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Japan Times
16 hours ago
- Politics
- Japan Times
Japanese nationals flee Iran and Israel amid conflict
Government-chartered buses have evacuated 87 Japanese nationals and their family members from Israel and Iran amid the intensifying conflict between the two Middle Eastern countries, Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya said Friday. By Friday, 21 people from Israel arrived in the Jordanian capital of Amman, 66 people feeling Iran arrived in the Azerbaijani capital of Baku, Iwaya said, adding that they are all healthy. According to the Foreign Ministry, some 1,000 Japanese citizens are still in Israel and about 220 are in Iran. The second round of evacuations from Iran by bus will be conducted as early as Saturday, Iwaya said. "We are determined to do everything to protect Japanese nationals while closely monitoring local conditions," he said. The Japanese government has already ordered the Air Self-Defense Force to dispatch transport aircraft to Djibouti in East Africa in order to make preparations for a possible airlift mission amid the Iran-Israel clash. Two C-2 transport planes and around 120 ASDF members are expected to depart from the Miho base in Tottori Prefecture on Saturday at the earliest, people familiar with the matter said. Airports are closed in Iran and Israel amid the most intense fighting in history between the two enemy nations. The government is preparing for evacuations by air in the event that airspace is reopened in Iran and Israel, Iwaya noted.
2 days ago
- Politics
Japan to Send SDF Aircraft to Djibouti to Evacuate Japanese
News from Japan Politics Jun 19, 2025 17:07 (JST) Tokyo, June 19 (Jiji Press)--Japanese Defense Minister Gen Nakatani said Thursday that the government will send Air Self-Defense Force transport aircraft to Djibouti to prepare for evacuating Japanese nationals from Israel and Iran amid heightened tensions in the Middle East. Two ASDF C-2 transporters will be on standby at an SDF antipiracy base in the northeast African country. At the request of Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya, Nakatani ordered the commander of the Joint Operations Command to dispatch the transporters, which will leave for Djibouti as soon as they are ready. "Ensuring the safety of Japanese citizens abroad is an important responsibility of the government," Nakatani said at a press conference at the Defense Ministry. There are approximately 1,000 Japanese living in Israel and some 280 in Iran, according to the Foreign Ministry. [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.] Jiji Press
2 days ago
- Politics
SDF Aircraft to Be Sent to Djibouti to Evacuate Japanese
News from Japan Politics Jun 19, 2025 09:55 (JST) Tokyo, June 19 (Jiji Press)--The government is considering dispatching Air Self-Defense Force transport aircraft to Djibouti as early as this week to evacuate Japanese nationals from Israel and Iran, which are in conflict. According to a governmental source, the government is examining the idea of dispatching C-2 transporters from the ASDF's Miho base in Tottori Prefecture, western Japan, on Saturday at the earliest. The aircraft would be on standby in Djibouti, where the SDF has an antipiracy base. As airports in Israel and Iran are closed, the government is making preparations to evacuate Japanese to neighboring countries by land. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.] Jiji Press
Japan Forward
7 days ago
- General
- Japan Forward
Chinese Military Jets Make Aggressive Passes Near Japan
このページを 日本語 で読む At a press conference on June 12, General Yoshihide Yoshida, Chief of the Joint Staff of Japan's Self-Defense Forces, addressed the aggressive actions of Chinese military aircraft. He described the behavior as deliberate, noting, "They followed us for 40 minutes, then 80 minutes — and it happened two days in a row." Chinese J-15 fighter jets, launched from the aircraft carrier Shandong , approached Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) P-3C patrol aircraft at dangerously close range on two consecutive days. The Shandong had advanced to waters near Japan's Okinotorishima, more than 1,500 kilometers from the Chinese mainland. According to the Ministry of Defense (MOD), the first close encounter occurred on June 7. A lone J-15 tailed Japan's P-3C for approximately 40 minutes, repeatedly veering side to side as it approached and retreated, eventually closing to within just 45 meters on the aircraft's left side. On June 8, a second J-15 tailed a Japanese P-3C for roughly 80 minutes, coming as close as 45 meters on the aircraft's right side. As it disengaged, the jet crossed in front of the patrol plane at the same altitude, just 900 meters ahead. That day, another Chinese fighter also joined the pursuit. Describing the 45-meter proximity, a Japan Air Self-Defense Force (ASDF) pilot said it felt like "a total stranger walking shoulder to shoulder with you — close enough to break a cold sweat." At the time, China had deployed two aircraft carriers to the western Pacific simultaneously for the first time. Reflecting on the maneuver, one ASDF official remarked, "It was as if they were declaring, 'This is China's airspace.'" Frontal crossings like the one on June 8 are especially dangerous, as wake turbulence can trigger engine malfunctions. Japan's P-3C was conducting surveillance on five vessels, including the Shandong . According to reports, the JMSDF aircraft attempted to communicate via radio, asserting that it was "conducting legitimate mission flights in international airspace." While the MOD has not released the full details of the exchange, it stated that a safe distance was maintained from the Shandong . Chinese military aircraft have repeatedly carried out provocative maneuvers against the United States and other allied forces in recent years. In February, a Chinese J-16 fighter jet closed to within just 30 meters of an Australian P-8A patrol aircraft over the South China Sea and released infrared countermeasure flares designed to evade missiles. According to a 2023 announcement by the US Department of Defense, Chinese aircraft were involved in more than 180 abnormal close encounters over the previous two years. These included incidents where jets flew close enough for crew members' faces to be seen or crossed directly in front of US aircraft at dangerously close range. Around the same time, another Chinese aircraft carrier, the Liaoning , crossed the Second Island Chain — a key US defense perimeter — for the first time. This time, with both Chinese carriers operating simultaneously in the western Pacific, Professor Tetsuo Kotani of Meikai University, a security policy expert, offered this analysis: "This seems to be China's way of sending a warning: 'Don't interfere with our legitimate training in this newly entered area.' It also reflects growing confidence as China continues to strengthen its carrier strike group operations." Author: Toyohiro Ichioka, The Sankei Shimbun このページを 日本語 で読む
Japan Times
23-05-2025
- General
- Japan Times
Two ASDF crew members confirmed dead in training plane crash in Aichi
The Air Self-Defense Force confirmed on Thursday that the remains recovered from a training plane crash last week were those of two crew members. The ASDF's T-4 training aircraft crashed near a lake in Aichi Prefecture immediately after taking off from the Komaki Air Base last week. "The deaths of its two crew members were confirmed today," Hiroaki Uchikura, head of the ASDF, told a news conference. "It is gut-wrenching that we lost the precious lives of our comrades," Uchikura said. A search after the crash soon led to the discovery of what appeared to be remains, but officials could not immediately identify them. However, "a subsequent official analysis confirmed, much to our sorrow, that they belong to the two soldiers on board whom we had been looking for," Uchikura said. He said he "takes the accident seriously" and that the ASDF "will do our best to identify the cause and improve aviation safety." The T-4 seats two and is a "domestically produced, highly reliable and maintainable training aircraft ... used for all basic flight courses," according to the Defense Ministry website. Aerial footage of the lake soon after the crash, broadcast by NHK, showed an oil slick on its surface dotted with what appeared to be debris.
