Samit Basu comments

Currently the police has assembled an arresting squad of 1,000 officers consisting of SWAT, organized crime specialists(Korea's version of Yakuza), anti-terror units, and organized drug gang specialists, to arrest Yoon. They will have a 5 to 1 numeric advantage over Yoon's bodyguards.

The only way to stop the rapes is to remove US troops from Okinawa.

And the only way to remove US troops from Okinawa is for Okinawans to declare independence and ask Americans to leave as a sovereign country.

Yoon's impeachment trial schedule is set, the last court hearing date would be February 5th, with the verdict shortly after.

Within 60 days a new presidential election will be held, with the most anti-Japan politician in Korean history Lee Jae Myung expected to win the election easily as he's currently polling 5.5 ~ 7 times the conservative rivals, heck Lee's outpolling PPP party candidates even in the PPP stronghold.

So the relations between Japan and Korea will fall to the lowest point since 1965 unless Ishiba makes major concessions.

Uncertainty is removed, Yoon will be impeached by March at the latest(February is more likely) because of the appointment of two additional constitutional court judges, who expressed Yoon's guilt during the parliamentary nomination hearings.

Currently Lee Jae Myung's polling 5.5 to 7 times the strongest conservative candidates so his election victory is 100%. Lee is called the hardest anti-Japan presidential candidate in Korea's history, Moon Jae In was considered a moderate by Korean standard and was criticized for it.

Ishiba has to pay big prices to preserve relations with Korea, like finally allowing Japanese corporations to contribute into forced laborer compensation fund, and apologize to the forced laborers and comfort women in person. We will see if Ishiba has the courage to do it like he said he would do. The price of inaction would be the termination of GSOMIA, which shuts Japan off from Korea's radar feed.

Korea's currently in the process of upgrading its radar network, and is expected to be able to scan 1,000 km into mainland China once new radars are deployed by 2035. Koreans want to cut Japan off because it would also gives away what Koreans can see what's flying on Japanese mainland.(If it can scan 1,000 km into mainland China, it can also scan Tokyo).

@elephant200

Still 135 days have to go until the next supreme leader come to takeover.

Only if NK didn't send half of its ammunition stockpile to Russia and if ROK wasn't a military superpower...

https://www.usnews.com/news/best-countries/rankings/strong-military

These Countries Have the Strongest Militaries

Russia

United States

Israel

China

South Korea

@itsonlyrocknroll

deserve better than these two charlatans.

Lee Jae Myung was the highest approval rated mayor and governor in Korean history. This is why his loss was shocking to a drunk moron who was rambling even before he entered the presidential race, but the property tax rate was soaring at the time in accordance with booming property market and people voted for the idiot who pledged to cut taxes, and is now collectively paying the price for it.

@GBR48

If the SK regime is happy to consider the past as a done deal

Incoming Lee administration does not.

they could also sort out all the disputed islands in one go.

There is no diplomatic solution to "disputed islands" at all, since they are not disputed at all in Korea(any suggestion of a dispute amounts to treason) and any kind of negotiation over one's own sovereign territory is impossible, just like how Japan can't negotiate the sovereign status of Honshu Island.

The only possible diplomatic solution is for Japan to abandon its claims on the Liancourt Rocks in exchange for Korean recognition of the Diaoyu Islands as Japanese or something like that, and finalize the maritime EEZ border as halfway between Japanese mainland and the Liancourt Rocks. Yes Japan's EEZ claims line will shift massively eastward as the final diplomatic settlement, but that's the price Japan must pay.

everything can flip back to normal. Their choice.

Lee and the democrats want to turn back the clock back to 2019, and completely wipe off the "nightmares" of Yoon's time.

@itsonlyrocknroll

Lee Jae-myung should be incarcerated in adjoining cell

It cannot happen.

The impeachment trial is expected to wrap up much sooner than 90 days, as Yoon's case is simpler than Park's, and Park's trial lasted 91 days. The whole nation saw what happened that night and Yoon confessed on TV speech he ordered the self-coup to get rid of what he termed the communist sympathizers.

So that means Yoon will be stripped of his presidential office by end of March and a new presidential election by May, where Lee is currently polling 5.5 times the strongest conservative candidate.

Whatever the trials that Lee faces can't wrap up by May.

I am pretty sure Rikidozan would want to be remembered by his real name Kim Sin Rak....

Rikidozan was just a ring name, after all.

Trump names Richard Grenell as a special envoy to North Korea.

Grenell is a former DNI acting director, an intelligence specialist.

