Tag - defense

 
 

DEFENSE

Chinese leader Xi Jinping walks with Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un before a military parade marking the 80th anniversary of victory over Japan and the end of World War II, in Beijing on Wednesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Sep 3, 2025
Xi — joined by Kim and Putin — delivers stark warning at military parade
Chinese leader Xi Jinping warned in a speech that the world is facing a choice of war or peace, as his country marked 80 years since Japan’s defeat in World War II.
YJ-19 hypersonic anti-ship missiles are displayed in Beijing on Wednesday during a military parade to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II.
ASIA PACIFIC / ANALYSIS
Sep 3, 2025
At parade, China shows off powerful new weaponry to keep rivals at bay
From hypersonic “carrier killer” missiles to new fifth-generation fighter jets, Wednesday’s military spectacle highlighted Beijing’s growing prowess.
Members of the Ground Self-Defense Force and the U.S. Marine Corps conduct a joint military drill on Irisuna Island in Okinawa Prefecture in November 2023.
JAPAN
Sep 3, 2025
U.S. deploys cutting-edge missile system in Okinawa
Mounted on an unmanned vehicle, the remote-control missile system can swiftly be positioned along the coastline to attack enemy ships.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba meets with his Indian counterpart, Narendra Modi, in Tokyo on Friday.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 3, 2025
Can India and Japan deliver on their energy agenda?
As geopolitics in the Indo-Pacific shifts, energy has become central to how India and Japan define their partnership.
Royal Navy Commodore James Blackmore, the commander of U.K. CSG 25, said in an interview aboard the Prince of Wales aircraft carrier that the chance to train closely with the Maritime Self-Defense Force was a "golden moment" for military ties between the countries.
ASIA PACIFIC
Sep 2, 2025
In Indo-Pacific deployment, U.K. carrier group boosts warfighting capability, says commander
The British warship also saw F-35B fighters — one British and one American — touch down and take off from the deck of the MSDF’s Kaga de facto aircraft carrier.
Members of the Ground Self-Defense Force take part in an exercise at Camp Naha in Okinawa Prefecture.
JAPAN
Aug 31, 2025
Pacifist Japan struggles to boost troops as China anxiety grows
In 2023, the Self-Defense Forces aimed to hire almost 20,000 people, but recruited just half that number, according to the Defense Ministry.
U.S. Senator Roger Wicker (third from right),  chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, poses for pictures alongside U.S. Sen. Deb Fischer (third from left) and others upon arriving at the Songshan Airport in Taipei on Friday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Aug 30, 2025
Senior U.S. senator expects joint weapons production with Taiwan
A Taiwan official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told reporters that co-production of weapons was "very important."
Defense Minister Gen Nakatani, British Defense Minister John Healey (center) and British Ambassador to Japan Julia Longbottom walk after the welcome ceremony upon arrival of Britain's Prince of Wales aircraft carrier at Tokyo International Cruise Terminal on Thursday.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 30, 2025
British defense chief emphasizes close security ties with Japan
British Defense Secretary John Healey has underlined his country's close security ties with Japan amid the changing security environment.
A Typhon Midrange Capability launcher arrives as part of the capability’s first deployment into theater on Northern Luzon, in the Philippines, in April 2024.
JAPAN
Aug 30, 2025
U.S. to temporarily deploy powerful Typhon missile system to Japan for drills
The intermediate-range missile system will be deployed to the U.S. Marine Air Station Iwakuni as a part of the Resolute Dragon exercise.
Japan on Friday announced that it will deploy for the first time its domestically made, extended-range Type-12 surface-to-ship missiles in March next year.
JAPAN
Aug 29, 2025
With eye on China, Japan to deploy longer-range missiles for first time
Japan will send its extended-range Type-12 missiles to a GSDF base in Kumamoto Prefecture from next March and to another base in Shizuoka Prefecture in fiscal 2027.
