SDF holds drills in Hokkaido as it faces Russia, China threat

Excellent way for Uncle Sam to lessen the trade deficit.

Seems the SDF is just making sure the tanks are actually operational. Dust off the tanks and let's make sure they work.

.SDF holds drills in Hokkaido as it faces Russia, China threat

Of course the headline could easily have been written.....

"SDF holds drills in Hokkaido to threaten Russia and China."

When your former PM and puppet master is described as “Archconservative” you know it’s not the brightest period of your history and war becomes a less unlikely event in the country’s future.

I’m sure Russia is laughing but don’t underestimate the power of SDF

Ridiculous.

Russia just sent over 150,000 men at the border with Ukraine threatened invasion of Ukraine if demands are not met. Already took Crimea by force less then 9 years ago.

China under Xi has made it clear Taiwan is number #1 issue to get back at all cost.

Look at the actions of Russia and China and then you'll understand what Japan is doing is necessary and overdue.

This is an era to fight based on viruses (as someone is preparing), not the tanks and guns !!

No worries China and Russia will always think twice before they attempt to start a war as they are scared of USA soldiers. The reason Japan has American military all around Japan

Michael MachidaToday  07:24 am JST

Seems the SDF is just making sure the tanks are actually operational. Dust off the tanks and let's make sure they work.

Oh they work alright. JGSDF tanks have been training in the U.S., since 2014.

"The Japan Ground Self-Defense Force’s 72nd Tank Regiment participated in a joint, bilateral, multi-domain training rotation with the 1st Brigade, 25th Infantry Division’s Stryker Brigade Combat Team (SBCT) at the National Training Center in February. The JGSDF 72nd TKR is out of the Northern Army in Sapporo, Japan and the 1/25 SBCT is based in Fort Wainwright, Alaska."

https://www.aerotechnews.com/ntcfortirwin/2019/03/01/soldiers-from-japan-join-alaskas-stryker-team-during-major-ntc-training/

I'm sure the whole of NE Asia are scared of Japan's 'world's strongest military'. /s

The least we want is another world war and needs to be prevented. Nobody wins in a war only the chess player

I'm sure the whole of NE Asia are scared of Japan's 'world's strongest military'. /s

Japan's military is strong on Japanese soil but has almost no ability to project force beyond Japan. That was a deliberate choice made by the Japanese and US to let the rest of Asia sleep soundly at night. Now Baby Ping Ping keeps everybody awake.

Seems the SDF is just making sure the tanks are actually operational. Dust off the tanks and let's make sure they work.

The Type 90s used in Hokkaido are basically copies of the Leopard II and among the very best tanks made. The Russians and Chinese only wish they had tanks that good.

After China will reunite with Taiwan and Russia will take Ukraine they might attempt the attack on Japan.

Simmer down now. Why would they want to attack Japan?

M isuse of good hardware. These tanks should be placed at the Senkaku islands.

Good, good Japan!

Yep, great idea...lots of space for them to move around on those rocks

At least they can be of any use at all there in case or a real attack. The Russians would not attack (what for?), and Chinese troops landing in Hokkaido? Yep, very plausible scenario.

The article reads as a propaganda piece to support Kishida's notion of enabling a First Strike or Pre-emptive capability, as a supposed deterrent to China & Russia - which is completely ludicrous and incredibly dangerous.

Neither Russia or China is going to invade Japan. Nor will China invade Taiwan - as if Japan is magically going to force China to step-down if such actually occurred. China will inevitably absorb Taiwan politically and economically.

Cheering troops. That is creepy. Cheering as they practice killing other human beings.

The militarization of Japan, a client-state of the USA: Japan is the forward line in the defense of not Japan, but the American Empire. Acquiescing to such is a very, very bad policy. It deprives the citizenry of resources which are wasted on the military and a pre-emptive strike capacity is a recipe for one thing: disaster.

The best example of the misuse of resources and bankrupting the treasury is the USA: a country that spends 70% of its budget on the military and is increasingly teetering on becoming a failed state. And certainly militarization has adversely impacted the pretense to democracy.