Japan gets award ambassadors for showing loyalty, while both Koreas get intelligence and national security specialist as "ambassadors"

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/14/us/politics/trump-richard-grenell-special-missions.html

@Bret T

And now we learn the reason for his nomination!

Japan ambassadorship is considered an unimportant post and is freely given away as reward to party loyalists and big time donors like an ambassadorship to some paradise country in the Pacific.

This is in contrast to ambassadorship to Russia, China, and Korea, which are always filled by career diplomats or security experts as these countries are considered critical to US national security.

@isabelle

As I said on another thread he definitely has to go, but I really do hope his successor doesn't throw away all the good work he did with Japan relations. 

In the first impeachment document, endangering Korea's national security by kowtowing to Japan while burning down bridges with Russia, China, and North Korea was listed as an impeachable offense.

This charge was removed in the second impeachment document, but this illustrates how the Democratic party views relationship with Japan. Improving relations with Japan is a treason.

Ironically, this is the reason why Korea's liberals are big time militarists who spend big to build the 5th most powerful military in the world, they need a strong military to protect Korea from an unrepentant war criminal nation like Japan.

Impeachment passed.

@Socrateos

This project was initiated after the U.S. refused to sell the F-22. Therefore, your concerns are unlikely to be an issue.

Wrong. The US did offer a customized F-22 called FB-22 to Japan, which would replace F-22's ancient avionics with the F-35's and have a delta wing to meet Japan's range requirement.

Japan refused the US offer after the US refused to disclose the avionics source code to Japan; FB-22's avionics would be delivered to Japan in sealed black boxes, the same as F-35s. After all, FB-22 would have F-35's avionics and F-35 source code was classified.

The US offered this package to port F-35's avionics to F-22 on Japan's dime and modernize the avionics of USAF's existing F-22 fleet.

https://theaviationgeekclub.com/lockheed-martins-f-22-f-35-hybrid-for-japan-will-cost-177-million-instead-of-133-million-per-aircraft/

Lockheed Martin’s F-22, F-35 hybrid for Japan will cost $177 million instead of $133 million per aircraft

The Yomiuri Shimbun revealed that the Lockheed Martin F-22 with F-35 avionics proposal for Japan is being sold at $177 million for each aircraft.

@dobre vam zajebava

never forget WHO have dropped these bombs.

Americans' hands were forced by Imperial Japanese high command that implemented Operation Gyokusai, turning every Japanese citizens, including school children and the elderly, into Kamikaze bombers to fight to the last man in order to force the US into a ceasefire.

Those two nukes saved at least 5 million Japanese civilians' lives.

Breaking news.

The conservatives just voted for the special independent prosecution into Yoon's coup attempt. They are literally giving into everything but the impeachment, that is the special parliamentary appointed prosecution against Yoon plus the February ~ March Yoon voluntary resignation to avoid the impeachment proceeding, which they deem as the party ending event.

Latest update.

The conservatives are pitching a February ~ March Yoon resignation followed by April ~ May presidential election schedule to avert impeachment, since this would technically be faster than the impeachment route. The conservatives fear the second consecutive presidential impeachment more than the inevitable Lee Jae Myung presidency because this means the collapse of their party for good, there is no second come back.

Lee Jae Myung is currently polling 5.5 times the strongest conservative candidate for the next presidential election.

@stormcrow

Made me wonder how much power does the military hold over its government.

Almost none. All they do is to beg for more money to parliament, which ironically the Democrats are more receptive than the conservatives, and many former generals including the former 4 star general and the chief of staff are Democratic legislators.

@kennyG

Hope Yoon would make this big reversal against all odds

Yoon can't. There are currently 3 independent investigative bodies competing to see who can be the first to arrest Yoon; the police(Neutral), the public prosecutor(Leans right), and public servant investigation(Leans Left).

Even so, even the public prosecutor won't cover for Yoon, in the arrest warrant issued to the defense minister, Yoon is listed as the mastermind of the coup plot, which carries the minimum sentence of life in prison, the max is death penalty(Not carried out, so life in prison). Yoon will spend the rest of his life in prison unless pardoned by the next president.

There is no presidential immunity for the crimes of treason and coup.

I am pretty surprised by "Global Entry" card presented to Imanaga, as Japanese aren't qualified to have one. I know this because I have one.

https://www.cbp.gov/travel/trusted-traveler-programs/global-entry/eligibility

List of countries whose citizens are eligible to apply for Global Entry.

