Hiroshima marks 67th anniversary of A-bomb attack

TOKYO — Japan marked the 67th anniversary of the world's first atomic bomb attack with a ceremony Monday that was attended by a grandson of Harry Truman, the U.S. president who ordered the bomb dropped on the city of Hiroshima.

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda, right, bows in front of the cenotaph for the bombing victims during the ceremony marking the 67th anniversary of the atomic bombing at Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima, western Japan, Monday, Aug. 6, 2012.(AP Photo/Itsuo Inouye)

Japan's Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda center, offers silent prayer during the ceremony to mark the 67th anniversarty of the atomic bombing at the Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima, western Japan, Monday, Aug. 6, 2012. (AP Photo/Kyodo News) JAPAN OUT, MANDATORY CREDIT, NO LICENSING IN CHINA, HONG KONG, JAPAN, SOUTH KOREA AND FRANCE

Anti-nuclear protesters stage a rally in Hiroshima, western Japan, Monday, Aug. 6, 2012. Hiroshima marked the 67th anniversary of the atomic bombing Monday. A banner, third right, reads "Osprey and nuclear plants are unnecessary." Two of the MV-22 Osprey, U.S. Marine Corps' latest transport plane, have crashed since April and swelling opposition to their deployment has become a major political headache for Tokyo and Washington. (AP Photo/Itsuo Inouye)

About 50,000 people gathered in Hiroshima's peace park near the epicenter of the 1945 blast that destroyed most of the city and killed as many as 140,000 people. A second atomic bombing Aug. 9 that year in Nagasaki killed tens of thousands more and prompted Japan to surrender to the World War II Allies.
The ceremony, attended by representatives of about 70 countries, began with the ringing of a temple bell and a moment of silence. Flowers were placed before Hiroshima's eternal flame, which is the park's centerpiece.
Truman's grandson, Clifton Truman Daniel, and the grandson of a radar operator who was on both of the planes that dropped the atomic bombs, joined in the memorial. Ari Beser's grandfather, Jacob Beser, was the only person who directly took part in both the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings.

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China's navy engaging in unprecedented co-ordination with India, Japan on anti-piracy patrols

BEIJING, China - China is closely co-operating with the navies of Japan and India in patrolling against piracy off Somalia, a sign of the country's greater willingness to work with other nations in safeguarding global trade despite mixed sentiments among Chinese toward the country's main Asian rivals.
Japan's Maritime Self-Defence Force became the lead navy Sunday in the pact that allows the three to synchronize patrols and best allocate each country's escort resources, Chinese Defence Ministry spokesman Yang Yujun told reporters at a briefing.
Analysts say the escort pact is a sign of growing Chinese naval confidence that could reduce the chances of confrontation in waters closer to China where navies from Japan, the U.S. and others operate in increasingly tight proximity. With China expanding its naval capabilities and asserting its interests, it's important that Beijing's admirals start working more closely with their foreign counterparts, defence experts say.
"Chinese collaboration with other navies should be welcomed. The hope is that such co-operation will have a positive normative effect on the civilian and military leadership," said Toshi Yoshihara of the U.S. Naval War College.
China joined the Gulf of Aden anti-piracy patrols in late 2008, displaying the fruits of a 500 per cent increase in defence outlays over the past 13 years that has allowed the Chinese navy to acquire latest-generation submarines, surface ships, and aircraft, along with an aircraft carrier now undergoing sea trials. In the gulf, it regularly rotates squadrons usually composed of a two warships and a support vessel, accompanied by special forces soldiers.
From the start, the Chinese contingent has been in contact with others in the multinational flotilla as it graduated from guarding Chinese ships to escorting ships of all nationalities. The three nations implemented patrol co-ordination this year, with China and India taking turns as lead navy before handing off to Japan on July 1. South Korea is reportedly interested in joining the arrangement.
The pact shows how China's expanding global reach is projecting its military into new roles, sometimes in co-operation with ideological foes or traditional enemies such as Japan, which brutally invaded and occupied China preceding World War II.

Read more: http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/Chinas+navy+engaging+unprecedented+coordination+with+India+Japan/6874517/story.html#ixzz22gYuDW00

The new NBC wheeled reconnaissance vehicle of the Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force.

The Japanese Ground Self-defence Force (GSDF) has introduce a new wheeled NBC reconnaissance vehicle. Three of these vehicles were brought into service in March 2012. They are designed to enter a suspected contamination zone and detect the presence of NBC materials.

The new NBC reconnaissance vehicle of the GSDF (Japanese Army)

This new vehicle, on display at the GSDF’s Chemical School in Saitama, comes equipped with rubber gloves that allow the crew to collect samples without leaving the safety of the vehicle.

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Why Do South Koreans Object to Japan Military Pact?

Associated Press

Protesters in Seoul on June 29, the day South Korea walked away at the last minute from a military pact with Japan.

