World News by Wild Rose

Japan is increasingly turning to foreign companies to accelerate its military modernisation, drawing on overseas technology, expertise and production capacity to plug defence gaps that could prove critical in a potential regional conflict involving China. The push has gathered momentum over the past week, with Tokyo confirming a contract for Ukrainian interceptor drones and a multinational fighter consortium preparing to expand its design operations in Japan. French defence giant Thales is also...

Kyoto, Oct. 16 (Jiji Press)--Kyoto District Court on Friday found a 59-year-old gang member not guilty of the 2013 murder of the president of "gyoza" dumpling restaurant chain Ohsho Food Service Corp. Prosecutors had sought a life sentence for the defendant, Yukio Tanaka, a high-ranking member of an affiliate of Kudokai, a legally designated dangerous yakuza group. According to the indic...

Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said on Tuesday that officials were reviewing the off-base code of conduct for US troops in Japan following the alleged killing of an Okinawan woman by a US marine. Crimes including rapes, assaults, hit-and-runs and drunk driving by US military personnel have long triggered protests on the southern Japanese island, which has for years urged other regions in the country to share the burden of hosting US troops. “We plan to hold discussions including...

Tokyo, Oct. 12 (Jiji Press)--Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi has strongly condemned the pro-Iran Houthi militant group in Yemen for attacking international airports in Saudi Arabia. Among the series of attacks since last week, Saturday's attack on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh killed 12 people and injured more than 300. In a statement issued on Sunday, Motegi of...

Japan and the United States will rehearse moving anti-ship missiles, air defences and communications networks onto islands near Taiwan this month in an expanded military exercise that analysts say could complicate Beijing’s planning for a Taiwan or East China Sea conflict. Keen Sword 27, which runs from October 19 to 29, will involve about 45,000 Japanese personnel, 6,100 vehicles, 40 ships and 260 aircraft, up from about 33,000 personnel, 30 ships and 250 aircraft in 2024. About 12,000 US...

Japan is expected to float the idea of acquiring a fleet of nuclear-powered submarines in revised security documents to be released later this year, with analysts suggesting that Tokyo’s initial aim is to promote discussion of the issue and overcome the public’s concerns. Analysts acknowledge there will inevitably be pushback from some sectors of Japan – the only nation to have suffered a nuclear attack – but say there is a growing recognition that regional rivalries are worsening and Japan...

Tokyo, Oct. 6 (Jiji Press)--Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said Tuesday that he will meet with Okinawa Governor Genta Koja on Wednesday, following the arrest of a U.S. Marine on suspicion of robbery and murder in the southern Japan prefecture. Koizumi and Koja are expected to discuss measures to prevent a recurrence, planning to ask the U.S. side to take necessary steps. Devi...

The murder of 39-year-old Anna Yagi is the latest in a string of crimes involving US personnel on Okinawa.

Tokyo, Oct. 2 (Jiji Press)--The Japan-Philippines acquisition and cross-servicing agreement, or ACSA, signed this year will be applied for the first time at an upcoming bilateral drill, Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said Friday. At the six-day Doshin-Bayanihan 6-26 exercise set to kick off Sunday in the Philippines, the country's Air Force will provide Japan's Air Self-Defense ...

Tokyo, Oct. 1 (Jiji Press)--Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi and his Mongolian counterpart, Damba Batlut, agreed to advance defense cooperation between their countries in a meeting at the Japanese Defense Ministry in Tokyo. In Wednesday's meeting, the two also confirmed their intention to work together to maintain and strengthen a free and open international order based on the rul...

Tokyo, Sept. 30 (Jiji Press)--The U.S. military is planning to bring a Typhon mobile intermediate-range missile launcher to its Kadena Air Base in Japan's southernmost prefecture of Okinawa as early as mid-October for storage there. The Japanese Defense Ministry is seeking understanding for the move, stressing that it will strengthen the deterrence and response capabilities of the Japan-U.S...

Naha, Okinawa Pref., Sept. 27 (Jiji Press)--A Chinese marine research ship was spotted within Japan's exclusive economic zone off Okinawa Prefecture on Sunday, the Japan Coast Guard said. The research ship Kexue was seen dropping what appeared to be a wire into the sea within the EEZ about 72 kilometers north of the southernmost prefecture's Ishigaki Island, according to the 11th Regional C...

Tokyo, Sept. 24 (Jiji Press)--The government of Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi plans to ramp up the country's defense capabilities in its southwestern region following the election of a conservative governor in Okinawa Prefecture, southernmost Japan, for the first time in 12 years. The so-called Nansei shift is aimed at countering increased Chinese military activities, but some loca...