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September 09, 2025
 

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SDF

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.
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.
A U.S. military aircraft takes off from the Kadena U.S. Air Force Base on the island of Okinawa in August 2023.
JAPAN
Aug 31, 2025
Seoul punishes 10 over unauthorized entry into Japan's ADIZ
Due to bad weather, the aircraft consumed more fuel than planned. It made an emergency landing at the U.S. Kadena Air Base in Okinawa Prefecture.
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.
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.
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.
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 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.
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.
The U.S. military's Marine Air Defense Integrated System is expected to be deployed in Ishigaki, Okinawa Prefecture.
JAPAN
Aug 21, 2025
New air defense system to be used in upcoming U.S.-Japan drill
The U.S. military's Marine Air Defense Integrated System is expected to be deployed in Ishigaki, Okinawa Prefecture.
Two Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force members killed during a training exercise in Oita Prefecture on Sunday died from electrocution caused by lightning, the GSDF confirmed Wednesday.
JAPAN / Society
Aug 21, 2025
GSDF confirms two sergeants who died during drills were killed by lightning
According to the Oita Meteorological Office, a lightning warning was in effect throughout the prefecture from early morning to night on the day they died.
Two Ground Self-Defense Force members have died during a training exercise at the Hijudai maneuver area in Oita Prefecture, according to the GSDF.
JAPAN / Society
Aug 19, 2025
Two GSDF sergeants die during training exercise in Oita Prefecture
After failing to respond to a radio call, the two were found in the maneuver area shortly after midnight early on Monday.
The HMS Prince of Wales arrives at the Port of Darwin, Australia, in July during Exercise Talisman Sabre 2025.
EDITORIALS
Aug 15, 2025
Operation Highmast reinforces claims that ‘security is indivisible’
European governments recognize that developments in the Indo-Pacific have a profound impact on their national interests.
A U.S. Marine Corps MV-22 Osprey aircraft flies over the island of Okinawa in March 2018.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 14, 2025
Precautionary Osprey landings signal safety, not alarm
Two precautionary V-22 Osprey landings in northern Honshu demonstrated the aircraft’s safety and its role in enhancing Japan’s rapid-deployment and island-defense capabilities.
An Osprey tilt-rotor transport aircraft operated by the Ground Self-Defense Force.
JAPAN / Society
Aug 13, 2025
GSDF completes relocation of Ospreys from Chiba Prefecture to Camp Saga
The Ospreys will be operated to defend remote islands, such as the Nansei island chain in southwestern Japan, with a Taiwan contingency in mind.
Kimi Ozawa, who lost her husband in the 1985 crash of a Japan Airlines jumbo jet, prays in front of his memorial marker on Tuesday in the village of Ueno, Gunma Prefecture.
JAPAN / History / FOCUS
Aug 12, 2025
Controversial theories continue to swirl around 1985 JAL jet crash
Some bereaved family members and critics who subscribe to the idea of possible SDF involvement say the initial probe left too many loose ends untied.
Japan to experience blood moon lunar eclipse on Monday
A blood moon is seen during a partial eclipse in the sky over Lake George near Canberra on March 14.
Ishiba to quit as prime minister amid LDP discontent
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba announces his decision to step down, at the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo on Sunday.
Japan eyes two types of 'hometown resident' registration
People buy groceries from a mobile supermarket in a rural area of Nagomi, Kumamoto Prefecture. The government is considering a new "hometown resident" registration system to help strengthen regional revitalization measures.
Race to become next LDP president kicks off again
Former Liberal Democratic Party Secretary-General Toshimitsu Motegi on Monday became the first to enter the race to replace Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba.
‘Confugenics’ and East Asia's demographic crisis
East Asia’s fertility plunge is driven not just by financial costs but by perfectionist cultural expectations that burden parents with intense educational and social demands.
In rural Hokkaido, the stops and starts of tourism revival on full display
Redevelopment plans for Kawayu Onsen have hit some snags — an example of how bringing tourists back to declining rural communities is far from easy work.
London’s calling and sumo’s top division — along with Hello Kitty — are ready to answer
Yokozuna Hoshoryu and Hello Kitty, an ambassador for sumo's upcoming tour to London, at Tokyo's Kokugikan on Tuesday
Resonac creates 27-member consortium to pursue advanced chip developments
Representatives from member companies of JOINT3, a consortium working together on semiconductor-related developments announced by Resonac, pose for a photo in Tokyo on Wednesday.
Haru Nemuri’s radical new album refuses easy listening
Musician Haruna Kimishima, better known as Haru Nemuri, confronts Japan’s politics, nationalism and censorship on her recent output.
Overseas sluggers step up to bat in small-town Hokkaido
The Betsukai Pilot Spirits welcomed new players (left to right) Yuta Yamanaka, Roman Guthrie, Scott Bellina and Leo Jiminian this year, pictured here with Yassir Lachkar of the Ishikari Red Phoenix.

Podcast

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

Longform

Figure skater Akiko Suzuki was once told her ideal weight should be 47 kilograms, a number she now admits she “naively believed.” This led to her have a relationship with food that resulted in her suffering from anorexia.
The silent battle Japanese athletes fight with weight
By Mai Yoshikawa

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