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As one of the world’s most technologically advanced societies, Japan is as dependent upon access to space as any country in the world. Much like the United States and Western Europe, the Japanese economy requires spaced-based communications technology to knit together the fabric of its industrial base. Indeed, by some estimates Japan has the fourth most orbital satellites in the world. Although the Japanese Self-Defense Forces do not operate in the same geographic scope as their U.S. or European counterparts, they still require satellite technology for communications and surveillance purposes.
Consequently, Japan has steadily increased its institutional military engagement with space, allowing the Ministry of Defense to collaborate with Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), the civilian space agency, for the first time in 2012. Japan also established a Space Operations Squadron (SOS) within the Air-Self-Defense Force in May 2020, with expected operational readi
Posted on April 21, 2021.
Tomorrow will mark 25 years since Japan agreed to the complete relocation of Marine Corps Air Station Futenma. Even though a quarter of a century has passed, this relocation is nowhere on the horizon, as “the world’s most dangerous air station” continues to be situated in the middle of the city of Ginowan.
The key reason for this is the insistence by American and Japanese authorities that the station remain in Okinawa prefecture. Soft seabed has been discovered at the city of Nago’s Henoko Bay, the planned area for the relocation, leading to inevitable delays. Government estimates say the project will take at least another 12 years, deep into the 2030s. While the government has requested a plan for land reclamation, prefectural authorities have remained defiant, leaving the future of the project unclear. All the while, residents near Futenma continue to be plagued by falling debris from aircraft, pollution by the U.S. military, incessant noise fro
The U.S. and Japan have recently beefed up their defense alliance with an eye to China.
Here s What You Need to Remember: Given its consistent and growing presence in the Pacific, the U.S. Navy would be very well positioned to respond in defense of Japan with Carrier Strike Groups, air assets from Guam or even amphibious forces dispatched to safeguard the islands from any kind of Chinese incursion.
The U.S. military and Japanese Self Defense Forces have mutually committed to strengthening alliances, training opportunities and joint military exercises as part of a decided effort to take a stronger stance against Chinese provocations in the region.
Seoul’s new aircraft carrier, the LPX-II, is a critical part of those plans.
Here s What You Need to Remember: Though certainly motivated by rising regional tensions, Seoul’s move to acquire a purpose-built (albeit small) aircraft carrier could also be interpreted as a status purchase. Aside from China’s new but essentially Soviet aircraft carriers, no other Asian nation currently fields a dedicated aircraft carrier.
Work on South Korea’s first true aircraft carrier is going full steam ahead,
Jane’s, a defense industry website reported. The carrier program, known as the LPX-II, would take approximately 10 years from the beginning of the design phase to until completion, which means that a commissioning date could come in 2030 or 2031.