Japan needs to bolster defense capabilities steadily, says Ishiba
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said Monday that Japan needs to continue to steadily pursue the fundamental strengthening of its defense capabilities.
Addressing a meeting of commanders and executives of the country's Self-Defense Forces at the Defense Ministry, Ishiba said that the security environment surrounding Japan has become increasingly tense and complicated, referring to recent moves by China, North Korea, Russia, Israel and Iran.
"The way of fighting keeps changing as the technology develops," Ishiba noted, citing Russia's invasion of Ukraine as an example.
The prime minister also called for the defense officials to continue thinking about how to build effective defense power, in light of the establishment of the Joint Operations Command for the Air, Ground and Maritime SDFs in March this year.
In relation to civilian control, Ishiba said, "It is both the right and the duty of SDF officers to express their opinions to (those in) politics from a professional standpoint."
The meeting of SDF commanders and executives is held to thoroughly set out the country's defense policy.
The first such meeting since 2020 was attended by Defense Minister Gen Nakatani, Gen. Yoshihide Yoshida, chief of staff at the SDF's Joint Staff, and other commander-class officials from the GSDF, MSDF and ASDF.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
NHK
2 hours ago
- NHK
White House official: Trade talks will focus on partners other than Japan
A White House official has suggested that if the Japanese government does not change its stance, the Trump administration would give less priority to trade talks with Japan ahead of the July 9 deadline for tariff negotiations. President Donald Trump earlier expressed his frustration with Japan's rice policy. In a social media post on Monday, he wrote that Japan "won't take our RICE," and warned that he may send the country "a letter." NHK asked the White House official if Trump's post is a signal that the US is cutting off further trade talks with Japan. The official replied, "the administration will be focusing on other trading partners ahead of July 9." Trump has also expressed frustration with Japan's automobile trade. In a Fox News interview on Sunday, he complained that Japan is importing few American vehicles. Trump warned that he could send a letter to notify Tokyo that it will pay an additional 25-percent tariff on autos.
The Mainichi
4 hours ago
- The Mainichi
Japan PM vows to "solemnly" accept verdict in upper house election
TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said Monday that he will "solemnly" accept the verdict of voters, if the ruling coalition led by his Liberal Democratic Party falls short of a majority in the July 20 House of Councillors election. As the LDP and its junior partner, the Komeito party, have already become a minority in the more powerful House of Representatives, Ishiba said on a TV program that they will "join forces and give it their all" to win a majority in the upper chamber. In an interview with Kyodo News on Sunday, Ishiba said securing a majority in the 248-member upper house is a "must-attain" goal, but added it will not be easy, as conservative supporters are increasingly seeking alternatives to the LDP. He declined to comment on how he intends to take responsibility should the coalition lose the upper house. In a weekend Kyodo News poll released Sunday, half of respondents said they do not want the ruling camp to remain the leading force in the chamber.
Japan Times
5 hours ago
- Japan Times
Trump floats Japan tariff as top adviser says deals to come after July 4
U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to impose a fresh tariff level on Japan, while his top economic adviser said the White House aims to finalize deals with partners after the July 4 holiday. Trump's latest round of brinkmanship with Tokyo on Monday comes just over a week before a July 9 deadline for higher tariffs to restart for dozens of trading partners, including Japan. He cited what he said was the country's unwillingness to accept U.S. rice exports. "They won't take our RICE, and yet they have a massive rice shortage,' Trump posted on social media. "In other words, we'll just be sending them a letter, and we love having them as a Trading Partner for many years to come.' Trump for weeks has sought to exert leverage with negotiating partners ahead of the deadline, vowing to cut short talks with those he sees as being difficult and instead send them letters setting tariff rates. The president paused his country-by-country tariffs in April to allow time for negotiations. Since then, he and his team have repeatedly pledged that a slate of deals was weeks away. But to date, the only two agreements announced have been broad frameworks with China and the U.K. Meanwhile, White House National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett signaled Monday that agreements with several governments would be announced after U.S. Independence Day. He said the administration's focus has been on passing Trump's massive tax and spending bill through Congress before the holiday. "It might be that people take an hour or two off on the Fourth to watch the fireworks and then we'll get back, and we're going to start to announce the frameworks,' Hassett said Monday on Fox Business. "We're expecting to meet with the president and explain the frameworks that have been negotiated and see if he approves or not.' Talks between the U.S. and Japan are expected to continue despite Trump's latest threat, according to Hassett. "Nothing is over. I know what he just posted, but there'll still be discussions right up to the end,' he told reporters. Trump's threats to cut off talks with nations have sometimes seen trading partners retreat on policies that drew his ire, leading to resumed negotiations. The president said Friday he was ending all trade talks with Canada in retaliation for its digital-services tax. But after Ottawa withdrew that tax, Hassett told reporters Monday there had been "lots of progress in our discussions with Canada.' Japan is one of the most significant U.S. trading partners, putting it in a category of economies that Trump administration officials has said are in line for deals — rather than imposed rates. U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said last week that the administration would finalize a slate of trade deals with roughly 10 of the "top' U.S. partners, while others would receive letters setting duty levels. U.S. and Japanese officials have yet to resolve thorny issues surrounding tariff levels and trade barriers in talks that have stretched on for months. Japan has pressed for relief from Trump's 25% auto tariffs, saying they are crippling a crucial industry. But the U.S. president has balked at the request, saying Japan does not import a significant number of American-made vehicles. Japan is facing a separate 24% levy on all exports to the U.S., which was lowered to 10% during the negotiating period. Earlier Monday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the U.S. was nearing deals with India and other nations ahead of the deadline reimposing higher tariffs that were paused for 90 days in April in order to conduct talks. "He is going to set the rate for many of these countries if they don't come to the table to negotiate in good faith, and he is meeting with his trade team this week to do that,' Leavitt said. A frenzy of meetings and calls between foreign governments, industries and the administration has marked the weeks leading up to the deadline, with officials and executives lobbying for carve-outs from Trump's import taxes. When asked if there should be tariff exemptions for products that typically can't be grown in the U.S., such as cocoa and coffee, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said in an interview that "everything's on the table right now.' For "certain products that we can't produce here,' Rollins continued, "it's important to have a full understanding and a robust strategy' that keeps grocery prices down and promotes American agriculture.
