Ryukyu Shimpo and Okinawa Times wrote that, concerning the Ginowan City Government’s detection of high levels of PFOS and other chemicals in local sewage following the U.S. military’s release of contaminated water from the Futenma Air Station after treating it, Environment Minister Koizumi told reporters on Tuesday that his ministry will work with relevant local governments to collect information. With….Read more

Okinawa Times wrote that Kureya Mamoru, the chairman of the Kanehide Group, told the paper on Tuesday that he has told the All Okinawa anti-base political group that his business group will not support candidates fielded by All Okinawa in the next Lower House election. Kureya reportedly added that he has not yet decided at this stage whether to support….Read more

On Sept. 11, the National Police Agency (NPA) announced it utilized a flight control system developed by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) in its monitoring for aerial terrorism during the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games. In the 2001 terrorist attacks in the U.S., commercial aircraft were used to attack targets. That prompted the NPA to monitor the entry of….Read more

Arrangements are currently underway to increase the number of personnel within ministries and agencies by over 100 in an effort to ramp up the nation’s economic security policies. The government will increase the number of public servants engaged in operations to screen investments and prevent the outflow of technology separately from regular staffing increases. As tensions between the U.S. and….Read more

China’s attempts to coercively change the status quo of the Senkaku Islands should not be tolerated. It is important to strengthen the security system of the Japan Coast Guard.   The JCG asked for a record ¥252.7 billion in its budgetary request for fiscal 2022. Considering the construction of patrol boats among other costs, the amount has greatly increased, by….Read more

Mainichi ran an interview with Defense Minister Kishi in which he expressed concern about China’s relentless and intrusive maritime operations in the vicinity of the Senkaku Islands. He also underscored that the rising tension across the Taiwan Strait is not “somebody else’s problem,” noting that ensuring stability there is critical to peace and prosperity for Japan, the region, and the….Read more

Sankei took up the disclosure by the Defense Ministry on Tuesday that a four-vessel PLA fleet, including two missile frigates, passed through the Osumi Strait between Kagoshima and Tanegashima Island into the East China Sea. One of the frigates had reportedly been spotted traveling in the vicinity of Amami Oshima Island last Friday when an unidentified submarine was detected underwater….Read more

By Jesse Johnson, staff writer   North Korea has developed yet another weapon that can put most of Japan within striking distance, this one potentially capable of evading missile defenses and delivering a nuclear bomb to a large chunk of the archipelago.   The North announced Monday that it had test-fired “new-type, long-range” cruise missiles over the weekend, according to….Read more