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June 30, 2026
 

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Jesse Johnson
A medical vehicle enters the Ground Self-Defense Force's Hijudai maneuver area in Kusu, Oita Prefecture, on Tuesday after three GSDF members died and one other was seriously injured in an explosion involving a tank during training.
JAPAN
Apr 21, 2026
Three GSDF members die after tank explosion during training in Oita Prefecture
The incident occurred at the Ground Self-Defense Force’s tank unit at the Hijudai maneuver area in Kusu, Oita Prefecture.
The Ground Self-Defense Force's Amphibious Rapid Deployment Brigade takes part in exercises in Tokunoshima, Kagoshima Prefecture, in November 2023. The Japanese government moved Tuesday to allow the sale of more weapons abroad as it grapples with rising security threats from China and a rapidly changing global order.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Apr 21, 2026
In major policy shift, Japan scraps limits on lethal arms exports
The changes come amid intensifying geopolitical rivalries and Japan’s growing engagement in international defense-industrial projects.
An official from the Japan Meteorological Agency speaks about the powerful quake that hit northern Japan at a news conference in Tokyo Monday evening.
JAPAN
Apr 20, 2026
Japan issues rare special advisory over chance of more powerful quake
The government issued the advisory to residents of 182 municipalities from Hokkaido to Chiba, urging them to be ready to evacuate at any moment.
Chinese naval vessels participate in a drill in the East China Sea in August 2016.
JAPAN
Apr 20, 2026
Chinese military warships train in western Pacific after MSDF Taiwan Strait transit
China has dispatched naval vessels led by one of its most advanced warships through a waterway near Amami Oshima off Kagoshima Prefecture for training in the western Pacific.
A television screen showing a news broadcast with file footage of North Korean missile launches, at a rail station in Seoul on Sunday.
JAPAN
Apr 19, 2026
North Korea test-fires flurry of missiles, including possible sub-launched weapon
The weapons were believed to have fallen outside Japan’s exclusive economic zone, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said.
Chinese naval vessels participate in a drill in the East China Sea in August 2016.
ASIA PACIFIC
Apr 18, 2026
Chinese military holds joint drills in East China Sea after MSDF’s Taiwan Strait transit
Beijing said the exercises were “a routine arrangement organized in accordance with the annual plan, aiming at testing the joint operations capabilities.”
Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi speaks during a news conference at the Defense Ministry in Tokyo on April 8.
JAPAN
Apr 18, 2026
Japan’s defense spending to reach 1.9% of GDP this fiscal year
Defense-related spending in the fiscal year through March 2027 would total ¥10.6 billion, approaching the gold standard 2% of GDP level.
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.
A vessel at the Strait of Hormuz, off the coast of Oman’s Musandam province, on Sunday
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 13, 2026
Japan ‘closely monitoring’ U.S. plans to blockade Strait of Hormuz
U.S. President Donald Trump again assailed Tokyo and other U.S. allies for not helping secure the strait, saying that the lack of aid “amazes” him.
Cheng Li-wun, head of the Kuomintang, Taiwan's largest opposition party, shakes hands with Chinese leader Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Friday in this screenshot from video.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Apr 10, 2026
Xi tells Taiwan opposition chief China will ‘never tolerate’ island’s independence
Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s talks in Beijing with Cheng Li-wun, the head of Taiwan’s main opposition Kuomintang, were the first such meeting in nearly a decade.
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.
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.”
U.S. President Donald Trump holds a news conference at the White House in Washington on Monday.
JAPAN
Apr 7, 2026
Trump chides Japan over Iran war, even as Tokyo ramps up diplomatic moves
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said Japan must communicate both with the U.S. and Iran, and is seeking telephone calls with the presidents of both countries.
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.
Cheng Li-wun, chairwoman of Taiwan's main opposition Kuomintang, attends a news conference at the Taiwan Foreign Correspondents' Club in Taipei on March 23.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 30, 2026
Head of Taiwan’s main opposition KMT accepts Xi invite to visit China
Kuomintang Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun is set to visit the country from April 7 to 12, part of a bid to “advance the peaceful development of cross-Strait relations.”
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.
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.
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 and U.S President Donald Trump during a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on Thursday
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Mar 23, 2026
Takaichi weathers Trump, but China challenges linger
In her meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi secured what appeared to be an endorsement of her approach to the Sino-Japanese relationship.
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.
Uruguay federation reportedly cancels charter flight after World Cup exit
Uruguay's Jose Maria Gimenez reacts after the team's loss against Spain at the 2026 FIFA World Cup on Friday.
Inside Japan’s rigid adoption system, a British family finds a way
James Benstead, his wife, Jesse, and their three children. Their adopted son is in the rear stroller.
India’s gig workers pay the price for exposure to New Delhi’s hazardous air
Rohit Kushwaha waits for a customer as he delivers his last parcel of the day, in New Delhi in January. His work as a delivery driver has helped pay the family’s bills, but has had a significant impact on his health.
Chinese and Russian bombers and fighter jets stage joint patrol near Japan
A Chinese Air Force H-6 bomber is seen during a joint patrol with Russian military aircraft on Saturday.
U.S. missile moves in Japan send China clear message: A new era has arrived
Soldiers conduct the first Typhon midrange capability live-fire exercise outside of the continental United States, firing an SM-6 missile in July last year in Australia's Northern Territory during Exercise Talisman Sabre.
Inside Japan’s rigid adoption system, a British family finds a way
James Benstead, his wife, Jesse, and their three children. Their adopted son is in the rear stroller.
A French ship with close ties to Japan combines arts and sciences on the high seas
Romain Troublé, the executive director of Tara Ocean Foundation, speaks to visitors aboard the Tara during a rare port call in Tokyo in April.
LGBTQ+ families are building lives Japanese lawmakers still struggle to see
Haru Ono founded Nijiiro Kazoku in 2010 after forming a same-sex stepfamily. She said the impetus for founding the organization was that she couldn’t find much reliable information out there for families such as hers in Japan.
In Kyushu’s far south, Senti.U sparks a culinary destination
Chef Yasuhiko Uchida was born in Saga Prefecture but has made his home in Kanoya, Kagoshima Prefecture, since 2012.
‘The colors speak for themselves’: How Japan’s chroma bible went global
“A Dictionary of Color Combinations” is meant to function as a quick-reference guide for artists, designers and anyone with a passing interest in aesthetics as a quantifiable pursuit.

Podcast

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What Yokoze can teach Japan about rural revival
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