Japanese Defense Force

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Gates Warns Japan Not to Back Out of Troop Deal

Relationship with Asian ally increasingly strained

(Newser) - All is not well between the US and Japan. Yesterday Robert Gates warned the country of serious consequences if it backs out of a troop movement deal the two countries spent 10 years negotiating. Japan’s new ruling party wants to reopen those negotiations, as it moves to redefine its...

Japan, US Ready Defenses for N Korean Missile

Navy moves ships in as Tokoy says it will shoot down debris

(Newser) - The Japanese government ordered its military to fire on a North Korean rocket if any part of it falls into Japanese airspace, reports Reuters. North Korea has said it will launch a communications satellite but is presumed to be testing a long-range missile, which is currently on a launch pad....

Japan Shoots Down Dummy US Missile

Japanese expanding missile defense systems with Yank help

(Newser) - A Japanese warship off Hawaii has shot down a US-made mock ballistic missile in flight over the Pacific Ocean, the BBC reports. The test, using a US-developed intercept missile, was the first of its kind by an American ally. Japan and the US stepped up their missile defense cooperation after...

Japan's Defense Force Goes on the Offense

Neighbors getting nervous; US applauds shows of might

(Newser) - Japan has been chipping away at a post-war rule that it's Self-Defense Force can only act, well, defensively. Tokyo recently completed a live-bomb training run on a small island near Guam, the Times reports, stirring tremors among its wary neighbors, but drawing support from a US eager for a powerful...

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