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October 24, 2025
 

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SDF

Japan's Ground Self-Defense Force personnel march during the joint multinational exercise Garuda Shield 2025 at the Baturaja combat training center in Lampung, Indonesia, last month.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Oct 23, 2025
Takaichi to put defense push in spotlight in bid to satiate Trump demands
She is expected to raise Japan’s defense spending to 2% of gross domestic product by the end of this fiscal year, a move that could pave the way for further hikes.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba delivers remarks at a memorial service for Self-Defense Forces personnel who died in the line of duty, on Saturday at the Defense Ministry in Tokyo.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 11, 2025
Ishiba attends memorial for fallen SDF members
The prime minister pledged to "do everything we can to protect the lives and the peace of the people of Japan."
Defense Minister Gen Nakatani speaks during a news conference on Friday at the ministry.
JAPAN
Oct 10, 2025
Japan to assist Ukraine with mine removal training
Instructors will deliver lectures on explosive ordnance disposal and conduct practical exercises for Ukrainian soldiers.
The Jingei, the third of the Maritime Self-Defense Force's Taigei-class submarines, was commissioned in March last year. It is equipped with lithium-ion batteries, enabling it to have a longer diving time and cruising distance than older models with lead-acid batteries.
JAPAN / ANALYSIS
Oct 8, 2025
With nuclear sub proposal, Japan faces array of political and tech challenges
An expert panel has called for Japan’s next-generation subs to be able to operate longer and strike targets from farther way, a shift from current policy.
Japan's then-foreign minister, Yoko Kamikawa (left), and Philippine defense chief Gilberto Teodoro shake hands after signing a Reciprocal Access Agreement at the Malacanang Palace in Manila in July last year.
JAPAN
Oct 7, 2025
Tokyo and Manila apply visiting-forces pact for first time to supply relief goods
The two countries employed the Reciprocal Access Agreement as part of a disaster relief mission following a deadly quake in the Philippines last week.
Takumi Yamaguchi (right), head of startup AirKamuy, and a colleague retrieve a drone made of cardboard after a test flight in a field near Nagoya.
JAPAN / Society
Oct 7, 2025
Startups lead charge as Japan warms to defense and dual-use technologies
Opinion polls show public support growing for a stronger defense, and the new leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, Sanae Takaichi, has called for more military spending.
A Self-Defense Forces officer tries driving a passenger bus during an internship session in Hirosaki, Aomori Prefecture.
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Tohoku
Oct 6, 2025
Bus and taxi firms look to retiring SDF members to fill driver shortage
Many SDF officers retire in their mid-50s, and most of them hold a driver’s license for large vehicles, creating the potential for them to work as drivers.
Air Self-Defense Force F-15Js arrive at RAF Coningsby in England on Sept. 18.
JAPAN
Oct 1, 2025
Japan shows NATO support with first fighter jet deployment to Canada, Europe
The mission, which involved four F-15Js along with two refueling and two transport aircraft, demonstrates the Air Self-Defense Force’s long-distance operational capabilities.
An Air Self-Defense Force aircraft went off the runway at Niigata Airport on Friday.
JAPAN
Sep 19, 2025
ASDF plane strays off runway at Niigata Airport
None of the five crew members aboard the U-125A search and rescue aircraft was in a life-threatening condition, ASDF officials said.
The Izumo destroyer docks at a port in Singapore after completing a mission to escort a U.S. vessel under Japan's security laws, in May 2017.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 19, 2025
10 years on, security laws continue to boost Japan-U.S. defense ties
The laws, enacted in 2015, allow Japan to exercise its right to collective self-defense and have helped the SDF expand its activities with like-minded countries.
U.S. military personnel board the USS Wasp aircraft carrier at the U.S. naval base in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, in 2019.
JAPAN
Sep 18, 2025
U.S. State Department sees Japanese role in AUKUS defense pact
Japan "expressed interest in a range" of projects underway as part of the second leg of the pact, an assessment said.
Kim Yo Jong, sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, arrives at the Vostochny Сosmodrome before a meeting between her brother and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Russia's far eastern Amur region in September 2023.
ASIA PACIFIC
Sep 14, 2025
North Korea condemns 'reckless' U.S.-Japan-South Korea drills
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's powerful sister condemned the upcoming joint military drills as a "reckless show of strength" that would bring "bad results."
The Maritime Self-Defense Force's Aegis destroyer Chokai at its Sasebo base in Nagasaki Prefecture
