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AdamG
04-21-2014, 02:10 PM
YONAGUNI, Japan (Reuters) - Japan began its first military expansion at the western end of its island chain in more than 40 years on Saturday, breaking ground on a radar station on a tropical island off Taiwan.

The move risks angering China, locked in a dispute with Japan over nearby islands which they both claim.

Japanese Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera, who attended a ceremony on Yonaguni island to mark the start of construction, suggested the military presence could be enlarged to other islands in the seas southwest of Japan's main islands.

"This is the first deployment since the U.S. returned Okinawa (1972) and calls for us to be more on guard are growing," Onodera told reporters. "I want to build an operation able to properly defend islands that are part of Japan's territory."

http://news.yahoo.com/japan-expands-army-footprint-first-time-40-years-115916042--sector.html;_ylt=AwrBJR7D6VJTgFMA5trQtDMD


Japan's defence minister said Sunday there have been an "abnormal" number of flights by Russian military aircraft close to Japanese islands in recent days.

The country's air defence force scrambled fighter jets for seven days in a row through Saturday after spotting Russian military planes flying along the Japanese archipelago, according to the defence ministry.

On Friday six Russian TU-95 bombers were seen flying two by two, with one pair moving around the Okinawan islands and then going north along Japan's Pacific coast.

The two other pairs flew over the Sea of Japan (East Sea). None of the flights intruded into Japanese airspace.
http://www.afp.com/en/node/2306271

See also

Japan working on powerful cyber weapon, knows best defense is a good offense
http://council.smallwarsjournal.com/showthread.php?t=14898&highlight=japan

AdamG
04-22-2014, 03:07 PM
Why is Japan building up its navy?

9 April 2014 Last updated at 00:20 BST


As the balance of power in Asia swings towards China, Japan is building one of the most modern and powerful naval forces in the world.

In the aftermath of WWII, the US imposed a settlement on Japan, supposed to "cure" it of its war-making abilities.

In a new constitution, the country renounced war forever. But in 2013, Japan scrambled fighters 267 times to intercept incoming Chinese aircraft.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-26949893

AdamG
07-02-2014, 10:02 AM
TOKYO — Japan’s prime minister announced a reinterpretation of the country’s pacifist Constitution on Tuesday, freeing its military for the first time in over 60 years to play a more assertive role in the increasingly tense region.

The decision by the government of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will permit Japan to use its large and technologically advanced armed forces in ways that would have been unthinkable even a decade ago when they were limited to defending the country. The revision will allow the military to come to the aid of friendly countries under attack, including the United States.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/02/world/asia/japan-moves-to-permit-greater-use-of-its-military.html?_r=0