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Nikkei Asia
26-05-2025
- Politics
- Nikkei Asia
US-Philippine military exercise joined by Japan, South Korea forces
TOKYO -- The U.S. and the Philippines began their annual Kamandag military exercise Monday, with Japan Ground Self-Defense Force units and the South Korean marines participating for the first time, illustrating the increasing importance of multilateral security frameworks as Washington urges its Asian allies to become less dependent on it. China's military buildup and maritime expansion have prompted Washington to strengthen security cooperation with Tokyo and Manila. In March, Philippine, U.S. and Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force vessels conducted tactical training and other joint exercises in the South China Sea, advocating "freedom of navigation and overflight."
Asahi Shimbun
14-05-2025
- Politics
- Asahi Shimbun
GSDF to conduct first domestic long-range missile drill
Japan's Ground Self-Defense Force tests its Type 88 surface-to-ship missile in the United States. (Provided by the GSDF) The Ground Self-Defense Force next month will conduct its first drill in Japan using long-range missiles to prepare the nation for maritime threats, particularly China's expanding naval activities. The drill will take place between June 24 and 29 at the missile range next to Camp Shizunai on the southern coast of Hokkaido, the GSDF announced on May 13. The GSDF will fire nonexplosive Type 88 surface-to-ship missiles at a target in the Pacific within a 40-kilometer radius southwest of the launch range. Each of the two planned launches will occur on separate days, depending on weather conditions. This will be the first time the Type 88, a domestically developed missile with a range of over 100 km, will be launched within Japan's territory. Until now, such drills have been held overseas, primarily in the United States, due to space constraints and safety concerns. Around 300 personnel, twice the number typically deployed in overseas training, will participate in the drill. The GSDF's Northern Army, headquartered in Hokkaido, will lead the operation. Local municipalities and fisheries cooperatives will be notified of the launches shortly in advance. By conducting the drill at home, the GSDF aims to give more units access to advanced missile systems and improve operational readiness. The Japanese government is also exploring the possibility of establishing an additional missile test range on Minami-Torishima, a remote Pacific island that marks Japan's easternmost territory. Furthermore, it is considering holding domestic exercises for upgraded variants of Type 12 surface-to-ship missiles, which have been designated as standoff missiles with 'counterstrike' capabilities under Japan's latest defense policy.
13-05-2025
- Science
Japan's 1st Surface-to-Ship Missile Drill Set for June 19-30
News from Japan Society May 13, 2025 20:55 (JST) Tokyo, May 13 (Jiji Press)--The Ground Self-Defense Force said Tuesday that it will conduct its first surface-to-ship missile launch drill in Japan from June 19 to 30. The exercise will be held at the Shizunai antiaircraft firing range in Shinhidaka in the northernmost prefecture of Hokkaido. Surface-to-ship missiles, which attack vessels from land, have ranges of more than 100 kilometers. Previously, there was no training ground in Japan that could accommodate such weapons, and the SDF carried out training in the United States and Australia. The Shizunai firing range includes a large body of water usable for training. The GSDF was coordinating with local communities for the missile drill in consideration of the safety of fishery workers. Plans are also underway to set up a firing range on Tokyo's Minamitorishima, part of the Ogasawara Islands, with the aim of conducting the first exercise there in 2026. [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.] Jiji Press
Japan Times
02-05-2025
- Japan Times
Woman says archbishop of Tokyo ignored her pleas after priest allegedly raped her
A 64-year-old woman, who has sued a Catholic congregation in Nagasaki over allegedly being raped by its priest, criticized the Archbishop of Tokyo Tarcisio Isao Kikuchi, who heads the congregation, for ignoring her repeated pleas to take stricter measures against the priest. In a news conference in Tokyo on Friday, Tokie Tanaka and her lawyer, Kazue Akita, questioned the integrity of Kikuchi, who is one of the 130 cardinals expected to join the conclave to elect a new pope after Pope Francis died last month. Akita blamed Kikuchi for failing to take appropriate action when Tanaka told the congregation about the alleged sex abuse from the priest. 