With rising tensions among the major countries of East Asia, the Japanese government has enacted new legislation that allows the Japanese military to take offensive action. This policy shift was greeted with anti-war demonstrations of tens of thousands of people. Subsequent to this change, the Japanese Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, visited Australia last week where the two countries agreed to work together militarily against China.
Category: Japan
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Tens of thousands of people protest rise of militarism in Japan
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In Tokyo 40,000 Rise Up Against Fascism: “The War AGAINST War” – UPDATES
Hirano Taichi @ fancy_karate This is a great photo. They are really great. 40,000 people are now in front of the residence of the prime-minister in Japan. Protests are mainly focused on the government’s plans for military reforms, which would turn Japan back to fascism, back to being a war mongering country. War should be against those in the
The post In Tokyo 40,000 Rise Up Against Fascism: “The War AGAINST War” – UPDATES appeared first on revolution-news.com.
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Japanese Prime Minister Abe visits Yasukuni Shrine
San José, CA – On Dec. 26, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe paid a visit to the Yasukuni Shrine in Japan’s capital, Tokyo. This shrine honors Japanese war deaths and includes 14 of the most prominent Japanese convicted of war crimes during World War II, as well as more than a thousand other Japanese war criminals. The shrine also includes a museum, the Yushukan, which portrays Japan’s war of conquest during World War II as aiming to kick out European colonists and covers over some of the worst war crimes, such as the Rape of Nanjing.
The act was strongly protested by China and South Korea, who both suffered from Japan’s wars and occupation. The 1937 Rape of Nanjing, where Japanese troops raped and killed more than 250,000 Chinese is a fact that Abe has tried to cast doubt on by supporting rewriting Japanese school books to say that this was “open to debate.” The Japanese army also enslaved Korean and Chinese women to be prostitutes for the Japanese military (the so-called ‘comfort women’) during World War II, a fact also denied by Abe.
While Abe had visited the Yasukuni Shrine before, this was his first visit as prime minister (Abe had been prime minister from 2006-2007, but did not visit the shrine during that time). Abe is a longtime nationalist politician who has tried to downplay Japan’s imperial past and atrocities committed by the Japanese occupation forces in China and other countries. By trying to cover up and deny Japan’s past of war and occupation, Abe is laying the basis for Japan to try to restore its former imperial glory at the expense of its neighbors, in particular China and Korea.
Abe supports changing Japan’s constitution to remove its article on peace and has been a long-time supporter of expanding Japan’s military. One of his first acts as prime minister was to increase funding for the military. Abe has also stepped up Japanese military patrols around the Chinese Diaoyu Islands, which Japan has occupied since it defeated China in the 1895 Sino-Japanese War.
Abe has found a partner in the U.S. government, whose military ‘pivot towards Asia’ is also putting it on a collision course with China. The day after visiting the Yasukuni Shrine, Abe announced that U.S. plans for a new military base in Okinawa would move forward. The construction of a new U.S. military base has been strongly opposed by the Okinawan people, whose nation has been the site for most of the U.S. military bases in Japan, and whose people have be subject to rape, murder and other criminal acts by U.S. military personnel.
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China refutes lies about new air identification zone
Minneapolis, MN – Geng Yansheng, spokesperson for the Ministry of National Defense, made an important statement in Beijing, Dec. 3 on China’s establishment of the East China Sea Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ).
The release of the statement coincided with U.S. Vice President Joe Biden’s visit to China and come on the heels of provocative unannounced flights of U.S. war planes in the identification zone.
Geng stated that the establishment of the zone is “a necessary measure for China to protect its state sovereignty and territorial and airspace security. It is conducive to maintaining flying safety in international airspace, and is in line with international laws and conventions.”
Geng noted the ADIZ was not a ‘no fly zone’ and that it did not undermine the freedom of over-flight. He also stated, “Some people doubt China’s monitoring capabilities in the East China Sea ADIZ. The Chinese military’s determination and volition to safeguard the security of national territory and territorial airspace are unwavering and the military is fully capable of exercising effective control over the East China Sea ADIZ. Generally, supervision and control are exercised through reported flight plans and radar response and identification, among other means. Military planes can also take flight if necessary to identify entering targets. Measures to be taken are based on factors such as an entering aircraft’s attributes – military or civilian, the extent of threat, or distance. Fighter planes are unnecessary when an entering aircraft is found to pose no threat to us, but necessary surveillance is needed; when the entering threat is ascertained to reach a certain extent, military aircraft will be mobilized at an appropriate time to dispose of the situation.”
