Nipponica

European countries are sending more air and sea forces to Asia for defense exercises with Japan, bringing them closer to what remains a distant security challenge: China.

A destroyer from Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Force held an exercise with a Turkish navy corvette on Sunday. Earlier this month, a Dutch frigate participated in the Netherlands' first joint exercise with an MSDF destroyer before heading to the upcoming U.S.-led international Rim of the Pacific exercise off Hawaii.

Regardless if anyone will say it out loud, but Japan is clearly a hub for a greater Pacific alliance of western nations against China, Russia, and North Korea. The real question is if Abe's dream of expanding the SDF into a military will become reality within this framework.

Australia's Qantas Airways has joined a number of carriers forgoing scheduling flights to and from regional Japanese airports as Japan faces a ground airport staff shortage and an acute fuel shortage also looms.

Earlier this year, Qantas had been assessing recommencing seasonal flying to Sapporo for the next ski season in Hokkaido in the north. But a specific plan did not materialize due to supplier constraints at the airport, including labor shortages. Qantas had discussions with local airport stakeholders but did not enter the government filing process, and thus did not schedule any flights.

The article cites closing domestic oil refineries and trucker shortages as the reasons for these decreases in service. Once those are addressed, one would hope that these carriers return, but there is no guarantee. For Sapporo and other destinations in Hokkaido especially, it would be a huge blow to tourism and connectivity for residents.