The JMSDF is establishing a Fleet Information Warfare Command to better respond to space, cyber, and information threats, and to boost interoperability with the US Navy.

The newly launched Mogami-class frigate’s smaller crew and advanced technological suite is just the beginning, as Tokyo looks to emerging technologies like AI to reduce the manpower footprint of the JSDF.

A recent boarding by Chinese coast guard vessels around the Second Thomas Shoal was surely escalatory, but its non-lethal nature falls short of invoking the US-Philippines mutual defense treaty.

Tit-for-tat balloon launches by North and South reinforce the general and ongoing deterioration of inter-Korean relations which has taken hold since the thaw of 2018.

Maritime Cooperative Activity naval exercises are rapidly evolving into a platform for regional powers to mutually support each other and bolster international maritime law.

Tokyo is taking another step away from its post-WWII pacifist tradition and toward greater defense industry integration with key partners.

The Philippines has recently been pushing back against China’s grey zone tactics, ramping up tensions at the Scarborough Shoal and Second Thomas Shoal.

Tokyo is starting to provide defense assistance along the same lines as development aid, but the weapons come with strings attached.

Japan and the Philippines have drawn closer together in recent years, a process driven by complementary security interests. Could a VFA be next?

Foreign fighters are helping to even the odds in what once seemed an impossible fight, and for that Ukrainians are grateful.