Japan’s ‘peace constitution’ on the brink as NE Asia braces for war

Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at the LDP headquarters in Tokyo, on Oct. 22. Isse Kato / Reuters

 

TOKYO ― The overwhelming success of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in the latest elections for members of the Japanese “Diet” ― the peculiar word for Japan’s parliament or national assembly ― portends hardening of tensions and priorities in Northeast Asia.

Yes, Abe would dearly like to revise Japan’s post-war “peace constitution” whose Article 9 declares “land, sea and air force will never be maintained” and “belligerency of the state will not be recognized” (hence the term “self-defense forces” for Japan’s military establishment). In fact, one reason Abe called the snap election was to shore up his popularity, to show he was in charge after his ratings fell to 30 percent a few months ago.

Former CIA Chief Warns of N. Korea’s Other Nuclear Weapon

This is why Kim Jong-un continues provoking America. Every day there are two North Korean EMP satellites passing over America, twice a day. He’s waiting for a military response. He’s hoping for a reason. Trump is left with a very dangerous position thanks to the Obama, Bush and Clinton administrations who did nothing before it was too late. Kim Jong-un knows he’ll lose in a war against America but he only has to press a button before he dies. Then it’s bye bye for America which will be reset to the stone age.

For the record, this is the first time ever someone from the CIA at his level has admitted (publicly) there are two North Korean EMP satellites circling the globe.

 

FILE – Former CIA Director James Woolsey testifies on Capitol Hill, Aug. 16, 2004, in Washington.

 

WASHINGTON — Advances in North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs are pushing the international community to respond with increasingly strict sets of sanctions, with the latest round, passed this week, capping the country’s oil imports while banning its lucrative textile exports.

Despite the pressure, the Kim Jong Un regime continues to pursue the development of a nuclear-tipped intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) that could strike the continental United States, among other targets.

A “Super-Powerful” EMP Attack: North Korea’s Newest Weapon Against The U.S.

 

The dynamics of the standoff between the US and North Korea have shifted dramatically in the past week.

First, the North started with an unexpectedly sharp provocation – launching a missile over the Japanese island of Hokkaido – before following that up with its sixth nuclear test. Also, judging by the size the earthquake detected in the country’s mountainous North on Sunday morning, North Korea may have been telling the truth when it said it conducted what it described as its first hydrogen bomb test.

And while the North bragged about the weapon’s “great destructive power” in a TV broadcast, what caught analysts’ attention was a mention of a different tactic: detonating  an H-bomb at high altitude to create an electromagnetic pulse that could knock out parts of the US electrical grid.

Russia Deploys Nuclear-Capable Bombers Near Korea

Russian TU-95 bomber

 

With the U.S. periodically sending the occasional sortie of B1 bombers, accompanied by South Korean fighters, over the Korean peninsula to simulate what a (very fast) war with Pyongyang would look like, the airspace over the biggest geopolitical hotspot in the world today just got a little hotter after Russia deployed nuclear-capable strategic bombers over the Pacific Ocean, the Sea of Japan, the Yellow Sea and the East China Sea, prompting Japan and South Korea to scramble jets to escort them, Reuters reported.

Report: Hundreds of millions of Pacific salmon missing, presumed dead — Gov’t issues emergency order along US West Coast — Japan suffering historic collapse, fish starving to death — All forms of ocean life dying in stunning numbers across Pacific

South Yuba River Citizens League (SYRCL), Mar 16, 2017 (emphasis added): The low salmon run size for the Yuba River appears to be part of another regional salmon collapse. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife point to preliminary data from the Sacramento River that indicates salmon runs have also dropped to record low levels. According to Dan Bacher’s reporting, last year’s salmon run on the Klamath River was a 38-year low… Gary Reedy, SYRCL’s consulting salmon expert reports that “A new crash for the Central Valley Chinook salmon is not unexpected.”…

H-6K can strike regional targets without leaving Chinese airspace

And now we know one of the purposes behind China’s ADIZ and are also reminded as to why Tibet is strategically important for China.

The People’s Liberation Army’s H-6K strategic bomber can attack the Japanese mainland with CJ-10 cruise missiles without even leaving Chinese airspace, reports the Kanwa Defense Review run by Andrei Chang also known as Pinkov, a military analyst based in Canada.

China had no real nuclear projection capability until H-6K entered service with the PLA Air Force, Kanwa’s report said. H-6K bombers have already been deployed with the 8th and 10th air divisions of the PLA Air Force. However, strategic bombers alone can not help China penetrate enemy defenses using surface-to-air missiles. For this reason, the long-range cruise missile has become a crucial part of China’s nuclear arsenal.

With a range of between 1,500 and 2,000 kilometers, the CJ-10 meets the requirements of the PLA Air Force to possess the capability to launch strategic missile attacks against US military facilities and those of its allies in the Western Pacific. All major cities in India are also within range if the H-6K launches the missile from Tibet.

China Finds a Gap in Japan’s Maritime Chokepoints

TOKYO – A flotilla of Chinese warships transited an important ocean strait off Japan’s northernmost island for the first time this week, passing within clear sight of observers onshore.

The PLA Navy vessels had just completed a major training exercise with Russian warships nearby and were using the Soya Strait to head into the far Pacific. It was just the latest Chinese excursion through narrow and potentially-strategic transit points in and around Japan’s home islands, and another example of China’s growing assertiveness in the region.

Japan Scrambles Fighter Jets to Track Russian Bombers

From the state-run Russian propaganda outlet, RIA Novosti:

TOKYO, July 16 (RIA Novosti) – Japan’s Air Self-Defense Force had to scramble fighter jets in response to flights by Russian military aircraft near Japanese airspace and over the disputed Kuril Islands on Monday, local media reported.

Two Tu-95 Bear bombers flew over the Sea of Japan moving from the Korean Peninsula, and proceeded along the Japanese archipelago to the north of Hokkaido. Another plane, the IL-20, flew over the Kuril Islands, NHK television said late Monday citing the Defense Ministry.

Japan Scrambles Fighters to Meet Russian Bombers

According to the ministry, a total of five Russian planes, including two Tu-95 Bear strategic bombers, two Su-24 Fencer reconnaissance planes and an A-50 Mainstay airborne early warning and control aircraft skirted Japanese territory on Wednesday.

“They flew over the Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Japan off Hokkaido and the Tohoku region in northeastern Japan,” Japanese officials said, adding that it was the first time a Russian AWACS plane was spotted near Japan.

Russia resumed strategic bomber patrol flights over the Pacific, Atlantic and Arctic oceans in August 2007.

Full article: Japan Scrambles Fighters to Meet Russian Bombers (RIA Novosti)