Posted on 12/12/2010 8:57:16 PM PST by Racehorse
Revising a defense strategy shaped by the Cold War, Japan will soon release a new military plan designed to address China's increased threat, particularly in waters surrounding southern Japanese islands, according to media reports.
Several Japanese newspapers this weekend outlined the main points of the National Defense Program Guidelines, to be released this month.
The guidelines will deemphasize the concern about a Russian invasion from the north, instead calling for mobile units that could move quickly to any spot where there's a threat, particularly in the event of a North Korean attack or a naval clash with China around the southern Nansei Islands. The guidelines also call for Japan's Special Defense Forces to coordinate more closely with allies, including the United States, Australia and South Korea.
Japan's new strategy jibes with recent thinking in Washington, where officials have urged Japan to increase its military role in the region, even participating in coming military drills with the United States and South Korea.
Recent months have proved the numerous security threats in Japan's neighborhood. A bitter diplomatic row with China grew in September from a dispute over territory in the East China Sea. More recently, North Korea has unveiled a new uranium enrichment facility - a potential path of weapons-grade material - and shelled a South Korean island, killing two South Korean marines and two civilians.
According to an account in the Asahi newspaper, a major Japanese daily, the new defense guidelines will term North Korea a "major factor for instability" in the region. Chinese military actions, meantime, will be described as a "concern" for the region and the world.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
I thought the job of the Japanese Defense Force was to repel Godzilla.
Wish the U.S. “leaders” would also be concerned about a Red China threat.
If it comes to war in Asia in the future, better to have Japan bear the brunt against China than us.
Do you have the same concern about Germany?
Germany ranks 7th strongest military
Japan ranks 9th strongest military
(globalfirepower.com)
Japan 272,100 active and inactive troops
Germany 412,425 active and inactive troops
(Wikipedia)
Japan $69.9 billion annual military budget
Germany $72 billion annual military budget
(Wikipedia)
Similar atrocities were committed by the British in the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812.
How many years will it take for the Japanese to be rehabilitated in the minds of some Americans and be treated as full allies?
Just sayin ....
Japan’s been remilitarized, other than nuclear weapons, for years. Amazingly, just through the fiction of calling themselves “Self Defense Forces” it seems most people never noticed.
Honestly their Navy is superior to China’s at the moment.
Hmmmmmm.... decisions...decisions... /sarc ;-)
Bet you do not see the Japanese willing to fund the Communist Chinese with bad Free Trade deals....unlike the USA
The Free Trade Globalists are probably nervous because their friends in Communist China may face a growing Japanese military presence
The German people understand how bad the Nazi’s were.
In school they talk about the treatment of Jews and the Nazi atrocities
In Japan, they don’t even acknowledge the atrocities committed in the name of the Emperor Hirohito.
That’s the main difference.
OK. If that's true it's certainly a concern.
How do you know this?
Wikipedia has this to say:
"There is a widespread perception, outside Japan, that there is a reluctance inside Japan to discuss such events (atrocities) or admit that there were war crimes. However, the controversial events of the Japanese imperial era are openly debated in the media, with the various political parties and ideological groups taking quite different positions. What differentiates Japan from Germany and Austria is that in Japan, there is no restriction to the freedom of speech in regard to this matter, while in Germany, Austria and some other European countries, Holocaust denial is a criminal offence."
Also:
Germany was a signatory to the Geneva Convention and as such was forced to admit to both legal and moral crimes.
Japan was not a signatory to the GC. Many Japanese therefore accept only moral responsibility.
Anyway
My point is not to defend Japan. My Dad was at Pearl December 7, 1941 and fought them in 20 of the 22 major Pacific battles from the decks of the USS Enterprise. But today, I fear them FAR less than I do the Chinese and I just think they could be used more effectively as a counter. While economically weaker than in the past, they are still a very powerful economic force and once boasted an impressive world class military. I think it's time, while still keeping control, to better utilize them. It's been 65 years since VJ Day.
Spending time in Japan in the 90’s while working.
Probably the most racist people on the planet, They beat the South African’s hands down. While there, the Japanese I was working with didn’t know I spoke Japanese. Their side conversations were most interesting.and insulting.
It is. There haven't been any Godzilla sightings for years. So, they're like the March of Dimes. They beat polio, but the bureaucracy was too delicious to just disband.
Now, they will destroy China, probably using giant robots.
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