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Japan PM Ishiba inspects SDF carrier Kaga

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba (2nd from L) inspects the honor guard aboard Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force carrier Kaga at Yokosuka base in Kanagawa Prefecture on Aug. 23, 2025. (Pool photo)

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Japan PM Ishiba inspects SDF carrier Kaga

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba (L) is welcomed with an honor guard aboard the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force carrier Kaga at Yokosuka base in Kanagawa Prefecture on Aug. 23, 2025. (Pool photo)

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Japan PM Ishiba inspects SDF carrier Kaga

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba sits in the pilot's seat of a helicopter as he inspects Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force carrier Kaga at Yokosuka base in Kanagawa Prefecture on Aug. 23, 2025. (Pool photo)

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Japan PM Ishiba inspects SDF carrier Kaga

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba (2nd from R) and Defense Minister Gen Nakatani (far R) inspect Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force carrier Kaga at Yokosuka base in Kanagawa Prefecture on Aug. 23, 2025. (Pool photo)

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Japan PM Ishiba inspects SDF carrier Kaga

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba (C) inspects Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force carrier Kaga at Yokosuka base in Kanagawa Prefecture on Aug. 23, 2025. (Pool photo)

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Japan PM Ishiba inspects SDF carrier Kaga

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba (C) inspects Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force carrier Kaga at Yokosuka base in Kanagawa Prefecture on Aug. 23, 2025. (Pool photo)

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Japan sets up new SDF command to unify defense force operations

TOKYO, Japan, March 24 Kyodo - Gen. Kenichiro Nagumo, who heads the Japan Self-Defense Forces' newly created Joint Operations Command, receives the commander's flag from Defense Minister Gen Nakatani during the inauguration ceremony at the Defense Ministry in Tokyo on March 24, 2025. The permanent body, comprising about 240 personnel, is meant to help Japan to better integrate its ground, maritime and air defenses. (Kyodo)

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[Breaking News]Japan sets up new SDF command to unify defense force operations

TOKYO, Japan, March 25 Kyodo - Gen. Kenichiro Nagumo, who heads the Japan Self-Defense Forces' newly created Joint Operations Command, holds a press conference at the Defense Ministry in Tokyo on March 24, 2025, following the inauguration ceremony. The permanent body, comprising about 240 personnel, is meant to help Japan better integrate its ground, maritime and air defenses. (Kyodo)

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[Breaking News]Japan sets up new SDF command to unify defense force operations

TOKYO, Japan, March 25 Kyodo - Personnel of the Japan Self-Defense Forces' newly created Joint Operations Command pose for a photo following its inauguration ceremony at the Defense Ministry in Tokyo on March 24, 2025. The permanent body, comprising about 240 personnel, is aimed at better integrating Japan's ground, maritime and air defenses. (Kyodo)

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Japanese SDF equipment

File photo taken Nov. 17, 2023, shows a Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force Landing Craft Air Cushion (LCAC) landing on Tokunoshima Island in the southwestern Japan prefecture of Kagoshima, during a drill.

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Japanese SDF equipment

File photo taken Nov. 19, 2023, shows a Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force Landing Craft Air Cushion (LCAC) heading to Tokunoshima Island in the southwestern Japan prefecture of Kagoshima, during a drill.

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Japan defense minister Kihara on SDF chopper crash

TOKYO, Japan, July 9 Kyodo -Japanese Defense Minister Minoru Kihara holds a press conference at the ministry in Tokyo on July 9, 2024, at which he released the results of an investigation into the deadly collision of two Maritime Self-Defense Force helicopters in April over the Pacific during a night drill.(Kyodo)

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218 SDF members, defense bureaucrats disciplined over scandals

Adm. Ryo Sakai, chief of staff of Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, apologizes during a press conference at the Defense Ministry in Tokyo on July 12, 2024, after 218 Self-Defense Forces members and senior bureaucrats were disciplined by the ministry in connection with a spate of issues including the mishandling of classified information.

