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CNN —One rescued crew member has died and seven others are still missing after two Japanese military helicopters appeared to have crashed during a drill late Saturday, Japan’s Defense Minister Minoru Kihara said. “It is very unfortunate that this situation has come to this point,” Kihara told reporters on Sunday. Kihara said that “there is a high possibility of a collision,” and the flight recorders of the two helicopters were found and recovered from the area. “What is believed to be part of the aircraft has been confirmed at sea, and the two aircraft are thought to have crashed,” Kihara said. The SH-60K helicopters are mainly stationed on and operated from destroyers, and the two aircraft were conducting night-time training to search for submarines, according to the JMSDF.

Persons: Minoru Kihara, ” Kihara, Kihara, Rahm Emanuel, “, Fumio Kishida Organizations: CNN, Japan’s, Japan, Self, Defense Force Locations: Japan, Izu

TOKYO (AP) — Japan signed a deal with the United States on Thursday to purchase up to 400 Tomahawk cruise missiles as part of its ongoing military buildup in response to increased regional threats. In November, the U.S. approved a $2.35 billion sale of two types of Tomahawks — 200 Block IV missiles and 200 upgraded Block V versions. Political Cartoons View All 253 ImagesJapan and the United States agreed to expedite the deployment “in response to the increasingly severe security environment,” Kihara said. The government quickly approved a shipment of Japanese-made Patriot missiles to the United States to complement the U.S. inventory. “There is a new Japan emerging, a more competent Japan,” he said.

Persons: Fumio, spender, Minoru Kihara, Japan Rahm Emanuel, ” Kihara, Emanuel, Japan's, ” Organizations: TOKYO, —, China . Defense, U.S, Kihara, United, Japan’s, “ Locations: — Japan, United States, Japan, China, North Korea, Australia, Britain, Tokyo, South Korea, U.S

The U.S. Air Force said on Monday that the bodies of five crew members had been found alongside the wreckage of a CV-22 Osprey that went down during a routine training exercise last week in southern Japan. Two crew members remain unaccounted for, and the remains of one had been discovered on Wednesday, the day of the crash. Over the weekend, the Air Force identified that airman as Staff Sgt. The body of Sergeant Galliher, a young father who went by the first name Jake, had been found by the Japan Coast Guard. The U.S. Air Force said that a breakthrough in the five-day search came on Monday, when a combined Japanese and American team found the Osprey’s fuselage.

Persons: Jacob M, Sergeant Galliher, Jake, Minoru Kihara, Ricky Rupp Organizations: U.S . Air Force, Air Force, Japan Coast Guard, United States Forces Japan Locations: Japan, Yakushima

Search operations widened Friday with additional U.S. military personnel joining the effort, while Japanese coast guard and military ships focused on an undersea search using sonar. Japanese officials say they asked the U.S. military to halt Osprey flights in Japan except for those involved in the search operations. A total of 44 Ospreys have been deployed at U.S. and Japanese military bases in Japan. Denny Tamaki called on Japan’s defense and foreign ministries to request the U.S. military to suspend all Osprey flights in Japan, including in search operations. “I have serious doubts about Osprey safety even for their search and rescue operations.”

Persons: —, Sabrina Singh, Hirokazu Matsuno, Minoru Kihara, Ricky Rupp, ” Kihara, Rupp, Yoko Kamikawa, Japan Rahm Emanuel, United States “, Denny Tamaki, Tamaki, “, ” Organizations: TOKYO, Pentagon, U.S, Ospreys, U.S ., Defense, U.S . Forces Japan, Osprey, United, U.S . Air Force Special, Command, Yokota Air Base, Fifth Air Force, 353rd, Operations, U.S . Marine Corps Air, Iwakuni, Kadena Air Base, Gov Locations: Japan, U.S, Okinawa, United States, Yamaguchi prefecture

