The U.S. has for the first time criticized the Chinese military’s use of radar on Japanese fighter jets last week, as Tokyo refuted Beijing’s claims it had given sufficient advance notice of military drills near Japan. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/12/10/japan/politics/china-radar-lock-on-japan/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #chinajapanrelations #china #defense #pla #shinjirokoizumi #defenseministry #donaldtrump #us #taiwan #sanaetakaichi
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
Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi is planning to visit the United States next month to hold talks with his U.S. counterpart, Pete Hegseth, government officials have said. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/12/06/japan/politics/koizumi-us-visit-january/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #shinjirokoizumi #defense #defenseministry #budgets #us #usjapanrelations #petehegseth
The Japanese government plans to establish a national intelligence bureau as early as July 2026, sources said Friday. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/12/05/japan/politics/intelligence-bureau-planned/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #diet #ldp #espionage #publicsecurityintelligenceagency #defenseministry #foreignministry #cabinet
Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi is actively using social media and other means to disseminate information on the military movements of countries around Japan and how the Japanese Self-Defense Forces are responding. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/11/23/japan/politics/defense-chief-koizumi-one-month/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #shinjirokoizumi #defense #defenseministry #sdf
China’s commissioning of its most advanced aircraft carrier yet raises the costs for Tokyo and delivers a warning to the Japan-U.S. alliance that it can maintain a continuous presence in the Western Pacific. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/11/11/japan/china-new-aircraft-carrier-japan/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #china #defense #pla #chinajapanrelations #sdf #defenseministry #taiwan #usmilitary
Nuclear-armed North Korea fired off an unidentified ballistic missile on Friday, the Defense Ministry in Tokyo said, with the missile apparently landing outside Japan's exclusive economic zone. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/11/07/japan/north-korea-missile-november-7/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #northkorea #southkorea #defense #defenseministry #missiles #nuclearweapons #sanaetakaichi
Members of the Ground Self-Defense Force were dispatched to Akita Prefecture to assist with bear control as the number of attacks and subsequent fatalities continue to rise in Japan. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/11/05/japan/gsdf-bear-akita-deployed/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #bears #animals #akita #sdf #gsdf #defenseministry #shinjirokoizumi #kentasuzuki
The Defense Ministry will begin a phased deployment of long-range standoff missiles capable of striking from outside an enemy's range. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/11/05/japan/long-range-standoff-missiles/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #defenseministry #missiles #localgovernment
Defense chief Shijiro Koizumi used a series of meetings during a regional summit to push for deepened cooperation with partners while expressing concern to his Chinese counterpart over military moves near Japan. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/11/02/japan/politics/koizumi-defense-ministers-china-asean/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #shinjirokoizumi #defense #defenseministry #china #chinajapanrelations #pla #eastchinasea #senkakus #budgets #sdf
The governor of Akita Prefecture asked the Defense Ministry on Tuesday to send in Self-Defense Forces personnel to help deal with a "truly dire" spate of deadly bear attacks. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/10/28/japan/akita-governor-sdf-bears/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #akita #kentasuzuki #bears #sdf #defenseministry #shinjirokoizumi
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth will make a stop in Japan during a visit to the Indo-Pacific region this week, during which he is scheduled to meet Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi for talks. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/10/27/japan/politics/us-defense-chief-japan-visit/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #petehegseth #shinjirokoizumi #usjapanrelations #defense #defenseministry
Japan said it scrambled jets Friday to monitor Russian warplanes, including strategic bombers capable of carrying nuclear weapons, which had flown along the edge of Japanese airspace up its coast. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/10/25/japan/japan-sdf-russian-bombers/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #russia #russiajapanrelations #defense #defenseministry #russiaukrainewar #sdf
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s picks for Japan’s new defense, foreign and economic security ministers are not your typical stodgy line-up. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/10/22/japan/politics/new-foreign-defense-ministers/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #defense #cabinet #toshimitsumotegi #shinjirokoizumi #kimionoda #economicsecurity #foreignministry #defenseministry #sanaetakaichi
Japan’s new ruling coalition policy agreement has quietly tucked in a number of defense initiatives that could further accelerate the country’s push to beef up its security and shed some postwar constraints. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/10/21/japan/politics/japan-ruling-bloc-defense/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #ldp #nipponishinnokai #sanaetakaichi #donaldtrump #us #usjapanrelations #budgets #defense #defenseministry
U.S. President Donald Trump's nominee to be the Pentagon's top Asia official has urged Japan to ramp up its defense budget, saying Tokyo “has long underemphasized spending for its own defense.” https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/10/08/japan/japan-us-defense-spending-pentagon/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #usjapanrelations #donaldtrump #defense #budgets #shigeruishiba #defenseministry #indopacific #johnnoh #sanaetakaichi
In many other countries, startups producing defense-related technology would be unremarkable. But Japan has long had few startups and a taboo against the defense industry, including severe restrictions on arms exports. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/10/07/japan/society/japan-investment-defense-startups/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #society #defense #defenseministry #startups #airkamuy #sdf #sanaetakaichi #constitution
The Acquisition, Technology & Logistics Agency, marking 10 years since its founding, is playing a larger role as the control tower for the unified management of defense equipment research and development and exports. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/10/02/japan/defense-equipment-agency-role/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #atla #defense #gennakatani #defenseministry
Japan has completed its first-ever fighter jet deployment to Canada and Europe in a display of support for NATO partner countries as well as a demonstration of the Air Self-Defense Force’s operational capabilities. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/10/01/japan/atlantic-eagles-fighter-jet/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #asdf #defense #defenseministry #atlanticeagles
Japan would be a "capable participant" in the evolving U.S.-U.K.-Australia defense partnership, an unreleased U.S. State Department assessment to Congress has said. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/09/18/japan/japan-role-in-us-uk-australia-defense-pact/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #usjapanrelations #defense #defenseministry #sdf #aukus
