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July 07, 2026
 

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SDF

Low-cost Unmanned Combat Attack System (LUCAS) drones are positioned on the tarmac at a base in the U.S. Central Command operating area in November.
WORLD
Mar 1, 2026
U.S. military uses ‘one-way attack drones’ in combat for first time in Iran strikes
The employment of the single-use LUCAS drones was likely being closely watched by both Japan and China.
A Maritime Self-Defense Force P-3C patrol plane (back) flies next to a Philippine military aircraft near the Bashi Channel during joint military exercises on Tuesday in this image posted to X.
JAPAN
Feb 28, 2026
Japan joins U.S. and Philippines for military exercises in waters near Taiwan
The naval and aerial exercises were conducted near the Bashi Channel, a crucial waterway between the Philippines and Taiwan.
Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi speaks during a regular news conference Tuesday at the Defense Ministry in Tokyo.
JAPAN
Feb 24, 2026
Japan to deploy missiles to Yonaguni Island by fiscal 2030, defense chief says
Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said the timing for the deployment of the weapons could change depending on the progress of future facility improvements.
Ghost Robotics Vision 60 takes part in an annual New Year's military drill by the Ground Self-Defense Force's 1st Airborne Brigade at Narashino exercise field in Funabashi, Chiba Prefecture, on Jan. 11.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Feb 22, 2026
With fresh mandate, Japan’s Takaichi sets sights on divisive security goals
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s election victory has empowered her to push forward with security and defense goals that, just a decade ago, would have been all but unattainable.
Claims by China that Japan is returning to militarism are misleading because legal and institutional constraints make such a shift unlikely and current defense reforms reflect practical responses to changing regional threats.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 20, 2026
Debunking the myth of Japanese militarism
It is necessary to be clear on this point: Japan in 2026 is not the Japan of 1936.
Members of the Ground Self-Defense Force disembark from a V-22 Osprey aircraft during an annual live-fire exercise at East Fuji Maneuver Area in Gotemba, Shizuoka Prefecture, in May 2022.
JAPAN
Feb 18, 2026
GSDF cancels Osprey dispatch to drill with U.S. in Okinawa
The cancellation is believed to reflect consideration for local residents’ concerns.
A Ground Self-Defense Force's Type 19 155 mm self-propelled howitzer takes part in an annual training session near Mount Fuji at Higashifuji training field in Gotemba, Shizuoka Prefecture, in August 2019.
JAPAN
Feb 18, 2026
Japan’s push for long-range weapons draws interest from foreign firms
There is a growing need for a long-range weapon that can be used flexibly as Tokyo looks to boost its overall counterattack capabilities.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi speaks during the Munich Security Conference in Munich on Saturday.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 15, 2026
China’s top diplomat warns Japan of ‘ghosts of militarism’ in rebuke of Takaichi
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi poured cold water on calls by Tokyo to return to dialogue in the wake of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s general election victory last week.
Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi speaks at the Munich Security Conference in Munich on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 14, 2026
With eye on China, Koizumi stresses importance of rules-based order
Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi also pledged not to “shut down any channels” of communication as ties with China remain in a deep freeze.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s election win is fueling regional backing for Japan to take on a bigger defense role as Asian nations seek balance against China and shifting U.S. policy.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 12, 2026
Most in Asia want a stronger Japanese security presence — except for China
A more confident Tokyo complicates Beijing’s preferred regional order. For many of Asia’s middle powers, that makes Japan an appealing counterweight.
DF-41 nuclear-capable intercontinental ballistic missiles are paraded in Beijing's Tiananmen Square in October 2019. Some analysts and even lawmakers are urging Japan and other countries to consider developing their own nuclear weapons.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 5, 2026
The unthinkable is on the list of Japanese security options
In the 2016 campaign, then-candidate Trump suggested that both Japan and South Korea should consider the acquisition of nuclear weapons to counter the North Korean threat.
The original promulgation copy of the Constitution of Japan, at the National Archives of Japan in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward in 2017
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 5, 2026
Road to constitutional revision emerging as key topic
The LDP lists four desired constitutional revisions in its campaign pledges, including specifying the role of the Self-Defense Forces and establishing a state of emergency system.
Rina Gonoi speaks during a news conference in Tokyo after reaching a settlement in a lawsuit concerning sexual assault within the Ground Self-Defense Forces, on Monday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jan 27, 2026
Government settles case over sex assault of ex-SDF member
The state will pay ¥1.6 million, or more than $10,000, to Rina Gonoi, but no compensation payment or apology was offered by her former colleague, her lawyer Aiko Ota said.
Low-cost Unmanned Combat Attack System (LUCAS) drones are positioned on the tarmac at a base in the U.S. Central Command operating area in November.
JAPAN / FOCUS
Jan 20, 2026
U.S. and Japan turn to drones to help offset China’s military advantages
From the United States’ reverse-engineering of Iranian drones to Japan’s building of a drone “shield,” the tech is changing the nature of warfare.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi holds talks with U.S. President Donald Trump in Tokyo on Oct. 28. Japan can no longer rely on the U.S. because American leaders are now seeing the alliance through cost and convenience rather than shared history.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 13, 2026
Japan can no longer afford strategic confusion
While Japan’s central challenge is often framed in terms of China’s rise, that is only part of the story.
Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi experiences a drill to jump from a tower about 11 meters high at the Ground Self-Defense Force's Narashino Training Area in Chiba Prefecture on Sunday.
JAPAN
Jan 11, 2026
Record 15 nations join GSDF’s new year jump drill
The GSDF’s 1st Airborne Brigade were joined for the first time by contingents from Belgium, Thailand and Turkey.
A parade to mark the 70th anniversary of the founding of the Self-Defense Forces in Tokyo in November 2024.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jan 9, 2026
Japanese government ordered to pay damages over SDF officer’s suicide
In the lawsuit filed with the Sapporo District Court, the mother of the 19-year-old GSDF member was awarded ¥1.1 million in damages.
Liberal Democratic Party and Japan Innovation Party officials hold talks on constitutional revision in the parliament building in November.
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 5, 2026
LDP and JIP see different paths for constitutional revision
The Liberal Democratic Party is seeking a realistic approach for amending the Constitution while the Japan Innovation Party is more hawkish.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi shakes hands with Chinese leader Xi Jinping during a meeting on the sidelines of an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum meeting in South Korea on Oct. 31.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Dec 31, 2025
Dangerous new equilibrium awaits Japan-China ties in 2026
The deterioration of ties after Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s remarks on a possible Japanese military intervention in a Taiwan crisis will test both Tokyo and Beijing’s resolve.
Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force amphibious troops take part in a military drill observed by U.S. Marines on the uninhabited island of Irisuna near Okinawa in November 2023. Such exercises highlight Japan’s growing military focus, even as public understanding lags in what can be called the country’s “security autism.” 
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 30, 2025
Memo to liberal democracies: Beware ‘security autism’
Japan’s variant is different but equally dangerous, a society so fragmented in its security perceptions that it cannot form coherent responses to existential threats.
Murakami says his novels are ‘different’ from AI literature
Haruki Murakami's first book in three years hit shelves in Japan on Friday.
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.
Thailand gets serious about chasing high-spending tourists
Chinese tourists at Wat Arun Ratchawararam Rathawaramahawihan in Bangkok
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.
Tokyo hospital baby hatch accepts 20 newborns in first year
Hitoshi Kato (left), head of San-ikukai Hospital in Tokyo's Sumida Ward, speaks during a news conference at the Tokyo Metropolitan Government building on Thursday.
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.
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.
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.
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.

Podcast

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

Longform

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What Yokoze can teach Japan about rural revival
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