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French amphibious carrier visits Japan ahead of Pacific show of power By Nobuhiro Kubo | SASEBO As tension spikes on the Korean peninsula, a French amphibious assault carrier sailed into Japan's naval base of Sasebo on Saturday ahead of drills that risk upsetting China, which faces U.S. pressure to rein in North Korea's arms programs. The Mistral will lead exercises next month near Guam, along with forces from Japan, the United States and Britain, practicing amphibious landings around Tinian, an island about 2,500 km (1,553 miles) south of the Japanese capital of Tokyo. The drills, involving 700 troops, were planned...

A HUGE US Navy super-carrier is gearing up for war off the coast of North Korea after Kim Jong-un's third test fire flop this month. USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier group arrived in waters near the Korean peninsula, where it will join the USS Michigan, a guided missile submarine that docked in South Korea on Tuesday. The Nimitz-class U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson sailing towards the Korean coast this morning.

Full Title: North Korea threat: Experts paint dark picture of what fallout of pre-emptive strike may look likeForeign policy experts theorized Tuesday about what a pre-emptive military strike against North Korea may look like in the event that pressure from China and deepening isolation does little to stop Pyongyang's rogue regime. The Trump administration--which is holding an emergency meeting Wednesday at the White House-- has said “all options” are on the table, but the White House appears to be losing patience with Pyongyang. Former CIA analyst Bruce Klingner told Newsweek that Kim Jong Un, the North Korean leader, would likely...

As tensions heat up with North Korea and the potential for a nuclear exchange becomes all the more real, residents of Japan are panic buying everything from nuclear shelters to air purifiers in preparation: Sales of nuclear shelters and radiation-blocking air purifiers have surged in Japan in recent weeks as North Korea has pressed ahead with missile tests in defiance of U.N. sanctions. A small company that specializes in building nuclear shelters, generally under people’s houses, has received eight orders in April alone compared with six orders during a typical year. The company, Oribe Seiki Seisakusho, based in Kobe, western...

Japan gets real: what to do when the 10-minute missile warning comes BY ERIC JOHNSTON STAFF WRITER APR 24, 2017 OSAKA – With fears growing that North Korea could hold a nuclear or missile test as early as Tuesday, municipalities and prefectures nationwide are responding to a government request to provide information on what to do in the event Japan is targeted. The moves come as the Cabinet Secretariat Civil Protection Portal Site on what to do in case of a North Korean missile attack has seen a surge to about 2.6 million views this month from 450,000 in March,...

North Korea said it was ready to sink a US aircraft carrier to demonstrate its military might, while US President Donald Trump prepared to call on China and Japan to assist in mounting pressure on the rogue nation. The United States ordered the USS Carl Vinson carrier strike group to sail into waters off the Korean peninsula in response to growing concern over the North's nuclear and missile tests, and its threats to attack the US and its Asian allies. The US government has not specified where the carrier strike group is as it approaches the area. The aircraft carrier...

The first 24 hours of war on the Korean peninsula could cost hundreds of thousands of lives.What would a military conflict on the Korean Peninsula look like? To many, this question might trigger a severe case of apocalyptic anxiety, where, on the one hand, we assume that the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) is willing to embrace Götterdämmerung-like catastrophic violence to defend its Stalinist regime, whereas, on the other hand, we seem to be incapable of genuinely fathoming the carnage any military conflict between Seoul and Pyongyang would cause. One explanation for this may be that estimates of casualties...

North Korea threatened Sunday to sink a U.S. aircraft carrier to demonstrate its military prowess as two Japanese navy ships joined a U.S. strike group for exercises in the Philippine Sea. "Our revolutionary forces are combat-ready to sink a U.S. nuclear powered aircraft carrier with a single strike," according to North Korea's ruling Workers Party's newspaper, the Rodong Sinmum. The paper also likened the USS Carl Vinson to a "gross animal" and said a strike on the carrier would be "an actual example to show our military's force."

A top adviser to President Donald Trump on Thursday appeared to throw the administration’s support behind a proposed controversial liquefied national gas terminal in Oregon that had been rejected by regulators during the Obama administration. “The first thing we’re going to do is we’re going to permit an LNG export facility in the Northwest,” said Gary Cohn, chair of the White House National Economic Council. “Just think of the transport time from the Northwest to Japan versus anywhere else. Then we’ve got to put facilities on the East Coast to get from the East Coast to Germany.” “The one place...

TOKYO: Vice President Mike Pence on Wednesday (Apr 19) hailed Japanese companies for contributing to US economic prosperity, moving to ease fears over the protectionist agenda of President Donald Trump. Trump has criticised Japanese auto giant Toyota for planning to open a factory in Mexico, part of general broadsides against both foreign and domestic companies as he emphasises job creation in the United States. Last week his administration kept Japan on a Treasury Department watch list covering foreign exchange policies of US trading partners, exerting tacit pressure on Tokyo to buy more American-made goods and services. Such actions, as well...

