

National / Politics May 9, 2019
Amid chilly ties, Japan and South Korea defense chiefs may hold meeting at Singapore summit
Japan has begun making arrangements to hold a meeting with South Korea's defense minister on the sidelines of an annual security forum that is slated to begin in Singapore later this month, a senior Japanese official said Thursday. If realized, it will be Defense Minister ...

National / Politics May 5, 2019
Defense Minister Takeshi Iwaya and Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc met in Hanoi on Saturday and agreed to strengthen their countries' defense cooperation. The two nations will promote exchange programs for their defense industries while Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Force vessels will make port calls ...

National Apr 23, 2019
U.S.-chartered ship and Japanese research vessel to join deep-sea search for SDF's lost F-35A
Defense Minister Takeshi Iwaya said Tuesday a U.S.-chartered ship will within this month join a deep-sea search for an F-35A fighter jet that recently crashed in the Pacific. Iwaya told a news conference that the Van Gogh will join the search effort by the Maritime ...

National / Politics Apr 20, 2019
U.S. to send deep-sea recovery ship to aid in finding crashed ASDF F-35A
Defense Minister Takeshi Iwaya and U.S. Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan agreed Friday to step up cooperation both in the search for an F-35A fighter that crashed off Aomori Prefecture and in the investigation into the cause of the accident. Iwaya and Shanahan reached the ...


National Apr 12, 2019
Japan won't consider revising F-35A procurement plans while cause of crash still not known
by Reiji Yoshida
The Defense Ministry is not considering a revision to its plan to procure a total of 105 F-35A stealth fighters despite the crash Wednesday of one of the jets into the sea off Aomori Prefecture, Defense Minister Takeshi Iwaya said Friday. "We don't know the ...

National Mar 9, 2019
The destroyer will take part in an international fleet review to mark the 70th anniversary of the foundation of the Chinese Navy.
National / Politics Feb 23, 2019
Japan-U.S. security talks might proceed without new Pentagon chief
Japan and the United States have decided to arrange a ministerial meeting to discuss security issues in April without waiting for U.S. President Donald Trump to fill the vacant post of defense secretary, sources with knowledge of bilateral relations have said. The two countries are ...

National / Politics Jan 23, 2019
The South Korean military on Wednesday accused Japan of clear provocations, alleging Japanese patrol planes deliberately flew at low altitudes recently near South Korean naval vessels, a claim immediately denied by Tokyo. Suh Wook, head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff's operational headquarters, said the ...

National / Politics Jan 17, 2019
Japan and U.S. vow to cooperate on North Korea and in space and cyber domains
The talks came a month after Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s Cabinet adopted a new 10-year defense policy and five-year midterm defense buildup program.
National / Politics Jan 12, 2019
Japan and France agree to hold new maritime dialogue by year-end
The foreign and defense ministers of Japan and France affirmed on Friday the launch of a new bilateral framework to discuss maritime security and environmental issues amid China's growing assertiveness, with the first meeting likely to be held by the end of the year. In ...