Posted on Dec. 29th The government has officially decided to drastically revise the nation’s so-called three principles on arms exports, which would make it possible for Japan to participate in the development and production of military equipment with other countries, Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura said Tuesday. The announcement by the chief government spokesman came [...]

Posted on Dec 29th The shadow of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il’s death hangs over Northeast Asia as leaders work to reassure each other of cooperation to ensure stability in the uncertain transition ahead. South Korean President Lee Myung-bak spoke by telephone with Japan’s Prime Minister Noda Yoshihiko, whom just a day or two earlier [...]

Posted on Dec 21st TOKYO, Dec 20 (Reuters) – Japan picked Lockheed Martin’s F-35 jet as its next mainstay fighter on Tuesday, choosing the aircraft over combat-proven but less stealthy rivals, as concern simmers over North Korea and as China introduces its own stealth fighters. The decision came as Japan and the United States stressed that their [...]

Posted on Dec 21st WASHINGTON (Kyodo) — Japanese Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton agreed Monday to keep in close contact with each other as well as with South Korea on how to deal with North Korea following the death of its leader Kim Jong Il over the weekend. Stressing [...]

Posted on Dec 14th Japan said it’s close to selecting a supplier for a fighter-jet order that may be worth more than $4 billion after the Yomuiri newspaper reported that Lockheed (LMT) Martin Corp. will win the contest. “We’ve entered the final stages,” Defense Minister Yasuo Ichikawa told reporters in Tokyo today. “I want to [...]

Posted on Nov 30th Alarmed by a Chinese move last year to send a fleet through the Miyako Channel 1,700 km south of Tokyo and into the open waters of the Pacific Ocean for maneuvers, Japan is deploying self-defense forces to an island that overlooks the strategic channel. Japan’s redeployment also stems from concerns over [...]

Posted on Nov 28th Prime Minister Noda is heading to China in December and one of the points on Noda’s agenda will be a request for Chinese help in hunting down the source of the cyber-attacks on Japanese defense manufacturer Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, and the attempted unauthorized access to other defense contractors including Kawasaki Heavy [...]

Posted on Nov 23th TOKYO (Kyodo) — Japan and China are considering creating a new procedure for dialogue involving relevant government agencies to forestall and solve problems concerning Japanese-controlled islands claimed by China, sources close to bilateral relations said Tuesday. Ever since a Chinese fishing boat’s collision with Japan Coast Guard patrol ships near the [...]

Posted on Nov 23th China said Wednesday it will go ahead with naval exercises in the western Pacific this month, an announcement that came a week after Washington reinforced its Asia-Pacific footprint with plans to operate 2,500 U.S. Marines out of northern Australia. Beijing emphasized its right to go carry out the regular annual drills despite [...]

Posted on Nov 18th The Self-Defense Forces is currently conducting one of its largest ever operations. Ground, Air and Maritime Self-Defense Force units in the Kyushu and Okinawa areas will training in the defense of Japan’s isolated outlying Southwestern islands, a key role laid out in the National Defense Program Guidelines for FY2011 and Beyond, [...]