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July 04, 2026
 

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SDF

Ground Self-Defense Force members during a training exercise at Narashino exercise field in Funabashi, Chiba Prefecture, in January.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Apr 15, 2026
Rattled by Trump, U.S. allies eye Japan’s biggest arms opening since WWII
The interest comes amid shaky U.S. security commitments to allies and the wars in Iran and Ukraine that are straining U.S. weapons supplies.
The Liberal Democratic Party's annual convention held in Tokyo on Sunday. Opposition parties have criticized the performance of the national anthem by a Ground Self-Defense Force sergeant at the event as a violation of a ban on political activities by service members.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 15, 2026
GSDF officer’s anthem performance for LDP not political act, Koizumi says
Opposition parties have argued that the performance violated Article 61 of the Self-Defense Forces law, which restricts political activities by SDF members.
Yoshinobu Kusunoki, commissioner-general of the National Police Agency, speaks during an emergency meeting of security personnel held at the agency on March 30 after a Ground Self-Defense Force member allegedly trespassed at the Chinese Embassy in Tokyo.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 15, 2026
GSDF member served fresh warrant over trespass at Chinese Embassy in Tokyo
The 23-year-old suspect told police he wanted to ask the ambassador to refrain from hard-line statements against Japan, and planned to kill himself if the demand was rejected.
Philippine soldiers fire a howitzer during the annual joint Balikatan military exercises in Aparri, Cagayan province, the Philippines, last May.
JAPAN
Apr 14, 2026
Japan to deploy 1,400 troops and missiles to large-scale drills in expanded role
The scale and diversity of the contingent means that Japan will be the third-largest troop contributor to the biggest-ever iteration of the drills in the Philippines.
Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi (left) helps hold up a nameplate for one of the two new drone-focused offices established within the Ground Self-Defense Force on Monday in Tokyo, in this image posted to X by the GSDF.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 14, 2026
Taking lessons from Ukraine and Middle East, GSDF establishes new drone offices
A promotion office will oversee research and development of unmanned assets, while a systems office will focus on their procurement and maintenance.
Djibouti incumbent President Ismail Omar Guelleh casts his vote at City Hall polling station in Djibouti on Friday.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 11, 2026
Djibouti leader claims sixth straight term
Guelleh won Friday’s presidential election with 97.8% of the vote, according to official results.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi speaks to reporters at the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 9, 2026
Anxiety rises in Tokyo as uncertainties hang over fragile Iran war truce
Japan, eight other countries and the EU have said they “will contribute to ensuring freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz,” but it is unclear exactly what this could mean.
A Japanese police officer stands guard at the entrance of the Chinese Embassy in Tokyo in November.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 9, 2026
Should Tokyo apologize for an SDF officer’s break-in to the Chinese Embassy?
In Japanese, an apology implies forgiveness, while in other languages it often means taking responsibility.
Chubu Centrair International Airport is one of the newly added airports on Japan's list of designated facilities for defense use.
JAPAN
Apr 9, 2026
Japan to designate further 17 airports and ports for defense use
The newly added facilities include New Chitose Airport in Hokkaido, Chubu Centrair International Airport in Aichi Prefecture and Sendai-Shiogama Port in Miyagi Prefecture.
Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles and his Japanese counterpart, Shinjiro Koizumi, shake hands during a joint news conference at the Defense Ministry in Tokyo on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Apr 9, 2026
Japan and Australia warn against Indo-Pacific ‘security vacuum’ amid global crises
At talks this week, the Japanese and Australian defense chiefs delivered a clear message: crises elsewhere — including in the Middle East — must not come at the expense of Asia.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi speaks to reporters after her call with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Wednesday at the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 8, 2026
Takaichi calls for ships’ safe passage in Strait of Hormuz in talks with Iran president
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said that while Japan welcomed a ceasefire in the Iran war as “a positive step,” securing “a final agreement” quickly is “of the utmost importance.”
Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles speaks during a meeting with defense chief Shinjiro Koizumi at the Defense Ministry in Tokyo on Wednesday.
JAPAN
Apr 8, 2026
Japan and Australia eye joint missile and drone production amid U.S. stockpile concerns
Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles said the shifting geostrategic environment is driving the quasi-allies to rethink how they cooperate on arms production.