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218 SDF members, defense bureaucrats disciplined over scandals

Adm. Ryo Sakai, chief of staff of Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, holds a press conference at the Defense Ministry in Tokyo on July 12, 2024, after the ministry disciplined 218 Self-Defense Forces members and senior bureaucrats in connection with a spate of issues including the mishandling of classified information.

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Japan defense minister Kihara on SDF chopper crash

Japanese Defense Minister Minoru Kihara holds a press conference at the ministry in Tokyo on July 9, 2024, at which he released the results of an investigation into the deadly collision of two Maritime Self-Defense Force helicopters in April over the Pacific during a night drill.

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Japan defense minister Kihara on SDF chopper crash

Japanese Defense Minister Minoru Kihara holds a press conference at the ministry in Tokyo on July 9, 2024, at which he released the results of an investigation into the deadly collision of two Maritime Self-Defense Force helicopters in April over the Pacific during a night drill.

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MSDF ship on mission to recover bodies from missing Japan SDF chopper

Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force submarine rescue ship Chihaya is pictured from Okinawa Prefecture's Ikema Island on April 17, 2023. Five bodies and part of the SDF UH-60JA helicopter, which went missing with 10 personnel aboard off the southern prefecture, were located a day earlier.

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MSDF ship on mission to recover bodies from missing Japan SDF chopper

Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Force submarine rescue ship Chihaya is pictured from Okinawa Prefecture's Ikema Island on April 17, 2023. Five bodies and part of the SDF's UH-60JA helicopter, which went missing with 10 personnel aboard off the southern prefecture, were located the day before.

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Search continues for missing Japan SDF chopper

The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force submarine rescue ship Chihaya searches in waters off Okinawa Prefecture's Ikema Island on April 14, 2023, for a Ground Self-Defense Force helicopter that went missing on April 6 with 10 personnel aboard.

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Search continues for missing Japan SDF chopper

A Maritime Self-Defense Force vessel is pictured from Okinawa Prefecture's Ikema Island on April 14, 2023, as it takes part in the search for a Ground Self-Defense Force helicopter that went missing on April 6 with 10 personnel aboard.

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Search continues for missing Japan SDF chopper

The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force minesweeper Etajima is pictured from Okinawa Prefecture's Ikema Island on April 14, 2023, as it takes part in the search for a Ground Self-Defense Force helicopter that went missing on April 6 with 10 personnel aboard.

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Search continues for missing Japan SDF chopper

Submarine rescue ship Chihaya of Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Force searches in waters off Miyako Island in the southern prefecture of Okinawa on April 13, 2023, for a Ground Self-Defense Force helicopter that went missing on April 6 with 10 people aboard.

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Search continues for missing Japan SDF chopper

Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force minesweeper Toyoshima sails in waters off Miyako Island in the southern prefecture of Okinawa on April 13, 2023, as part of the search efforts for a Ground Self-Defense Force helicopter that went missing on April 6 with 10 people aboard.

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Search continues for missing Japan SDF chopper

A helicopter of Japan's Ground Self-Defense Force and a patrol boat of the Maritime Self-Defense Force search waters off Miyako Island, Okinawa Prefecture, southern Japan, on April 11, 2023, for a GSDF UH-60JA helicopter that went missing with 10 people aboard on April 6.

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Search continues for missing Japan SDF chopper

A helicopter of Japan's Air Self-Defense Force and a patrol boat of the Maritime Self-Defense Force search waters off Miyako Island, Okinawa Prefecture, southern Japan, on April 11, 2023, for a GSDF UH-60JA helicopter that went missing with 10 people aboard on April 6.

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Search continues for missing Japan SDF chopper

A helicopter of Japan's Ground Self-Defense Force and a patrol boat of the Maritime Self-Defense Force search waters off Miyako Island, Okinawa Prefecture, southern Japan, on April 11, 2023, for a GSDF UH-60JA helicopter that went missing with 10 people aboard on April 6.

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Search continues for missing Japan SDF chopper

The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force submarine rescue ship Chihaya (above) and minesweeper Shishijima search in waters off Miyako Island, Okinawa Prefecture, southern Japan, on April 11, 2023, for a Ground Self-Defense Force UH-60JA helicopter that went missing with 10 people aboard on April 6.

