Tag - defense

 
Menu
Search
 
July 09, 2026
 

Today's print edition

Home Delivery
Subscribe for more access

DEFENSE

"(Japan) must now start to vigorously promote the domestic production of defense drones," Terra Drone President Toru Tokushige said in a recent interview.
BUSINESS
Jul 9, 2026
Japan’s Terra Drone to mass-produce defense drones domestically
The Tokyo-based company aims to speed up work to establish supply chains that do not rely on imports by promoting the development and production of drone components at home.
Latin American countries often spend roughly 1.2% to 1.3% of GDP on defense, according to a senior U.S. Defense Department official.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 9, 2026
Pentagon urges Latin American countries to raise defense budgets
The U.S. Department of Defense wants increased security spending to fight organized crime.
Turkeish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (L) shakes hands with U.S. President Donald Trump during the NATO Summit at Bestepe Presidential Compound in Ankara on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 9, 2026
Trump’s visit a win for Turkey’s Erdogan, NATO tensions aside
The summit was a diplomatic success for Turkey, which wants to boost its stature within the bloc and also overcome longstanding issues with Washington.
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte and U.S. President Donald Trump meet on the sidelines of the NATO leaders' summit in Ankara on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 8, 2026
Trump turns on Spain and demands Greenland as NATO summit exposes cracks
The U.S. president’s remarks overshadowed a summit that European leaders had hoped would ‌project ‌unity and support for Ukraine
Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi (second from right) and Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi (third from right) join other Indo-Pacific Four officials for a meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in Ankara on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 8, 2026
Japan and NATO share concerns about Chinese military activities
Tokyo has sought to keep NATO interested in the Indo-Pacific region even as the alliance focuses on beating back claims by the U.S. that it has outlived its usefulness.
An American soldier demonstrates how to fly a drone during a training exercise at a U.S. military facility in Hohenfels, Germany, on April 30.
COMMENTARY
Jul 8, 2026
America’s battlefield dominance is under serious threat
The U.S. still possesses the most capable military, but its ability to dominate a battlefield is under threat due to the rapid evolution of warfare.
The Philippines is looking to receive five Abukuma-class vessels from Japan in the next two to three years as part of broader efforts by Tokyo to boost the defense capabilities of like-minded neighbors amid growing Chinese military assertiveness in the region.
JAPAN
Jul 8, 2026
Japan set to deliver five retired MSDF warships to Philippines in ‘two to three years’
Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. says administrative details are being finalized, but it’s “already a done deal.”
Children walk past a display marking the founding anniversary of the Chinese Navy, during a media tour at the navy's Submarine Academy in Qingdao, China, in April 2024.
ASIA PACIFIC / ANALYSIS
Jul 7, 2026
Missile test marks new phase in expansion of China’s nuclear-armed submarine force
Monday’s launch was the first known full-range — or near-full-range — flight test of a Chinese long-range submarine-launched ballistic missile.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney announces that Canada picked Germany’s TKMS to build 12 submarines for its navy, at HMC Dockyard in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 7, 2026
Canada’s Carney cites NATO and melting Arctic as Germany wins submarine contract
Prime Minister Mark Carney has pursued closer integration with European defense initiatives as the U.S. under President Donald Trump takes a more skeptical approach toward NATO.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (right) meets with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte at the ahead of the NATO summit in Ankara on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 7, 2026
NATO defense push already strains Europe’s budgets
Under pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump, members of the 32-country military pact agreed at last year’s summit to boost defense spending to 5% of GDP by 2035.
Japanese Ambassador to NATO Osamu Izawa during an interview in Brussels on Friday
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 6, 2026
Japan’s NATO envoy highlights importance of European stability
Japan’s ambassador to NATO also said the organization’s unity, based on collective defense, is unwavering, while adding that the alliance is “rock-solid.”
Journalists inspect a concept model of the new Global Combat Air Program sixth-generation military jet at the BAE Systems factory in Warton, England, in July 2025.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 6, 2026
NATO needs to create its own defense market
Strengthening defense capabilities is not only about security policy. It is also industrial policy.
Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi attends an annual training session near Mount Fuji at Higashifuji Training Field in Gotemba, Shizuoka Prefecture, on June 7.
JAPAN / FOCUS
Jul 5, 2026
‘Defense,’ not ‘warfare,’ stressed as pacifist Japan beefs up capabilities
The move is seen as at least partially aimed at winning public support for boosting the country’s defense capabilities.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un observes an assessment of the newly built naval destroyer Kang Kon's combat systems, including the test firing of a strategic cruise missile, at an unknown location in the country on Friday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Jul 5, 2026