JAPAN
Sep 14, 2025
MSDF Aegis destroyer Chokai to test-fire Tomahawk missiles
If successful, the SDF would gain the ability to directly strike the territory of other countries using cruise missiles.
Sailors aboard the U.S. Navy's guided-missile destroyer USS John Finn conduct a small boat operation during a "Maritime Cooperative Activity" with the Maritime Self-Defense Force's Osumi tank-landing ship and the Philippine Navy's Jose Rizal frigate in the South China Sea on Saturday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Sep 14, 2025
Beijing denounces joint U.S.-Japan-Philippines patrol of South China Sea
China criticized the joint trilateral exercises, alleging that Manila has “frequently colluded with non-regional countries” to organize the patrols.
The Fujian aircraft carrier is seen in Shanghai in May 2024 as it leaves for its first sea trial.
JAPAN
Sep 12, 2025
SDF spots China’s biggest aircraft carrier for first time
The Fujian, which has a displacement of more than 80,000 metric tons, was spotted in the East China Sea on Thursday.
The Defense Ministry’s Acquisition, Technology & Logistics Agency (ATLA) conducted a ship-board railgun shooting test from June to early July this year with the support of the Maritime Self-Defense Force.
JAPAN
Sep 11, 2025
Japan's cutting-edge railgun successfully strikes target vessel
The defense ministry’s Acquisition, Technology & Logistics Agency says its test-firings marked the first time a ship-mounted railgun was successfully fired at a real vessel.
A Philippine Navy soldier observes Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyer Takanami from a Philippine ship in the South China Sea, on June 14.
JAPAN
Sep 11, 2025
Japan-Philippines visiting-forces pact comes into force as defense ties blossom
The pact will serve as the legal basis for Japanese and Philippine forces operating in each other’s countries, paving the way for greater cooperation amid tensions with Beijing.
The 3rd Multi-Domain Task Force conducts the first Typhon midrange missile system live-fire exercise outside of the continental United States on July 16, successfully sinking a maritime target during the Talisman Sabre exercises in Australia's Northern Territory.
JAPAN / ANALYSIS
Sep 10, 2025
High-tech U.S. missile systems come to Japan amid policy shifts and China concerns
Long wary of such a move, Tokyo’s acquiescence — and its own planned missile deployments — highlights a gradual but monumental shift in defense policy.
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.
For three key Cabinet posts, Takaichi turns to an eclectic trio
Shinjiro Koizumi — son of a former prime minister and rival to the current one — was appointed defense chief after falling short in his bid for the Liberal Democratic Party presidency earlier this month.
Rare female yakuza walks path to redemption in Japan
Retired yakuza Mako Nishimura sorts fallen leaves during a clean-up activity at the Gifu Gokoku shrine in Gifu Prefecture on Sept. 28.
Driving in Japan isn’t hard. Getting the license is.
The byzantine process for converting a foreign driver’s license into a Japanese one entails mountains of paperwork and significant stamina — unless you're a lucky license holder from a country or region where these requirements are waived.
New ‘immigration minister’ post signals Takaichi Cabinet’s priorities
Kimi Onoda, economic security minister and minister for harmonious coexistence with foreign nationals, arrives at the prime minister's office in Tokyo on Tuesday.
Japan's first female PM promised more women in her Cabinet. She picked two.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi poses with members of the newly formed Cabinet on Tuesday night.
AI-optimized cybercrime increasingly targeting Japan
A recent cyberattack on brewer Asahi Group Holdings resulted in the company suspending shipments.
K-pop idol Chanyeol does J-pop his own way on ‘Hibi’
South Korean singer Chanyeol made his Japanese-language solo debut with the EP “Hibi,” which features six tracks inspired by his love of Japanese music.
In pictures: The day Japan’s glass ceiling finally cracked
Takaichi, surrounded by LDP influencers
London exhibition perhaps sumo's most successful trip abroad
With the recent sumo jaunt to London being essentially a goodwill exercise, <i>rikishi</i> were far more outgoing and relaxed than normal.
Nakatsu keeps its cool as gentrification looms
Shunsuke Takahashi, owner of the cafe Hood by Vargas, says the Osaka neighborhood of Nakatsu feels brighter and calmer with the influx of new businesses.

Podcast

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

Longform

The byzantine process for converting a foreign driver’s license into a Japanese one entails mountains of paperwork and significant stamina — unless you're a lucky license holder from a country or region where these requirements are waived.
Driving in Japan isn’t hard. Getting the license is.
By Thu-Huong Ha and Mike Fu

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

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Foreign wrestlers have a long history in sumo

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