Japan

By Tony Osborne
Defense ministers from the Global Combat Air Program (GCAP) partner nations have reaffirmed ambitions to get the combat aircraft on contract by year-end.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Chen Chuanren
The Japan Air Self-Defense Force is looking to modernize against a wide, growing array of threats, from new ballistic missiles to next-generation fighters.
Missile Defense & Weapons

By Mark Carreau
Four academics have been awarded a prize for proposing the creation of a Panel on Asteroid Orbit Alteration.
Operations & Safety

By Chen Chuanren
Japan’s Board of Audit raised concerns over the low operational reliability of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force’s Kawasaki P-1 maritime patrol aircraft.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Chen Chuanren
Japan used the final H-IIA rocket flight to deploy the Global Observing Satellite for Greenhouse gases and Water cycle spacecraft.
Launch Vehicles & Propulsion

By Robert Wall
The ispace team investigating why its lunar lander crashed on June 6 says an anomaly in the systems laser range finder is the most likely culprit.
Operations & Safety

By Tony Osborne
The industrial joint venture company that will build the tri-national combat aircraft at the heart of the Global Combat Air Program has been christened Edgewing.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Chen Chuanren
Honda has entered the commercial spaceflight arena with the successful demonstration of a reusable launch vehicle.
Commercial Space

By Ben Goldstein
Wisk Aero has secured a series of strategic agreements aimed at preparing the way for autonomous air taxi services in Miami and Japan.
Advanced Air Mobility

By Robert Wall
Japanese space newcomer Interstellar Technologies plans to use the Hokkaido Spaceport for its Zero launchers, signing up to be the first user of the facility.
Launch Vehicles & Propulsion

By Irene Klotz
Japan’s ispace failed in its second attempt to land a spacecraft on the Moon June 5, the cause of which has not yet been determined.
Space Exploration

By Chen Chuanren
Japan's parliament passed a law May 30 that amends civil aviation law following a fatal runway incursion accident in January 2024 at Tokyo Haneda Airport.
Safety, Ops & Regulation

By Robert Wall
Japanese launcher-maker Space One says it has secured a contract to launch a Japanese Defense Ministry Earth-observation satellite.
Launch Vehicles & Propulsion

By Chen Chuanren
Leonardo is proposing that Japan participates in its Proteus autonomous rotorcraft program.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Chen Chuanren
A Leonardo executive has confirmed reports that it is in talks with Kawasaki Heavy Industries to integrate its systems into the P-1 maritime patrol aircraft.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Chen Chuanren
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) has unveiled its own advanced jet trainer.
Light Attack and Advanced Training

By Tony Osborne
BAE Systems officials have hinted at further progress in the assembly of the Future Combat Air Demonstrator aircraft.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Robert Wall
Iceye is expanding its international partnerships through a deal with IHI Corporation that would lead to synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellite production in Japan.
Satellites

By Chen Chuanren
Kawasaki Heavy has become the latest Japanese firm to enter the collaborative combat aircraft sector, showcasing its Collaborative Support Aircraft concept.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Aaron Karp
Japan and South Korea are initiating a pilot program in which passengers from each country will be able to use fast-track lanes at immigration at some airports.
Airports & Networks

By Chen Chuanren
The Japan Air Self Defense Force has received its first set of Lockheed Martin F-35A fighters equipped with Technical Refresh 3 upgrades.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Matthew Fulco
Japanese technology conglomerate Rakuten has entered into cooperation with a Ukrainian effort to develop a defense technology ecosystem.
Budget, Policy & Operations

By Ben Goldstein
U.S. startup LIFT Aircraft's single-seat Hexa multicopter lost an electric motor during a public demonstration flight at the Osaka World Expo in April.
Advanced Air Mobility

By Graham Warwick
The Japan Association for the 2025 World Exposition has canceled demo flights with LIFT Aircraft’s Hexa eVTOL after a motor propeller fell off in flight.
Advanced Air Mobility

By Garrett Reim
Space Compass Corp. has won a contract from Japan’s ministry of defense to demonstrate laser communications from a geostationary satellite.
Satellites