North Korea’s Kim oversees latest naval weapons tests
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un oversaw weapons tests last week of the 5,000-ton destroyer Kang Kon, including cruise missile launches and “electronic warfare means,” state media reported Sunday.
Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi delivers a speech during a meeting with NATO permanent representatives at the Foreign Ministry in Tokyo in April.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 4, 2026
Japan foreign and defense ministers to attend NATO events in Turkey
Tokyo had initially considered having Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi attend the events, but decided against it because of her parliamentary commitments.
A concept model of the Global Combat Air next-generation fighter jet is displayed at the BAE Systems Warton factory in Warton, England, in July last year.
JAPAN
Jul 4, 2026
U.K., Italy and Japan award $6.14 billion contract to advance GCAP fighter jet
The contract award comes after a rival Franco-German fighter program collapsed in June, ​leaving European defense alliances in flux.
U.S. President Donald Trump welcomes his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, to the White House in Washington on Sept. 25, 2025.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 2, 2026
Erdogan shows Europe why NATO needs Turkey’s clout on defense
Turkey has become a major source of hardware as Europe arms itself in response to Russia’s war in Ukraine and U.S. President Donald Trump’s pressure.
The Taiwan Pavilion, featuring aerospace and technology companies highlighting non-Chinese drone supply chains, at Japan Drone 2026 and International Advanced Air Mobility Expo, in Chiba, east of Tokyo on June 5
ASIA PACIFIC
Jul 2, 2026
Taiwan needs a ‘hornet’s nest’ of drones to deter conflict, U.S. diplomat says
The ​U.S., Taiwan’s most important international backer and arms supplier, has strongly backed the government’s military modernization plan ​and increased defense spending.
Sujan Chinoy, director-general of the Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defense Studies and Analyses, in New Delhi on Monday
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 2, 2026
Indian defense think tank head hails Japan’s lifting of arms export ban
The defense research institute head also emphasized the need for Japan to diversify its defense equipment production sites to “trusted” partner countries.
A concept model of the Global Combat Air Program’s fighter jet is displayed during the Defense Security Equipment International Japan exhibition at Makuhari Messe in the city of Chiba in May last year.
JAPAN
Jul 1, 2026
Japan’s trilateral fighter jet program locked in following U.K. funding commitment
The news comes after months of uncertainty and concerns about delays to the Global Combat Air Program with Britain and Italy.
Japan needs caregivers. Young Indians are answering the call.
Young people in India's northeast are increasingly studying Japanese in hopes of building new lives and careers in Japan.
Osaka trumps Tokyo as both ranked among world’s top 10 most livable cities
Osaka’s infrastructure earned higher marks than Tokyo’s in the Economist Intelligence Unit’s latest Global Liveability Index.
Japanese teen arrested for booting users off streaming service
The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department has arrested a 15-year-old boy for allegedly creating a malicious program and canceling subscription accounts on the Bandai Channel.
Japanese payment processor’s collapse hits banks and restaurants
Zentoshin served around 200,000 shops, many of which rely on early payments to maintain cash flow, raising concerns over their financial stability following the disruption.
Long-stalled maglev line finally gets green light from Shizuoka Prefecture
Environmental concerns relating to the construction of Central Japan Railway’s high-speed maglev line had contributed to years of delays for the project.
The beating heart inside ‘Human Vapor’
Different forms of love and connection form the emotional backbone of Netflix’s “Human Vapor,” says actor Shun Oguri, who plays troubled detective Kenji Okamoto.
Japan bets on character IP to drive global growth
Born on social media platforms in 2022, Opanchu Usagi has become a major hit, especially among Generation Z.
Filmmaker explores history of discrimination against foreign nationals in Japan
Takashi Nishihara, the director of "Now and Then," in Tokyo on Wednesday. The director has spent 10 years traversing politically charged terrain while exploring youth-driven grassroots political movements that scrutinize the status quo.
Okinawa’s prized seaweed under threat as oceans warm
Local harvesters gather <i>mozuku</i> during low tide at Hyakuna Beach in the city of Nanjo, Okinawa Prefecture. As the planet warms, rising ocean temperatures are placing increasing pressure on the seaweed industry.
Japanese nail salons are tourists’ new obsession
Tourists in Japan have always been interested in quintessentially Japanese approaches to modern culture, and, increasingly, visits to nail salons have become the new hot thing.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

The Terasaka Rice Terraces are seen with Mount Buko in the background.
What Yokoze can teach Japan about rural revival
By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Restaurant list highlights Japan’s emerging contours
Restaurant list highlights Japan’s emerging contours

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS note

Read more

SUPPLEMENTS BINDER