Speaking on the role of Japan, which has its own ADIZ, Geng stated, “Since September 2012, Japan has been making trouble over territorial disputes, staging a farce by announcing that it would ‘purchase’ the Diaoyu Islands, frequently sending vessels and planes to disturb Chinese ships and planes in normal exercises or training, openly making provocative remarks such as shooting down Chinese drones, playing up the so-called China threat, escalating regional tension, creating excuses for revising its current constitution and expanding its military, trying to deny the result of the World War II, and refusing to implement the Cairo Declaration and the Potsdam Proclamation. Japan’s actions have seriously harmed China’s legitimate rights and security interests and undermined the peace and stability in east Asia. China has to take necessary reactions.”
One aspect of the U.S. ‘pivot towards Asia’ is strengthening relations with Japan and other countries in the region to counter People’s China. The overall aim of the ‘pivot’ is to dominate the Pacific region.
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China refutes lies about new air identification zone
Minneapolis, MN – Geng Yansheng, spokesperson for the Ministry of National Defense, made an important statement in Beijing, Dec. 3 on China’s establishment of the East China Sea Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ).
The release of the statement coincided with U.S. Vice President Joe Biden’s visit to China and come on the heels of provocative unannounced flights of U.S. war planes in the identification zone.
Geng stated that the establishment of the zone is “a necessary measure for China to protect its state sovereignty and territorial and airspace security. It is conducive to maintaining flying safety in international airspace, and is in line with international laws and conventions.”
Geng noted the ADIZ was not a ‘no fly zone’ and that it did not undermine the freedom of over-flight. He also stated, “Some people doubt China’s monitoring capabilities in the East China Sea ADIZ. The Chinese military’s determination and volition to safeguard the security of national territory and territorial airspace are unwavering and the military is fully capable of exercising effective control over the East China Sea ADIZ. Generally, supervision and control are exercised through reported flight plans and radar response and identification, among other means. Military planes can also take flight if necessary to identify entering targets. Measures to be taken are based on factors such as an entering aircraft’s attributes – military or civilian, the extent of threat, or distance. Fighter planes are unnecessary when an entering aircraft is found to pose no threat to us, but necessary surveillance is needed; when the entering threat is ascertained to reach a certain extent, military aircraft will be mobilized at an appropriate time to dispose of the situation.”
Speaking on the role of Japan, which has its own ADIZ, Geng stated, “Since September 2012, Japan has been making trouble over territorial disputes, staging a farce by announcing that it would ‘purchase’ the Diaoyu Islands, frequently sending vessels and planes to disturb Chinese ships and planes in normal exercises or training, openly making provocative remarks such as shooting down Chinese drones, playing up the so-called China threat, escalating regional tension, creating excuses for revising its current constitution and expanding its military, trying to deny the result of the World War II, and refusing to implement the Cairo Declaration and the Potsdam Proclamation. Japan’s actions have seriously harmed China’s legitimate rights and security interests and undermined the peace and stability in east Asia. China has to take necessary reactions.”
One aspect of the U.S. ‘pivot towards Asia’ is strengthening relations with Japan and other countries in the region to counter People’s China. The overall aim of the ‘pivot’ is to dominate the Pacific region.
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U.S. B-52 bombers carry out anti-China provocation, say reports
Minneapolis, MN – According to widespread reports in the Western press, the U.S. sent two B-52 bombers into China’s newly established East China Sea Air Defense Identification Zone on Nov. 26. According to the reports, the U.S. provocation involved ignoring the Air Defense Identification Zone regulations, which require aircrafts to make their presence and flight plans known.
Air Defense Identification Zones are a common international practice. More than 20 countries have them. Japan established its Air Defense Identification Zones in 1969.
The creation of China’s Air Defense Identification Zone comes at a time of growing tension between China and Japan over the Diaoyu Islands, which lie within the new zone. Historically, the islands are a part of China. Japan has physical control over the islands.
If reports on the U.S. military aircraft ignoring zone regulations are accurate, this move would indicate that the U.S. is upping its support for the Japanese occupation of China’s Diaoyu Islands and would mark an escalation of the U.S. push against China.
In recent years, an important element of U.S. foreign policy has been a ‘pivot’ towards Asia. Key elements of this policy are to surround China with U.S. military bases and to reach military agreements with China’s neighbors. The overall goal is to maintain U.S. domination over the Pacific region.
In recent weeks, the U.S. has taken advantage of the massive typhoon that hit the Philippines as a means to create the climate for a greater presence in that country.
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U.S., Japan make threats against China
Minneapolis, MN – U.S. and Japanese authorities are making threats against People’s China in the wake of China’s Nov. 23 establishment of the East China Sea Air Defense Identification Zone.
Chinese Defense Ministry spokesman Yang Yujun states that China created the Identification Zone with “the aim of safeguarding state sovereignty, territorial land and air security and maintaining flight order. This is a necessary measure taken by China in exercising its self-defense right.”
