Japan's step toward cheaper rocket launches
We examine where Japan stands in the competition for payloads.
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Japan Today
11 hours ago
- Japan Today
Japan lifts last deployment limit on women in SDF as safety improved
Japanese Defense Minister Gen Nakatani poses for photos at the Defense Ministry in Tokyo on July 15, 2025. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo Japan's Defense Ministry has removed its remaining work restrictions on female members of the Self-Defense Forces, allowing their participation in nuclear, biological and chemical weapons defense units from August as safety gear has improved. The change at the Ground Self-Defense Force follows those at the maritime and air defense forces. The GSDF units are responsible for missions, including decontamination and scouting, in areas contaminated with radiological materials as well as biological and chemical agents. Such missions have been linked to the risk of infertility, the reason for the restriction. Following the 2011 nuclear disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant, triggered by a massive earthquake and tsunami, Japan found it was difficult to carry out decontamination work, such as removing hazardous materials from people affected by the disaster, using only male members of the SDF. The ministry has determined, following technological advances, that women can safely carry out such work by limiting hazardous exposure through the use of special vehicles and protective gear. Female personnel were previously excluded from duties involving a heavy physical burden, such as direct combat, but the ministry reviewed its policy in 1993 to promote gender equality in the SDF. In eliminating their last restrictions, the Air Self-Defense Force opened the door for women to pilot fighter jets and reconnaissance aircraft in 2015, and the Maritime Self-Defense Force allowed women to join submarine crews in 2018. The GSDF also expanded its deployment of women, including to combat vehicles, in 2017. © KYODO
NHK
18 hours ago
- NHK
China proposes setting up global AI organization
China's government has proposed the establishment of an organization promoting global cooperation for the development of artificial intelligence. China's Premier Li Qiang presented the proposal in a speech at an AI conference that began in Shanghai on Saturday. The foreign ministry said Li stressed the need to strengthen coordination among countries to form a global AI governance framework and rules based on broad consensus, while maintaining the development and safety of the technology. While short on details, the state-run Xinhua News Agency reported that the government is considering establishing the organization's headquarters in Shanghai. The report also said China welcomes the active participation of other countries in preparing for the establishment of such an organization. Competition over AI development is heating up mainly between the United States and China. Observers suggest that Beijing aims to take the lead in laying the foundation for international rules.
Yomiuri Shimbun
a day ago
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Ice-Breaking Research Vessel Set to Be Japan's 1st Ship to Reach North Pole During Maiden Voyage in '27
A Japanese Arctic research vessel scheduled to conduct its maiden voyage in fiscal 2027 will attempt to become the nation's first research ship to sail to the North Pole, The Yomiuri Shimbun has learned. Mirai II, a Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC) research vessel, is capable of breaking through sea ice up to 1.2 meters thick. The 128-meter-long Mirai II will help open marine transportation routes and conduct weather observations that previously had been difficult because sea routes were unavailable in the Arctic Ocean. The Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Ministry has poured ¥33.9 billion into construction of the Mirai II, which is Japan's first research vessel equipped with ice-breaking capabilities. Construction began in 2021, the vessel was launched in March this year and it will be completed in autumn 2026. The ship's ability to smash through thick ice will enable it to sail through the Arctic Ocean almost all year to JAMSTEC, the Mirai II's first voyage is scheduled to take place in 2027 from August through October. After departing Japan, the vessel will head northward across the Pacific Ocean, through the Bering Strait and continue north through the Arctic Ocean in a bid to reach the North Pole. The northernmost point a Japanese ship has reached in the Arctic Ocean was recorded by the Mirai, a soon-to-be-retired research vessel belonging to the agency. Mirai reached 79 degrees 11 minutes north latitude, so the Mirai II's voyage to 90 degrees north — the North Pole — will be the first by any Japanese vessel, according to the agency. The Mirai II is brimming with equipment such as water samplers capable of analyzing seawater temperature and salinity; underwater drones that can check sea ice thickness and shape; and balloons that can measure air temperature and humidity. The crew will make full use of these technologies on the vessel's maiden voyage to examine ecosystems and conduct weather observations near the North Pole. From fiscal 2029 onward, the Mirai II is scheduled to traverse the Arctic Ocean in order to sail from the Pacific to the Atlantic Ocean. Takashi Kikuchi, head of the agency's Institute of Arctic Climate and Environment Research, said, 'The vessel will sail through the sea ice area and try to reach the North Pole, a place Japan has never reached before.' The Arctic is a region especially prone to experiencing global warming's effects. As sea temperatures rise, meandering westerly winds strengthen and bring extreme weather events to Japan, including heavy snowfall and torrential rain. However, the shortage of observation data has made it difficult to precisely unravel the mechanisms driving these phenomena. The agency will use data gleaned by the Mirai II to fill in these blanks and thereby help shed light on the impacts and the causes of global warming. As sea ice in the Arctic Ocean has continued to shrink in recent years, Chinese and Russian icebreakers have pushed into the region to make new shipping routes linking East Asia and Europe. Japan, the United States and European nations have been concerned that free navigation in these waters could be hindered. The agency believes the Mirai II will help open up new routes, and the government intends to work with the United States, European nations and others to help formulate international rules that will enable vessels to safely sail through the Arctic Ocean.
