Posted on 07/08/2005 11:47:26 PM PDT by Ronin
Thursday's deadly terrorist bombings in London raised fresh concerns among Tokyo officials Friday that Japan might be the next target due to its support for the U.S.-led war on Iraq.
These concerns were aired as officials stepped up security for public transport systems and at other key locations nationwide.
An Islamic group with al-Qaeda links has claimed responsibility for the London bombings, saying on its Web site that the explosions represented retaliation for Britain's involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan.
"Japan is among the targets of terrorists," Justice Minister Chieko Noono told reporters, adding the government would adopt stricter immigration measures and monitor the presence of foreigners visiting Japan illegally, especially travelers from Britain.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiroyuki Hosoda told a separate news conference that the government would do its utmost to gather information on terrorists and try to prevent them from entering the country, and try to ensure the safety of Japanese overseas.
"The government needs to take all possible measures" to ensure the safety of its people, Hosoda said, adding that extra precautions are needed because Japan could also come under terrorist attack.
National Public Safety Commission Chairman Yoshitaka Murata and transport minister Kazuo Kitagawa separately pledged to double their vigilance to ensure the security of public transportation networks and other key installations.
Defense Agency chief Yoshinori Ono meanwhile vowed to help eradicate terrorism in the international community. "We will take a stern attitude in a bid to combat terrorism. We should not flinch when we face terrorism," Ono told reporters.
Measures to be taken also include intensifying sea patrols by the Japan Coast Guard and the Maritime Self-Defense Force, tightening immigration scrutiny and increasing guards at crowded venues, including the ongoing World Exposition in Aichi Prefecture, Ono said.
Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, now in Gleneagles, Scotland, for the ongoing Group of Eight summit, said Japan would not bow to terrorism and would bolster antiterrorist steps at home.
"We will have to continue our fight against terrorism, and not give in," Koizumi told Japanese reporters traveling with him Thursday night.
Counterterrorism experts, however, pointed out that Japan is way behind global standards in terms of repelling international terrorists such as the al-Qaeda network.
"If a similar terrorist attack takes place in Tokyo, it is likely that the government will be thrown into chaos," said Makoto Asari, president of Tokyo-based Crisis Intelligence Co., a crisis-management consultancy.
Asari noted that although the Defense Agency and National Police Agency have special forces to fight terrorists, the government does not have an integrated body to make use of them.
The government should set up an integrated crisis team that can gather information, negotiate and work out responses to terrorist attacks on Japanese soil, Asari said.
Nobuhiko Suto, a Democratic Party of Japan lawmaker and an expert on crisis management, said the government has striven to fight terrorists since the 1995 sarin attack on the Tokyo subway system, but more is needed.
Sudo said, "The government needs to organize a department specifically to address terrorism, including analyzing terrorist groups, training experts and dispatching officials to gather intelligence."
"We have so far not received any information indicating (Japanese) casualties," Hosoda told reporters.
But, if they do manage it, the reaction of the Japanese population and government is very likely to be quite grim.
I think Italy may be next. I thought I heard something on the news that indicated that.
Also there were some relatively recent attacks foiled there.
But, if they do manage it, the reaction of the Japanese population and government is very likely to be quite grim.
Given the historical tendency of the Japanese towards xenophobia, and the lack of "diversity" training, I'd agree.
The IslamikazesTM (no pun intended...) don't realize what happens when the whole rest of the world (including most of the industrialized nations) gang up on you !
Italy would be a softer target than Japan. The Al Queda communique mentioned both Italy and Denmark.
It must be an uncomfortable experience being an Arab in Tokyo right now. Everywhere you go there are eyeballs all over you. Somehow, it fails to bother me, however.
Italy,Australia & the Netherlands are at more risk than Japan.
I knew I read it recently:
Italy Next In Line Says Interior Minister
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1439556/posts
After the coordinated bombings of central London's transport system on Thursday, Italy - one of the countries with the largest number of troops in Iraq - could be al-Qaeda's next target, the country's interior minister Giuseppe Pisanu said on Friday. Anti-terror surveillance of military, government buildings, tranport hubs, strategic industries, as well as schools, hospitals and other "soft" targets has been stepped up since the attacks on the British capital, he said.
Good god what a statement! Have you *been* to Japan lately?! They are, for the most part, pussycats. The Japanese of 2005 are nothing like the Japanese of 1945.
Nothing.
And we made sure of that.
I agree.
Australia raids homes to thwart terrorist attacks
June 23, 2005
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1428802/posts
Newspapers said the investigation had revealed "Islamic extremists" were considering attacks against train stations and the stock exchange building in Melbourne, as well as the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Sydney Opera House.
====
Fortunately they succeeded in foiling the attacks. Note the targets.
Samurai up!
They still have some fight in them!
That would be a real smart move on the Islamocrazies part. I hope they do. I hope they bomb Italy, Japan and blow down the Eiffel Tower.
It's time for the whole world to get over all this PC crap and get seriously PO'd about smacking the whole stinking Islamic world right into the dirt.
I have lived here for 19 years, and they are not quite the pussycats you seem to think.
After 9-11 they quietly rounded up and deported over a thousand illegals from Mid-Eastern countries. Mostly Iranians, but some Saudis and Pakistanis as well.
Police routinely stop foreigners and demand identification cards. If you don't produce it instantly they haul you in. Japanese police do not take crap from people and are not at all reluctant to use their nightsticks.
Interestingly, for the most part, keeps quiet about it, too.
Add their natural xenophobia and you are talking a dangerous mix.
I agree with you except for the part about bombing Italy, Japan and France. We just need to smack these PC perfect idiots upside the head ourselves. No need for more innocents to die.
From what I understand of the Japanese, you don't want to make an enemy of them.
Um, one 30-year-old story does not a countrywide truism make.
True...but they are otherwise very friendly and polite people. THere are some exceptions, but that's true in all cultures.
It may be a 30yr old story but it's mine, nonetheless. See post #17.
Japan would fold up.
Japan would be the last place for Ossama and his boys to go into. This is not a place that would accept Islam. The cops are absolute in their power...if they want to haul you into jail...just for looking funny at them...they can do so. Talk to Americans in the Japanese jail system...its not a vacation spot. To just walk in and think you can accomplish terrorism...is about as stupid as it gets. This is the last place to think of.
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