The latest deterioration of Japan-China ties has highlighted that a dangerous new equilibrium between the two countries is emerging — one that will test each other’s resolve, especially in the year ahead. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/12/31/japan/politics/japan-china-relations-2026-analysis/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #china #chinajapanrelations #usjapanrelations #xijinping #sanaetakaichi #taiwan #taiwanjapanrelations #donaldtrump #defense #sdf #pla
"Security autism" isn’t a moral failing; it’s a cognitive one. Just as individuals on the autism spectrum struggle with social cues and environmental awareness, nations can lose the ability to read geopolitical signals. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2025/12/30/japan/beware-of-security-autism/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #commentary #japan #us #china #usjapanrelations #chinajapanrelations #defense #sdf #northkorea #donaldtrump
China said it will hold large-scale military exercises around Taiwan on Tuesday, releasing an image showing five zones surrounding the democratic island that will be under sea and airspace restrictions. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/12/29/asia-pacific/china-military-drills-taiwan/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #asiapacific #taiwan #china #pla #chinajapanrelations #sdf #defense #usmilitary #sanaetakaichi
China may have tested Japan and the United States to see their response through military actions by its aircraft carrier Liaoning and bombers near Japan in December. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/12/28/japan/china-tests-japan-and-us-in-pacific/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #msdf #asdf #sdf #us #china #defense #usnavy #georgewashington #liaoning
The Defense Ministry has decided to suspend Kawasaki Heavy Industries from bidding on its projects for 2½ months until March 11, citing data falsifications on submarine engines. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/12/27/japan/kawasaki-heavy-defense-ministry-suspension/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #sdf #msdf #defense #defenseministry #corruption #submarines #kawasakiheavy
There are many different answers to why there is an increase in bear attacks, but the common denominator across them all is Japan’s aging population. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2025/12/26/japan/japan-bear-crisis/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #commentary #japan #bears #animals #sdf
Japan’s Cabinet has approved a defense budget request exceeding ¥9 trillion for the first time ever, including some ¥100 billion to build a drone “shield” to help defend the country’s southwestern periphery. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/12/26/japan/japan-defense-spending-record-high/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #defense #budgets #defenseministry #sdf #sanaetakaichi #shinjirokoizumi
The government has adopted a new cybersecurity strategy, stipulating a new system enabling the police, the Defense Ministry and the SDF to work together in neutralizing critical attacks. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/12/23/japan/crime-legal/new-cybersecurity-strategy-police-sdf/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #crimelegal #japanesepolice #sdf #china #russia #northkorea #defense #defenseministry #cybersecurity #ai
The government has decided to move up a planned overhaul of the pay structure for Self-Defense Forces personnel, to a year earlier than scheduled, as it seeks to address chronic staffing shortages. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/12/23/japan/society/japan-sdf-pay-scale-overhaul/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #society #sdf #defenseministry #wages
Tokyo and its partners must show solidarity in response to bad faith Chinese behavior any time it occurs. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2025/12/23/japan/chinas-recklessness-risks-japan-security-crisis/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #commentary #japan #china #chinajapanrelations #us #defense #sdf #pla #southchinasea #eastchinasea
Japan has moved in a decade from pacifist protest to broad acceptance of stronger defense, driven by regional threats and doubts about U.S. protection. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2025/12/16/japan/japans-pacifism-meets-reality/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #commentary #japan #constitution #article9 #pacifism #defense #us #sdf
Japan has long had some of the world’s strictest restrictions on arms exports. But things are set to change radically — as early as next spring — amid an increasingly fraught regional security environment. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/12/17/japan/politics/japan-arms-exports-analysis/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #ldp #nipponishin #sdf #defense #diet #defenseministry #nationalsecuritycouncil #trade #china #gcap #usmilitary #us #sanaetakaichi
The U.S. government said it has approved support for upgrading the MSDF's Aegis destroyers, with the estimated cost for the Japanese government being $100.2 million. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/12/17/japan/us-aid-japan-aegis-destroyers/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #usjapanrelations #us #defense #aegis #budgets #sdf
China announced countermeasures against the former chief of staff of Japan's Self-Defense Forces as tensions between the neighboring countries continue to simmer. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/12/15/japan/china-sanctions-sdf-official/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #chinajapanrelations #china #sdf #taiwan #sanaetakaichi
China’s Liaoning aircraft carrier flotilla appeared to be on its way home, Japan said Friday, after the ships were spotted entering the East China Sea following military exercises in the Pacific. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/12/13/japan/china-japan-aircraft-carrier-return/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #china #pla #chinajapanrelations #aircraftcarriers #defense #defenseministry #sdf
The Pentagon’s troubled V-22 Osprey program recorded more serious accidents in each of the last two fiscal years than the average during any of the previous eight years, U.S. congressional auditors said. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/12/13/world/osprey-incidents-watchdog/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #worldnews #osprey #gsdf #sdf #us #usmilitary
The governor of Akita Prefecture says the Self-Defense Forces played a large role in helping to contain its rampant bear problem. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/12/11/japan/society/akita-gov-presser/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #society #sdf #animals #akita #bears #kentasuzuki
Japan scrambled fighter jets late Tuesday after Chinese and Russian military aircraft conducted joint patrols near the country, just days after Chinese jets locked their radar on Japanese aircraft amid rising tensions. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/12/10/japan/china-russia-joint-air-patrol/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #china #pla #russia #sdf #defense #defenseministry
A hotline between Japanese and Chinese defense authorities does not appear to be working after an incident in which Chinese military aircraft directed radar at Japanese Self-Defense Forces jets. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/12/09/japan/politics/japan-china-hotline-function/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #china #chinajapanrelations #defense #sdf #defenseministry
Tokyo has slapped down Beijing’s allegations that Self-Defense Forces aircraft had “harassed” Chinese military warplanes over the weekend, a day after Japan said the Chinese fighters had locked their radar onto SDF jets. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/12/08/japan/politics/china-japan-radar-lock-on-protest/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #chinajapanrelations #sdf #defense #defenseministry #minorukihara #sanaetakaichi #china #pla