China's PLA Daily warned that Japan's military expansion, highlighted by its largest annual live-fire drill, signals a shift towards offensive capabilities and 're-militarisation'. This comes amid high tensions following Japanese PM Sanae Takaichi's comments on potential military action in the Taiwan Strait.
China's PLA Daily criticized Japan's plan to deploy satellite-aided drones and Tomahawk missiles to islands near Taiwan, calling it a "dangerous gamble" with an "offensive nature" despite Japan's claims of a defensive system.
Three People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) warships were spotted transiting the Tsushima Strait en route to the East China Sea last week, as Tokyo closely tracks such passages amid heightened regional tensions. The vessels were two Type 055 guided-missile destroyers and a Type 052D destroyer, according to Japan’s Ministry of Defence and Self-Defence Forces on Saturday. The ministry said the Japanese force’s JS Ootaka conducted “alert surveillance and intelligence gathering” on the Chinese...
A Japanese infantry unit has withdrawn a new patch designed by artificial intelligence after it was criticised for being immature, “aggressive” and out of step with the public image of the country’s Self-Defence Forces (SDF). The 1st Infantry Regiment’s patch was unveiled on April 29 and features an elephant in a helmet and other combat gear, holding a machine gun across its chest. The elephant has chains across its shoulders and a human skull apparently attached to its chest, with blue flames...
Japan has mobilized 1,400 firefighters and military personnel to contain wildfires in Otsuchi that have burned over 1,300 hectares. Evacuation orders affect over 3,000 residents as dry, windy conditions fuel the flames and threaten new areas in the north.
Three Japanese Ground Self-Defence Force crew members were killed when a round exploded inside the turret of a Type 10 tank during training exercises at the Hijudai training area in Oita prefecture on Tuesday. The incident, which also left a driver seriously injured, is extremely rare as detonations inside tank turrets are virtually unheard of. The last similar accident in Japan occurred in 1979. The GSDF has suspended firing drills while investigators examine the anti-tank rounds, self-loading mechanism and breech system.
