JAPAN RAISING TERROR THREAT LEVEL TONIGHT (ON GUARD AGAINST N.KOREAN AGENTS AFTER U.N. ACTION)

Yomiuri News (in Japanese) Tokyo ^ | 12 October 2006 | Yomiuri Japanese News (Translated)

[AmericanInTokyo]

Story in Japanese at the link above.

And here:

http://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20061012-00000101-yom-pol

By the Government of Japan, in response to North Korea's threat earlier today to treat 'severe sanctions' as a defacto 'declaration of war'.

[LS]

As opposed to the French, who raised their theat levels from "Run" to "Hide," leaving only "Surrender" as the next highest level.

[Dead Dog]

Hard to stick out in that crowd!

I did in Shinjuku, but the closest I get to Jomon is Chactaw :)

[dmartin]

LOL What does 'arigoto' mean?

My hovercraft is full of eels.

[Dead Dog]

My impression of the Japanese people were that they are a hard working, creative, and industrious (obviously) people with absolutely no frontier. They need a problem to solve, and N. Korea would not be well served by becoming that problem.

That's an opinion based off of only 3 days in the Tokyo area, so it is nearly worthless, but accurate :)

[GOPJ]

#2, Former head US Nuc Inspection Agency (A seemingly straight shooter) said Japan has 10 tons of Pu from nuc power reactors in storage. In his words, "If Japan did everything right, they could have bomb in 3 months; everything wrong, 6 months." Know it is constitutionally prohibited, but when has any law written to appease some group 60 years ago every stopped anyone?

#3. What is MOS reaction?

#4. What is MSM reaction, especially Fuji and Nippon TV.

#5. What is attitude in Japan toward US and SK re: DPRK bomb?

#6. I get the impression we are not seeing the traditional Oriental "don't get killed in the semi-finals" reaction. What's next? Endgame?

Great questions - Now may I ask MindBender26 for your answers to the questions. What do you think? Anyone who can come up with this list has put some thought into the process...

[GOPJ]

My impression of the Japanese people were that they are a hard working, creative, and industrious (obviously) people with absolutely no frontier. They need a problem to solve, and N. Korea would not be well served by becoming that problem.

Good observation...

[El Gato]

Japan will never have a nuclear weapon, ever...

Never is a very long time.

Next year or the year after could find Japan with a pot full of 'em. I wouldn't be completely surprised to find they had some designed, and the necessary materials stockpiled, already.

[gaijin]

Arigoto is which dialect?

While I'm on it, what does "arigato sashi masu" mean?

Hey, AIT, this oughtta be good, huh...?! :)

[sasha123]

Hi A in T - can you continue to keep us informed since it seems you are able to get a translation on their local news. The MSM seems to be repeating themselves at this point. You seem to plug into the good stuff. Thanks again for your postings.

[AmericanInTokyo]

Sure. As you know (from the tagline), I am not in Japan, but sure follow what is going on there through sources.

[AmericanInTokyo]

Please go first, I insist. :-)

[Zhangliqun]

What should Bush have done? Looks like NK had nukes before Bush even took office. If so, the situation from then to now is no different. Bad, yes, but not different.

The fact is that it is going to take something nearly cataclysmic -- or the clear and present threat thereof that is beyond dispute even to America-haters -- to wake up large segments of our own population and the international community from their socialist/pacifist/moral nihilist stupor. Until that happens, it will continue to be a diplomacy-uber-alles talk-talk-talk/blah-blah-blah state of denial.

Any president, Clinton or Bush, who tried or tries military action against NK before we reach said precipice (which, yes, may be too late), would have been or will be impeached and removed from office immediately.

There are and have been only 3 possibilities from the beginning of this crisis in the 90's:

1) Hope that the regime collapses via a coup (and hope the new boss isn't the same or worse than the old boss);

2) Go to war with NK now.

3) Go to war with NK later, possibly too late.

[Hilltop]

Arigatô gozaimasu.

[MindBender26]

>>#2, Former head US Nuc Inspection Agency (A seemingly straight shooter) said Japan has 10 tons of Pu from nuc power reactors in storage. In his words, "If Japan did everything right, they could have bomb in 3 months; everything wrong, 6 months." Know it is constitutionally prohibited, but when has any law written to appease some group 60 years ago every stopped anyone?

