Latest news with #SelfDefenseForce
NHK
3 days ago
- General
- NHK
Japan publishes routes of Chinese aircraft carriers operating around country
Japan's Defense Ministry has published the routes taken by two Chinese aircraft carriers that have been navigating in waters around the country last month to this month. The ministry released the details on the ships' prolonged activities on Tuesday. It is quite rare for the ministry to disclose the movements of foreign warships. The release came after the carriers Liaoning and Shandong were first spotted at the same time in the Pacific earlier this month. The ministry said fighter jets from the Shandong flew extremely close to a Japanese Maritime Self-Defense patrol plane on June 7 and 8. It expressed serious concerns over the incident. The ministry said the Liaoning passed between Okinawa Prefecture's main island and Miyakojima Island in late May and traveled southward to a position east of the Philippines. The aircraft carrier then changed course to the northeast and entered Japan's exclusive economic zone on June 7 near Minamitorishima, the nation's easternmost island. The Liaoning moved on, turning westward. On Monday, it was spotted navigating in waters southwest of Okinotorishima Island. During this period, fighter jets and helicopters from the carrier were reportedly seen taking and landing around 550 times. Regarding the Shandong, the ministry said that the vessel was heading eastward in waters southeast of Miyakojima Island on June 7. It then sailed clockwise within or around Japan's EEZ near Okinotorishima Island. On Monday, the ship was spotted moving westward southeast of Miyakojima Island. In that time frame, a total of around 230 take-offs and landings of carrier-based aircraft were reportedly confirmed. As of Tuesday, the two Chinese vessels were in the Pacific sailing toward China. The Defense Ministry is cautiously monitoring the situation.
The Independent
12-06-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Japan and China trade blame over Chinese fighter jets flying close to Japanese planes
Japan and China blamed each other on Thursday after Tokyo raised concern that a Chinese fighter jet came dangerously close to Japanese reconnaissance planes. The Chinese fighter jets took off from one of two Chinese aircraft carriers that were operating together for the first time in the Pacific, Japan's Defense Ministry said. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi told reporters that Japan conveyed its 'serious concern' to China that such close encounters could cause accidental collisions. According to Japan, a Chinese J-15 fighter jet took off from the Shandong aircraft carrier on Saturday and chased a Japanese P-3C aircraft on reconnaissance duty, coming within an 'abnormally close distance' of 45 meters (50 yards) for about 40 minutes. A Chinese jet also crossed 900 meters (980 yards) in front of a Japanese P-3C for about 80 minutes on Sunday, the ministry said. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian defended China's activities as being fully consistent with international law and practices, and blamed Japanese vessels and airplanes for conducting close reconnaissance of China's military activities. The incidents occurred in the Pacific, where Japan's Self-Defense Force spotted the two carriers, the Shandong and the Liaoning, almost simultaneously operating near southern Japanese islands for the first time. Aircraft carriers are critical to projecting power at a distance. China routinely sends coast guard vessels, warships and warplanes around disputed East China Sea islands, but now they also reach as far as Guam, a U.S. Pacific territory with military bases. Both Chinese carriers operated in waters off Iwo Jima, about 1,200 kilometers (750 miles) south of Tokyo. The Liaoning also sailed inside Japan's exclusive economic zone near Minamitorishima, the country's easternmost island, Japan's Defense Minister Gen Nakatani said. There was no violation of Japanese territorial waters, he said. ___ Associated Press writer Christopher Bodeen in Taipei, Taiwan contributed to this report.
NHK
10-06-2025
- Politics
- NHK
Defense minister apologizes for dud bomb explosion in Okinawa
Japan's Defense Minister Nakatani Gen has apologized for a dud bomb explosion in the southern prefecture of Okinawa that injured four Japanese Self-Defense Force personnel. The minor explosion occurred on Monday at a depot on the premises of the US military's Kadena Ammunitions Storage Area in Yomitan Village. Four Self-Defense Force personnel suffered burns and other injuries. The depot is controlled by the prefecture. Nakatani apologized for the accident on Tuesday, adding that no damage has been confirmed so far around the depot. He said he has set up an investigative panel in the Ground Self-Defense Force to look into the cause of the blast and measures to prevent a recurrence. Nakatani said his ministry will continue work to recover unexploded bombs, while ensuring safety. He said if the work is stopped, duds found by local residents will have to be left where they are, disrupting people's daily lives.
CTV News
09-06-2025
- General
- CTV News
Explosion at a U.S. air base in southern Japan injures 4 Japanese soldiers
U.S. military persons gather near the site of an explosion at a storage site for unexploded ordnances at a U.S. military base in the town of Yomitanson, Okinawa prefecture, southern Japan Monday, June 9, 2025. (Kyodo News via AP) TOKYO — An explosion at a storage site for unexploded ordnance at a U.S. military base on Japan's southern island of Okinawa injured four Japanese soldiers, though the injuries are not life-threatening, officials said Monday. The four soldiers sustained finger injuries while working at a facility that belongs to Okinawa prefecture and temporarily stores unexploded ordnance, mostly from wartime and found on the island, local officials said. One of the harshest battles of World War II was fought on Okinawa. Prefectural officials said the injuries were not life-threatening, but no other details were immediately known. The U.S. Air Force said in a statement that the explosion occurred at the facility managed by the Okinawa prefectural government at Kadena Air Base's munitions storage area. It said no U.S. servicemembers were involved in the incident. The Self Defense Force's joint staff said one of the devices suddenly exploded when the soldiers were inspecting it at the facility. The blast occurred when the soldiers were trying to remove rust, NHK television reported. The SDF said they are trying to confirm what caused the accident. Monday's accident was believed to be the first ever since the 1974 launch of the Japanese army's unexploded ordnance disposal unit. Hundreds of tons of unexploded wartime bombs, many of them dropped by the U.S. military, remain buried around Japan and are sometimes dug up at construction sites and elsewhere. Many of them are still found on Okinawa, where about 1,856 tons of unexploded U.S. bombs are believed to remain. In October, an unexploded wartime U.S. bomb exploded at a commercial airport in southern Japan, causing a large crater and suspending dozens of flights. Mari Yamaguchi, The Associated Press
Arab Times
09-06-2025
- General
- Arab Times
Explosion at US air base in southern Japan injures 4 Japanese soldiers
TOKYO, June 9, (AP): An explosion at a storage site for unexploded ordnances at a US military base on Japan's southern island of Okinawa injured four Japanese soldiers, though the injuries are not life threatening, officials said Monday. The four soldiers sustained finger injuries while working at a facility that belongs to Okinawa prefecture and temporarily stores unexploded ordnance, mostly from wartime and found on the island, local officials said. One of the harshest battles of World War II was fought on Okinawa. Prefectural officials said the injuries were not life threatening, but no other details were immediately known. The US Air Force said in a statement that the explosion occurred inside the facility managed by the Okinawa prefectural government at Kadena Air Base's munitions storage area. It said no US servicemembers were involved in the incident. The Self Defense Force's joint staff said one of the ordnances suddenly exploded when the soldiers were inspecting it at the facility. The blast occurred when the soldiers were trying to remove rust to examine details of the unexploded ordnance, NHK television reported. The SDF said they are trying to confirm what caused the accident. Hundreds of tons of unexploded wartime bombs, many of them dropped by the US military, remain buried around Japan and are sometimes dug up at construction sites and elsewhere. Many of them are still found on Okinawa, where about 1,856 tons of unexploded US bombs are believed to remain. In October, an unexploded wartime US bomb exploded at a commercial airport in southern Japan, causing a large crater and suspending dozens of flights.
