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July 08, 2026
 

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SDF

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.
An F-35A fighter jet at the Paris Air Show in June 2025. Four advanced F-35A stealth fighters have arrived at the U.S. military's Misawa base in Aomori Prefecture.
JAPAN
Mar 30, 2026
First U.S. F-35A stealth fighters arrive at Misawa base in Aomori Prefecture
Japan’s Air Self-Defense Force also plans to deploy a total of 42 F-35As at the base, with 39 currently in operation.
The Maritime Self-Defense Force's Izumo helicopter carrier (back) leaves Yokosuka port in Kanagawa Prefecture for an escort mission with the United States in May 2017.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Mar 30, 2026
Japan marks a decade since landmark security legislation took effect
The legislation — and what it allows Japan to do — has come under the spotlight amid the rapidly deteriorating situation in the Middle East.
Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi speaks during a news conference on parliament in Tokyo on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 29, 2026
Japan to establish new Defense Ministry office to bolster Pacific defenses
The ministry will launch the office next month to tackle the challenge of how best to defend Japan’s vulnerable eastern flank, Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said.
U.S. Army soldiers and U.S. Marines fire Javelin missiles simultaneously during a counterlanding live-fire exercise as part of last year's Balikatan military drills in Aparri, the Philippines, in May last year.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 29, 2026
In first, Japan to send ‘combat’ troops to major military drills in Philippines
The Self-Defense Forces personnel will take part in the annual Balikatan military exercises, setting a new milestone in regional security cooperation.
A vehicle carrying Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department investigators enters the Ground Self-Defense Force base in Ebino City, Miyazaki Prefecture, on Sunday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 29, 2026
Tokyo police search SDF base over Chinese Embassy trespassing
SDF member Kodai Murata was arrested Thursday after entering the premises of the Chinese Embassy alone and seeking to meet the Chinese ambassador.
A Japanese police officer stands guard in front of the Chinese Embassy in Tokyo on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 28, 2026
China demands more than just regret from Japan after embassy break-in
The Japanese ‌side has not discussed the ​details of the incident, Lin Jian, spokesperson at the foreign ministry, told a regular news conference.
The Maritime Self-Defense Force's Chokai guided-missile destroyer sails during the Rim of the Pacific joint exercises in the Pacific Ocean in July 2016.
JAPAN
Mar 27, 2026
MSDF destroyer becomes Japan’s first ship capable of firing Tomahawk missiles
With a range of 1,600 kilometers, the weapons will allow the vessels to put targets deep inside China and North Korea within striking distance.
The Iran war, like the Russia‑Ukraine war, shows how low‑cost unmanned weapons can overwhelm expensive defense systems.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 27, 2026
What Tokyo can learn from Kyiv’s war experience
The Iran war, like the Russia‑Ukraine war, shows low‑cost unmanned weapons can overwhelm expensive defense systems.
Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi. The Defense Ministry plans to deploy the current model HVGP domestically next week.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 26, 2026
U.S. approves support for Japan’s development of upgraded HVGP missiles
HVGPs are launched from the ground, travel at supersonic speeds from high altitudes and fly in irregular trajectories, making them difficult to intercept.
A Maritime Self-Defense Force vessel dispatched to the Persian Gulf in 1991, after the end of the Gulf War, for a minesweeping mission
JAPAN / FOCUS
Mar 26, 2026
Japan to carefully consider minesweeping in Strait of Hormuz
The government believes it is difficult to engage in minesweeping in the strait while the U.S. and Iran are in conflict.
Maritime Self-Defense Force Enoshima-class minesweepers Chichijima and Enoshima. Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has said that the possibility of dispatching the SDF to the Strait of Hormuz for a minesweeping mission will be examined in the future.
JAPAN
Mar 25, 2026
Japan to consider SDF minesweepers for Hormuz depending on situation
Whether to dispatch SDF minesweepers “has to be decided depending on the situation at that time and based on law,” Takaichi said.
A police officer stands guard outside the Chinese Embassy in Tokyo's Minato Ward on Tuesday night, hours after an active-duty Ground Self-Defense Force officer was arrested for breaking into the compound.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 25, 2026
Japan calls GSDF officer’s break-in at Chinese Embassy ‘deeply regrettable’
The suspect, who had hidden a blade on the grounds, said he had wanted to speak to the ambassador, and would have killed himself if he refused to listen.
Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi speaks during a news conference at parliament in Tokyo on March 13.
JAPAN
Mar 24, 2026
Japan again denies U.S. official’s claim Takaichi pledged to send MSDF to Mideast
Japan’s defense minister denied the claim by U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Mike Waltz that Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi had committed to sending vessels to the region.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's government approved a draft revision to the drone law at a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday.
JAPAN
Mar 24, 2026
Government approves bill to expand no-fly zones for drones in Japan
While the designated no-fly zones have not changed since the law entered into force in 2016, drones’ maximum speeds, ranges and load capacities have drastically improved.
Ships from the Japanese Maritime Self Defense Force Minesweeper Division 51 make a port call in Manila in September 2015
JAPAN
Mar 22, 2026
Japan could consider Hormuz minesweeping if ceasefire reached, minister says
Tokyo ⁠has no immediate ​plans to seek arrangements to allow passage through ​the Strait of Hormuz for stranded Japanese vessels, Motegi ​said
Japan’s pacifist identity, rooted in Article 9 of the Constitution, has hardened into a reflex that avoids confronting modern security realities facing the world.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 22, 2026
Repeating Article 9 like a mantra isn’t a foreign policy
Any serious defense debate becomes, by rhetorical sleight of hand, a warning of imperial revival.
Cargo ships are seen in the Gulf, near the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from northern Ras al-Khaimah, in the United Arab Emirates, amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran on March 11.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 22, 2026
Iran prepared to let Japanese ships transit Hormuz, FM says
While most G7 nations have poor relations with Iran, Japan has relatively friendly ties with the country, potentially giving Tokyo more diplomatic sway.
Ukrainian Ambassador to Japan Yurii Lutovinov speaks during an interview at the Ukrainian Embassy in Tokyo on Thursday.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 20, 2026
Ukraine ready to share combat expertise and drone tech with Japan, ambassador says
Discussions on defense cooperation are already underway, with a focus on how Kyiv’s experience could inform Tokyo’s own efforts to develop its capabilities.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi meets with U.S. President Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on Thursday.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Mar 20, 2026
At summit, Takaichi avoids rift with Trump on Iran — for now
While Japan managed to dodge direct U.S. criticism, experts say the meeting’s success should not be overstated.
Japan needs caregivers. Young Indians are answering the call.
Young people in India's northeast are increasingly studying Japanese in hopes of building new lives and careers in Japan.
Prior to launch, Japan ‘strongly urged’ China to reconsider missile test in Pacific
A missile is fired from a Chinese Navy nuclear-powered submarine on Monday.
Suspected Asian fraud ring exec served fresh warrant in Japan
The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department and Osaka Prefectural Police have issued arrest warrants for three people, including a suspected fraud network leader, over alleged immigration and residency violations.
Japan might be giving the currency market the silent treatment
Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama has issued verbal warnings recently using the same language and the same tone, saying authorities “will take appropriate action at any time, as necessary.”
Japanese teen arrested for booting users off streaming service
The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department has arrested a 15-year-old boy for allegedly creating a malicious program and canceling subscription accounts on the Bandai Channel.
Japan bets on character IP to drive global growth
Born on social media platforms in 2022, Opanchu Usagi has become a major hit, especially among Generation Z.
Filmmaker explores history of discrimination against foreign nationals in Japan
Takashi Nishihara, the director of "Now and Then," in Tokyo on Wednesday. The director has spent 10 years traversing politically charged terrain while exploring youth-driven grassroots political movements that scrutinize the status quo.
Japanese nail salons are tourists’ new obsession
Tourists in Japan have always been interested in quintessentially Japanese approaches to modern culture, and, increasingly, visits to nail salons have become the new hot thing.
Okinawa’s prized seaweed under threat as oceans warm
Local harvesters gather <i>mozuku</i> during low tide at Hyakuna Beach in the city of Nanjo, Okinawa Prefecture. As the planet warms, rising ocean temperatures are placing increasing pressure on the seaweed industry.
‘Defense,’ not ‘warfare,’ stressed as pacifist Japan beefs up capabilities
Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi attends an annual training session near Mount Fuji at Higashifuji Training Field in Gotemba, Shizuoka Prefecture, on June 7.

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