Kishida says enemy base strike capability an option to boost defense

Really well argued by Kishida.

Japan absolutely needs a stronger ability to strike at overseas targets. Much more needs to be invested in long-range bomber aircraft and missiles that can deal with cities and other targets in enemy nations.

The threats and aggression of China, Russia and North Korea against Japan is not going away.

The best form of defense is attack - and Japan needs to prepare to do this if her many hostile neighbors keep up their warlike behaviour.

Simon FostonToday  12:39 am JST

socrateosNov. 27  10:28 pm JST

It's just a common sense to have such capability. Another small step toward a "normal nation."

Would that be the kind of "normal nation" Japan was circa 1941?

No it wouldn't. China today is what Imperial Japan was in 1941. A fascist militant dictatorship bent on territorial expansion and making up for the "past humiliation at the hands of the West". And Japan, like all regional nations, needs to be able to defend itself.

I think it's naive to think Japan doesn't have nuclear device parts sitting in close formation and ready to assemble within minutes.

Nuclear weapons need some very specific hardware that is anything but readily available, including very precise timing devices and carefully shaped explosive charges to crush the nuclear core and create a critical mass. There is no evidence Japan has any of these capabilities today. Making the hollow nuclear cores requires a very special factory. There is no evidence Japan has this either. Japan probably has the theoretical knowledge to make nuclear weapons but has not actively developed or tested the necessary hardware to have a ready to assemble nuclear weapon on a shelf somewhere.

Kyle, name one successful military campaign Lately, beside leaving Afghanistan

Desert Storm, OIF and the invasion of Afghanistan went pretty well. The military did their job superbly. Where the US failed miserably in both Iraq and Afghanistan were their post invasion occupation, reconstruction and establishing a stable political framework in each country that would permit a US withdrawal.

Kyle, name one successful military campaign Lately, beside leaving Afghanistan

It is time for Japan to amend it’s constitution on having an offensive military capability. This is not post WWII. Japan needs to be able to project offensive military capability to it’s enemies in the region. The best defense is a credible offense. Expenditures on the Japanese military capability need to increase three to four fold. As an American, and former military officer, the USA will always be there to defend Japan, but that job will be much easier if Japan has a viable offensive capability. That capability needs to reflect 21st century reality, which is a far cry from what it was 30 plus years ago!

Japan has 5th strongest military in world. It is less than China in a war US and NATO will follow Japan. China will be alone. China has no friends.

Japanese enemy will launch an attack at 35.700 Latitude and 139.8 Longitude, NK bases are located 560 miles from Tokyo, an 12 minute strike capacity following a launch

Paper Tiger should not be putting gas on a fire

Nuclear weapons are hideously expensive to design, test, build and after you built then you have another really expensive infrastructure to keep them secure and to maintain them. The owner also has to construct a very special command and control system for these nuclear weapons so they cannot be used without a lot of specific permissions.

For nearly any war fighting, nukes are not really necessary. Precision guidance, improved energetic materials (explosives and rocket propellants) and hard target penetrators have made nuclear weapons unnecessary to achieve the desired military effects. About all they are good for as a terror weapon to unleash on an enemies cities in the event it looks like you are going to lose.

The rule of thumb in ordnance is that the blast radius should be equal or greater than the CEP (Circular Error Probable) to ensure target destruction. Unguided munitions of CEPs in the hundreds to even thousands of meters so nuclear warheads were necessary to destroy important targets. Today modern PGs have brought CEPs down to tens of meters, and even a meter or three. With such accuracy conventional munitions easily replace nuclear weapons while getting the same job done. Hard target penetrators make even buried bunkers and enemy ICBM silos potentially vulnerable to destruction by conventional weapons.

For a country like Japan building nuclear weapons would do very little to enhance Japans ability to defend itself. That money is better spent on buying more of the conventional weapons it needs.

I think it's naive to think Japan doesn't have nuclear device parts sitting in close formation and ready to assemble within minutes.

Japan has enough plutonium for 6,000 devices.

Japan wants to upgrade the delivery.

If you were responsible for the defense of Japan, what would you do?

socrateosNov. 27  10:28 pm JST

It's just a common sense to have such capability. Another small step toward a "normal nation."

Would that be the kind of "normal nation" Japan was circa 1941?

Knowing the past of the militarism of this country and knowing the revisionist idea of Kishida and his affiliates this looks preoccupying.

It's just a common sense to have such capability. Another small step toward a "normal nation."

Japan playing the victim to a new dangerous level.

Buy-more-weapons-Kishida ramps up the rhetoric….

Kishida, no social redeeming values. Defense capabilities, what does that possibly mean? As if Russia, China or North Korea will be deterred by the mighty Japanese offense strike capability - such will produce the opposite of stability.

The only 'thing' to be gained is profits for the 'defense industry' and a waste of tax dollars on a fool's errand.

The biggest deterrence is the already in place U.S. military - ready to sacrifice the islands as some grand geopolitical stratagem.

The puny efforts, supposedly under the auspices of defense, will simply waste valuable resources, and contribute nada to fending off the Chinese peril - a danger that is illusory.

The reactionary conservatives, right-wing scoundrels who control the LDP are a menace to any genuine democracy.

Japan needs to have nuclear weapons is kind of cheaper and practical when you live in the jungle where all the neighbors already have the toy.

Go go go Kishida!

Just a reliable Nuke would make peace with all Red rogues in this part of Asia they show their teeth to Japan only because of the nuke they possess so by Japan having nukes if this kinda invoking of path leading to war can b averted then make one nuke for peace to prevail n no need to maintain lots of military personnel or expenditures

Would seem the military are becoming an integral part of Japans quasi democratic governance, didn’t work out last time. Hand on heart “I’d sacrifice all of you for a sentence in a history book in the future”

Kishida has shifted his dovish stance to a more hawkish one, apparently to please influential leaders within his governing party

If you can be bought, you can be sold.

Nukes should be an option too.

Who is that tin pot (would be) dictator?

‘Really inspecting the JSDF band and a few hundred fancy dancing soldiers if that, does it require a 50meter open top car ride.

Why has he got his hand on his heart? Were they blaring out the American anthem?

Does he ever wear a mask this chap?