Posted on 07/09/2013 1:00:12 AM PDT by TexGrill
The Yomiuri Shimbun The Defense Ministry is looking to expand the capabilities of the Self-Defense Forces to make them akin to those performed by the U.S. Marine Corps, including the ability to retake outlying islands that have been invaded, sources said.
The changes are expected to be included in a midterm report to be issued later this month on the revision of the National Defense Program Outlines late this year. The idea is primarily intended to bolster the defenses of the Nansei Islands, in particular the Senkaku Islands, the sources said.
The about 7,000 troops of the Ground Self-Defense Force’s Western Army Infantry Regiment, based in Sasebo, Nagasaki Prefecture, are currently in charge of defending outlying islands.
Enabling these troops to perform landing operations like the U.S. Marine Corps would require more and better equipment, a framework for emergency coordination between the three SDF branches and other improvements.
In addition to calling for marine corps-like functions in the midterm report, the Defense Ministry is expected to consider the following three steps: strengthening the Western Army Infantry Regiment, creating special units equipped with amphibious vehicles and Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft, and enabling interforce operations between the three SDF branches.
(Excerpt) Read more at the-japan-news.com ...
Precedent Erkel Mugabe is gonna need a crisis in 2014.......
For anyone in any doubt, the Japanese code of Bushido, and the related Japanese ferocity of spirit, has NOT changed since World War II - or, indeed, at any time in the past three hundred years.
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