It's great to see the Self-Defense Force joining a major multilateral exercise but this training is needed where the trouble is coming, in and around Japan.
"We have to show China a fighting posture," says General Kunio Orita. "Even from a budgetary standpoint, it's much cheaper to prevent a war by being...
While NATO is engaging with Japan more than ever, postponing a Tokyo liaison office may lead China to conclude that it has little interest in the...
China's historical revisionism is a threat, but so is the lack of higher educational institutions that would encourage Okinawa youth to stay in the islands.
Japan seeks to be defense-ready in case attacked by another country. It's bizarre for Governor Tamaki to say this preparedness causes Okinawa residents anxiety.
Mutual trust is missing between the supposed security partners. The South Korea Navy committed a dangerous hostile act against Japan's maritime force in 2018.
Ten SDF peacekeepers who died in the helicopter accident were conducting terrain reconnaissance from the air related to the defense of Japan.
What appears to be the SDF helicopter that vanished on April 6 was discovered in Japanese coastal waters on April 13 and recovery efforts are underway.
There is first a question of whether the government and SDF possesses the capabilities and appetite to deal with a spy balloon or drone over Japan.
Japan is in a serious security environment. How dare China criticize its defense spending, when Beijing itself is on an accelerated military expansion?
Finally, the ruling coalition recognizes that, with neighboring countries threatening Japan, acquiring counterstrike capability has long been overdue.
Absent a joint capability the Japan Self-Defense Force isn't even the sum of its parts. With it, the JSDF becomes far more capable of defending Japan.
