Posted on 02/03/2015 1:42:28 PM PST by Thistooshallpass9
When Islamic State militants posted a video over the weekend showing the grisly killing of a Japanese journalist, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe reacted with outrage, promising “to make the terrorists pay the price.” Such vows of retribution may be common in the West when leaders face extremist violence, but they have been unheard of in confrontation-averse Japan — until now. The prime minister’s call for revenge after the killings of the journalist, Kenji Goto, and another hostage, Haruna Yukawa, raised eyebrows even in the military establishment, adding to a growing awareness here that the crisis could be a watershed for this long pacifist country. “Japan has not seen this Western-style expression in its diplomacy before,” Akihisa Nagashima, a former vice minister of defense, wrote on Twitter. “Does he intend to give Japan the capability to back up his words?” As the 12-day hostage crisis came to a grim conclusion with the killing of Mr. Goto, the world has suddenly begun to look like a much more dangerous place to a peaceful and prosperous nation that had long seen itself as immune to the sorts of violence faced by the United States and its Western allies. Some described a level of shock not unlike that experienced by the Americans after the 2001 terrorist attacks, or the French after last month’s assault on the newspaper Charlie Hebdo and the murders in a kosher supermarket. “This is 9/11 for Japan,” said Kunihiko Miyake, a former high-ranking Japanese diplomat who has advised Mr. Abe on foreign affairs. “It is time for Japan to stop daydreaming that its good will and noble intentions would be enough to shield it from the dangerous world out there. Americans have faced this harsh reality, the French have faced it, and now we are, too.” ...
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Just great. Another friend that Obama will alienate.
The Japanese will go Bonzai on their ass.................
The Jordanians will go Bedouin on their ass.............
Same outcome...................
Me thinks it not wise to poke the Samurai.
One thing that has not been reported is how much ransom money Japan gave ISIS before they murdered them. Originally, ISIS demanded $200 million and reports seemed to suggest that Japan was negotiating with ISIS, meaning paying some amount of ransom. I’d like to hear more about how much they may have given so we know how many more resources ISIS will now purchase to kill others.
A new tide of Nationalism in Japan?
I agree. It seems like there were discussions on that, but I haven’t seen much follow up. Reports seems murky.
For an advanced, prosperous and populous country; Japan has markedly little capability to project power away from its own territory.
That is what will likely change as a result of this. Abe has been pushing for legal and military capability to fight outside the country, and this will strongly support some change.
In the short term, they can fund another country to strike for them, or possibly hire mercenaries. It would also be an interesting exercise for their Intelligence services.
Japan will now get into the Special Forces business and theirs will be well trained and formidable, capable of distant deployment in units that will be quite skilled and ferocious.
Yep, it’s like he’s trying to push our friends away. Meanwhile, he seems bent on building a legacy as the president who thawed U.S.-Iran relations. Scary stuff.
The world is spinning out of Obama’s control, and he doesn’t get it. The Israelis know it, the Japanese know it, the Jordanians know it, the Egyptians know it, and an alliance of those nations for starters will be built.
I’ve not heard of any Islamic leader come out and denounce these killings. That ought to set the tone.
日本 ピング (kono risuto ni hairitai ka detai wo shirasete kudasai : let me know if you want on or off this list)
Maybe those ISIS guys in black will face the real Ninjas? Send a Japanese force down there and let them set up PW camps, and use their old camp administration SOPs. BTW, do the Kurds have PW camps? Errrrr, I didn’t think so.
Getting the Japanese riled up against you is a bad, bad, very bad idea.
The muslim nutjobs want no part of those people.
Perhaps the terrorists have awoken a sleeping giant.
If I recall, the Japanese know a little about what can happen to someone who does that.
i hope the japanese send out modern ninjas to exact revenge for their people
to hell with pacifism , it’s time to go ‘old school’ on these savages .
They like fire ? bring back napalm .....Napalm and A-10’s
Nailed it. Does anybody else get this?
“Japan has markedly little capability to project power away from its own territory.”
Their navy is actually currently bigger than the British Royal Navy. Better qualitatively too. The Brits are a mere shadow of what they had in 82.
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