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July 02, 2026
 

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SDF

China's Commerce Ministry building in Beijing. The ministry on Monday added 20 Japanese companies and organizations to its export control list.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jun 29, 2026
China blacklists more Japanese entities as row deepens
The move is the latest by Beijing to tighten restrictions on firms and entities it claims are tied to Tokyo’s “remilitarization.”
Self-Defense Forces drones are flown during a joint live-fire drill with U.S. Marines as part of the annual Resolute Dragon exercises in Yufu, Oita Prefecture, on Sunday.
JAPAN / ANALYSIS
Jun 29, 2026
Does a new arsenal of deterrence run through Japan?
A spate of defense deals have highlighted Japan’s emergence as a potentially key manufacturing base for the Indo-Pacific region.
A Chinese Air Force H-6 bomber is seen during a joint patrol with Russian military aircraft on Saturday.
JAPAN
Jun 28, 2026
Chinese and Russian bombers and fighter jets stage joint patrol near Japan
China’s Defense Ministry said the flight demonstrated the two countries’ “resolve and capability to jointly safeguard regional peace and stability.”
An Airbus Eurodrone remotely piloted aircraft system is displayed at the International Paris Airshow at Le Bourget Airport near Paris in June last year.
JAPAN
Jun 27, 2026
KHI and Airbus eye cooperation on Japanese variant of Eurodrone
Kawasaki Heavy Industries has signed a preliminary deal with Airbus to cooperate on a possible Japanese anti-submarine version of a European defense drone.
Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said a bill enacted by parliament on Friday will allow his ministry to respond to the most severe and complex security environment of the postwar period.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 26, 2026
Japan enacts bill to add space operations into ASDF’s fold
The renaming of the ASDF by the end of fiscal 2026, will mark the first name change for any branch of the Self-Defense Forces since its establishment in 1954.
Soldiers conduct the first Typhon midrange capability live-fire exercise outside of the continental United States, firing an SM-6 missile in July last year in Australia's Northern Territory during Exercise Talisman Sabre.
JAPAN / ANALYSIS
Jun 26, 2026
U.S. missile moves in Japan send China clear message: A new era has arrived
The planned longer-term presence of a U.S. midrange missile system in Japan, combined with the fielding of other advanced weaponry, is complicating Chinese military planning.
A Self-Defense Forces member stands guard at the entrance of the Defense Ministry in Tokyo in April.
JAPAN
Jun 25, 2026
Japan rejects Chinese claim SDF ‘harassed’ Chinese aircraft carrier group
The Defense Ministry in Tokyo said the accusations “are not true” and pledged to continue to “professionally and diligently” monitor the waters and airspace around Japan.
Self-Defense Forces personnel stand guard at the entrance of the Defense Ministry in Tokyo.
JAPAN
Jun 23, 2026
Harassed GSDF member’s PTSD recognized as on-duty illness
Since joining in 2006, the male member said he had been forced by several senior colleagues to wear women’s clothing and to expose his lower body.
China's Liaoning aircraft carrier takes part in a military drill in the western Pacific in April 2018.
JAPAN
Jun 23, 2026
China accuses Japan of ‘harassment’ during far-seas aircraft carrier training
Beijing said the Japanese side had conducted “dangerous” close-in reconnaissance of the Chinese Navy’s Liaoning aircraft carrier flotilla.
The Typhon ground-launched missile system is displayed at U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni in Yamaguchi Prefecture as part of the annual Resolute Dragon exercise by the U.S. Marines and the Self-Defense Forces last September.
JAPAN
Jun 21, 2026
U.S. deploying powerful midrange missile system to Japan for joint drills
The deployment of the land-based Typhon system is seen as part of a more robust allied approach to countering China’s growing military assertiveness in the region.
A Ground Self-Defense Force uncrewed ground vehicle takes part in a live-fire military exercise at the Higashi Fuji Training Field in Shizuoka Prefecture on May 7.
JAPAN / ANALYSIS
Jun 21, 2026
Can automation offset Japan’s military workforce shortage?
Japan is building a 21st-century military, but it is running out of 21st-century citizens to staff it.
A concept model of the Global Combat Air Program fighter jet is displayed during a security trade exhibition in Chiba in May 2025.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 19, 2026
Japan’s GCAP push signals a new security role beyond the U.S. alliance
The renewed GCAP backing comes less than a week after the apparent failure of the Future Combat Air System — a program led by France, Germany and later Spain.
A South Korean Air Force's Black Eagles aircraft flies near Seoul in October 2025.
JAPAN
Jun 18, 2026
Japan and South Korea mull regular aircraft refueling support
Work to regularize the refueling support is aimed at fostering a framework for cooperation amid improving Japan-South Korea ties.
A resident of a village isolated by the Noto earthquake expresses his gratitude as he heads to a Self-Defense Forces rescue helicopter, in Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, on Jan. 6, 2024.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Jun 17, 2026
