Kishida wary of joint China, Russia bomber flights near Japan

Don't let the bullies intimidate you, Japan!!!

Fight bullies with .. photo ops.

More antagonistic behaviour by two Japan-hating dictatorships. If these bombers cross the line, they will - rightly - be brought down.

And they wonder why no one in the free world trusts or likes them.

We must not forget, it’s only provocation if it’s the US doing it.

The sky ahead seems very cloudy.

Note that Fumio Kishida's worry is also his antagonists' worry. For Japan and the U.S. conduct joint military exercises frequently with Russia, China and North Korea in view.                                             ’

Kishida reportedly said that Japan was "facing the toughest and most complex security environment," but either Vladimir Putin, Xi Jing-pin or Kim Jong-un could have said exactly the same thing.

So, isn't it the leaders' primary task to fundamentally eliminate the real cause of antagonism and conflict between them before exchanging counter accusation against each other?

I wonder if it's got anything to do with the massive increase in Japan's "defence" budget?

Look at it from their point of view!

Isn't it about time we grew up and stopped these childish games? "We" being the US, Japan, the U.K., China, North Korea, Russia, etc.

“Look at it from their point of view!”

If you look at it from Japan’s point of view, the country is only responding to the alarming military buildup and territorial assertiveness of China and Russia.

The Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs at Brown University hosted security expert Mike Mochizuki to give a lecture this week that touches on many of the points people are debating here. The title of the talk is: Is Japan Entrapped by US-China Rivalry? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-0RG2PLODM

Be more wary about the US bombers invaded your own country..

Anyone who has been paying attention will know this all started when Abe began increasing Japan's military budget to record levels.

In fact every year Abe was in office saw a record increase, along with a dramatic shift to demonize China and Russia in the media (Abe fired top level people at NHK when they refused to go along).

voiceofokinawaToday 07:57 am JST

Vladimir Putin, Xi Jing-pin or Kim Jong-un could have said exactly the same thing.

Their security environments are entirely of their own making. Even when looking at recent (last few years) developments:

Putin: has invaded a sovereign country that was not a threat to his own, indiscriminately murdered the people and destroyed their infrastructure, and currently stands accused of war crimes. And even before the war, regularly threatened and cyber-attacked anyone in sight.

Xi: has illegally militarized the South China Sea in defiance of international law, threatens/harasses nations sailing in international waters or their own exclusive economic zones, invaded across the Indian border and killed Indian troops, threatens/harasses all countries in the area with gray zone tactics, ship rammings, militia swarms, etc. Like Putin, regularly cyber-attacks anyone in sight. Is also currently committing genocide.

Kim: presides over one of the most brutal regimes on earth, regularly threatens both conventional and nuclear war, tests missiles with reckless abandon (even right over the top of Japan), spends most of his (often ill-gotten) budget growing his military, and is currently arming Putin for his war of aggression.

Other countries would like to work with Russia/China/North Korea, but it just isn't possible in their current state. The only thing we can do is guard against the consequences of their brutal actions, which is exactly what we are doing.

For every action there's a reaction

Have you considered the consequences ?

Make peace not war fighto

Your sentiment is lovely, but obviously you have not studied or learned anything from modern history.

If you think that an insane Russian dictator and a Chinese dictator who is showing signs of insanity, will be placated by pacifism, then you're sadly mistaken.

For the pro-dictatorship commentators on here, you're laughable. Go live in either of those countries for a year and then come back and have a chat. Until then your comments are a complete waste of time.

Too bad Japan doesn't have better neighbors

LegrandeToday 09:11 am JST

Anyone who has been paying attention will know this all started when Abe began increasing Japan's military budget to record levels.

Anyone reading the above will see straight away that it is wrong. Other than the Ukraine situation, the things I mention in my previous post predate Abe's budgets, in some cases by several decades.

TokyoLivingToday 09:10 am JST

The real bullies are invaded Japan's soil from 1945..

If you are talking about the US forces in Japan, they are here with Japan's blessing at the request of its government. And Japan is a democracy, so if the Japanese people decide the US forces aren't wanted they can vote for a different government that wants to end the agreement; the US forces will then leave. But there's no political/democratic will for this, as Japan is surrounded by "real bullies" like China/Russia/North Korea, and it wants the US forces to be there.

In contrast, the people of China/Russia/North Korea have zero say in their countries' foreign policies. And little to no say in their domestic policies either.

In contrast, the people of China/Russia/North Korea have zero say in their countries' foreign policies. And little to no say in their domestic policies either.

They can’t even criticize their governments without fear of being punished for it.

Is Kishida also wary of US bomber flights near NK, China, Russia..etc?

Nothing new here.... Just keeping the daily anti China retoric going.

LegrandeToday 09:38 am JST

Either you did not live in Japan prior to Abe, or you are knowingly stating a falsehood, because prior to Abe Japan had very good relations with China which led to booming economic cooperation (of course with the blessing of President Clinton who led the way).

It's almost as if China were operating under "bide your time" very effectively.