☆ Japan asks US military to ground Osprey aircraft after fatal crash
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-30 | by ( Kantaro Komiya | Thomson Reuters | Kantaro Writes About Everything Japan'S Economic Indicators To North Korea'S Missiles To Global Regulation On Ai Companies. His Previous Stories Have Been Published In The Associated Press | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

A Japan Coast Guard vessel and a helicopter conduct a search and rescue operation at the site where a U.S. military aircraft V-22 Osprey crashed into the sea off Yakushima Island, Kagoshima prefecture, Japan November 30, 2023, in this photo taken by Kyodo. The Japan Self-Defense Forces (SDF), which also operates Ospreys, will suspend flights of the transport aircraft until the circumstances of the incident are clarified, another senior defence ministry official said in parliament. A spokesperson for U.S. military forces in Japan did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The deployment of the aircraft in Japan has been controversial, with critics of the U.S. military presence in the southwest islands saying it is prone to accidents. The last fatal U.S. military aircraft crash in Japan was 2018, when a mid-air collision during a training exercise killed six people, according to the defence ministry.

Persons: Minoru Kihara, Witnesses, Chang, Ran Kim, Kantaro Komiya, Tim Kelly, John Geddie, Kim Coghill, Gerry Doyle Organizations: Japan Coast Guard, Kyodo, REUTERS Acquire, Rights, U.S . Air Force, U.S, Ospreys, Japan Self - Defense Forces, Boeing, Bell Helicopter, Marines, Navy, U.S . Marine Corps, Osprey, Thomson Locations: Kagoshima prefecture, Japan, U.S, Australia, Okinawa

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The United States and South Korea on Monday updated a bilateral security agreement with the aim of more effectively countering North Korea’s evolving nuclear and missile threats. U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was in Seoul for annual security talks with South Korean military officials, including Defense Minister Shin Won-sik, which were focused on boosting nuclear deterrence against North Korea. They agreed to start as planned a real-time information sharing arrangement on North Korean missile launches in December. They also agreed to set up multiyear plans in coming weeks to enhance their trilateral military exercises, South Korea’s Defense Ministry said. U.S. and South Korean officials have accused North Korea of providing munitions and military equipment to Russia to help boost its war in Ukraine.

Persons: Lloyd Austin, Shin Won, Austin, Shin, ” Austin, Yoon Suk, Minoru Kihara, Yoon, ”, Moon Jae, Kim Jong Un, Antony Blinken, Kim Organizations: Korean, U.S . Defense, South Korean, Defense, Austin, ROK, South, Japanese, Korea’s Defense Ministry, Shin, U.S, United Nations Command, Foreign Locations: SEOUL, South Korea, United States, Seoul, Japan, North Korea, Ukraine, Korean, Republic of Korea, U.S, South Korean, Washington, Hamas, Korea, Israel, Russia, South, Pyongyang, Moscow . U.S, Austin

U.S. Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin met his South Korean counterpart Shin Won-sik in Seoul on Sunday with Japanese defence minister Minoru Kihara joining the meeting online. U.S. President Joe Biden agreed with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at an Aug. 18 summit that by the end of this year the three countries would share North Korea missile warning data in real time. The ministers also condemned growing military cooperation between North Korea and Russia as a violation of U.N. resolutions, the South Korean defence ministry said in a statement, and also stressed the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait. Brown, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, held talks with his South Korean counterpart in Seoul on Sunday, the South Korean military said. In his first visit to South Korea since he took office in October, the top U.S. general discussed the "continuous provocations" of North Korea including missile launches, and reaffirmed the United States' commitment to the defence of South Korea, the South Korean joint chiefs of staff said in a statement.