Japan will quietly build fissionable weapons

>>#3. What is MOS reaction?

Most addressees are in Japan/Orient/or are well experienced in that area. That's why I asked them.

#4. What is MSM reaction, especially Fuji and Nippon TV.

>>Most addressees are in Japan/Orient/or are well experienced in that area. That's why I asked them. Fuji and Nippon TV are traditionally the more conservative TV nets in Japan.

>>#5. What is attitude in Japan toward US and SK re: DPRK bomb?

Most addressees are in Japan/Orient/or are well experienced in that area. That's why I asked them.

>>#6. I get the impression we are not seeing the traditional Oriental "don't get killed in the semi-finals" reaction. What's next? Endgame?

Same

[GOPJ]

>>#2, Former head US Nuc Inspection Agency (A seemingly straight shooter) said Japan has 10 tons of Pu from nuc power reactors in storage. In his words, "If Japan did everything right, they could have bomb in 3 months; everything wrong, 6 months." Know it is constitutionally prohibited, but when has any law written to appease some group 60 years ago every stopped anyone?

Japan will quietly build fissionable weapons

The law "written to appease 60 years ago" was respected until that respect became in itself, an irrational act. I agree, they will quietly built "the bomb" and we will discretely not notice... Thanks for answering my qustion..

[debg]

do itshimashita.

[MindBender26]

>Please go first, I insist. :-)

Mother always liked you best! :~)

Seriously,

We all know it was some sort of a DPRK FUBAR technically. When you want to join the "bad ass of the block" club, you don't bring out a pea shooter.

But if you are Japan, why draw attention to DPRK tech problems. Play it for all it's worth. Get the public P/O. Japanese are willing to hate the Koreans at the drop of a hat, so put the pressure on.

MOS? Probably split on political lines. Liberals; scared. Conservatives; P/O. Royalists; Quietly frustrated. Militarists; Lock and load.

Media? Fuji and Nippon TV probably showing Tora, Tora, Tora 5 times a day, without Yamamoto's "sleeping tiger" closing line. When asked "Did we do wrong in Manchuria/Manchukuo?" Fuji-TV answer probably "depends on your definition of "in."

Blame US or SK? Probably not, except radicals and liberals (but that is being redundant..)

My knowledge of the area not current. I have not been deep into Orient since 98. Gave up my Repulse Bay Yacht Club membership. (I was single and there were sooooooo many young British nurses there.... and I was a young "daring and dashing foreign correspondent.... It was like walking into a women's prison with a handful of pardons....)

BTW, Understand the Brits may chicken out and actually give HK back to the Chinese.

Shameful.

If they do, I'm renaming Repulse Bay Repugnant Bay.

Your read on the affair le' DPRK Atomik ?????????

[MindBender26]

Bomb?

What bomb?

Admitted public knowledge of Japan having the Bomb would not be "convenient."

It's like knowledge that Hillary and a prominent RINO Senator are both gay, but it's not mentioned in "polite company."

[AmericanInTokyo]

These are all accurate--that you have mentioned....also written in a most entertaining way.

Most Japanese are scared and angry. A volatile composition.

US and Japan will draw real close now. ROK will not go along with us, and continue to appease (it seems). However, their military might get impatient. If I were Roh I'd watch my back. China can be the big screw up here if they give the DPRK the usual pass--we will know more tomorrow at the UN but it does not look good. I think eventually we go it alone with Japan, unilaterally and without the world community. There could be real fireworks. KJI is trying to run the clock out. He really hopes CLINTON will be elected in two years....and of course if she is, he gets Richardson, Albright, Berger, Cohen, Sherman, all of them in a bucket deal. If he can stick out the next 24 months, he figures, he will be scott free as the sticks will be dropped and the carrots will roll in. I am surprised he lasted 6 years during the Bush Administration, but they had numerous holes in the economic sanctions that Chinese, S. Korean, Russian and Japanese business interests, through Macao and elsewhere, went around.

[WoofDog123]

:"If they'd had the chance to talk to Jwadeh at Indiana University (he passed on before the occupation) I think he'd let them know that we'd have to be much more brutal than we planned to get it fully under control."

Agreed, there is a reason the US has been so supportive of secular despots (egypt) and monarchs in the past - they keep things under control.