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Search for missing Japan SDF chopper

Submarine rescue ship Chihaya of Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Force searches on April 10, 2023, in waters off Miyako Island in the southern Japan prefecture of Okinawa for a Ground Self-Defense Force helicopter that went missing on April 6 with 10 personnel aboard.

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Search for missing Japan SDF chopper

Submarine rescue ship Chihaya of Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Force searches on April 10, 2023, in waters off Miyako Island in the southern Japan prefecture of Okinawa for a Ground Self-Defense Force helicopter that went missing on April 6 with 10 personnel aboard.

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Search continues for missing Japan SDF chopper

Photo taken off Miyako Island, Okinawa Prefecture, southern Japan, on April 10, 2023, shows the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force submarine rescue ship Chihaya searching for a Ground Self-Defense Force UH-60JA helicopter that went missing with 10 members aboard on April 6.

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Search continues for missing Japan SDF chopper

Photo taken off Miyako Island, Okinawa Prefecture, southern Japan, on April 10, 2023, shows the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force submarine rescue ship Chihaya (above) and minesweeper Shishijima searching for a Ground Self-Defense Force UH-60JA helicopter that went missing with 10 people aboard on April 6.

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Search continues for missing Japan SDF chopper

Photo taken off Miyako Island, Okinawa Prefecture, southern Japan, on April 8, 2023, shows the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force minesweeper Shishijima searching for a Ground Self-Defense Force UH-60JA helicopter that went missing with 10 members aboard on April 6.

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Search continues for missing Japan SDF chopper

Photo taken off Miyako Island, Okinawa Prefecture, southern Japan, on April 7, 2023, shows the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force minesweeper Shishijima searching for a Ground Self-Defense Force UH-60JA helicopter that went missing with 10 members aboard on April 6.

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Search continues for missing Japan SDF chopper

Photo taken off Miyako Island, Okinawa Prefecture, southern Japan, on April 8, 2023, shows the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force minesweeper Shishijima searching for a Ground Self-Defense Force UH-60JA helicopter that went missing with 10 members aboard on April 6.

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Search continues for missing Japan SDF chopper

Photo taken from a Kyodo News helicopter shows a Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force vessel searching for a missing Ground Self-Defense Force helicopter off Miyako Island in Okinawa Prefecture, southern Japan, on April 8, 2023. The UH-60JA multipurpose chopper with 10 personnel aboard disappeared from radar on April 6, shortly after taking off from the island for a land survey.

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Search for missing Japan SDF chopper

Photo taken from a Kyodo News helicopter shows a Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force vessel searching for a missing Ground Self-Defense Force helicopter in waters off Miyako Island of Okinawa Prefecture, southern Japan, on April 7, 2023. The UH-60JA multipurpose chopper with 10 personnel aboard disappeared from radar the previous day, shortly after taking off from the island to surveil nearby land features.

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Search for missing Japan SDF chopper

Photo taken from a Kyodo News helicopter shows a Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force vessel searching for a missing Ground Self-Defense Force helicopter in waters off Miyako Island of Okinawa Prefecture, southern Japan, on April 7, 2023. The UH-60JA multipurpose chopper with 10 personnel aboard disappeared from radar the previous day, shortly after taking off from the island to surveil nearby land features.

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Gov't to seek way to restart SDF mission if refueling law nixed

TOKYO, Japan - Defense Minister Masahiko Komura gestures during an interview with Kyodo News and other media in Tokyo on Sept. 4. He says the government will try to find a way to resume Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Force mission to refuel U.S.-led allied warships in the Indian Ocean even if the measure is voted down by the opposition.

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SDF officers' homes, workplaces raided over defense data leak

TOKYO, Japan - Investigators leave an official apartment house of the Maritime Self-Defense Force in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, on Aug. 28 after searching the home of a 34-year-old MSDF lieutenant commander over a leak of classified materials on high-tech Aegis vessels.

