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JAPAN is preparing to change the sub-surface propulsion system for its Soryu submarines, dumping German and Swedish technology in a move that could clear a potential barrier to Australia purchasing the Japanese boats. Tokyo’s plans to switch from the Kockums propulsion system to specially developed lithium ion batteries eliminates the potential embarrassment for Australia in ­rejecting German and Swedish bids in favour of using a sub that is powered by their intellectual property. The Kockums air-independent propulsion (AIP) system was designed in Sweden but licensed to Kawasaki Heavy Industries to incorporate into the Soryu class to power the subs on...

‘Liaoning’ shut down during recent sea trials There’s no more of a conspicuous and potent symbol of China’s growing naval power than the aircraft carrier Liaoning. But the 53,000-ton, 999-foot-long carrier could be dangerous to her crew and prone to engine failures. If so, that makes the vessel as much of a liability as an asset to Beijing. The ex-Soviet carrier once went by the name Varyag until a cash-strapped Ukraine sold the ship to Beijing in 1998. The Chinese navy has since invested considerable resources into modernizing the warship and testing her at sea. But on at least one...

Japan’s trade and justice ministers resigned Monday after accusations they misused campaign funds in the biggest setback so far for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s conservative administration. The two ministers were among five women Abe named to his Cabinet in a reshuffle early last month. Their resignations may help to control the damage to his relatively high popularity ratings, but are a blow to efforts to promote women in politics and business as part of economic revival policies. […] Two other female Cabinet members known as Abe’s close allies on the right have been criticized for suspected ties with racist groups....

Fifty years ago, the world woke up to news the nation - then at odds with Moscow and Washington - had detonated its own atomic bomb China's first atomic test on October 16, 1964, in Xinjiang. Mao wanted to prove the nation was a global power. Photo: SCMP Pictures Fifty years ago yesterday, China detonated its first atomic bomb, joining the United States, Soviet Union, Britain and France as the only nuclear powers at the time. The explosion in Lop Nur in eastern Xinjiang paved the way for the nation's further development of nuclear weapons and its emergence as a...

A Russian container ship carrying hundreds of tons of fuel was drifting without power in rough seas off British Columbia's northern coast Friday, a scenario a nearby First Nation community described as its "worst fear." The Canadian Forces' joint rescue coordination center in Victoria said the Russian carrier Simushir lost power late Thursday night off Haida Gwaii, also known as the Queen Charlotte Islands, as it was making its way from Washington state to Russia. Canadian Navy Lt. Paul Penderghast said the ship was drifting nine nautical miles from shore, though he said it was largely maintaining that position. "It...

A HIGH-POWERED German submarine delegation is in Canberra to demand an open competition for the nation’s biggest ever defence contract — a new navy submarine. German giant ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS), the parent company of leading submarine builder HDW, has launched an aggressive bid to head off Japan for the multi-billion dollar job. And in good news for thousands of shipyard workers at the ASC yard in Port Adelaide and elsewhere around the nation, TKMS said it would be happy to build the boats in Australia. The company has built more than 160 diesel powered submarines and it has promised...

China will need to produce about 1,200 fourth-generation fighters to be able to confront the air forces of Japan, South Korea and Taiwan, if the three nations are successful in their bids to acquire advanced American fighters, in any potential conflict, according to the Moscow-based Russian Military Analysis on Oct. 9. Even though Taiwan maintains close economic ties with mainland China, the Russian-language newspaper said that the Taiwanese government under the leadership of Ma Ying-jeou has not given up its intention of purchasing advanced fighters from the United States such as the F-16C/D and even the F-35. Japan and South...

The United States and Russia are dangerously close to stumbling into a war over Ukraine that could go nuclear and kill hundreds of millions of people in a single day, a Nobel laureate who is one of the world’s leading experts on the dangers of nuclear weapons warned in Washington this week. “It’s an incredibly dangerous situation. …If there’s a nuclear war tonight, that’s the Northern Hemisphere (of the entire world) gone, Dr. Helen Caldicott told a National Press Club Newsmakers news conference on Wednesday. She was speaking on the topic: “Ukraine: Is Nuclear Conflict Likely?” Caldicott is an Australian...

Eurozone in danger of repeating Japanese stagnation, IMF chief warns By Benjamin Fox BRUSSELS - International Monetary Fund boss Christine Lagarde has warned that the eurozone risks following Japan and falling into a prolonged cycle of recession and stagnation. Speaking on Thursday (9 October) ahead of the IMF's annual meeting in Washington DC, Lagarde said: “We have also alerted to the risk of recession in the eurozone", putting the likelihood of a drop in output at "between 35-40%, which is not insignificant". “We are not saying that the eurozone is heading towards recession, but we are saying that there is...

The world is warming. The beasts are dying en masse. The oceans are rising. The deserts are roasting. It's the survival of the fittest out there, guys. Who's going to win, evolutionarily speaking? Men or women? It turns out that warming temperatures may have a surprising gender bias—in favor of women. That's the conclusion of a team of Japanese researchers who have discovered a "statistically significant" association between climate change—including rising temperatures and extreme weather events—and the birth rates of boys and girls in Japan. Warmer temperatures have accompanied an increased proportion of female babies in the population, and a...

