# Japan Self-Defense Forces
Latest news and articles about Japan Self-Defense Forces
Total: 2 articles found
Breaking the Eighty-Year Silence: Japan’s Military Return to the Philippines
Japan has deployed 420 Ground Self-Defense Force personnel to the Philippines for the Balikatan 2026 exercises, marking its first full-scale military participation on Philippine soil since WWII. This move, facilitated by the recently enacted Reciprocal Access Agreement, underscores a burgeoning trilateral security alignment between Washington, Tokyo, and Manila.
Satellite Images Show Japan’s Izumo-Class Ships Becoming Carrier-Capable — A Regional Turning Point
Satellite imagery through November 2025 shows visible progress in Japan’s retrofit of its Izumo-class ships to operate F-35B fighters, with bow reshaping and hangar upgrades under way. Tokyo plans to complete the conversions by fiscal years 2027–2028, a move that enhances U.S.-Japan interoperability but has drawn strong objections from Beijing, which frames the changes as a dangerous turn toward re-militarisation.