Category: Japan

It looks like South Korea could soon have a competitor in the competitive global arms industry:

“Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s ruling party approved the changes this week as she tries to invigorate the pacifist country’s military industrial base. Her government will formally adopt the new rules as soon as this month, three Japanese government officials told Reuters.

Despite largely isolating itself from global arms markets since World ‌War Two, Japan spends enough on its own military – $60 billion this year – to sustain a sizeable defence industry capable of manufacturing advanced systems like submarines and fighter jets.

Among the potential new customers are the Polish military and the Philippine navy, which are undergoing modernization amid regional security challenges, according to Reuters interviews with Japanese officials and foreign diplomats in Tokyo. Defence contractors Toshiba and Mitsubishi Electric (6503.T) are hiring staff and adding capacity to capitalise on demand, their executives said, providing previously unreported details.

One of the first deals Takaichi’s government will likely approve are exports of used frigates to the Philippines, which is locked in maritime confrontation with Beijing in the South China Sea, according to two of the Japanese officials. Reuters is the first to report the timeframe of the likely sale, which may be followed by missile defence systems, the officials said.

“Warsaw and Tokyo can help plug gaps in each other’s arsenals, cooperating in areas like anti-drone and electronic warfare systems, said Mariusz Boguszewski, deputy chief of mission at Poland’s embassy in Japan.”

Reuters

You can read more at the link.

A significant upgrade to air power in the Pacific is underway at Misawa Airbase:

A contingent of fifth-generation stealth fighters arrived at Misawa Air Base in northeastern Japan over the weekend, the first replacements the Air Force pledged for the F-16 Fighting Falcons stationed there.

An undisclosed number of F-35A Lightning II aircraft landed Saturday at the air base at the northern tip of Honshu, the largest of Japan’s four main islands, according to images posted online by the Defense Visual Information Distribution System. The new fighters were assigned to the 13th Fighter Squadron at Misawa. The Air Force in 2024 announced plans to replace the 36 F-16 Fighting Falcons at Misawa with 48 F-35As.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.

I will be very surprised if Japan agrees to send naval ships. Pacifism is still very ingrained in Japanese society. I think constitutionally they can do it if they only respond to being attacked first by Iran, but I suspect they will claim their constitution is why they can’t deploy ships:

U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday expressed his expectation for Japan to “step up” to support the United States, as the U.S. military strives to keep the Strait of Hormuz, a vital oil shipping route, open amid the ongoing war against Iran.

Trump made the remarks during a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi at the White House, noting that Japan relies heavily on the waterway for its energy imports, and that the U.S. has provided defense support to the Asian country with thousands of American troops stationed there.

The U.S.-Israel-Iran war has effectively choked off the Strait of Hormuz, escalating concerns over its impact on oil prices and inflation. The waterway is responsible for about a fifth of the world’s oil supply.

“I expect Japan to step up because … we have that kind of relationship, and we step up in Japan. We have 45,000 soldiers in Japan. We spent a lot of money on Japan,” he said. “I am not surprised that they would step up.”

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

The irony of a country that regularly fires missiles that land off the coast of Japan and have even fired missiles over the country complaining about Japan deploying their own missiles to protect themselves in response:

North Korea on Friday condemned Japan’s plan to deploy upgraded long-range missiles across the country, calling the move a dangerous military escalation, according to the communist regime’s state-run media. The criticism was reported by the Korean Central News Agency, which said the deployments would allow Japan to target neighboring countries from multiple locations. The missile deployments are “undoubtably an extremely dangerous military act,” KCNA said. “If this becomes reality, Japan would be deploying missiles capable of targeting neighboring countries across the entire nation.”

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link, but what the Japanese should do is for every North Korean missile tests that lands near Japan, they should fire a Type-12 missile that lands near North Korea in response.