Japan to expand Okinawa-based ground force unit

Cool, now, fire some off in the direction of china, just for fun.

Taiwan still claims to be the rightful government of all of China so technically yes they're Chinese and hence still engaged in a civil war.

Technically true, though no shots have been exchanged since the early 1960s.

Taiwanese are Chinese.

Mainland Chinese born residents of Taiwan never amounted to more than 15% of the total population. Today, after 73 going on 74 years of separation you have Taiwanese who were born and died without ever knowing mainland China. Most modern Taiwanese feel no affinity to the mainland. Younger Taiwanese have never known anything but free speech, a free press and an elected representative government. There is no affinity for China in Taiwan.

Rodney, China has so nukes,they are literally in one location in Tibet

China has three large ICBM fields in western China with hundreds of silos in each field, none of which are in Tibet.

The nations of the world had hoped that China would mature into a beneficent Big Brother, instead of a threatening Big Bully.

In a move that could further heighten tensions with China, the Defense Ministry plans to double the number of infantry regiments under the Ground Self-Defense Force's 15th Brigade to two, as well as upgrade its highest rank from major general to general, the source said.

Yes it is a move that will absolutely further heighten tensions.

Japan do not have any nuclear bomber's or deterrent,even the Canadian want to get under the US nuclear umbrella

Canada, being a NATO member is already under the nuclear umbrella of USA, France and UK.

Everyone in the immediate Asia region live 5 Minutes from being destroyed,

Including China, North Korea and Russia, not just Japan and South Korea or the Philippines and Vietnam.

this why you people should try to get along

Easier said than done. Getting along is one thing, being bullied into capitulation is another. It is not a one way street.

Everyone in the immediate Asia region live 5 Minutes from being destroyed,this why you people should try to get along

Japan do not have any nuclear bomber's or deterrent,even the Canadian want to get under the US nuclear umbrella

Peter14,where would you run if Japan is attacked,is their any missile battery near Tokyo

Like you I am not a resident of Japan. If Tokyo was attacked I would be as threatened as you are.

Rodney, China has so nukes,they are literally in one location in Tibet

They have bombers that can drop nuclear weapons/missiles and they have nuclear submarines with nuclear missiles on board (boomers). The silo's in Tibet are one of three means of nuclear response or attack.

Rodney, China has so nukes,they are literally in one location in Tibet

Peter14,where would you run if Japan is attacked,is their any missile battery near Tokyo

Taiwan was never historically a part of China. It was populated by peaceful indigenous people. The mainlanders came en masse first on the coattails of the Dutch colony in Anping distric southwest Taiwan and in a second wave to escape communists in WW2. The land should be given back to the rightful indigenous owners and protected from external threats by UN security forces

Japan seems hellbent on starting a war

It is China that is hellbent on starting a war and Jinping has even stated, "prepare for war and prepare to win it."

Taiwan is an internal problem for China.

Taiwan being independent, is an International issue for all nations.

China is no threat to Japan.

China is the main threat to Japan and to Japanese territory such as the Senkaku islands and Okinawa.

That means that we are the threatening aggressor to China

No, it means Japan must defend itself from Chinese attempts to steal territory.

which gives them the legal right to launch a preemptive strike on Japan.

No, if anything it gives Japan the right to launch a defensive preemtive strike against China.

China just only needs to shut down the straight of Taiwan/Luzon.

You make it sound so easy. Those are international waters in every sense of international maritime law. The instant China tries to close them they will have a multinational naval war on their hands that they could not win. The impacts on China would be severe, not just militarily but for their trade. It would become impossible to obtain maritime insurance for shipments to or from Chinese ports. Trade flows would be reduced to a trickle even without naval action in the Strait of Malacca or Strait of Hormuz. If it was as easy as you posit they would have done so by now. It's not, though it may appear so from the safety and comfort of your computer room.

Why? The past forgotten..?

Denial syndrome...

(I gave an example to illustrate the point, which the moderator removed. Even here, we are not allowed to mention the fascist past of Japan.)

Japan seems hellbent on starting a war

Taiwan is an internal problem for China. China is no threat to Japan.

That is not true and you know it. If China managed to conquer Taiwan then the Ryukyus would be next. The Chinese claim Japanese territory in the Senkaku Islands is part of China and has referred to Okinawa as being "Japanese occupied". The Japanese can read and understand the implications. If China was so peaceful and "no threat to Japan" why does their coast guard constantly violate Japanese territorial waters and why do they claim sovereignty over Japanese territory?

Why? The past forgotten..?

Hardly. It's just that the shoe is on the other foot. Today it is China behaving a lot like Japan and Nazi Germany did 90 years ago. Nobody has forgotten the lessons of WWII, that appeasement and weakness are not guarantors of peace but instead invite invasion and war.

Taiwan is an internal problem for China. China is no threat to Japan. That means that we are the threatening aggressor to China which gives them the legal right to launch a preemptive strike on Japan. As Japan hosts nuclear weapons on its sovereign territory and is blatantly threatening China, they have the right to use any of their 400 nuclear warheads on Japan. After the USA nuked two Japanese cities full of civilians before, and suffered no war crimes trials, China probably thinks if they nuke the aggressive Japan, there will be no international repercussions.

great job Kishida, spend our tax for your desire.

Why is Japan getting nervous about the China's Taiwan problem? China will not to touch Japanese territory. But in any case, is Japan scared China may, in the confusion,  accidentally retake Senkaku which, is in a situation much like Taiwan's?

China will attack Japan before Taiwan is attacked. War with Japan is extremely popular in the Chinese public, and it is a sure way for any Chinese government to quickly shore up support.

