https://www.scmp.com/rss/522829/feed The latest news and top stories on Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. A Japanese multinational engineering electrical equipment and electronics corporation, headquartered in Tokyo, MHI operates globally across diverse sectors including energy, logistics, infrastructure, industrial machinery, aerospace and defence. Its extensive product portfolio encompasses power systems, ships, aircraft, space launch vehicles and defence equipment. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Maria Siow Maria Siow A landmark warship deal between Australia and Japan is expected to drive further defence technology cooperation between the two Asia-Pacific nations, comparable in scope to Canberra’s security arrangements with Washington. Analysts say the agreement with Tokyo will also help Canberra address navy shortfalls and reduce its overreliance on the US at a time of great volatility. Australian Defence Minister Richard Marles and his Japanese counterpart Shinjiro Koizumi announced on Saturday that the... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3351174/australias-us7-billion-japan-warship-deals-signals-shift-us-overreliance?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3351174/australias-us7-billion-japan-warship-deals-signals-shift-us-overreliance?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 24 Apr 2026 00:00:21 +0000 Kyodo Kyodo Japan and Australia said on Saturday they have finalised contracts to jointly deliver the first three of 11 ships for the Australian navy based on the upgraded Japanese Mogami-class frigate, as the two countries deepen their defence cooperation amid China’s growing assertiveness. The deal, announced by Japanese Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi and his Australian counterpart Richard Marles in Melbourne, comes ahead of Japan’s planned easing of its rules on defence equipment exports, which place... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3350577/japan-australia-finalise-contracts-deliver-first-3-planned-frigates?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3350577/japan-australia-finalise-contracts-deliver-first-3-planned-frigates?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 18 Apr 2026 10:08:57 +0000 Liu Zhen Liu Zhen China’s military mouthpiece accused Japan of “dangerously expanding” its defence industry – in capacity, technology and international engagement – and said it had “crossed the red line”. In a rare full-page report on Monday, PLA Daily claimed Japan possessed an “astonishing” stockpile of nuclear materials and that it had the technology to produce nuclear weapons. It said 44.4 tonnes of plutonium had already been separated by the end of 2024 – enough to make about 5,500 nuclear warheads. The... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3348518/japan-has-enough-plutonium-make-5500-nuclear-warheads-pla-daily-says?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3348518/japan-has-enough-plutonium-make-5500-nuclear-warheads-pla-daily-says?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 31 Mar 2026 08:08:14 +0000 Laura Zhou Laura Zhou China and Japan’s long-standing rivalry has deep historic roots, and relations between the two have taken a significant turn for the worse in recent months. This article, the third in a three-part series, looks at how US President Donald Trump, Taiwan and war in the Middle East factor into their relationship. Read the second part here. As Chinese President Xi Jinping is set to host regional leaders for the Apec summit later this year, observers are closely watching whether the summit could... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3347188/uncompromising-takaichis-meeting-trump-seen-key-china-japan-ties?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3347188/uncompromising-takaichis-meeting-trump-seen-key-china-japan-ties?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 19 Mar 2026 12:00:14 +0000 Seong Hyeon Choi Seong Hyeon Choi Japan is deploying its domestically produced long-range missiles near the East China Sea – a move that could be interpreted by Beijing as crossing a “strategic threshold”, analysts say. Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said on Monday that the upgraded Type-12 surface-to-ship missiles would be deployed at Camp Kengun in the southwestern Japanese prefecture of Kumamoto by the end of this month. Ground forces vehicles carrying the first batch of missile launchers were reportedly... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3346610/why-japans-type-12-missile-deployment-may-complicate-chinas-regional-strategy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3346610/why-japans-type-12-missile-deployment-may-complicate-chinas-regional-strategy?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 15 Mar 2026 02:00:13 +0000 Holly Chik Holly Chik China has become the first country to mass produce the strongest carbon fibre, which has wide applications for defence industries such as aerospace, drones and robots, state broadcaster CCTV’s military channel reported on Wednesday. The domestically developed T1200-grade fibre has a tensile strength 10 times greater than ordinary steel, yet it is less than one-tenth of a human hair in diameter, according to the state broadcaster. Mass production of the ultra-strength fibre at a projected output... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3346398/china-beats-us-japan-carbon-fibre-arms-race-create-worlds-first-t1200-factory?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3346398/china-beats-us-japan-carbon-fibre-arms-race-create-worlds-first-t1200-factory?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 13 Mar 2026 04:00:12 +0000 Ji Siqi,Kandy Wong Ji Siqi,Kandy Wong China has added 20 Japanese entities to its export control list and 20 more to a watch list scrutinising the trade of select goods, increasing economic pressure on Tokyo in a move that widens the scope of the countries’ prolonged diplomatic row to include some of Japan’s largest companies. Chinese exporters have been banned from shipping dual-use goods – items with military and civilian applications – to the firms and institutions on the export control list, Beijing’s Ministry of Commerce said... https://www.scmp.com/economy/global-economy/article/3344394/china-adds-20-japanese-firms-export-control-list?