Osaka mayor sparks anger over comfort women comment....

The mayor of Osaka in Japan has sparked outrage by saying that the Japanese military’s forced prostitution of Asian women before and during World War Two was necessary to "maintain discipline" in the army.

Toru Hashimoto, Mayor of Osaka, said, "Wartime sex slaves were a necessity to maintain discipline in the Japanese military during those times. If you want soldiers at war to get some rest, a comfort women system was necessary. The Abe cabinet, as well as past cabinets, share the same sentiments."

Toru Hashimoto’s comment triggered anger in Asian countries that suffered from Japan’s wartime aggression. it comes amid mounting criticism at the prospect of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s conservative government revising Japan’s past apologies for wartime atrocities.

China frigate locked radar on Japan navy/Ο κινεζικός στόλος σημάδεψε ιαπωνικό σκάφος-Senkaku/Diaoyu issue

A Chinese military frigate locked weapons-targeting radar on a Japanese navy vessel, Tokyo's defence minister said Tuesday, in an apparent upping of the stakes in a bitter territorial row. The move, described by the minister and a Japanese analyst as "dangerous", marks the first time the two nation's navies have locked horns in a dispute that has some commentators warning about a possible armed conflict. "On January 30, something like fire-control radar was directed at a Japan Self-Defense Maritime escort ship in the East China Sea," Itsunori Onodera told reporters in Tokyo. "The defence ministry today confirmed radar for targeting was used." Onodera said a Japanese military helicopter was also locked with a similar radar on January 19. He did not specify whether the helicopter was airborne or on the deck of a ship at the time.

«Περιττό βάρος» αποκάλεσε τους ηλικιωμένους ο Ιάπωνας υπουργός Οικονομικών

Taro Aso

Οργή στον κόσμο για την προκλητική δήλωση του Τάρο Ασο. 

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Η νέα κυβέρνηση της Ιαπωνίας βρίσκεται μόλις έναν μήνα στην εξουσία, αλλά ήδη ο υπουργός Οικονομικών προσέβαλε δεκάδες εκατομμύρια ψηφοφόρους λέγοντας ότι οι ηλικιωμένοι είναι ένα «περιττό βάρος για την οικονομία» της χώρας του ανατέλλοντος ηλίου.

Η προκλητική δήλωση του Τάρο Ασο έχει εξοργίσει τον κόσμο στην Ιαπωνία, όπου σχεδόν ένας στους τέσσερις από τους 128 εκατ. πολίτες είναι άνω των 60 ετών. Το ποσοστό των ηλικιωμένων αναμένεται να αυξηθεί στο 40% τα επόμενα 50 χρόνια.

Chinese ships seen in disputed waters for first time since LDP's win (Senkaku/Diaoyu issue)

China has sent ships into the islands’ waters 19 times since Tokyo nationalised the chain in September.

Abe has pushed an agenda that includes upgrading the country’s Self Defense Forces to make them a full-scale military, and has spoken of wanting to revise Japan’s pacifist constitution.

 

TOKYO —

China sent its ships into territorial waters around disputed islands Friday, in the first incursion since Japan elected a new government.
The move is a setback to hopes in Tokyo that Beijing might use the poll as a chance for a fresh start after months of bitter wrangling and rhetoric over an issue that neither side is prepared to budge on.

Japan’s next PM: No quarter for China, reach out to Russia

(Senkaku/Diaoyu issue)
As Japan’s Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda steps down after exit polls reveal a complete defeat of his party in parliamentary elections, the winner of the race Shinzo Abe states that Tokyo won’t concede China "one millimeter" of “Japan’s islands.”
"China is challenging the fact that (the islands) are Japan's inherent territory. Our objective is to stop the challenge," Shinzo Abe, leader of Japan's Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), declared Sunday.

Keen to make an impression: Japan-US military drills begin amid Asian island row

Japan has launched naval drills with the US in spite of heightened tensions with China over a territorial dispute. The exercise was initially planned to simulate an island re-occupation, but was scrapped for naval operations to avoid agitating China.
The 11-day drills are aimed at boosting the defense of Japan’s southwestern island territories and will involve more than 37,000 Japanese personnel and 10,000 US forces, along with an aircraft carrier.
Operation Keen Sword was originally planned to incorporate a mission to simulate the retaking of an island. Although neither the US nor Japan specified if the mission was aimed at the disputed archipelago “it was widely perceived they had in mind the Senkaku Islands,” said Japanese newspaper Kyodo.