Historically China always seen its neighbors as tribute/subject states with no rights to negotiate with them on equal terms.

China just only needs to shut down the straight of Taiwan/Luzon after reunifying with Taiwan back to the mainland. Japan will be finished economically as badly as the Allied blockade of Japan during WW2. The shortest sea routes to Japan will be cut-off. Ships will have to go a longer route to Japan, and this will drive up the prices of imports. With the weakening Yen and economic fundamentals, Japan will be severely hurt like current Ukraine.

Even if the US "assists" Japan economically in this case, then it will be no different from the current EU. The US businesses overcharge their European "allies" in the imports of energy, so the possible case for Japan will be no different. A weak Yen is already making Japan far more vulnerable than the EU. Currently, in the EU, European businesses are already moving their companies to North America and Asia to avoid geopolitical showdowns. Japanese businesses have been doing the same thing for a while, and this hypothetical situation will accelerate it even more.

There are non-violent, brutal ways of defeating Japan without using military violence. China and Russia don't give care about Japan. They only worried about the US in East Asia!

West-allied governments know stunting is coming up. Hopefully men in those countries are willing to fight....

Japan to expand Okinawa-based ground force unit:

Again & again, China's rise & assertiveness are used as trivial excuses to beef up Japan's ground force unit.

Indirectly, Tokyo has been incessantly promoting arms race to tarnish/damage global peace.

Why? The past forgotten..?

Yabaru

Japan should copy it's neighbor SK system and make military service mandatory for all men and women, following HS.

It's not a military, it's a self-defense force. Large difference.

You called it military service.

It's still military-like with military weapons. So instead of enlisted troops, we have special civil servants who can resign with one month's notice.

With military conscriptions, there would be two tiers. Would that require a change to the constitution?

Military conscription is not good.

It's not a military, it's a self-defense force. Large difference.

Military conscription is not good.

Why is Japan getting nervous about the China's Taiwan problem? China will not to touch Japanese territory. But in any case, is Japan scared China may, in the confusion, accidentally retake Senkaku which, is in a situation much like Taiwan's?

Japan should copy it's neighbor SK system and make military service mandatory for all men and women, following HS. Take care of any number of problems with "numbers" and give the "entitled" generation a sense of duty and service to country.

Sadly Japanese dont show much "patriotism" unless it's related to sports.

With a declining population (record numbers every year), just how is Japan going to boost the GSDF?

There are 125 million of Japanese people, someone will do that job..

@Blue, the short story is that Japan designs and manufactures the vast majority of its defense material. From handguns to combat ships to fighters and maritime patrol and heavy transport aircraft there is very little Japan does not build in house. All those F-15s, F-2, Chinooks and CH-46s in Japanese service are built in Japan. Something you omitted in your lengthy post is that in many ways the defense requirements for Japan are unique to Japan and thus Japanese systems do not translate well to other militaries. Exampes are the new Type 10 tank built to meet the bridge width and load weights of most Japanese highway bridges. There are reasons why the big heavy Type 90s are confined to Hokkaido. An American M-1A2 Abrams would break most Japanese bridges from its weight. The US Army has struggled for two decades, unsuccessfully so far, to replace their OH-58 Kiowa scout helicopters while Japan quietly developed and fielded their OH-1.

The Mitsubishi C-2 was designed to be able to maintain sufficient speed and altitude to share the Jet Airways with commercial aircraft. The big C-17 cannot do that. It's too slow. However many potential customers do not care about the ability of their transport aircraft to maintain the speeds and altitudes of commerical aircraft and are happy to have a slower aircraft that has other qualities. Japan built their aircraft for a specific need to support their UN committments and to keep their base in Dijbouti supplied. It is very good aircraft, just not what some other nations want. Same for the big P-1 maritime patrol plane. Great aircraft built to a specific Japanese requirement using Japanese weapons and sensors. Personally I think it might be a better ASW airplane than the Boeing P-8.

Doubling the force would be around 4,400 soldiers. For an area as big as the Ryukyu Islands that still seems pretty small. Hopefully they also play a role in natural disasters as we all know typhoons roll through that part of the world regularly.

With a declining population (record numbers every year), just how is Japan going to boost the GSDF?

It is a challenge faced by most of the developed world's military forces. AI, automation and unmanned systems are a major part of the solution. Developing systems that require less intensive maintenance is also vital as support tends to consume more manpower than actual operations. One of the reasons the Navy ditched the old F-14 was they required 40 or more man hours of maintenance for every hour in the air where an F/A-18 only requires 10-12 hours of maintenance for every flight hour.

"With a declining population (record numbers every year), just how is Japan going to boost the GSDF?"

How does SK do it?!

There are 51 million Koreans "only".

Preparing for confrontation with the occupiers?

With a declining population (record numbers every year), just how is Japan going to boost the GSDF?

This refutes some of the narratives one too often reads here about Japan being dependent upon one nation for their armaments.

People arent arguing that Japan is dependent upon one nation for it's armaments. People are arguing about depending upon one nation for it's defense.

Japan is capable of defending itself, yet people need to understand that ALL prefectures, including Okinawa, actually in PARTICULAR Okinawa, have to share the duty.

Well look at that, a Japanese designed and manufactured Type 12 anti-ship missile fired from a Japanese manufactured launch vehicle. I can tell from the unique launcher and it's X-shaped support that behind this is a the equally all Japanese Type 03 medium range surface to air missile system. These systems are Japanese designed and built, and unique so far to the Japanese military. This refutes some of the narratives one too often reads here about Japan being dependent upon one nation for their armaments.