Breaking Defense – The US ally currently has the largest number of F-35s on order outside of the United States, with plans for 157 jets split into 105 F-35A Conventional Take Off and Landing (CTOL) aircraft and 42 F-35Bs.

USNI News – Officials in Tokyo released their Defense of Japan 2025 white paper this week with findings the international community is facing its greatest risk of conflict since World War II. The paper pointed to Russia, China and North Korea as primary regional security threats. The report also found U.S. U.S.-China strategic competition has been escalating and that the military balance between China and Taiwan has been rapidly tilting in China’s favor.

Naval News – Since the 2010s, Japan has been compelled to respond to China’s maritime expansion and military buildup. A particularly critical issue has been how to defend Japan’s remote islands and key island chains in the East China Sea, commonly known as the Nansei Islands. To address this challenge, the Amphibious Rapid Deployment Brigade (ARDB), a specialized force for initial defense operations, was established in March 2018.

The War Zone – The turreted prototype installed on a testbed surface combatant is the latest step forward in Japan’s work on railguns, something the U.S. Navy shelved years ago.

Naval News -The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) released an image of its state-of-the-art railgun currently undergoing testing aboard the test ship JS Asuka.

Naval News – The new offshore patrol vessels (OPV) will be built at a very high pace: The first and second vessels are scheduled to be launched in November this year.

USNI News – Japan formally activated on Sunday a new joint maritime transport unit geared towards improving troop deployment capabilities in Japan’s southwest islands.

Modern War Institute – Amid the strategic competition and simmering tensions in the Indo-Pacific region between the United States and China, Japan has worked to boost its military capability on Yonaguni Island, the westernmost island of Okinawa. This is a sensible move given the island’s strategic importance and proximity to both Taiwan and China. The Japan Self-Defense Forces established a military base and radar station in 2016 with approximately 160 troops to monitor airspace and waterways. Plans are also in place to deploy a missile unit to the island.

Naval News – On March 24, the Japanese Ministry of Defense established a new Self-Defense Forces Maritime Transport Group, a joint unit of the Ground and Maritime Self-Defense Forces, at the JMSDF Kure Base. The initial number of members at the unit is about 100, according the Ground Staff Office in Tokyo.

Japan Forward – A ceremony was held on March 6 to mark the handover of the submarine Raigei to the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force. Raigei will be deployed to the JMSDF Kure Base in Hiroshima Prefecture for surveillance and patrol missions.

(Thanks to Alain)

Naval News – Japan has selected the MQ-9B SeaGuardian remotely piloted aircraft system to equip the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF). Naval News reached out to the JMSDF to find out more about this procurement.

Breaking Defense – Against the backdrop of Chinese aggression in the region, the US, Japan and Australia this weekend agreed to closer military ties, including, for the first time, regular deployments of Japanese marines to the Lucky Country.

Japan Times – The Defense Ministry has said that it will deploy U.S.-made drones for the warning and surveillance activities of the Maritime Self-Defense Force. Aiming to strengthen surveillance in waters including the East China Sea, the ministry said Friday it plans to procure a total of 23 SeaGuardian drones over the next 10 years or so.

USNI News – The Japanese Self-Defense Force launched a new class of amphibious vessels on Tuesday to serve a new unit focused on maritime logistics to resupply and reinforce its southwestern islands.

The War Zone – U.S. Marine Corps F-35B stealth fighter has for the first time operated aboard Japan’s biggest in-service warship, the Izumo class ‘multifunctional destroyer’ Kaga. We have previously reported on the significant modifications made to this ship to ensure it can operate the short takeoff and vertical landing (STOVL) jets, which Japan is also acquiring. At the same time, there are signs that Japan may also be looking to expand the fixed-wing capabilities of this class of vessel, including drones and potentially other crewed platforms.

Center for Maritime Strategy – Japan’s shift toward acquiring offensive capabilities is a necessary response to the increasingly complex security environment in the Indo-Pacific. The blurred distinction between offensive and defensive capabilities, particularly in naval warfare, makes it crucial for Japan to enhance its deterrence posture. Restricting Japan’s military to purely defensive measures ignores strategic realities and risks undermining its security. To safeguard both Japanese and broader regional security, Tokyo must prioritize acquiring offensive capabilities that pave the way for effective deterrence by denial and punishment in the long term. 

War on the Rocks – The fact that Japan is a neighbor of Russia is often overlooked, especially in the West. In fact, Japan has had no land border with Russia for 79 years. But Japan has always faced Russia across the Sea of Japan and the Sea of Okhotsk, and until 35 years ago was at the forefront of the Cold War in Asia. Now, as the geopolitical conflict between Russia and the West reemerges, Japan is once again on the front line.

Naval News – The French-German Research Institute of Saint-Louis (ISL) in charge of research and development for railgun technology has seen mid-April the visit of an ATLA delegation – Japanese Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Agency – paving the way for an agreement for further cooperation on electromagnetic gun technology.

Center for Maritime Strategy –  Japan must recognize that purely defensive technologies are insufficient to ensure its own security and uphold the rules-based regional order. To credibly deter revisionist powers armed with offensive capabilities, Japan must move beyond the flawed mindset that draws a sharp distinction between offensive defense and defensive defense and strategically shift towards the acquisition of counterstrike capabilities that can impose significant costs on potential aggressors. 

Naval News – The Ministry of Defense in Tokyo has announced the largest-ever organizational restructuring in the history of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force

Naval News – According to Japanese defense officials, the Ministry of Defense is planning to establish a new missile range in the island of Minamitorishima for the Type 12 Surface-to-Ship Missile of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force.

CIMSEC – The Japan Maritime Self Defense Force (JMSDF) possesses a modern and highly capable fleet, including light carriers, large AEGIS destroyers, and advanced conventional submarines which are renowned for their size and stealth. While individual Japanese naval vessels and their crews are certainly world class, Japan’s unique approach to naval industrial base strategy is often underappreciated, especially its submarine industrial base. This approach relies on three deliberate policy pillars.

USNI News – In its annual defense white paper released on Friday, Japan’s Ministry of Defense warned that the possibility of a situation similar to Russia’s aggression toward Ukraine occurring in the Indo-Pacific. Japan also again singling out China, North Korea and Russia as threats to Japan and the region.

USNI News – The Japan Self Defense Force has stationed a mobile radar system on Kita Daito Island in the Philippine Sea to expand Japan’s capabilities in the area. 

The Guardian – Yonaguni is a tourist hotspot – but its location just 100km from Taiwan means residents must wrestle with the creeping militarisation of their home.