Persons: Kim Jong Un, Lloyd Austin, Shin Won, Minoru Kihara, Kihara, Joe Biden, Yoon Suk Yeol, Fumio Kishida, Charles Q, Brown, Tetsushi Kajimoto, Miral Organizations: North, Korean Central News Agency, REUTERS, Rights, Defence, Korean, Sunday, . Defence, South Korean, Korea, U.S . Joint Chiefs of Staff, Thomson Locations: Rights TOKYO, SEOUL, South Korea, Japan, United States, South, Sunday ., Seoul, North Korea, Russia, Taiwan, TOKYO

☆ North Korea lashes out at U.N. Command over meeting in Seoul
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A North Korean flag flutters at the propaganda village of Gijungdong in North Korea, in this picture taken near the truce village of Panmunjom inside the demilitarized zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas, South Korea, July 19, 2022. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji/Pool/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsSEOUL, Nov 13 (Reuters) - North Korea on Monday called for the United Nations Command to be dissolved calling it an "illegal war organization" over a meeting which is scheduled to take place between the member states in South Korea later this week, state media KCNA reported. The DPRK stands for North Korea's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. North Korea's criticism comes a day after U.S. Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin met his South Korean counterpart Shin Won-sik in Seoul on Sunday with Japanese Defence Minister Minoru Kihara for a trilateral meeting. They agreed to start as planned a real-time data sharing scheme on North Korean missiles in December and condemned growing military cooperation between North Korea and Russia as a violation of U.N. resolutions during the meeting.

Persons: Kim Hong, Lloyd Austin, Shin Won, Minoru Kihara, Hyunsu Yim, Sandra Maler Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, United Nations Command, UNC, Command, Institute for Disarmament, Peace, DPRK Foreign Ministry, DPRK, North, Democratic People's, U.S . Defence, South Korean, Japanese, Korean, Thomson Locations: Gijungdong, North Korea, Panmunjom, South Korea, Rights SEOUL, U.S, Seoul, Pyongyang, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Russia

[1/8] Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken shake hands at the prime minister's official residence Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2023, in Tokyo, Japan. "Our commitment to continue strict sanctions against Russia and strong support for Ukraine has not wavered at all, even as the situation in the Middle East intensifies," Japan's foreign minister Yoko Kamikawa told a press conference. The G7 is due to hold an online meeting with Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba on Wednesday. Since the war erupted, the G7 has issued just one joint statement on the conflict, amounting to a few sentences. G7 foreign ministers are preparing "some sort of statement" to be issued following the Tokyo talks, Kamikawa said declining to comment on its contents.

Persons: Fumio Kishida, Antony Blinken, Eugene Hoshiko, Yoko Kamikawa, Kamikawa, Dmytro Kuleba, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Minoru Kihara, Blinken, Sakura Murakami, Tim Kelly, John Geddie, Tom Hogue, Raju Gopalakrishnan Organizations: Japan's, REUTERS Acquire, Rights, Ukraine, Kyiv, The, European Union, Russia, Ukraine's Foreign, Mitsui & Co, Health, Japanese, British, United Nations, Thomson Locations: Tokyo, Japan, Russia, Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, United States, Ukraine, Israel, Gaza, U.S, Moscow, Hiroshima, May, ISRAEL, GAZA, Iran

Details of how Japan is paring back military procurement due to currency fluctuations have not been previously reported. China, which has not ruled out using military force to bring Taiwan under its control, has expressed concern about Japan's military spending plans, accusing it of displaying a "Cold War mentality." In December, defence ministry officials discussed an order for 34 twin-rotor Chinook transport helicopters at roughly 15 billion yen per aircraft, two of the sources said. She declined to comment on whether the defence ministry had dropped an order for the seaplane. A ministry spokesperson confirmed the companies delivered a letter on Oct 25 to Defence Minister Minoru Kihara urging the government to proceed with the defence procurement as planned.