‘Poor kids join the SDF’ remark reflects deeper debate over Japan’s military
The statement by a CDP lawmaker exposed a widening gap between public support for the SDF and the political debates that continue to shape Japan’s civil-military relations.
Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi walks with his Indonesian counterpart, Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin, as the two inspect an honor guard during a welcome ceremony in Jakarta on May 4.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Jun 17, 2026
Japan steps on the gas in unprecedented regional defense export push
Japan is moving with unusual speed to deepen defense ties across the Indo-Pacific after easing military export rules, with Indonesia emerging as one of the clearest beneficiaries.
Ground Self-Defense Force troops lower the Japanese flag at the end of the day at their camp on Miyako Island, Okinawa Prefecture, in April 2022. 
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 15, 2026
Who’s afraid of ‘Japanese neo-militarism’? Nobody
More countries see a stronger Japan not as a danger, but a counterweight to China’s actions and growing U.S. untrustworthiness.
Dutch Defense Minister Dilan Yeşilgöz-Zegerius during an interview Monday aboard the Dutch frigate HNLMS De Ruyter in Tokyo after the warship arrived for a three-day port call
ASIA PACIFIC
Jun 15, 2026
Dutch defense chief says Chinese naval encounter won’t deter Europe in Indo-Pacific
The Netherlands will continue its regular military deployments to the Indo-Pacific, Dutch Defense Minister Dilan Yeşilgöz-Zegerius has said.
Chinese H-6N bombers fly in formation during a rehearsal in Beijing last August, ahead of a military parade to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II.
JAPAN
Jun 15, 2026
Chinese bombers put Japan’s defense strategy in jeopardy, report finds
Long-range counterair ability to detect, track and engage Chinese aircraft before they can launch attacks is missing from current plans, a think tank says.
A security guard takes a selfie beside the Maritime Self-Defense Force's Amagiri, an Asagiri-class destroyer, upon its arrival for a goodwill visit in Metro Manila in February 2018.
JAPAN / ANALYSIS
Jun 10, 2026
How Tokyo aims to turn retired military equipment into lasting strategic returns
Japan’s export of used military gear to partner nations could deliver decades of strategic returns, analysts say.
The Maritime Self-Defense Force dispatched its Kongo destroyer and the South Korean Navy sent its Cheon Ja Bong landing ship for a joint search-and-rescue exercise in waters west of the Goto Islands on Sunday.
JAPAN
Jun 8, 2026
Japanese and South Korean navies hold first joint drills in nine years
Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi hailed the resumption of exercises as signaling “a new chapter” in bilateral defense cooperation.
More facilities in Japan placing sanitary bins in men’s restrooms
A sanitary bin with an awareness sticker placed in a men's restroom in the Nagasaki Municipal Government building
Inside Japan’s rigid adoption system, a British family finds a way
James Benstead, his wife, Jesse, and their three children. Their adopted son is in the rear stroller.
Life inside Japan’s largest prison for women
Western-style rooms spanning the size of four tatami mats with hardwood floors, a toilet and soft mattresses on bed frames are designated for foreign nationals and those with health conditions at Tochigi Prison.
India’s gig workers pay the price for exposure to New Delhi’s hazardous air
Rohit Kushwaha waits for a customer as he delivers his last parcel of the day, in New Delhi in January. His work as a delivery driver has helped pay the family’s bills, but has had a significant impact on his health.
Reform panel calls for easing data center building standards
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi emphasized that the government will promote reforms of regulations and systems that fit the artificial intelligence era.
Japan’s fertility system offers few safe paths for same-sex couples
A Tokyo Pride parade participant holds a sign that says "we want to be a married couple, not a couple."
Life inside Japan’s largest prison for women
Western-style rooms spanning the size of four tatami mats with hardwood floors, a toilet and soft mattresses on bed frames are designated for foreign nationals and those with health conditions at Tochigi Prison.
Inside Japan’s rigid adoption system, a British family finds a way
James Benstead, his wife, Jesse, and their three children. Their adopted son is in the rear stroller.
A French ship with close ties to Japan combines arts and sciences on the high seas
Romain Troublé, the executive director of Tara Ocean Foundation, speaks to visitors aboard the Tara during a rare port call in Tokyo in April.
In Kyushu’s far south, Senti.U sparks a culinary destination
Chef Yasuhiko Uchida was born in Saga Prefecture but has made his home in Kanoya, Kagoshima Prefecture, since 2012.

Podcast

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

Longform

The Terasaka Rice Terraces are seen with Mount Buko in the background.
What Yokoze can teach Japan about rural revival
By Alex K.T. Martin

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