The Ground Self-Defense Force and U.S. Marine Corps held a ceremony on Sunday to mark the occasion of their joint exercises taking place in Hokkaido. The drills began last Wednesday and will continue until Feb. 8. Two of the Marine Corps' Osprey tilt-rotor transport aircraft, ...
After errors in Akita plan, Japan may pick new site for U.S.-developed missile defense system
The government leans toward reviewing its current plan to deploy the U.S.-developed Aegis Ashore land-based missile defense system in the city of Akita due to strong local opposition.
GSDF band takes part in international military music festival in Moscow
The Ground Self-Defense Force's Central Band performed in the Spasskaya Tower International Military Music Festival at Moscow's Red Square on Friday, becoming the first SDF band to join the event. The GSDF band played music featuring Japanese traditional musical instruments as well as classical and ...
GSDF launches new bases in Kagoshima and Okinawa for defense of Japan's southwestern islands
The Ground Self-Defense Force launched new camps on Amami Oshima island in Kagoshima Prefecture and Miyako Island in Okinawa Prefecture on Tuesday, as part of its moves to enhance the defense of southwestern islands in the country. The camps will take charge of first response ...
Head of Japan's ground forces discusses defense cooperation with Philippine counterpart
The chief of staff of the Ground Self-Defense Force met with his Philippine counterpart on Monday and discussed defense cooperation and regional security. Gen. Koji Yamazaki held talks with Maj. Gen. Macairog Alberto at the Philippine Army headquarters in Fort Bonifacio, one of two military ...
Over 600 Japanese troops, including the MSDF's version of the U.S. Marines, will join the RIMPAC naval exercises to coordinate a defense of Japan's Nansei islands.
Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera said Tuesday that Akita and Yamaguchi prefectures are candidate sites for installations of the Aegis Ashore anti-ballistic missile defense system, naming specific prefectures for the first time. On Monday regional bureaus of the Defense Ministry contacted the two prefectural governments, asking ...
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.
Onodera pledged to further probe the ministry’s careless handling of data and promised to announce the result as soon as possible.
The ministry acknowledged the activity logs, from an Iraq mission, had been kept hidden from top officials for more than a year ,despite an earlier claim that they didn’t exist.
GSDF failed to report 2017 discovery of requested Iraq troop logs, defense chief says
The failure to report the records came as then-defense chief Tomomi Inada denied their existence during Diet deliberations. Tomomi Inada that it had found activity logs in March 2017 for troops in Iraq, even as she denied their existence during Diet deliberations
Defense Ministry finds GSDF logs for Iraq despite earlier denials of existence before Diet
Defense Minister Onodera says he did not find out about Ground Self-Defense Force activity logs from Iraq until 2½ months after they were discovered.
