[pepsi_junkie]

The Japanese constitution, which we wrote for them after WWII, forbids them from taking offensive military actions. Their forces are defensive only and lack strike capability. They actually follow their constitution over there.

There have been movements over the years to build an offensive capability, usually tied to saber rattling by the North Koreans, but in general the Japanese people haven't supported it.

So calls for them to carpet bomb ISIS are misplaced, they can't do it. They are a paper tiger.

[Alberta's Child]

Which kind of makes it impossible to deal with Japanese citizens who are abducted in foreign countries by militant groups like ISIS ... which means Japanese citizens who travel to these unstable places where there is no real government do so at their own risk.

I guess you can say the same for anyone else, but it's particularly true when you are a citizen of a country that has no capability to project military force anywhere around the world.

[bgill]

They were attacked. Nothing written there about defensive military actions.