It has been nearly 15 years since the Chinese started moving in on Japan’s Senkaku Islands. Chinese pressure is indeed troublesome, but for now, it’s manageable – even if the Japan Coast Guard and Maritime Self-Defense Force (MSDF) are overstretched. The Japanese have patiently dealt with near-daily aggression and pressure from Chinese naval, coast guard, maritime …
Escalation in the Senkaku Islands? It’s China’s Choice Continue Reading >>
The Talisman Saber 2023 exercise has finished in Australia. The exercise included 13 countries and was an impressive and complex mix of amphibious, maritime, ground, air and combined arms training. And all geared toward war-fighting. Even Japan’s Self-Defense Force (JSDF) sent a contingent. Japan’s contingent included the Japanese navy, along with amphibious ships JS Izumo and JS …
Japan Flexes Military Muscles in Australia Continue Reading >>
Okinawa isn’t in the news nearly as much as it was some year’s back, when most reporting focused on noisy protest groups demanding United States’ military forces leave. The Japanese government sometimes even seemed to wish the Americans might go away and only return when needed. Times have changed. Nowadays the …
Okinawa Is Still Strategically Important Continue Reading >>
Someone asked me a few questions about Japan’s national defense the other day. As expected, I gave my take on each one. Meanwhile, others might be just as curious about the current status of Japan’s preparedness. If so, then this is what you need to know: 1. What is motivating Japan and …
Japan’s National Defense: What You Need to Know Continue Reading >>
Yonaguni is a small island, part of the Ryukyus island chain, that is close to Taiwan. In our book Stopping a Taiwan Invasion we suggested putting HIMARS on Yonaguni. It seems the Biden administration, despite support from the Marines, is opposing HIMARS for Yonaguni. That has left the Marines out of the picture …
It’s exhilarating that Japanese leaders are talking about spending much more on defense and improving the nation’s defense capabilities. But they are short on specifics, and with communist China out looking for a fight, it’s dangerous to hope Japan figures things out at its own pace. The Americans, who shoulder the heaviest load in defending the …
The Best Advice Washington Ever Got on US-Japan Defense Continue Reading >>
Statesmen come along only once in a great while. Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe who was murdered on July 8 in Nara, Japan was a statesman. He was the first of the 20-odd Japanese prime ministers to deserve the title in the last 35 years since Yasuhiro Nakasone held …
Statesman and Defender: Shinzo Abe Will Be Missed Continue Reading >>
A lot happens at the Shangri-La Dialogue, the annual gathering in Singapore of defense officials, experts, and hangers-on. One of the highlights of the 2022 event — even more than China’s defense minister reciting his list of complaints to United States Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin — was Japanese Prime Minister …
Kishida’s Shangri-La Speech: What He Means, Why It Matters Continue Reading >>
In our just-released Experts Panel study, Stopping a Taiwan Invasion, we point out the urgent need to improve air defenses around Taiwan and Japan. Now, with the US Navy proposal to retire seven Ticonderoga-class cruisers, allegedly because they are expensive to maintain, it appears there will be nothing to replace these and …
Mild Proposal for Fortifying Japan, Taiwan Air Defenses Continue Reading >>
This article originally appeared in The Epoch Times. A Chinese acquaintance asks me about Japan every now and then, particularly why it has been “beefing up” its military in recent years. The other day, she asked me a few questions after reading an article about Japan potentially obtaining a “counter-strike” capability to hit enemy …
