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August 19, 2025
 

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SDF

It has become the government's urgent priority to address the issue of an acute labor shortage in the Self-Defense Forces, as recruitment has consistently fallen short of targets.
JAPAN / FOCUS
Mar 21, 2025
Higher pay and career support planned to help boost Japan's SDF ranks
Recruitment for the Self-Defense Forces has consistently fallen short of targets, with only about 10,000 personnel hired in fiscal 2023 — half of the quota of about 20,000.
Self-Defense Forces officers engage in the decontamination work of a train at Tsukiji Station on March 20, 1995, the day of a sarin nerve gas attack by the Aum Shinrikyo doomsday cult.
JAPAN
Mar 20, 2025
1995 Aum Shinrikyo sarin gas attack seen as a turning point for SDF
The sarin gas attack boosted the Ground Self-Defense Force's chemical weapons operations.
Japan's cyberdefense legislation is designed for the government to acquire and analyze communication information in normal times.
JAPAN
Mar 18, 2025
Japan's active cyberdefense bills include normal-time monitoring
The bills also call for establishing an independent organization to supervise cyberdefense operations and file relevant reports to parliament.
Donald Trump’s skepticism of the U.S.-Japan Security Treaty should push Japan to rethink its defense posture, increase military spending, expand arms exports and even consider the nuclear question instead of relying on outdated postwar norms.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 11, 2025
Use the bogeyman to confront Japan’s defense taboos
Donald Trump’s criticism of the U.S. security treaty with Japan is the perfect cover that Tokyo needs to confront outdated attitudes about defense.
Defense Minister Gen Nakatani arrives at the Naval Station Ernesto Ogbinar, previously known as Wallace Air Station, in San Fernando City, La Union province, Philippines, on Feb. 23. Japan and the Philippines have entered into a reciprocal access agreement that is pending approval by the Lower House.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 5, 2025
LDP panels approve implementation bill for defense pacts
The bill will streamline laws associated with such agreements, for instance, when a member of a foreign military deployed to Japan commits a crime.
Female crew members chat in the women-only rest area aboard the Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyer Shiranui in November 2022.
JAPAN
Mar 4, 2025
Women in SDF see their roles expand — but challenges remain
Issues such as harassment prevention and a lack of promotion to senior positions remain significant hurdles for women wanting to join.
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.
A rendering of a next-generation, high-speed landing craft for the Self-Defense Forces to be built by Japan Marine United and British-based maritime design and consultancy firm BMT
JAPAN
Feb 27, 2025
In rare move, Japan to jointly develop and design SDF landing craft with U.K.
Japan Marine United and Britain's BMT have secured a multimillion-dollar contract to build the next-generation, high-speed vessels for the SDF.
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries' announcement is believed to be part of a push by Japan as it vies with Germany for a lucrative contract to build new Mogami-class frigates for Australia.
JAPAN
Feb 26, 2025
MHI to ramp up Australian business activities with eye on frigate contract
The expansion is seen as a push by Japan to improve its chances of securing a winning bid over Germany to supply the Australian Navy with seven to 11 warships.
The People's Liberation Army Navy's Jiangkai-class frigate Hengyang, part of a flotilla sailing inside Australia's exclusive economic zone on Wednesday, is seen at an undisclosed location in this image taken on Feb. 11.
ASIA PACIFIC
Feb 26, 2025
'Provocative' Chinese warship near Australia puts Japan on notice
Canberra surmised that China's military moves were intended to “shape the responses of those in the region and observe and learn from our reactions.”
A Chinese H-6 bomber flies between Okinawa’s main island and Miyako Island in October 2013. Former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe warned that Japan must strengthen its defenses in case of a Taiwan contingency.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 26, 2025
As Ukraine endgame intensifies, don’t forget Taiwan
The scale of China’s air and naval exercises around Taiwan has grown from fewer than a dozen planes and ships a few years ago to over 250 in the December exercise alone.
Amid rising global defense spending, U.S. President Donald Trump's push for 5% of GDP on military budgets poses a challenge for American allies, including Japan, which is already struggling to meet its 2% target.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 25, 2025
