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April 26, 2025
 

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MSDF

Maritime Self-Defense Force sailors stand in formation after two Japanese vessels docked at the Ream naval base in Cambodia on Saturday.
JAPAN
Apr 19, 2025
MSDF ships make port call at China-linked Cambodian base
The Cambodian government is believed to have been eyeing diplomatic balance by accepting vessels from Japan, a U.S. ally.
A computer-generated image of the Maritime Self-Defense Force's next-generation offshore patrol vessel
JAPAN
Apr 15, 2025
Japan begins work on naval patrol vessels to boost surveillance
The ships will require fewer personnel and feature autonomous navigation and other state-of-the-art systems, allowing them to perform a range of operations.
The Osaka tax bureau found ¥1.3 billion in unreported income as Kawasaki Heavy Industries pooled funds through fictitious transactions related to repair contracts for MSDF submarines.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 8, 2025
Kawasaki Heavy hit with ¥1 billion in back taxes over MSDF scandal
The defense contractor was found to have wined and dined Maritime Self-Defense Force personnel.
At the launch ceremony on Sunday of the Self-Defense Forces Maritime Transport Group in Kure City, Hiroshima Prefecture, Defense Minister Gen Nakatani presents the unit's group flag.
JAPAN
Apr 6, 2025
Inaugural ceremony held for Japan SDF's Maritime Transport Group
The Maritime Transport Group was launched on March 24 as a unit jointly run by the Ground, Maritime and Air Self Defense Forces under the direct oversight of the defense minister.
Natsue Kondo (left) assumes the post of the Maritime Self-Defense Force's vice admiral commanding the MSDF's Ominato District, based in Mutsu, Aomori Prefecture, in December 2023.
JAPAN
Mar 21, 2025
Natsue Kondo: The female vice admiral who broke the glass ceiling at Japan's SDF
The MSDF vice admiral remains the only female SDF officer holding any of the top ranks.
The Maritime Self-Defense Force's destroyer Akizuki (far left) leads the MSDF fleet during a naval review in Sagami Bay, south of Tokyo, in October 2012.
JAPAN
Mar 3, 2025
Japanese destroyer passes through Taiwan Strait for just second time
The solo passage last month by the Maritime Self-Defense Force's Akizuki comes amid warming ties with Beijing, but also follows ramped-up military pressure by China.
Rear Adm. Jacques Mallard (right), commander of the Charles De Gaulle aircraft carrier strike group, speaks during a ceremony aboard the carrier at a naval base in Toulon, France, last September.
ASIA PACIFIC
Feb 18, 2025
French carrier group chief draws lessons from first Pacific deployment in 60 years
The deployment helped deepen the French Navy's operational understanding of the region, and learn from and boost interoperability with partner nations, a top commander says.
An F-35B stealth fighter jet loaded in the hangar of the Maritime Self-Defense Force's Kaga destroyer
JAPAN / FOCUS
Feb 17, 2025
SDF's biggest ships are being converted into de facto aircraft carriers
The Izumo and Kaga, each about 248 meters in length and 38 meters in width, are the largest vessels in the MSDF.
The U.S. Navy's nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (foreground), the Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyer Kaga (center) and the French Navy's Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier conduct a joint drill in the Pacific Ocean east of the Philippines on Wednesday.
JAPAN
Feb 14, 2025
Japan, U.S., France hold joint naval exercise in Pacific
The drill is the first involving MSDF vessels along with U.S. and French aircraft carriers.
The Maritime Self-Defense Force's Mogami stealth frigate, of the class of the same name, takes part in an international fleet review to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the foundation of MSDF in Sagami Bay, south of Tokyo, in November 2022.
JAPAN
Feb 13, 2025
With eye on contract, Japan to send Mogami-class frigate to Australia for drills
The dispatch comes as Japan vies with Germany for a lucrative contract to build new frigates for Canberra.
The area in Hiroshima Prefecture where a forest fire stared on Friday is flanked by a shooting range operated by the Maritime Self-Defense Forces.
JAPAN
Jan 17, 2025
Hiroshima forest on fire after military explosives drill
The fire follows the issuing of a dry weather advisory in southern Hiroshima after a long period without rain.
An Air Self-Defense Force airman sets up a drone during a bilateral live fire exercise at Draughon Range, near Misawa Air Base, in Aomori Prefecture in July 2023.
JAPAN / FOCUS
Jan 5, 2025
Taking a page from Ukraine war, SDF carves out growing role for drones
Whether for use in the air, on land or at sea, the SDF is gradually integrating these increasingly capable and often autonomous systems into their units.