This confirms that you are really out to sea and do not actually understand what occurred in the post-war era. If you would like to know the facts you could start by researching how Abe's grandfather former war criminal reinstated to do US policy Kishi Nobusuke illegally forced through the ANPO agreement-

[ The Anpo protests, also known as the Anpo struggle (安保闘争, ***Anpo tōsō*)* in Japanese, were a series of massive protests throughout Japan from 1959 to 1960, and again in 1970, against the United States–Japan Security Treaty, which allows the United States to maintain military bases on Japanese soil.[1] The name of the protests comes from the Japanese term for "Security Treaty," which is Anzen Hoshō Jōyaku (安全保障条約), or just Anpo* (安保) for short.

The protests in 1959 and 1960 were staged in opposition to a 1960 revision of the original 1952 Security Treaty, and eventually grew to become the largest popular protests in Japan's modern era.[1] At the climax of the protests in June 1960, hundreds of thousands of protestors surrounded Japan's National Diet building in Tokyo on nearly a daily basis, and large protests took place in other cities and towns all across Japan.[2]

On June 15, protestors smashed their way into the Diet compound itself, leading to a violent clash with police. During the confrontation, a female Tokyo University student, Michiko Kanba, was killed.[3] In the aftermath of this incident, a planned visit to Japan by US president Dwight D. Eisenhower was cancelled, and conservative prime minister Nobusuke Kishi was forced to resign.[4]

I suppose you would have preferred the earlier treaties that had unequal language? In any event your hippie protests seemed to die out, didn't they?

RealToday  09:25 am JST

Too bad Japan doesn't have better neighbors.

Too bad someone has no idea what Japan did to its neighbors in WWII.

A little study of actual WWII history might help you. WWII ended 78 years ago. Imperial Japan invaded and fought the Republic of China, which is now Taiwan that supports Japan. The PRC did not even exist until 4 years after WWII ended. The USSR (Russia) had a non-aggression pact with Japan during WWII which they unilaterally broke in the last few days of the war.

So what does your comment have to do with Chinese and Russian bombers flying close to Japan?

The WWII allied powers US, UK, as well as Australia, Canada, the EU nations, that were Imperial Japan's enemies, as well as all gthe Southeast Asian nations that Japan invaded and occupied in WWII all support japan's increased militarization in the face of autocratic beligerence.

Peace through strength!

It's the only language dictators understand.

Don't just lay around thinking to yourself, "Yeah, whatever."

The Japanese people should feel very grateful to everything China & Russia is doing for them. This is the hope for Japan that these two neighbors of Japan willing to liberate Japan out of US military occupation and LDP tyranny. Don't give up, the dawn is near!

The USSR (Russia) had a non-aggression pact with Japan during WWII which they unilaterally broke in the last few days of WWII.

The above claim was not true, it was the Yalta Conference help in Yalta, USSR that the big three :Stalin, Churchill, Roosevelt agreed the Soviet army can join the fight against Imperial Japan attacking Manchuria and Japanese occupied northern Isles above Hokkaido. The Soviet campaign from 9thMay -30th September of 1945 were agreed by the three powers: US,UK,USSR.

The Russo Japanese"Non-aggression pact " was not valid as Ossan claimed!

The Soviet campaign against Japan from 9th August-30th September 1945.....

(Sorry for above mistyped.)

Times are changing. Japan and Kishida are simply acknowledging the shifts in the region.

He is taking into consideration the weaponry threat posed by China and Russia, North Korea that could be inflicted upon Japan and her citizens.

But its far deeper down the rabbit hole than that. Its the embassy closures everywhere by the North Koreans. Chinas massive buildup of war ships and airpower. He is looking or being advised to on the markets.

Data hacking, bank hacking, and his trying to honestly assess how to combat for the most part what looks like a major conflict that will arise in the APAC region at some point.

He has right for concern or worry for the country and its peoples.

Perhaps if Kashida didn't stir the pot Russia and China might not take any notice.

elephant200Today  11:57 am JST

The USSR (Russia) had a non-aggression pact with Japan during WWII which they unilaterally broke in the last few days of WWII.

The above claim was not true, it was the Yalta Conference help in Yalta, USSR that the big three :Stalin, Churchill, Roosevelt agreed the Soviet army can join the fight against Imperial Japan

It is very true. The Yalta Conference was held February 4-11, 1945. The Alies wanted Stalin to join the fight against Imperial Japan. The USSR did not do so, citing the non-agression pact, until August 9, 1945. Which was 3 days after the second US A-bomb on August 6th, The USSR unilaterally broke the USSR-Japan non-agression pact. Suggest you read actual historical facts before commenting.

We Japanese must be prepared to battle fight the invaders. They are waiting for us to be weak. Perhaps the governing LDP should show strong powers to these trouble makers

Isabelle,

When the Berlin walls collapsed, and along with it the Soviet Union, I thought the Cold War would finally come to an end. But what did the U.S.-led West do then? Taking full advantage of this opportunity, it made every effort to expand its sphere of influence even over the former Soviet bloc countries. I think the current war in Ukraine is an extension of the erstwhile Cold War, which hasn't been dead as I had hoped.

voiceofokinawaToday 05:34 pm JST

Isabelle,

When the Berlin walls collapsed, and along with it the Soviet Union, I thought the Cold War would finally come to an end. But what did the U.S.-led West do then? Taking full advantage of this opportunity, it made every effort to expand its sphere of influence even over the former Soviet bloc countries. I think the current war in Ukraine is an extension of the erstwhile Cold War, which hasn't been dead as I had hoped.