U.S. defense spending demands could transform global security
The level of spending the U.S. is demanding could spark an arms race as adversaries try to match NATO and America's Asian allies.
Russian President Vladimir Putin (left) and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un sign a comprehensive strategic partnership agreement at a meeting in Pyongyang in June 2024.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 24, 2025
Japan wary of North Korea's practical combat experience in Ukraine war
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi underlines concern over how Pyongyang's participation in the conflict might affect Japan's security environment.
Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro assists Defense Minister Gen Nakatani as he signs a guest book prior to their bilateral meeting at a hotel in Manila on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 24, 2025
Japan and Philippines to establish high-level defense gear framework
The two sides also agreed to establish a “strategic dialogue” between the Self-Defense Forces and the Philippine Armed Forces to deepen operational collaboration.
Ukrainian Ambassador to Japan Sergiy Korsunsky speaks during an interview at the Ukrainian Embassy in Tokyo on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 21, 2025
As Ukraine rift emerges, Kyiv's envoy says Japan must take on bigger global role
The remarks by Ukrainian Ambassador to Japan Sergiy Korsunsky came amid what appears to be a dramatic reversal in years of U.S. support for Ukraine since Russia's invasion.
Ofunato in Iwate Prefecture. As the flames move dangerously close to residential neighborhoods, officials from the city issued evacuation orders late Thursday.
JAPAN
Feb 21, 2025
Wildfire rages in Iwate as firefighters struggle to contain blaze
No injuries or property damage from the wildfire have been reported so far.
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.
Defense Minister Gen Nakatani holds a news conference at the Defense Ministry on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 13, 2025
Japan and U.S. defense chiefs to meet as early as March
The two top defense officials may together attend a Japan-U.S. joint memorial service on March 29 on the Pacific island of Ioto, also known as Iwo Jima.
Winning warship bid gives Japan confidence boost as Tokyo eyes more exports
Australia’s decision to select Japan's upgraded Mogami-class warship, seen in this computer-generated image, has been “well received across Japanese industry," a Defense Ministry official said.
Two Japanese nationals shot dead in Manila
Commuters cross the street through traffic in Manila.
Osaka fire kills two firefighters and leaves four injured
Firefighters work at the scene of a fire in the Dotonbori district in the city of Osaka on Monday.
Trump’s peace-deal demands leave Ukraine's Zelenskyy with only bad options
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks during a joint news conference with the European Commission president in Brussels on Sunday.
Japan watches nervously as Trump ramps up pressure on Zelenskyy
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba takes part in an online meeting focused on Ukraine, with leaders from the "coalition of the willing," a group of nations that have pledged support for Kyiv against Russian aggression, late Sunday.
Winning warship bid gives Japan confidence boost as Tokyo eyes more exports
Australia’s decision to select Japan's upgraded Mogami-class warship, seen in this computer-generated image, has been “well received across Japanese industry," a Defense Ministry official said.
In Paris, chefs Chizuko Kimura and Kei Kobayashi make their mark
Chef Kei Kobayashi is France's only Japanese chef with three Michelin stars.
Top MLB prospect Rintaro Sasaki is committed to doing it 'the hard way'
Rintaro Sasaki hits a home run during a game against Duke at Stanford's Sunken Diamond on March 16.
In preserving Japanese hospitality, ‘details are everything’
Beniya Mukayu, a traditional "ryokan" inn located in Ishikawa Prefecture, considers itself at "the heart of onsen towns, local residents, farmers, fishermen, sake brewers and artisans" — all of which need new, sustainable methods of serving visitors to survive into the future.
A seaside hotel built on competitive Japanese cycling
In a region more associated with art, Keirin Hotel 10 takes a decidedly more athletic approach to attracting tourists.

Podcast

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

Longform

Members of the nonprofit group Japan Youth Memorial Association search for the remains of dead soldiers in a cave in Okinawa Prefecture in February.
The long search for Japan’s lost soldiers
By Tomoko Otake

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