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Japan MSDF relief ship in Philippines

CEBU, Philippines - Rear Adm. Hisanori Sato (L front) of Japan's Self-Defense Forces and the Philippine's regional military commander Lt. Gen. Roy Deveraturda shake hands at a Philippine military base in Cebu Province on Nov. 22, 2013. A Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force vessel carrying the bulk of SDF personnel to join emergency response and relief operations teams in the typhoon-hit Philippines arrived on Cebu Island, near the worst-hit island of Leyte.

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Relief efforts for Philippines

HIROSHIMA, Japan - Photo taken from a Kyodo News helicopter off Kure, Hiroshima Prefecture, on Nov. 18, 2013, shows the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force's transport ship Osumi, heading for the Philippines, with SDF members to conduct relief operations in the Southeast Asian country hit by powerful Typhoon Haiyan.

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SDF patrol plane

KAKAMIGAHARA, Japan - A ceremony is held to mark the first delivery of the P-1 jet, the next-generation Maritime Self-Defense Force patrol aircraft, at a Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd. plant in Kakamigahara, Gifu Prefecture, on March 26, 2013. The P-1 jet was domestically developed to replace the current P-3C planes.

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SDF patrol plane

KAKAMIGAHARA, Japan - A ceremony is held to mark the first delivery of the P-1 jet, the next-generation Maritime Self-Defense Force patrol aircraft, at a Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd. plant in Kakamigahara, Gifu Prefecture, on March 26, 2013. The P-1 jet was domestically developed to replace the current P-3C planes.

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SDF patrol plane

KAKAMIGAHARA, Japan - Photo shows one of the first P-1 jets, the next-generation Maritime Self-Defense Force patrol aircraft, during a ceremony at a Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd. plant in Kakamigahara, Gifu Prefecture, on March 26, 2013. The ceremony marked the first delivery of the P-1 jet, domestically developed to replace the current P-3C planes.

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Cracks in new SDF patrol aircraft

TOKYO, Japan - This file photo taken in Kakamigahara, Gifu Prefecture, in July 2007, shows a new Maritime Self-Defense Force patrol aircraft called the P-1. Officials of Japan's Defense Ministry said on Aug. 2, 2011, that it has found cracks at several spots on the wings and fuselage of the new jet now under development.

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SDF sailors acquitted over fatal destroyer collision

YOKOHAMA, Japan - Mitsuo Kichisei, a younger brother of a fisherman who died in a maritime collision, weeps at a press conference in Yokohama on May 11, 2011. The Yokohama District Court in Kanagawa Prefecture on the same day acquitted two Maritime Self-Defense Force members of charges including professional negligence resulting in death over the 2008 collision between an MSDF destroyer and a fishing boat off Chiba Prefecture that killed two fishermen.

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SDF sailors acquitted over fatal destroyer collision

TOKYO, Japan - File photo taken in February 2008 shows the fishing boat Seitoku Maru (front) after it collided with the Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyer Atago (back), with a Japan Coast Guard patrol boat in between the two vessels, in the Pacific Ocean off Chiba Prefecture. Two MSDF officers were acquitted by the Yokohama District Court on May 11, 2011, over the collision that killed two fishermen.

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SDF relief work

KESENNUMA, Japan - Survivors from the island of Oshima, which was devastated by the March 11 tsunami, arrive to take a bath on the Maritime Self-Defense Force helicopter carrier Hyuga off the coast of Kesennuma in Miyagi Prefecture on April 1, 2011.

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GSDF Gen. Oriki to become new SDF chief

TOKYO, Japan - Ground Self-Defense Force Gen. Ryoichi Oriki (in this file photo) will become chief of staff of the Self-Defense Forces on March 24 succeeding Maritime Self-Defense Force Adm. Takashi Saito.

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Japan suspends flights of 176 SDF choppers over defects

TOKYO, Japan - The Defense Agency suspended flights of 176 Self-Defense Force helicopters for safety checks after a gear in the tail rotor of an SH-60J Maritime Self-Defense Force patrol chopper (in file photo) was found cracked last week, agency officials said Oct. 17.