Persons: Tomohiro, Fumio Kishida, Christopher Johnstone, Johnstone, Biden, Kishida, outlays, spender, Nancy Pelosi's, Yoji Koda, Lockheed Martin, Minoru Kihara, Kevin Maher, Nobuhiro Kubo, Takaya Yamaguchi, Tim Kelly, Yoshifumi Takemoto, Katerina Ang Organizations: Defense Force, East Fuji Maneuver, REUTERS Acquire, Rights, Reuters, Bank of Japan, Center for Strategic, International Studies, National Security, East, Japan's Ministry of Defence, Embassy, Pentagon, Russian, Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Boeing Co, Kawasaki, Industries, Maritime Self Defense Force, Raytheon, Lockheed, Japan Business Federation, NMV Consulting, U.S . State Department's Office, Japan Affairs, Thomson Locations: Japan, Gotemba, Shizuoka, Taiwan, Tokyo, Washington, Beijing, East Asia, U.S, East China, Ukraine, China, U.S .

☆ Japan's new cabinet reflects PM's focus on gender, defence
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-13 | by ( Sakura Murakami | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/3] Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida speaks during the leaders talk of the ASEAN-Indo Pacific Forum (AIPF) in Jakarta, Indonesia September 6, 2023. Top government spokesperson Hirokazu Matsuno said the role of defence minister went to Minoru Kihara, a pro-Taiwan politician who has visited the island in the past and belongs to a Japan-Taiwan interparliamentary group. Kihara will also oversee the bolstering of Japan's military as part of a plan to double defence spending over five years by 2027. China claims Taiwan as its own territory and will be sensitive to any shift in Japan's stance on the democratically governed island. "Even if the foreign and defence minister posts change, there won't be any change or impact on Japan's diplomatic policy."

Persons: Fumio Kishida, Adek Berry, Yoko Kamikawa, Hirokazu Matsuno, Minoru Kihara, Kihara, Takashi Kawakami, Shigenobu Tamura, Tim Kelly, Yoshifumi, Sakura Murakami, Chang, Ran Kim, Kantaro, Clarence Fernandez, Stephen Coates Organizations: ASEAN, Pacific, Rights, Liberal Democratic Party, Takushoku University, LDP, NHK, Thomson Locations: Jakarta, Indonesia, Taiwan, Japan, Tokyo, China, East Asia, United States

☆ Japan PM to Include Five Women in Cabinet - Media
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-12 | by ( Sept. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +1 min

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's cabinet will include five female ministers, the same number as in two previous administrations, Japanese media reported on Wednesday, as the premier seeks to boost his sagging ratings with fresh faces. About 43% of respondents disapproved of Kishida's leadership while 36% approved, according to a poll by public broadcaster NHK conducted last week. Yoko Kamikawa, a former justice minister who oversaw the execution of the Aum Shinrikyo doomsday cult that carried out a deadly sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway in 1995, will become foreign minister, the media outlets said. The number of women in cabinet is the same as previous cabinets led by former premiers Junichiro Koizumi and Shinzo Abe. Kishida has also appointed pro-Taiwan politician Minoru Kihara to head the defence ministry, while retaining Shunichi Suzuki as finance minister and Yasutoshi Nishimura as economic minister, the media outlets said.

Persons: Fumio Kishida's, Kishida, Yoko Kamikawa, Sanae, Junichiro Koizumi, Shinzo Abe, Minoru Kihara, Suzuki, Yasutoshi Nishimura, Sakura Murakami, Miral Fahmy Organizations: NHK Locations: TOKYO, Tokyo, Taiwan

☆ China's balloons give Japan and Taiwan a reason to share intelligence, says lawmaker
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

TOKYO, Feb 16 (Reuters) - The flight of suspected Chinese surveillance balloons has shown that Japan and Taiwan need to share "critical" intelligence about possible aerial threats, a senior defence policymaker for Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party said. Japan said on Tuesday it suspected Chinese spy balloons had flown over Japan at least three times, most recently in 2021. The change will add unmanned aircraft to those," Minoru Kihara, one of the lawmakers, told reporters after the briefing. Japan on Wednesday said it had warned China that violations of its airspace by surveillance balloons were unacceptable. China said the balloon was a civilian weather-monitoring aircraft and it accused the United States of sending its balloons into Chinese airspace.

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