Dive into the archives.
- China-Japan relations change lanes
Until today I have stayed quiet regarding the excitement around the deal between China and Japan to “jointly” develop gas fields in the disputed EEZ region of the East China Sea. I have been cautious because rather than seeing an acceleration of China-Japan relations, I think this deal is simply a matter of changing lanes.
Japan [...]
- I hope to see Japanese military planes over China
No, I am not some militarist condoning a preemptive attack on China. I am supporting China’s request for Japanese soldiers to deliver earthquake relief aid in Sichuan. The Japanese government is still deliberating as this would be the first deployment of Japanese military forces to the Chinese mainland since the second world war.
Jun Okumura thinks [...]
- Comparison of submarine fleets in Northeast Asia
Mingi Hyun’s return to blogging about maritime Asia and South Korea’s new submarine program inspired me to put together a comparison of the sub fleets in northeast Asia.
I consulted The Military Balance 2008 for the numbers. Here are the definitions of the classes indicated above:
SSBN=ballistic-missile submarine nuclear-fuelled
SSN= attack submarine nuclear powered
SSGN=SSN with dedicated non-ballistic missile [...]
- Offending nationalist sensibilities?
In last week’s The Economist the Director of the International Bureau for the Democratic Party of Japan wrote in to criticise one of the magazine’s covers, pictured below.
You made fun of our respected nation’s name on a cover that is sold on newsstands all over the region. This conduct is equal to burning a national [...]
- Mutantfrogs in the news
I would like to congratulate the Mutantfrog Travelogue crew — longtime real-life friends of Curzon and I — for a great interview in the JapanTimes. MFT is definitely one of the go-to blogs for Japanophiles, or anyone interested in East Asian culture. Keep up the good work gentlemen!
- Behold! The War Tuba!
Here is a strange photo of Emperor Hirohito inspecting some impressive “war tubas” in the 1930s. War tubas were a type of acoustic locator for detecting aircraft that pre-dated radar.
Found randomly via Futility Closet. Isn’t the internet wonderful late at night?
ADDENDUM: Also see Russian war tubas!
- Paying for war
While reading Ken Pyle’s Japan Rising: The Resurgence of Japanese Power And Purpose I came across some interesting info about the second world war reparations for Taiwan and China that I had not heard before.
First of all, after the war under the terms of the Treaty of San Francisco Japan paid a number of South [...]
- The Character of Japan
Which of the following statements comes closest to describing how you feel, on the whole, about the people who live in Japan?
The Japanese people will always want to go to war to make themselves as powerful as possible – 35%
The Japanese people may not like war, but they have shown that they are too easily [...]
- Tokyo tabi
Younghusband in front of the infamous war museum at Yasukuni Shrine, Tokyo
I was in Tokyo last week and had a good tour around the city. I hit all the major spots:
Yasukuni Shrine – where to war criminals are
Yushukan – the infamous war museum
Ministry of Defense
Diet building
Imperial PalaceAll in all it was a good adventure, and [...]
- The sad convolutions of a pacifist constitution
Defense Minister troubled over legal issues if UFO arrives
Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba said Thursday that he was troubled over potential legal issues if a UFO arrives in Japan, requiring action by the Self-Defense Forces, Japanese media reports.The subject was triggered by a question from oppositional lawmaker Ryuji Yamane, who argued the government should attempt to [...]