It hasn’t been a banner couple of months in relations between South Korea and Japan, despite Tokyo’s declaration this week that it has its closest historical, economic and cultural bonds with Seoul.
Long-running disputes over a rocky outcrop between the nations and the treatment of women who were used as sex slaves during World War II have flared up once again. Amid those tensions, Seoul dramatically backed off an agreement in late June over military information sharing with Tokyo, a decision widely portrayed as due to public unease about closer ties with Japan.

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China rejects Japan's annual defense paper

A fleet of Chinese missile boats in Zhoushan, Zhejiang province. (File photo/Xinhua)

A spokesman for China's foreign ministry has said criticisms of the country's national defense policy in Japan's newly released annual defense white paper are without foundation
"China strongly opposes the groundless criticisms on China's normal national defense development and military activities, and the irresponsible remarks on China's internal affairs made by Japan's annual defense white paper," Hong Lei said in a written statement released Tuesday in Beijing.
According to Hong, China has already made solemn representations with Japan on the matter.


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Japan flags Chinese army's growing role as risk issue

(Reuters) - Japan on Tuesday flagged the Chinese army's growing role in shaping the country's foreign policy as a security risk, saying a sense of caution exists across East Asia about Beijing's apparent military expansion in the region.
In its annual defense white paper, Tokyo said some believe that relations between the People's Liberation Army (PLA) and the Communist Party leadership were "getting complex" and said this was a matter of concern.
There is a possibility that the degree of military influence on foreign policy decisions has been changing, the paper said, without elaborating.
"This situation calls for attention as a risk management issue," it added.


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Japanese defense white paper focuses on China's naval threat

Satoshi Morimoto, the Japanese defense minister. (Photo/Xinhua)

China's defense budget is again the focus of the latest white paper published by the Japanese defense ministry on Jul. 31, according to Duowei News, a website run by overseas Chinese.
According to the report, Beijing has increased its defense spending to 30 times the levels seen 24 years ago. The penetration of Chinese vessels past the Pacific first island chain and the country's ambitions to create a blue-water navy are all considered a threat to Japan's national security. It stated that the purpose of China's naval development is to prevent Taiwan from declaring independence, promote its maritime interests and defend its shipping lanes. The white paper said that Beijing's lack of transparency on the issue has been a cause for concern among the international community.


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US MV-22s are for Japan's national security: Japanese foreign minister

MV-22 Ospreys arrived at Iwakuni aboard cargo ship Green Ridge. (Photo Courtesy of USMC)

While the deployment of an MV-22 Osprey aircraft to the US Marine Corps Air Station in Futenma, Japan is facing opposition from ordinary Japanese citizens, Koichiro Gemba, the foreign minister, stated that the decision was made for the national security of Japan during a press conference held on July 25, according to Global Times, a paper run by the Communist Party of China.
Although the development of China is a great opportunity for the world, Gemba stated that the expansion of Chinese maritime power is currently a major concern for Japan's national security. Under the current US-Japan Mutual Defense Treaty, it is necessary for both nations to acquire new weapons and equipments to contain the growing China, according to Gemba. This is not in line with the "Asia Pivot" strategy of the United States, but also for defending the national interests of Japan.

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Under restrictions, F-22 fighters land in Japan

Kyodo News via AP A U.S. F-22 stealth fighter prepares to land July 28 at Kadena Air Base, Japan.

TOKYO — A group of U.S. Air Force F-22 stealth fighters arrived in Japan on Saturday in what the service hopes will be a step toward proving that its prized aircraft are safe after a mysterious oxygen problem that was making pilots sick.
The F-22s arrived at Kadena Air Base and were expected to remain on the base, on Japan’s southern island of Okinawa, for several months. Japanese media said eight of the aircraft had arrived by Saturday night. Another four were expected to arrive later. Base officials were not immediately available for comment.
The F-22, manufactured by Lockheed Martin Corp., is the Air Force’s most advanced stealth fighter. It was built to evade radar and is capable of flying at faster-than-sound speeds without using afterburners.
But the fleet has been under tight flight restrictions since mid-May because pilots were reporting dizziness and other symptoms of hypoxia.


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Japan considers using force to protect controversial Senkaku islands

The Japanese navy destroyer Sazanimi. Japan is considering sending navy forces to the Senkaku (Diaoyutai) Islands to assert its right to the territory. (File photo/CNS)

Japan may dispatch military forces around the Senkaku Islands, also known as the Diaoyutai Islands, to defend what it believes to be its territory, said Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda at the National Diet on Thursday. He also stressed the importance of resolving the dispute through diplomatic means.
The Prime Minister said the islands have been recognized by international law and history as a part of Japan's territory despite the growing presence of Chinese fishing boats around the area, which have intensified the tension between China and Japan, according to Want Daily, our Chinese-language sister newspaper.