1) Argentina

2) Brazil

3) Dominican Republic

4) India

5) Columbia

6) UK

7) Germany

8) The Netherlands

9) Panama

10) Singapore

11) Korea

12) Switzerland

13) Taiwan

14) Mexico

After Yoon's gone, the most anti-Japan president in Korean history swears in...

@Desert Tortoise

The Saudis are vile beyond description. Japan has in the past opposed Saudi involvement and I hope they prevent this from happening.

UK is broke, Italy is broke, Japan is broke, Saudi sits on mountain of dollar bills to spend, so they offer $1 billion to some soccer player(Mbappe) to play in their league for one year....

@Mr Kipling

So as I said, they have nothing to add.

Saudis have what UK, Italy, and Japan don't have, money.

@Mr Kipling

They have no technical skills that can be useful to this project

Saudi share of design and production work will be handled by Saudi subsidiaries of BAE, Rolls-Royce, and Leonardo.

Saudi Arabia wants things happening on its soil to jump start an industry and train young engineers mentored by seasoned British and Italian engineers.

Nissan is reportedly close to bankruptcy again. Who will buy out Nissan this time, the Chinese?

Honda and Toyota too will follow Nissan's footsteps in about 10 years and Japan is left with no auto industry.

https://www.carscoops.com/2024/11/nissan-exec-says-we-have-12-or-14-months-to-survive/

Nissan Exec Warns “We Have 12 Or 14 Months To Survive”

The Japanese brand is in the midst of trying to find a new anchor investor to get through the next year

But this is illegal under Japanese law....

FIFA World Cup 2034 Saudi Arabia is a done deal. No one can resist the smell of MBS's dollar bills.

There goes Japan's secret ICBM program.....

Just remember that if the US fires missiles from a Japanese islands, Japan too becomes an active combatant of Taiwan War and China has the right to strike positions of an active enemy combatant, presumably Tokyo,

Moderator: Thanks for your contribution. Your comment has been featured in the latest episode of the Japan This Week podcast. Visit the Japan Today top page to listen.

https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2023/08/why-japan-opposed-saudi-arabia-joining-uk-italy-gcap-fighter-jet-alliance

Why is Japan opposed to Saudi Arabia joining UK-Italy GCAP fighter jet alliance?

https://mecouncil.org/blog_posts/why-japan-should-welcome-saudi-arabia-into-the-gcap-fighter-jet-alliance/

Why Japan Should Welcome Saudi Arabia into the GCAP Fighter Jet Alliance

Tokyo could significantly improve its global standing by allowing Saudi Arabia to join a tripartite project to build a next-generation combat aircraft.

When Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida visited Saudi Arabia in July, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman directly asked to join the alliance. But while the UK and Italy are open to Saudi Arabia’s offer, Japan is “firmly opposed,” according to a report by the Financial Times.

@Jalapeno

Manned fighter jet's days are numbered.

Not at all. AI cannot execute missions on a total communication silence required of stealth. It takes a human pilot to improvise changing battleground situations that deviate from initial mission planning.

@Lookingforbooks

I wonder what countries they are thinking about adding to the team? France? Germany?

UK and Italy have been wanting to add Saudi Arabia, opposed by Japan. Unfortunately, Kishida said no in the face of Mohammad Bin Salman and angry MBS is currently discussing joining Korea's 6th gen fighter program based on the KF-21. Korea has been bending backward to get Saudi Arabia join their program, such as reinterpretation MTCR treaty to enable export of 900 km range ballistic missiles and a low-orbit SAR spy satellite constellation so that Saudi Arabia can scan entire Middle East every 30 minute.

Saudi Arabia is already building its integrated ballistic missile defense network with Korea's M-SAM/L-SAM.

@voiceofokinawa

Do the leaders of Italy and the UK know that Japan cannot export such weapons to a third country due to a constitutional constraint?

That's fine, UK and Italy would gladly take over Japan's marketing territory. UK and Italy just need Japan to ship GCAP parts to them.

@kurisupisu

I’ve yet to meet a Japanese person that has ever visited Peru.

So you never heard of Alberto Fujimori, the former dictator of Peru, and his daughter Keiko, who's trying to restore her father's honor by winning back presidency?

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

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

This is the beginning of the end of Japan's auto industry.

Recall that Carlos Ghosn was the first to push a Japanese automaker toward EV, but his Japanese subordinates staged a coup and kicked him out, and Nissan has been in a downward spiral ever since.

Japan's children born today will ask their parents if Japan used to make automobiles, because all the new automobiles are imported, just like how a Japanese teenager on her iphone today is amazed that Japan used to make smart phones but all phones are now imported.