A group of Ground Self-Defense Force service members discuss drone operations and capabilities at a joint static display during the Orient Shield 24 opening ceremony at the Yausubetsu Training Area in Hokkaido in July last year.
JAPAN
Aug 29, 2025
Japan looks to build drone ‘shield’ in record defense budget request
The Defense Ministry is seeking a budget exceeding ¥8.8 trillion that includes a ¥128.7 billion plan to build a multilayered coastal defense system.
Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukraine's First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Digital Transformation, in Kyiv on Tuesday
WORLD / Politics
Aug 28, 2025
Ukraine sees 'priceless' digital battlefield data trove as key to West's support
Since Russia launched its 2022 invasion, Ukraine has collected reams of meticulously logged battlefield statistics.
Jet fighters from the North American Aerospace Defense Command intercept a Chinese long-range H-6 bomber operating in the Alaska air defense identification zone in July 2024.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 27, 2025
Joint Sino-Russian patrols push Japan to rethink defense posture
Over the past two years, joint China-Russia overflights have become increasingly sophisticated and extended.
Nuclear weapons may have prevented global war through deterrence, but today’s shifting threats require adaptable strategies and strong leadership to avoid catastrophe.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 26, 2025
How humanity can avoid starting World War III
As a new nuclear age dawns, the U.S. must once again adjust its policies with foresight and flexibility, resisting both technological determinism and political destabilization.
Tokyo is looking to transfer Abukuma-class vessels to the Philippines as part of broader efforts to boost the defense capabilities of like-minded neighbors amid growing Chinese military assertiveness in the region.
JAPAN
Aug 26, 2025
Philippine bid to acquire used Japanese warships gains steam
A decision is expected in the “coming months,” a senior government official in Manila said, following an inspection of the Abukuma-class destroyer escorts.
The Finance Ministry in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward. The ministry plans to seek a record 32.4 trillion yen in debt-servicing costs in its budget request for fiscal 2026.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 26, 2025
Finance Ministry seeks record budget for debt financing
The ministry’s request would be the highest amount ever budgeted for debt-servicing costs, which already account for about a quarter of Japan’s national budget.
U.S. President Donald Trump and South Korean leader Lee Jae Myung attend a bilateral meeting in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington on Monday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Aug 26, 2025
'Peacemaker’ Trump says he wants to meet North Korea’s Kim this year
The U.S. president said “big progress” was possible, during a summit with South Korean leader Lee Jae Myung in Washington that also focused on defense and trade issues.
The Maritime Self-Defense Force's Mogami-class frigate in Sagami Bay off Kanagawa Prefecture
JAPAN
Aug 26, 2025
Australian defense chief to inspect Japanese frigate
Richard Marles will also attend a "two-plus-two" meeting of foreign and defense ministers from Japan and Australia.
Filipino soldiers take part in a flag-raising ceremony on Mavulis Island during a visit by the Philippines' Armed Forces chief of staff, in Batanes, the Philippines, in June 2023. Batanes, a group of idyllic islands at the country’s northernmost tip, sits about 160 kilometers from Taiwan.
ASIA PACIFIC
Aug 25, 2025
Philippines quietly deepening ‘unofficial’ defense ties with Taiwan
The moves come as Manila settles into a view that alliances, geography and economic interests would inevitably pull it into any U.S. conflict with China over the island.
The Ground Self-Defense Force's Camp Yonaguni in Yonaguni, Okinawa Prefecture
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 25, 2025
Okinawa town elects independent mayor cautious about defense expansion
Independent candidate Tsuneo Uechi has been elected mayor of the town of Yonaguni, Okinawa Prefecture, a result that could influence the central government's defense policy.

Longform

Rock group The Yellow Monkey played K-Arena Yokohama in June as part of a nationwide tour. Concerts are increasingly popular in the age of social media as users value in-person experiences.
Inside Japan’s arena boom: Sports, sound and city-building