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/global-economy/article/3344394/china-adds-20-japanese-firms-export-control-list?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 24 Feb 2026 02:12:47 +0000 Julian Ryall Julian Ryall Japan’s latest rocket failure has triggered much soul-searching and resurrected a debate about whether the country’s space programme, long defined by caution and incremental progress, is equipped for a market that now rewards speed, repetition and a tolerance for failure. On Monday, the domestically built H3 rocket, Japan’s new flagship launcher, failed, costing the country a satellite and drawing sharp criticism from the Japanese media. Local media called the incident a “significant setback” to... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3337907/how-japans-space-industry-can-regain-thrust-after-h3-rocket-failure?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3337907/how-japans-space-industry-can-regain-thrust-after-h3-rocket-failure?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 28 Dec 2025 02:30:08 +0000 Kyodo Kyodo A Japanese H3 rocket carrying the sixth satellite in a seven-orbiter geolocation system failed to deliver its payload into orbit after lift-off on Monday, the country’s science ministry said. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency is assessing the situation and investigating the cause of the second-stage engine’s premature cut-off that occurred shortly after lift-off from the Tanegashima Space Centre in Kagoshima prefecture. Placed on multiple orbital planes, the Quasi-Zenith Satellite System... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3337292/japanese-h3-rocket-fails-launch-geolocation-satellite-orbit-after-engine-cuts-out?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3337292/japanese-h3-rocket-fails-launch-geolocation-satellite-orbit-after-engine-cuts-out?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 22 Dec 2025 06:54:44 +0000 Hamzah Rifaat Hamzah Rifaat Western analysts often frame automation, artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics as an existential threat to workers, with the risk of impending unemployment potentially triggering economic unrest. However, 74 per cent of all industrial robots deployed last year were in Asia, where they do not appear to be replacing workers but are instead redefining roles amid innovative modes for production and higher efficiency. As digital factories become ubiquitous, countries such as Vietnam and China are... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3335106/does-ais-rise-have-mean-job-losses-east-asia-tells-different-story?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3335106/does-ais-rise-have-mean-job-losses-east-asia-tells-different-story?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 07 Dec 2025 01:30:09 +0000 Liu Zhen Liu Zhen Japan – with China, North Korea and Russia in mind – plans to test its hypersonic missile-tracking technology in space, after its new HTV-X cargo spacecraft completes a resupply mission at the International Space Station. The spacecraft was launched from the Tanegashima Space Centre on Sunday, carried by an H3 rocket. It arrived at the ISS on Thursday, where it was captured by the station’s robotic arm and docked in. On board is 4.4 tonnes of food and supplies as well as scientific research... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3331085/japan-put-hypersonic-missile-tracking-technology-test-space?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3331085/japan-put-hypersonic-missile-tracking-technology-test-space?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 31 Oct 2025 13:00:09 +0000 Julian Ryall Julian Ryall Inspired by the success that Ukraine has had in fooling Russian forces on the battlefield, Japan is reportedly buying more inflatable dummy weapons systems, a move observers say is also embedded in Tokyo’s fighting history. Vehicle News reported on Friday that Japan’s Defence Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Agency announced last month a public tender for “balloon decoys” that would have to be delivered to an aircraft factory operated by Kawasaki Heavy Industries in Gifu Prefecture,... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3328546/inspired-ukraine-japan-eyes-inflatable-military-decoys-boost-deception-tactics?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3328546/inspired-ukraine-japan-eyes-inflatable-military-decoys-boost-deception-tactics?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 11 Oct 2025 01:30:15 +0000 Seong Hyeon Choi Seong Hyeon Choi Japan’s latest naval drills signalled its desire to broaden military ties as uncertainties grow over US defence support, while also sending a message to China, analysts said. Earlier this month, F-35B Lightning II fighters from the British Royal Navy’s 809 Naval Air Squadron conducted landings and launches on the Japanese destroyer-carrier JS Kaga as part of a multinational exercise in the Philippine Sea. The British Royal Navy and Royal Air Force, as well as the US Marine Corps, were present on... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3322908/us-mixed-signals-leading-japan-broaden-defence-ties-eye-china-analysts?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3322908/us-mixed-signals-leading-japan-broaden-defence-ties-eye-china-analysts?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 23 Aug 2025 10:00:22 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Japanese warships docked in New Zealand’s capital of Wellington on Friday for the first time in almost 90 years amid efforts by Tokyo to deepen its strategic ties in the South Pacific Ocean. Two destroyers with more than 500 crew on board sailed into Wellington harbour accompanied by the New Zealand navy ship HMNZS Canterbury. The JS Ise and destroyer JS Suzunami were on an Indo-Pacific deployment and arrived from Sydney, where Japan’s military took part this month in war games involving New... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/australasia/article/3321184/japanese-warships-sail-wellington-first-time-90-years?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/australasia/article/3321184/japanese-warships-sail-wellington-first-time-90-years?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 08 Aug 2025 05:16:15 +0000