Japanese police questioned a university student and several others Monday over suspected plans to travel to Syria to join the Islamic State group, news reports said. […] Public broadcaster NHK and Kyodo News service said investigators questioned a 26-year-old male Hokkaido University student and several men who shared a house with him on suspicion they were preparing to go to Syria to fight. Investigators believe that the student, who is on a leave of absence from school, responded to a poster at a used-book store in downtown Tokyo offering positions for “work in Syria,” Kyodo said. …

The iconic image of majestic bullet train blasting past the snowcapped peaks of Mount Fuji has become a symbol of Japan's growth into an economic and technological juggernaut. This month, the blue-and-white liveried Shinkansen Bullet Train that stars in the photo above is officially 50 years old. Over the past half century, the Bullet Train has become inextricably linked with the nation and the people it has served so diligently. Since its debut in 1964, the Shinkansen has grown from a single line connecting Tokyo and Osaka to lines linking all parts of the country. These days, the BBC reports...

China has deployed its most advanced guided-missile destroyer to the disputed South China Sea to participate in a large naval exercise, according to Taiwanese media. This week, the Want Daily and its English-language sister site, Want China Times, reported that China deployed the Kunming, the first of its new Type 052D guided-missile destroyers (DDG), to the South China Sea last month. The purpose of the deployment was to hold a military drill in the disputed wars simulating an Anti-Access/Area Denial (A2/AD) attack. The Type 052D guided missile destroyer was joined by some of two of its earlier variants, a Type...

The August issue of Russia's National Defense Magazine has advised the country to buy warships from China to compensate for its own weakness in shipbuilding and to strengthen Russia's power in the Asia-Pacific region. China's Type 054A frigate may be an ideal option for Russia, the report said. With debate sparked by the suspension of a French delivery of two Mistral-class amphibious assault ships to Russia, the need to bring in escort ships is all the more pressing. Even if Russia receives the two warships — the Vladivostok and the Sevastopol — and integrates them into the fleet in the...

Japan’s largest warship since World War II has left for its first set of sea trials last week ahead of entering the Japanese Maritime Self Defense Force (JMSDF)fleet next year. JS Izumo (DDH-183) departed Tokyo Bay on Sept. 23, as seen as in a video on YouTube, for the first round of what will be about six months of sea trials ahead of the ship’s commissioning next year, a JMSDF official told Jane’s Defence Weekly on Monday. The 24,000-ton helicopter carrier is the first of two planned ships. Izumo will enter the JMSDF force next year. DDH-184 will enter the...

The modernization of China's naval fleet has stalled on yet another setback, the use of Ukrainian turbines in all six Type 052C destroyers, according to the Canada-based Kanwa Defense Review. The two gas turbines in each Type 052C vessel are DN/DA-80s imported from Ukraine. Rumors from the Chinese Navy indicate that Ukrainian generators are extremely hard to maintain and overhaul. Designed to power merchant vessels, they are too heavy for destroyer-class ships. The weight alone has excluded them from the Russian and Indian navies. Naval dispatches from various nations have already indicated that Type 052C destroyers performed more slowly than...

J-31 mock-up appears on carrier deck A full-scale model of China’s J-31 stealth fighter prototype has appeared on the flight deck of the Chinese navy’s aircraft carrier mock-up, fueling speculation that the radar-evading jet could become part of China’s carrier air wing. If so, China would enter the race alongside the United States to be the first to deploy a stealth jet on a flattop. The U.S. Navy is struggling to develop the F-35C stealth fighter to fly from the American fleet’s 10 large carriers starting no earlier than late 2018. China often builds mock-ups of its new warships on...

Dozens of hikers were stranded Saturday on the slopes of an erupting Japanese volcano that has reportedly killed one person and left 30 more seriously injured. Ash, rocks and steam continued to spew from Mount Ontake more than nine hours after it sprang violently to life as around 250 people were trying to scale its peak.

TOKYO (AP) — A volcano erupted in central Japan on Saturday, catching mountain climbers by surprise and seriously injuring at least one person. With a sound likened to thunder, Mt. Ontake spewed large white plumes high into the sky, sending people fleeing and covering surrounding areas in ash. Several people were injured, including one who was unconscious, according to Japanese media reports.

Japan's Meteorological Agency is warning people to stay away from Mount Ontake in central Japan following a volcanic eruption. The agency said the volcano on the border between Nagano and Gifu prefectures erupted shortly before noon on Saturday. Video taken by an NHK helicopter shows the volcano spewing gray smoke up into the sky. The agency upgraded its 5-stage volcanic alert level to 3 -- which urges people not to approach the mountain. Firefighters say about 200 climbers have taken shelter at a cottage near the top. They say a few people are reportedly injured. Mount Ontake last erupted 7...