
Japan plugs homegrown fighters, frigates in export push
TOKYO -- Japan is making a full-throated sales pitch for Japanese-made frigates, fighter jets and other defense equipment, looking to export them to countries diversifying arms deals outside the U.S.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba was on hand Thursday at the international defense equipment show DSEI Japan. "The defense industry, which produces advanced and highly capable equipment, is defense power itself," he said in a speech.

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Japan Today
42 minutes ago
- Japan Today
Zico warns Japan players not to follow Brazilians into transfer trap
soccer By Andrew MCKIRDY Zico was instrumental in Japan's development as a soccer nation and has warned that players are moving to Europe too young, citing his native Brazil as a cautionary tale. The midfield legend ended his playing career in Japan after helping to launch the professional in 1993 and he also coached the country's national team from 2002 to 2006. He maintains a connection to Japan as an adviser to Kashima Antlers, the club he helped build into the country's most successful and where he has served as a player, coach and technical director for the past 30 years. During that time, Zico has seen Japan grow from soccer backwater to regular World Cup participant, with players thriving at some of Europe's biggest clubs. The 72-year-old says Japanese players looking beyond the is a "positive" development -- as long as they move at the right time. He draws similarities with Brazil, where he says some players leave for Europe after only a handful of games in the domestic league. "Brazilian players go to Europe too soon, losing their Brazilian roots. If a player isn't resilient, they come back because they haven't achieved their full potential there," Zico told AFP in Kashima. "They leave very early, they don't play and that's happened in Germany, it's happened in Italy, it's happened in many places. That's what's happening to many Japanese players -- they go there too early, lack confidence and then they come back." Zico says the trend is still overwhelmingly beneficial for Japan. He contrasts the situation to the early days of the when European clubs would sign Japanese players "for marketing reasons". Zico says the current picture is also different from his time as Japan coach, during which he won the 2004 Asian Cup and took the team to the 2006 World Cup. "We had some players in Europe but they would get half an hour, five minutes, 15 minutes in games -- they weren't starters like they are today, that's the big difference," he said. "So when they came back to play for the national team they didn't bring the same playing rhythm that they have today." Zico was one of several international stars drafted in to help the launch of the which brought professional football to Japan for the first time. The Brazilian, along with England's Gary Lineker and Germany's Pierre Littbarski, raised the new league's profile and helped football take root in a country long obsessed with baseball. High-profile signings are now rare in the with Spanish World Cup winner Andres Iniesta's move to Vissel Kobe in 2018 a notable exception. Zico believes it was "not a coincidence" that Kobe won two straight titles after Iniesta left the club in 2023. "It's an investment. Having a player of Iniesta's level at your club motivates everyone," he said. "You learn because he's a winner, it improves the performance of the other players and it motivates the supporters. Everything grows." Kashima currently top the even if the days when they could sign Brazilian World Cup winners like Jorginho and Leonardo are long gone. Zico joined the club when they were in the semi-professional second division and they have since won the a record eight times and the Asian Champions League once. Zico visits Kashima regularly to interact with fans and sponsors, as well as working with the club's youth section. He says the club is "like my son". "I watched it being born, grow and become what it is now," he said. "We have been able to take my experience in professional football and put it into practice here. A son is like that -- you educate him and watch him go through life." © 2025 AFP


Japan Today
an hour ago
- Japan Today
Trump asked Japan to help with Golden Dome missile shield: report
U.S. President Donald Trump discussed cooperating with Japan on developing technology for his planned Golden Dome missile defence shield during a phone call with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba this month, the Nikkei reported. The two countries are expected to work together on systems to intercept incoming threats, and Tokyo's participation could serve as a bargaining chip for it to win concessions in ongoing tariff negotiations with Washington, the paper said, without citing its sources. Trump this month said he had selected a design for the planned $175 billion defense shield and appointed U.S. Space Force General Michael Guetlein to head the project, which he wants to complete by the end of his term in 2029. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that Golden Dome could cost $831 billion over two decades. Japan and the U.S. have previously collaborated on ballistic missile defense, including the joint development of an interceptor capable of striking warheads in space. © Thomson Reuters 2025.


Nikkei Asia
3 hours ago
- Nikkei Asia
Taiwan's Yageo set to clear regulatory hurdle in bid for Japan's Shibaura
TOKYO -- Taiwanese electronic parts supplier Yageo's bid to take over Japanese peer Shibaura Electronics is expected to win a key regulatory approval from Japan's government, experts say. Yageo on Monday refiled for approval of the purchase under the Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade Act. This follows the withdrawal of the filing in March at the request of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.