For years, the world had heard warnings, but most doubted the day would ever come. Most fall before allied defenses, but one missile finds its mark — it’s the one that matters most. In a flash, hundreds of thousands, if not millions of people perish. Would North Korea fire off a nuclear weapon? No one knows for certain, but what we do know is that the above scenario is exactly what an aggressive and increasingly-powerful North Korea has been threatening for decades. While the reclusive regime may have previously lacked the necessary weaponry, the North now has the kind of...

She’s a dumpling maker by day, but at night, 82-year-old Sumiko Iwamuro turns DJ in Tokyo. Iwamuro, whose moniker is DJ Sumirock, spins techno music for a crowd some 60 years younger than she is. A hit on the Tokyo club scene, she performs once a month in the heart of the city’s red-light district. “She’s got this energy that goes beyond age, that can equal any young person’s here. She’s really cool,” said 25-year old club-goer, Fuminari Fujii.

US VICE-president Mike Pence has threatened North Korea with an "overwhelming response" if Kim Jong-un uses nuclear weapons. Donald Trump's number two has issued the stark warning to Pyongyang during a visit to South Korea today. During a trip to the Korean demilitarized zone (DMZ), Pence said "strategic patience" with North Korea is over. His explosive comments come 24 hours after supreme leader Jong-un was humiliated by the embarrassing failure of a missile test. Tensions between the nations are still fraught as Trump said the US has "no choice" to build up military power "stronger than ever before". Now around...

This is a film about Japan's buildup for WWII and their history of warring against other nations. The US military commissioned Frank Capra to produce this documentary on Japan as an enemy of the free world. It lays out the mindset of the Japanese in effective fashion and has been called propaganda, but much of it is based on historical facts.

Japan makes plans for rescue of 57,000 Japanese in South Korea and refugees coming from the North if crisis ensues By Neil Connor, beijing 14 APRIL 2017 • 11:57PM Japan’s National Security Council discussed on Friday what measures it would take to evacuate the country’s 57,000 citizens from South Korea in the event of a crisis. The talks were held as tensions continued to escalate in the region over a possible nuclear test by North Korea, and as a US aircraft carrier group steamed into the region. Tokyo would seek approval from Seoul to send military aircraft and warships, along...

The despot, who did not speak during the annual parade, flaunted prototypes of intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM), which experts fear could one day be capable of striking mainland America. One of Kim's top officials, Choe Ryong Hae, today vowed North Korea would 'beat down enemies with the power of nuclear justice'. He told the packed-out square: 'If the United States wages reckless provocation against us, our revolutionary power will instantly counter with annihilating strike, and we will respond to full-out war with full-out war and to nuclear war with our style of nuclear strike warfare.' Submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBM) were...

Judging by the precautionary actions of North Korea's neighbors, the next 48 hours on the Korean peninsula could see substantial volatility, because at the same time as China's largest carrier was said to suspend flights to Pyongyang, the Japanese government has asked the U.S. to provide advance consultation if it is about to launch military action against North Korea, and "has ramped up preparations for emergency situations" according to Japan's Yomiuri Shimbun, including the potential evacuation of some 57,000 Japanese citizens currently in South Korea. According to the Japanese publication, PM Shinzo Abe stressed that the region is becoming increasingly...

Ah, the blithe joys of springtime in the United States. Azaleas in bloom at the Masters, breezy picnics on balmy afternoons, Easter egg hunts — and the annual ordeal of tax forms, with helpful I.R.S. instructions like this: “Go to Part IV of Schedule I to figure line 52 if the estate or trust has qualified dividends or has a gain on lines 18a and 19 of column (2) of Schedule D (Form 1041) (as refigured for the AMT, if necessary).” Americans will spend more than six billion hours this year gathering records and filling out forms, just to pay...

TOKYO — Japan's National Security Council has discussed how to evacuate its nearly 60,000 citizens from South Korea in the event of a crisis, a government official said Friday amid rising concern over North Korea's nuclear weapons program. North Korea denounced the U.S. on Friday for bringing "huge nuclear strategic assets" to the Korean peninsula as a U.S. aircraft carrier group headed for the region ahead of a feared sixth nuclear missile test. Besides commercial ships and planes, Japan would want to send military aircraft and ships to assist in the evacuation if the South Korean government agreed, the official,...

A Japan-based combat-ready Air Force wing showed off its aircraft Wednesday in a clear warning to North Korea. Fox News reported the 18th Wing conducted a surprise military exercise at Kadena Air Base in Japan as North Korea is rumored to be nearing a sixth nuclear weapons test. A group of HH-60 Pave Hawks, F-15 Eagles, E-3 Sentries and KC-135 Stratotankers all took part in the exercise, the report said. Photos from the no-notice event showed jets lined up down the entirety of a runway on the base. Such exercises are known as an "elephant walk," featuring planes taxiing in...