportunities for an overture between the two countries.
COMMENTARY / Japan / Geoeconomic Briefing
Aug 12, 2024
Will Japan and China’s relations continue to stagnate?
Japan and China have historically been at odds and relations have stagnated. This pattern can be broken by seizing the moment, one that offers some key opportunities.
An Iranian missile during the National Army Day parade in Tehran in April
WORLD
Aug 11, 2024
Iran to deliver hundreds of ballistic missiles to Russia soon: sources
Moscow possesses an array of its own ballistic missiles, but the Fath-360 system could allow Russia to use more of its arsenal for targets beyond the front line.
A Russian battle tank drives outside the town of Sudzha on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 9, 2024
Russia battles Ukrainian troops for third day after shock incursion
It is one of the biggest Ukrainian attacks on Russia since the war began in February 2022.
South Korean Minister of National Defense Shin Won-sik on during an interview in Seoul on Wednesday
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Aug 8, 2024
South Korean nuclear weapons would break U.S. ties, defense chief says
The idea of another term for former U.S. President Donald Trump, who complained about the cost of the U.S. military presence in South Korea, has fueled the debate.
Mongolian President Ukhnaa Khurelsukh
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 7, 2024
Japan and Mongolia likely to agree on defense equipment transfer pact
Japan and Mongolia are likely to reach a broad agreement to conclude a treaty aimed at allowing the two nations to export defense equipment to one another, Japanese government officials said Tuesday.
Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa, Defense Minister Minoru Kihara, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin attend the Japan-U.S. Extended Deterrence Dialogue in Tokyo on July 28.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 7, 2024
Japan-U.S. alliance transforms with concrete 'two-plus-two' talks
Despite the long and challenging history of Japan-U.S. two-plus-two meetings, this year's Tokyo meeting was truly groundbreaking.
U.S. President Joe Biden escorts Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to their trilateral summit at the White House in Washington in April.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Aug 6, 2024
As U.S. ‘minilateral’ diplomacy grows, Japan emerges as key actor
As geopolitical tensions in the region rise, the breakout of any conflict would put Tokyo on the front lines alongside Washington.
Despite China’s advocacy for “no first use” as a global standard and its call for inclusion in international law for nuclear weapons, many analysts view it as a political statement rather than a practical strategy.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 6, 2024
China’s 'no first use' nuclear policy rings hollow for many
Critics argue that China's NFU policy is less credible due to its expanding nuclear arsenal and the secrecy surrounding
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.
Map exercises for evacuations, simulating a situation in which an armed attack is expected, are conducted at the Okinawa Prefectural Government office in Naha on Jan. 30.
JAPAN
Aug 5, 2024
Japan works on evacuation plans in event of Taiwan contingency
Issues such as stockpiling food and being able to swiftly evacuate all residents of the islands in Okinawa remain as Japan considers various contingencies.
People pray at the Atomic Bomb Dome in Hiroshima to mark the anniversary of the dropping of the A-bomb in 1945. Over half a century on, the global framework to stop nuclear weapons proliferation needs a serious rethink.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 5, 2024
What stands in the way of a nuclear weapon-free world?
Almost 80 years after the A-bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, the world is still far from abolishing nuclear weapons due to a crumbling of the nonproliferation architecture.

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Visitors walk past Sou Fujimoto's Grand Ring, which has been recognized as the largest wooden structure in the world.
Can a World Expo still matter? Japan is about to find out.