Inside the newly created Identification Zone are the Japan-occupied Diaoyu Islands. Historically a part of China, Japan maintains physical control over the Diaoyu Islands and the islands have become a flashpoint in Chinese-Japanese relations in recent years.
Japan’s current Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe – a right winger who defends Japan’s brutal imperial past – is up in arms about the decision to establish the Identification Zone.
A Nov. 24 report in The Guardian states, “Japan has denounced the zone set up by China on Saturday as ‘totally unacceptable’ and indicated that aircraft from its self-defence force would ignore Beijing’s attempt to oblige aeroplanes to obtain its permission before entering.”
On Nov. 23 U.S Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel stated, “This announcement by the People’s Republic of China will not in any way change how the U.S. conducts military operations in the region.”
Referring to the Diaoyu Islands as the ‘Senkaku Islands’, which is the name used by the Japanese authorities, Hegel affirmed the U.S. was ready to join a military conflict with China, stating, “We remain steadfast in our commitments to our allies and partners. The U.S. reaffirms its longstanding policy that Article V of the U.S.-Japan Mutual Defense Treaty applies to the Senkaku Islands.”
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National liberation movements mourn passing of Vietnam’s General Giap
Minneapolis, MN – National liberation movements around the world are morning the Oct. 4 passing of General Vo Nguyen Giap who, along with Ho Chi Minh, was one of the main leaders of Vietnam’s fight to free itself from Japanese, French and finally U.S. domination.
Describing General Giap as a “warrior of the twentieth century, architect of the future,” the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) stated, “Japan, France and the United States, three of the strongest powers in human history, fell successively, humiliated before his military and political genius.”
A statement from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) said “Giap was the first military commander to defeat a Western colonial power in Asia, and his legacy is renowned not only by the Vietnamese people but by all peoples around the world and all movements for liberation from colonialism and imperialism.”
The Communist Party of the Philippines, summed up some of the lessons of Giap’s efforts, stating, “Comrade Giap led the Vietnamese People’s Army in the historic Battle of Dien Bien Phu, the center of French military power in Indochina. Here, the Vietnamese people demonstrated how they could defeat a more modern army through the use of guerrilla tactics. They marched in their thousands to build hidden trails, dug hundreds of kilometers of trenches, dismantled their cannons and artillery and manually pulled them up to high mountain ridges in order to quietly encircle the overly confident French troops. They launched a blitzkrieg attack against the French military base and after 55 days of fighting, forced the complete surrender of the French colonialists on May 7, 1954.”
The Communist Party of the Philippines also stated, “The lessons of the Vietnamese people’s war of resistance continue to illumine people’s wars around the world, including that being waged by the Filipino people through the New People’s Army. The military writings of Comrade Giap, especially in waging guerrilla warfare, have been translated into Pilipino and other local languages, enabling Filipino revolutionaries to study the lessons of the people’s war in Vietnam.”
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National liberation movements mourn passing of Vietnam’s General Giap
Minneapolis, MN – National liberation movements around the world are morning the Oct. 4 passing of General Vo Nguyen Giap who, along with Ho Chi Minh, was one of the main leaders of Vietnam’s fight to free itself from Japanese, French and finally U.S. domination.
Describing General Giap as a “warrior of the twentieth century, architect of the future,” the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) stated, “Japan, France and the United States, three of the strongest powers in human history, fell successively, humiliated before his military and political genius.”
A statement from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) said “Giap was the first military commander to defeat a Western colonial power in Asia, and his legacy is renowned not only by the Vietnamese people but by all peoples around the world and all movements for liberation from colonialism and imperialism.”
The Communist Party of the Philippines, summed up some of the lessons of Giap’s efforts, stating, “Comrade Giap led the Vietnamese People’s Army in the historic Battle of Dien Bien Phu, the center of French military power in Indochina. Here, the Vietnamese people demonstrated how they could defeat a more modern army through the use of guerrilla tactics. They marched in their thousands to build hidden trails, dug hundreds of kilometers of trenches, dismantled their cannons and artillery and manually pulled them up to high mountain ridges in order to quietly encircle the overly confident French troops. They launched a blitzkrieg attack against the French military base and after 55 days of fighting, forced the complete surrender of the French colonialists on May 7, 1954.”
The Communist Party of the Philippines also stated, “The lessons of the Vietnamese people’s war of resistance continue to illumine people’s wars around the world, including that being waged by the Filipino people through the New People’s Army. The military writings of Comrade Giap, especially in waging guerrilla warfare, have been translated into Pilipino and other local languages, enabling Filipino revolutionaries to study the lessons of the people’s war in Vietnam.”