On May 8, 2026, the US Department of War launched war.gov/UFO and released 162 UAP files in one go—including a football-shaped object filmed near Japan by Indo-Pacific Command in January 2023, Apollo 12 and 17 lunar surface photos, and orange orbs agents compared to the 'Eye of Sauron'. We break down what is actually in the release and how Japan is reacting, from yakisoba puns to distraction-theory skepticism.
On April 13, 2029, the 450m asteroid Apophis will pass just 32,000 km above Earth. Japan and Europe are joining forces on RAMSES, the next planetary defense mission after NASA's DART. JAXA provides the infrared imager, solar panels, and H3 rocket launch as a rideshare with DESTINY+, stepping up as US budget cuts threaten its own Apophis mission.
Saab Technologies Japan has named Satoshi Uji as its first-ever Japanese president. The Swedish defense giant is positioning its GlobalEye AEW&C aircraft as the successor to Japan's aging E-767 fleet, with industry sources targeting a 2035 replacement. After Japan's April 21 abolition of the 'Five Categories' export rule, can a non-US contender finally crack Japan's airborne early warning market?
On May 5, 2026, Defense Ministers Koizumi and Teodoro met in Manila to launch a working group for transferring used Abukuma-class destroyer escorts to the Philippines — the first concrete test of Japan's new lethal weapons export rules.
On May 4 in Canberra, PM Takaichi and PM Albanese signed five joint documents including the Economic Security Joint Declaration. Six critical mineral projects backed by $1.2B. How Japan's approach differs from the US IRA and EU CRMA, and what it means for global supply chains.
Tourist numbers up from 5,000 to 120,000 a year, sea ice at record lows, emperor penguins now Endangered. What ATCM48 in Hiroshima and Japan's Antarctic protection law amendment must confront.
On May 1, METI summoned executives from 24 critical infrastructure operators—covering power, gas, oil, chemicals and credit cards—and ordered emergency cybersecurity audits within one month. The trigger: Anthropic's Claude Mythos, an AI announced April 7 that found a 27-year-old flaw in OpenBSD. We compare Japan's response with the US CISA OT principles and the EU's NIS2 Directive.
Japan has procured Russian crude for the first time since the Strait of Hormuz blockade — a Sakhalin-2 spot cargo bound for Taiyo Oil's Imabari refinery in Ehime Prefecture, arriving May 4. Behind the move lies the controversial 'Sakhalin exception' to G7 sanctions, extended through June 2026. We unpack the structural vulnerability that no amount of moral diplomacy can hide, and compare Japan's response to Germany, South Korea, and India.
On May 2, Japanese PM Sanae Takaichi met Vietnam's new PM Le Minh Hung in Hanoi, agreeing to cooperate on crude oil and critical mineral procurement amid Middle East instability. The same day, Takaichi delivered a foreign policy speech at Vietnam National University announcing the evolution of the Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP) doctrine. Inside the new economic security pivot, how it differs from US friendshoring and EU Global Gateway, and Vietnam's untapped rare earth potential.
After 62 days stranded in the Persian Gulf, Japan's VLCC Idemitsu Maru passed through the Strait of Hormuz on April 28 — without paying Iran's transit toll. The story echoes the 1953 Nissho Maru incident that forged a unique bond between Japan and Iran.
Japan's MAFF and U.S. Wheat Associates held the first meeting under their Memorandum of Cooperation on April 22 to stabilize wheat supply. With only 15% self-sufficiency and 40% of imports from the US, this article unpacks the food diplomacy at stake amid climate and logistics risks.
