This follows joint drills by Chinese and Russian strategic bombers and fighters on Tuesday that prompted Japan and South Korea to scramble planes to monitor them.

Japan has scrambled jets to monitor Russian and Chinese air forces conducting joint patrols around the country, the Japanese defense ministry said late Tuesday, amid rising tensions between Tokyo and Beijing.

China and Japan clash over 'dangerous' radar incident as Chinese jets target Japanese aircraft near Okinawa, escalating military tensions between the nations.

Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto will play for Japan in the upcoming World Baseball Classic, per Yahoo! Japan.

Kareem El, a civilian from Washington, D.C., visiting Okinawa, was held by U.S. military police for declining to provide identification.

Japanese companies said strained diplomatic relations with China are their primary concern as they head into 2026, followed closely by U.S. trade policies, a Reuters survey showed on Thursday.

Pan Pacific Copper and Lundin Mining Corp. have agreed to keep processing fees to turn copper ores into metal broadly unchanged next year, with the miner choosing not to pursue reductions that would further squeeze the Japanese smelter’s margins.