Free Republic

A new defense paper published by Japan’s government today urges Tokyo to set up a rapid marine deployment force to counter threats to its territory and acquire offensive weapons, like surveillance drones and missiles that could strike enemy bases. Shinzo Abe’s government is clearly trucking on with plans to revamp Japan’s military and even considering changing the pacifist constitution, under which some of these new capabilities are questionable. The paper pushes the limits of Article 9 of the Japanese constitution, which states, “The Japanese people forever renounce war as a sovereign right of the nation and the threat or use...

Japan Maritime Self Defense Force sailors during a recent ceremony at sea.Japan has no intention to go it alone in defending its territory or national interests from growing threats in the Asia-Pacific region. But an annual defense review released Tuesday and other recent developments signal an increasing willingness on the part of Japan to go it alone, first. Japan plans to establish a new National Security Council that would streamline how and when Tokyo would use military force, appoint a senior officer to command troops from all three armed services, and formally designate a Marine Corps-like force to defend its...

Budgetary complaints, political bickering and financial scandals kept Japan's competition for a new combat aircraft delayed for nearly three years. But now, after seemingly endless delays, the government in Japan is poised to forge ahead with its competition for the F-X multirole fighter, Defense News reports. The competition calls for the purchase of an estimated 40 to 50 aircraft in a bid to replenish Japan's ageing fleet of F-4EJ Kai Phantoms. Many of Japan's F-4 Phantom fighters have been barred from flying and discontinued from production. A request for proposals could be announced by as early as next month, Defense...

After 40 years of unwavering official pacifism Japan is poised to overturn its ban on the militarisation of space. Within the next month, the nation whose constitution renounces the use of force in settling international disputes will be allowed formally to direct its massive industrial and scientific communities to what it now calls the challenges of “changing global security situations”. The officially sanctioned use of space for military purposes will build on Japan’s longstanding civil space programme, which is regularly accused by Japanese peace activists and foreign governments of including military elements. It is an open secret that since the...

Rattled by China's development of the Chunxiao gas field in the East China Sea, the government is setting up a task force to ensure Japan's vast ocean interests are protected. The task force comprising officials from various ministries and agencies will be in place this month and operate with a focus on Okinotorishima island, Japan's southernmost point. Located more than 1,600 kilometers south of the capital, the island is part of the Ogasawara chain and comes under the jurisdiction of Tokyo. Actually, the island is two tiny islets: but its location gives Japan a huge advantage. The exclusive economic zone...

Now, this was posted on another thread I frequent, and since an admittedly half-hearted search didn't turn up anything on the subject, I'm posting it for your eyes.The Japanese Maritime Self Defense Force has been noted for a couple of things. One of those has been it's capability. Most pundits rate it as the #2 navy in the world. Now Japan also has a rather colorful history in terms of military expansionism, so one of the things that tends to freak out the neighbors is any time the Japanese say the words "Aircraft Carrier". This has become a phrase not...

April 3, 2004 TOKYO, April 2 — As the United States races to erect a ballistic missile defense system by the end of the year, it is quietly enlisting Japan and other allies in Asia to take part in the network, which could reshape the balance of power in the region. Last week, a few days after the United States Navy announced that it would deploy a destroyer in September in the Sea of Japan as a first step in forming a system capable of intercepting missiles, Japan's Parliament approved spending $1 billion this year to start work on a...