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Japan launches independent mission to NATO
By MARI YAMAGUCHI TOKYO©2025 GPlusMedia Inc.
19 Comments
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TaiwanIsNotChina
One step closer to membership. Offers should be made.
isabelle
Deeper cooperation with NATO is excellent news. The threat from Russia, China and North Korea is very grave, but their power pales in comparison to a united free world.
Hopefully we'll see that NATO liaison office in Tokyo soon, too. France was previously wary, but due to Russia's continuing atrocities it has thankfully now recognized that autocrats cannot be negotiated with.
JJE
Aggressive, expansionist blocs are the problem. This gesture sounds more like an investment club tribute for the US MIC.
FizzBit
full-scale? Only the brainwashed buy this crap.
isabelle
NATO expands via countries that want to join willingly applying to it, through their elected officials in a democratic process.
Putin is attempting to expand what is already the world's largest country via murder, rape, torture, destruction, and child abduction.
See the difference?
If so, perhaps you may then understand why countries want to join NATO. (Hint: Russian aggression.)
isabelle
Even with all the unspeakable horrors Putin has already committed, yes I guess he could still increase the scale by bringing in full conscription.
But as people don't want to die for his meaningless war of conquest and vanity, he's scared he may suffer a coup, so he hasn't.
Perhaps when his North Korean cannon fodder has been exhausted...
TaiwanIsNotChina
You know what is also aggressive is full on invading your neighbor.
TaiwanIsNotChina
I suppose you think a half million russians took an accidental tumble off a cliff?
JJE
It's not full scale.
No declaration of war, no general mobilization.
More like a limited ground operation of a pre-emptive/defensive nature.
JJE
Think of Crimea like the Golan Heights, and the south-east as the former UN buffer zone and all the other little bits and pieces chipped off here and there - that is a much better comparison.
Nothing full scale about it by any measure. If anything, a failure of (or deliberate sabotage by) western diplomacy.
isabelle
Limited to almost three years and counting, hundreds of thousands of casualties, and the involvement of multiple continents? Doesn't sound very limited to me.
A ground operation that also involves air and naval assets? (Though luckily many of Russia's naval assets are now at the bottom of the Black Sea.)
No-one was planning to attack Russia. There was nothing to "pre-empt."
A defensive nature that consists of indiscriminately attacking a peaceful, sovereign neighbor, and abducting its children? Doesn't sound very defensive to me.
Waiting for your next post: war is peace, freedom is slavery, ignorance is strength.
isabelle
No need to. Why not just see Crimea as it is?
That is, UN-recognized Ukrainian sovereign territory, under illegal occupation by Russia.
JJE
That's precisely what those heights were, so the comparison is fair.
Daniel Neagari
China rep (JJE) and Russia rep (FizzBit) are working overtime today.
Diminishing the beligerant actions made by their commanding countries.
Making fun or twistting any action or agreement that goes against their commanders wishes.
Unfortunately for them, up to the moment they are as unnefective as their armies.
Before you say anything, Rusia being all that big and having all that "firepower" has not being able to take control of the Ukrain territories, a country far smaller by population and by military force after 3 years of constant attacks.... and China is a big military with no real experience and a hollow war machinery.
socrateos
A NATO-like alliance in Asia is part of Japanese Prime Minister Ishiba's vision. Yes, China should be concerned, but it is China's own imperialistic actions that have brought about this situation.
elephant200
NATO can't save their own members, the Baltic states they better take notes !
wallace
No NATO country has been invaded. The US was attacked on 9/11 and Article 5 was invoked. The first and only time.
Fos
The usual warlords in Wall Street getting desperate, flaring up tensions in Asia to continue their warmongering business, after the destruction in Eastern Europe and Middle East. The White House at the peak of his evil game
DanteKH
As long as Japan has only a Defensive force, it cannot join NATO as a full member, since the membership requires active troops, ready to be deployed internationally at the minute notice.
Since the Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution contains “No war” clause, it formally renounce war as a right of sovereignty and the refuses to settle disputes using military force, it can never join a military alliance due to this.
The current revisionism tendencies of the Government might change this over time though.