'During that time, Mr. Kikuchi was also affiliated with the same congregation as the priest and at the same time, held the position of Archbishop of Tokyo. Therefore, it is difficult to believe that he was unaware of the case or in a position to say that he was not responsible,' Akita said. Tanaka, who works as a nurse living in Tokyo, filed a civil lawsuit in 2023 against the Catholic Society of the Divine Word in Japan, alleging that a priest sexually abused her over a period of 4½ years after she confessed about her past sexual abuse from another man, which had traumatized her. She sought ¥30 million in damages. She was unable to sue the priest because he had already returned to his home country of Chile. In 2019, the church suspended Father Vargas Flos Osvaldo Javier over allegations that he committed sexual crimes and broke the vow of chastity after Tanaka told the congregation of her experience in 2018. However, Tanaka said that she never received an apology. She publicly revealed her real name and identity for the first time in 2024, citing the courage of other survivors, including former Ground Self-Defense Force member Rina Gonoi, who won a lawsuit over her sexual abuse in the GSDF. According to Tanaka, the abuse began in 2012 after she confessed to the Chilean priest at a church in the city of Nagasaki that she had been sexually assaulted as a child. The priest, she alleged, used the guise of 'spiritual guidance' to repeatedly coerce her into sexual acts and took videos. 'Before I knew it, he took so many videos of me. I asked him to stop, but he threatened me, saying that he is going to expose me by revealing these videos, so I had no other choice but to obey him,' Tanaka said during the news conference. Tanaka initially was unaware that the relationship was abusive, but after she underwent psychological treatment in 2017, she came to understand the coercive nature of the abuse. She said that she had reported the abuse to the police only to be told that there was nothing they could do because the church had permitted the priest to return to Chile and paid him ¥1 million for an unspecified reason. Prior to the lawsuit, Tanaka's lawyer had sent a letter to Pope Francis but did not receive a reply. The Catholic Society of the Divine Word in Japan said the church is not responsible for how priests behave in their private lives, saying they do not acknowledge that priests perform priestly duties all the time, according to a brief submitted to the court in March. However, they said they acknowledge that priests live devoted to God at all times. 'Even priests who lead a consecrated life may have private time for shopping, reading and sports in their spare time. A priest's status does not mean that he is performing his priestly duties 24 hours a day,' the brief said.
Japan Times
04-04-2025
- General
- Japan Times
Unexploded ordnance still haunts Okinawa 80 years after WWII battle
Eighty years after the Battle of Okinawa, the largest ground battle fought on Japanese soil during World War II, the threat of unexploded ordnance still looms over the prefecture. Despite decades of clearance efforts, roughly 1,900 metric tons of deadly remnants are estimated to remain buried beneath the land, a lingering danger from the U.S. military's intense naval bombardment — so severe it was dubbed the 'Typhoon of Steel.' More than 200,000 people, including many civilians, were killed during the 1945 battle. An estimated 200,000 metric tons of shells were fired on the main island, and about 5% — some 10,000 metric tons — failed to explode, according to Japanese government estimates. By the time Okinawa reverted to Japanese control in 1972 after decades of U.S. rule, about 5,500 metric tons had been cleared by local residents and U.S. forces. Since then, the Ground Self-Defense Force (GSDF) has removed more than 2,000 metric tons. But a significant amount of explosives is still believed to be buried in residential areas, farmland and construction sites across the prefecture, threatening people's lives. Accidents have persisted even after Okinawa was returned to Japan. In 1974, a modified Japanese landmine exploded near St. Matthew Kindergarten in the prefectural capital of Naha, killing four people, including a 3-year-old girl. The tragedy prompted the formation of a council comprising national, prefectural and municipal governments to coordinate ordnance detection and removal. GSDF teams have led clearance operations since. On March 25 this year, a GSDF ordnance disposal unit carried out a disposal operation near an elementary school in the city of Nanjo in southern Okinawa. As a soldier shouted 'Ignition!' a deep thud echoed across the site. The operation wrapped up in about 50 minutes. The team used a special tube-shaped device that fires a steel projectile designed to break the fuse of unexploded shells. The ordnance was placed inside a blastproof container specifically developed to handle the U.S. Navy's 5-inch shells — the most commonly found type in Okinawa. 'You never know when they might go off,' said Wataru Iwase, the unit's commander. 'We always go in with the mindset that failure isn't an option. I'm relieved we were able to finish safely.' Despite ongoing efforts, incidents continue to occur. In 2009, a construction worker was severely injured in the city of Itoman when a buried shell detonated during excavation. The Okinawa Prefectural Government fully subsidizes ordnance detection costs, but officials say progress is limited by financial and logistical constraints. 'We don't know where everything is buried, and our budget is tight,' a prefectural official said. 'That means we can only act when something is found.' 'This work won't end with our generation,' Iwase added. 'We have to pass on our knowledge and techniques to those who come after us.' Translated by The Japan Times