Some of the slush funds pooled by Kawasaki Heavy Industries were used to wine and dine Maritime Self-Defense Force personnel, the Defense Ministry said.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 27, 2024
Kawasaki Heavy found to have pooled ¥1.7 billion in slush funds
Some of the funds were used by the defense contractor to wine and dine Maritime Self-Defense Force personnel, the Defense Ministry said.
A SeaGuardian unmanned drone is seen at the Maritime Self-Defense Force's Hachinohe Air Base in Aomori Prefecture in June last year.
JAPAN
Nov 16, 2024
MSDF to deploy U.S.-made SeaGuardian surveillance drones
The Defense Ministry said Friday it plans to procure a total of 23 SeaGuardian drones over the next 10 years or so.
A Russian Navy Yasen-class vessel that sailed westward through the Soya Strait on Monday
JAPAN
Nov 12, 2024
Russian nuclear-powered submarine sails through Soya Strait
The presence of a Yasen-class vessel, Russia's most advanced nuclear-powered attack submarine, was confirmed by the MSDF for the first time.
The bow of the Maritime Self-Defense Force's Ukushima minesweeper is seen early Monday after most of the ship was submerged in waters off Fukuoka Prefecture following a fire that erupted in its engine room.
JAPAN
Nov 11, 2024
One crew member missing after fire sinks MSDF minesweeper
The MSDF and the Japan Coast Guard are working together to search for the missing sailor, with divers taking part in the effort.
A U.S. Air Force B-1B bomber (front) flies in formation with South Korean, Japanese and U.S. fighter jets during a joint air drill in South Korean airspace south of Jeju Island on Sunday.
JAPAN
Nov 3, 2024
U.S. bomber joins air drill with South Korea and Japan
The exercise took place three days after Pyongyang launched one of its most powerful and advanced solid-fueled intercontinental ballistic missiles.
An F-35B stealth fighter jet lands on the Maritime Self-Defense Force's Kaga helicopter carrier during a test on Sunday of the southern coast of California.
JAPAN
Oct 22, 2024
F-35B fighter makes first landing on de facto aircraft carrier Kaga
The Maritime Self-Defense Force is conducting tests to determine if there are issues with such aircraft taking off from the vessel while verifying other procedures.
A Starlink satellite communication system installed on the training ship Kashima of the Maritime Self-Defense Force for test operations at the Harumi Pier in Tokyo on May 15.
JAPAN
Oct 12, 2024
Japan's MSDF eyeing Starlink for better internet connectivity at sea
Hoping to create an environment where MSDF members can freely use the internet while at sea, the MSDF plans to introduce the Starlink service on its vessels.
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.
Naked man’s rampage in Saitama linked to one fatality and 10 injured
Police believe Daisuke Nishimura may have been involved in roughly 20 incidents in the 90 minutes leading up to his arrest, including a fatal hit-and-run and multiple assaults.
Japan set to fine cyclists on the spot for rule violations from 2026
Under new rules, those who use smartphones while riding a bicycle would be subject to the maximum fine of ¥12,000.
Japan brings forward deadline for electronic travel authorization system
Japan is planning to implement by March 2029 a new online screening system in which foreign visitors who don’t need a visa apply for a certification before entering the country.
Built in a flash, Osaka Expo pavilions wrestle with sustainability
Kengo Kuma & Associates oversaw the construction of the Malaysia pavilion, which is encased in interwoven rows of bamboo that appear to ripple.
Social media helps fuel growing 'sex tourism' in Japan
People walk down a street in the red-light entertainment area of Kabukicho in the Shinjuku district of Tokyo on March 31.
Amid uncertain tariffs, is now the time to buy a new iPhone?
An Apple store in Tokyo's Shibuya Ward in September. Prices for the newest iPhone models start at around ¥100,000 ($700) in Japan.
Built in a flash, Osaka Expo pavilions wrestle with sustainability
Kengo Kuma & Associates oversaw the construction of the Malaysia pavilion, which is encased in interwoven rows of bamboo that appear to ripple.
Japan weighs using U.S. rice imports as tariff negotiation tool with Trump
A restaurant owner pours California-grown Calrose rice into a rice cooker at his restaurant in Tokyo
Is Japan’s parliament ready to welcome more youth to its ranks?
Lower House lawmaker Kai Odake in his Tokyo office on Wednesday
Crow meat, goat tartare: Mauvaise Herbe raises its game
Crow meat, shaped into a ball and attached to a foot of the bird, is one of the peculiar offerings of game at Mauvaise Herbe.

Podcast

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

Longform

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By Tomoko Otake

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