Japan, a resource poor country incapable & unable to field an army/navy/air-force for any prolonged period during an actual war. Fact is, China or Russia would flatten the country.

Kishida's policy is a sop to right-wing, archconservatives and the arms industry. Any notion of the revival of the Great Japanese Empire, in the 21st century, betrays an ignorance of unfathomable depth.

The best example of the misuse of resources and bankrupting the treasury is the USA: a country that spends 70% of its budget on the military 

$700 billion out of a $4 trillion budget is not 70%. The majority of the US budget goes to income support , government supported health care programs and retirement programs.

Kishida's policy is a sop to right-wing, archconservatives and the arms industry. Any notion of the revival of the Great Japanese Empire, in the 21st century, betrays an ignorance of unfathomable depth.

Clap, clap, clap....

Of course the headline could easily have been written.....

"SDF holds drills in Hokkaido to threaten Russia and China."

And it probably was in China and Russia.

Another potential headline could have been.....

Japan begins new SDF armoured drill's including live firing testing of weapons systems.

You can make anything you want sound "threatening".

Japan is also backed by the US Navy's submarine force,which is capable unleashing enough nuclear missiles to deter anyone.

if they were ever going to place the tanks on the Senkaku islands they should upgrade the tank to be Drone so the man shooting is at home having fun behind his monitor and joy stick

I sure would not want to be on that island with tanks and eating MRE for months on

"SDF holds drills in Hokkaido to threaten Russia and China."

You got it!

I was recently at Cape Nosappu near Nemuro and saw several hundred landing craft and hundreds of armored vehicles and thousands of troops going through landing exercises. Something big is going to happen. Maybe a SDF seizure of that flat, worthless island visible from Nosappu?

The Russians and Chinese are shaking in their boots!

M isuse of good hardware. These tanks should be placed at the Senkaku islands.

Are the Senkaku Islands tank country? Don’t think so …

Just a show to justify US$54bln military budget and keep it increasing year by year. Uncle Sam must be very happy about this.

Seriously, it is Japan as a state who has territorial disputes with all of its neighbors over Kuril islands, Dokdo, Diaoyu and not Russia, China, Korea. Hearing statements like possibility of "pre-emptive strikes" makes me think that either WW2 lesson wasn't learned well enough by Japan establishment or ruling cycles being a mere muppet in the hands of US Dep of Defence, which in both cases quite despicable.

Another thing is that cute SDF on its own won't stand a single chance in a modern warfare neither against China nor Russia.

Fact check required. Show us the threat from Russia and China that you refer to, otherwise his is simply fake news.

Hearing statements like possibility of "pre-emptive strikes" makes me think that either WW2 lesson wasn't learned well enough by Japan establishment

Indeed, makes one wonder.

All this sabre-rattling suggests that Japan seems eager to relive its "heroic" past once again

Well well if chin n russia is afraid of US then US is afraid of Talib n Islam all Japan needs to do is bring just 500 strong Talibs from Afgan well US Russia n China will wet their pants together n Japan will solve some percentage of its declining population problems too

SDF holds drills in Hokkaido as it faces Russia, China threat

The China threat is real. I do not see the "Russia threat", except in the imagination of globalist warmongers. Russia is not making territorial demands or violating Japans sea and air space.

Russia is not making territorial demands or violating Japans sea and air space.

Not yet at least. The Russians are certainly making territorial demands on Ukraine and before that Georgia. I would not be too sure if the bear eats its fill of the Ukraine that it doesn't look to the east for it's next meal.

Russia and China has a plan that will not work. Their thinking is the US and Allied Forces could not support two wars on a different front at the same time. Putin is putting on a show of force pretending to threaten the Ukraine while XI Panda is using this as a way to slide in, under estimating US and ally forces to over take Taiwan. Russia has no intentions to invade Ukraine but Panda XI is on an ego trip to invade Taiwan and he is using this plan to calculate his invasion which will be his down fall.