Members of the Ground Self-Defense Force's Amphibious Rapid Deployment Brigade in the women-only quarters on board the JS Osumi in waters off Okinawa Prefecture in November 2023
JAPAN
Apr 8, 2026
Japan aims to boost number of female troops as SDF struggles to enlist
Under a new target set this year, women should account for 13% of SDF members by March 2036, up from 9% currently, the Defense Ministry said.
U.S. Army soldiers and Philippine Marines and Rangers carry out a simulated air assault on Calayan Island in the Philippines in May last year.
JAPAN
Apr 6, 2026
Japanese troops make history by joining military drills in Philippines
The GSDF soldiers on Monday became the first “combat-capable” Japanese troops to train in the Southeast Asian country since the end of World War II.
Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi speaks to reporters on the island of Iwo Jima on March 28.
JAPAN
Apr 5, 2026
Japan to strengthen Pacific Ocean defense system
“A vast area on the Pacific side is a defense vacuum,” Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi told reporters during his visit to the island of Iwo Jima.
Ground Self-Defense Force personnel during a training exercise in Gotemba, Shizuoka Prefecture, in May 2024.
JAPAN
Apr 4, 2026
Japan conducted foreign weapons protection 11 times in 2025
The foreign military asset protection activities were carried out under national security-related laws for the U.S. and British militaries.
A domestically produced Japanese long-range Type 12 surface-to-ship guided missile with improved capability undergoes a test launch in California in October.
EDITORIALS
Apr 3, 2026
Japan’s counterstrike move reflects rising regional challenges
Japan has for some time debated the acquisition and deployment of “strike capabilities” that can hit adversaries from considerable distances.
The Trump administration is pursuing a “third way” nuclear strategy combining Western Hemisphere primacy and multilayered deterrence, with frontline allies, particularly Japan, expected to strengthen their own deterrence mechanisms.
COMMENTARY / Japan / Geoeconomic Briefing
Apr 2, 2026
Redesigning U.S.-Japan security in a ‘two-peer’ nuclear era
Frontline U.S. allies like Japan must strengthen their own denial capabilities and institutionalize trigger mechanisms for extended deterrence and ensure rapid decision-making.
Kawada Robotics demonstrates one of its prototypes at the International Robot Exhibition in Tokyo in March 2022. Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is wise to accelerate science and technology integration with national security and diplomacy.
COMMENTARY / Japan / Geoeconomic Briefing
Mar 31, 2026
Takaichi rallies support for a ‘new technology-driven nation’
Positioning science and technology at the core of national strategy is not new.
Kumamoto Gov. Takashi Kimura (left) and city of Kumamoto Mayor Kazufumi Onishi (second from left) speak to reporters after viewing upgraded Type-12 surface-to-ship missile systems (seen in the background), which have a range of about 1,000 kilometers, at the Ground Self-Defense Force’s Camp Kengun in the city of Kumamoto on March 17.
JAPAN
Mar 31, 2026
Japan’s ‘counterstrike capability’ takes shape with missile deployments
Japan on Tuesday for the first time deployed its homegrown longer-range missiles and new hyper velocity gliding projectiles to two military bases in the country.
‘My dream is broken’: Japan visa rules push out foreign residents
A man orders from a kebab shop in the Okubo district in Tokyo.
Japan triples departure tax in push to combat overtourism
Tourists in Yanaka Ginza, Tokyo, on Wednesday. Japan tripled its International Tourist Tax (departure tax) to ¥3,000 from ¥1,000 on Wednesday for all travelers leaving Japan, regardless of nationality.
Japanese-language education is at a turning point
The country is gradually transforming Japanese-language education from a volunteer-driven system into a professional, government-supported network to better serve its growing foreign population. 
Japan’s princesses face life-altering legal revisions
Princess Aiko, the daughter of Emperor Naruhito, said in a 2022 news conference upon coming of age that she hopes to “spend a long time together” with her parents.
Japan plans to sharply raise fees for residence permits from October
Foreign tourists walk on the path leading to the Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto in May.
Iran war exposed, but hasn’t changed, Japan’s reliance on imported oil
Wind turbines generate energy from strong easterly winds on the Shonai Plain in Yamagata Prefecture. Despite the oil crisis caused by conflict near the Strait of Hormuz, and concerns instability in the region could continue to impact supply and the price of imports, the administration of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi does not seem to be drawing on the war as a pretext to hasten progress toward Japan's renewable goals.
Six of the best: rikishi of note in each sumo division
Kazuma (right) faces off against future <i>yokozuna</i> Onosato during the All Japan Amateur Sumo Championships at the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo in December 2020.
Some startups see opportunity in an aging Japan
Yasmin Baba, CTO of Amilis, wins the Grand Prize at the Pitch2Tokyo Grand Final on Feb. 19.
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.

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
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