[ full, unlicensed translation of article in September issue of Sekai by Tooru Shirakawa, a 24-year old journalist who has travelled to Afghanistan 5 times in the last 3 years to conduct research and make contact with local people. ]
In April 2009, my feet touched down again on Afghan soil. This was my fifth extended [...]
Entries Tagged as ‘The Military’
August 26, 2009
The Situation in Afghanistan (Summer 2009)
July 16, 2009
An Alternative to current National Security Policy
[ Sekai, July 2009 ] – precis translation
A Call for Escape from American Domination / Ideological Stasis
[ 1 ] – The Guam Re-location Agreement and US-Japan Security Framework
June 30, 2009
Patriot Missile Farce
East Asian Security Research Council reports in June issue of Sekai.
Key premiss : recent deployment of PAC3 systems in response to North Korean missile threat (intelligence info about which was supplied to Japanese gov’t in first instance by US Satellite Early Warning Centre) was an act of public misdirection with regard to the true nature [...]
May 25, 2008
Iraq Special Measures Law extension ‘difficult’
Yamasaki Taku, chairman of the LDP’s Diplomatic Research Committee, remarked in a debate in Tokyo on 25th May [2008] that “people are saying that extending the Iraq Special Measures Law will be difficult, and I agree with them completely”. The Iraq Special Measures Law, originally passed under PM Koizumi, is the legal basis for Japan [...]
April 12, 2008
Ranking of World Military Forces by Country
Sekai published an article last month, a translation of “Why the United States really has gone broke” by Chalmers Johnson. Included is this table ranking countries by the amount of money they spend on their military forces.
1
USA
$623 billion
2008 Budget
2
China
$65 billion
2004
3
Russia
$50 billion
4
France
$45 billion
2005
5
Japan
$41.75 billion
2007
6
Germany
$35.1 billion
2003
7
Italy
$28.2 billion
2003
8
Korea
$21.1 billion
2003
9
India
$19 billion
2005 estimate
10
Saudi Arabia
$18 billion
2005 estimate
March 27, 2008
SDF Air Force Lieutenant to be Charged for Information Leak
The Asahi Shinbun reports today that a grade 1 Lieutenant at the Defence Ministry’s Information HQ is to be charged on suspicion of breaking the SDF Law (Disclosure of Defence Secrets) over an article published in the Yomiuri Newspaper in 2005 about a Chinese submarine drifting powerless in the South China sea after an accident.
March 21, 2008
Fukuda demands Defence Ministry and SDF Restructuring
The Asahi Shinbun reports today PM Fukuda’s comments to journalists this morning that, in the light of the string of recent scandals and blunders in which 88 people have been charged, “We have to reflect deeply on this. Incidents involving senior officials, leaks of sensitive information from the Defense Ministry, there are various problems here. To [...]
March 5, 2008
Fukuda Cabinet Support Rating
The Asahi Shinbun reports on the results of this month’s (March) survey of popular support for the Fukuda Cabinet and policies.
February 21, 2008
Missile Defense
Military affairs journalist Shunji Taoka (田岡俊次) reports in Sekai (世界) (March ‘08) that the Japanese government have already paid over ¥1000000000000 (一兆円) (approx.$9.25 billion) to the US for a limited and still-experimental Patriot Missile Defense system.
August 6, 2007
Atomic Bomb Day
Today (6th August), Japan remembers the approximately 140,000 who died when the plutonium-loaded FatBoy atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. In 3 days time, on 9th August, it will be Nagsaki’s turn – 70,000 perished when the uranium-loaded LittleBoy was dropped over a christian district in the city.
August 2, 2007
Changing SDF
The Japanese Self-Defense Forces, the largest non-army in the world and 4th largest military force in the world, is in the process of a significant transformation.