Nonsense. Bush Sr. went out of the way to be respectful while Russia was going through a tough time. NATO hardly had any foreign troops east of Germany until Vladimir decided to try to burn Ukraine down. It's not NATO's fault Russia hasn't got any friends.

Or perhaps Modern warfare has eluded your observations

A career in the armed forces says otherwise.

Aside from your silly pejoratives, rolling over to have your tummy rubbed by lunatic dictators is not a smart option.

No one likes it. But there is no other option when dealing with madmen.

Yes we would all like peace and harmony, however some people live in the real world and have to really deal with these situations.

At the same time others run around with flowers in their hair, criticizing the very people that ensure the freedom to do so.

voiceofokinawaToday 05:34 pm JST

But what did the U.S.-led West do then? Taking full advantage of this opportunity, it made every effort to expand its sphere of influence even over the former Soviet bloc countries.

Countries join NATO of their own volition. Post-Cold War, many (for example, the Baltics) were wary of Russia's lingering potential for aggression (remember, they'd just lived through decades of brutal communism) and wanted to join to guard against this. Those countries have been proved right in their assessment.

Such countries also wanted to join the West (not just NATO), as it offers much better economic opportunities than Putin's dangerous kleptocracy. The EU has 27 members, plus 8 more waiting to join (10 if you count Kosovo and Georgia.) And that's just the EU as an entity: not "the West" as a whole.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potential_enlargement_of_the_European_Union

Meanwhile, Putin's Eurasian Economic Union isn't exactly an economic powerhouse. And his Collective Security Treaty Organization is a joke. Russia is currently begging North Korea for weapons, and has abandoned its treaty ally Armenia:

https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/armenian-pm-says-depending-solely-russia-security-was-strategic-mistake-2023-09-03/

The US likely did want post-Soviet countries to join the West, but that is moot. The countries themselves wanted to join. And this pro-West process is still happening, as we see with Sweden and Finland's recent accessions to NATO, and various applications to join the EU.

They do it on Monday, your group do it on Tuesday, they do it on Wednesday, your group do it on Thursday. Pot calling kettle black. In the mean while, you waste resources, your neighbors/next door, waste resources, you cannot/don't have resources to improve your citizen's life. So, how?? Don't let groups from far away, safely guarding their homeland from hijacking your foreign policies/don't let them instigate you, Talk/negotiate/discuss/etc to/with your neighbors, after all, its just disputes/legacies. In the mean while, use your resources to improve your citizen's life.

voiceofokinawaToday  05:34 pm JST

When the Berlin walls collapsed, and along with it the Soviet Union, I thought the Cold War would finally come to an end. But what did the U.S.-led West do then? Taking full advantage of this opportunity, it made every effort to expand its sphere of influence even over the former Soviet bloc countries. 

Complete nonsense, I watched the Berlin wall come down. Many Sovioet Satellite states were eager to break from USSR control. Even the young people in East Germany and even USSR itself were enamored with the prosperity and the culture of the West. Nations that became free of the Soviet Union rushed to align themselves with the West.

Even to this day, Putin constantly whines that "NATO is expanding", without addressing the fact that NATO can not "expand" the way Russia does, by invasion and annexation. Members must apply to join of their own volition.

Japan uphold pacifism with your neighbors through dialog and actions

Then demand that China and Russia do the same thing - instead of sending bomber flights near Japan

Why are China and Russia sending warplanes if they're trying to uphold pacifism with their neighbors

Japan should appeal to China and ask USA for support . . . .

Too bad Japan can’t pull up an anchor and float off towards Hawaii.

The two biggest dictatorships in the world cooperating with each other. Nothing to be worried about there.

Isabell (Nov. 12  07:17 pm JST),

Okinawa's reversion to Japan was born of Okinawa's volition. The U.S. occupation and administration of these islands were harsh, depressing and sometimes brutal. Otherwise, Okinawa didn't want to go back to Japan.

I wonder how former Soviet bloc countries will see the reality of Okinawa and, especially, the Henoko issue.

I was an American boy until graduation from high school. I liked everything American during my adolescence, spending most of my time at an American cultural center in Hirara City, Miyako Island. But my view of the U.S.A. flip-flopped almost 180 degrees when I came to live on Okinawa Island where U.S. bases were planted in congestion. Some people lamented the situation by saying, "It's not U.S. bases that are on Okinawa but it is Okinawa that is in U.S. bases. 

Some bases were closed and returned after the reversion all right, but many others have remained intact, even more fortified. The issue of Futenma's relocation to Henoko tells the U.S is determined to maintain the status quo unchanged forever despite local wishes.