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Japanese reporter beaten by Chinese police at Nantong protest

A Japanese reporter was surrounded and beaten by over a dozen policemen when he was covering the protest in Nantong. (Internet Photo)

Atsushi Okudera, the correspondent of Tokyo-based Asahi Shimbun's Shanghai Bureau, was beaten by the Chinese police when covering a protest launched by the citizens of Nantong, Jiangsu province, against a branch of a Japanese firm on July 28 for emitting toxins into the waters of the city of Qidong, reports the Japan News Network.
Okudera was surrounded by 15 to 20 Chinese police when he was reporting the suppression against the protesters launched by the local authority. The police took away his camera first and beat him after he claimed himself to be a reporter from Japan. He was hit in the head, forced to the ground and aggressively restrained. His press card was confiscated by the police.


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The Strange Rise and Fall of North Korea's Business Empire in Japan

It's been a big couple of weeks for North Korea's 29-year-old dictator. Kim Jong Un appointed himself titular head of the country's military last week and took his marriage public on Tuesday. But amid the celebrating, Kim's Stalinist regime suffered a little-reported setback on the other side of the Sea of Japan. At a time when North Korea is as desperate as ever for hard currency, one of its few reliable generators -- and one of its few links to the outside world -- has gone broke, likely ending the bizarre but significanthalf-century history of Japan's once-formidable North Korea lobby.
In late June, a Japanese court ordered Chongryon, a business, education, and banking organization formally representing pro-North Korean members of Japan's ethnic Korean minority, to auction off its ten-story office building in downtown Tokyo, effectively ending its mission of bringing money into North Korea and pushing propaganda out. The group's problems are essentially financial: Chongryon owes the Japanese government nearly $750 million for a late-90s emergency bailout that rescued the group's network of credit unions, which were rapidly de-capitalized because of remittances to North Korea during the country's devastating mid-90s famine, an economic and humanitarian catastrophe that killed up to 2 million people.


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Japan's domestic affairs prompt Noda's new nationalism

A clash between Chinese and Japanese vessels over the Diaoyu islands gives Prime Minister Noda a chance to prove he is as "patriotic" as the Liberal Democratic Party. (Photo/Xinhua)

Domestic politics is the main reason why Japan's prime minister, Yoshihiko Noda, of the liberal-leaning Democratic Party, has taken a tough stance over islands in the East China Sea that are also claimed by China, according to Shanghai's First Financial Daily. The islands are known as the Senkakus by Japan, which administers them, the Diaoyu islands by China, and the Tiaoyutais by Taiwan, which also claims them.
The most critical issue faced by Noda is the internal struggle between three factions of this own party. While the leftist faction of Yukio Hatoyama and Naoto Kan, two former prime ministers, supports improving Tokyo's ties with Beijing and other Asian nations, Ichiro Ozawa's faction wants to maintain an equal balance between Washington and Beijing, the two major powers in the Asia-Pacific region. Considered a "shadow shogun," Ozawa has never left himself too exposed despite his considerable influence on the Democratic Party. The final faction is the rightists led by Seiji Maehara, the former foreign minister who takes a more pro-American and anti-Chinese stance on foreign affairs.


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MV-22 Osprey Aircraft Arrive In Japan

      The U.S Marine Corp have inducted 12 MV-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft to be stationed aboard Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Okinawa, Japan, as part of Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 265 (HMM-265).

      "We are obviously pleased to demonstrate the capacity of this co-located deep water harbor and aerial port of operations. It clearly highlights Iwakuni’s position as a logistical lynchpin in the strategic alliance between the United States and Japan here in the Western Pacific,” said Col James C. Stewart, Commanding Officer of Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni.


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Niwa to remain Japan's ambassador to China: report

A confrontation between Chinese fishery administration ships and Japanese coast guard vessels near the Diaoyu or Senkaku islands. (Photo/Xinhua)

Uichiro Niwa will remain in his position as Japan's ambassador to China after September, according to the Japanese embassy in Beijing, reports Guangzhou's Southern Metropolis Daily.
Reports from the national Japanese newspaper Sankei Shimbun predicted that Niwa would be recalled this fall because of his "pro-China" attitude in disagreeing with plans by Tokyo governor Shintaro Ishihara to purchase and nationalize disputed islands in the East China Sea for Japan. The newspaper even gave Sept. 29 as the day he would be recalled.
We reported on July 24 that Niwa has not so much been blamed for opposing Ishihara's plan, but for telling the UK's Financial Times that there is a genuine dispute between China and Japan over the Diaoyu or Senkaku islands. The uninhabited islands are controlled and administered by Japan, but both China and Taiwan claim sovereignty over them, Taiwan referring to them as the Tiaoyutais.

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M Solutions to deliver Ka-Band Satellite on the Move technology to JAPAN

File image.

EM Solutions has won a tender with Tokyo-based partner Jepico Corporation to provide its Ka-Band Satellite on the Move (SOTM) platform to the Japanese Government's National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT). NICT is Japan's national research institute for information and communications
EM Solutions and Jepico Corporation beat two large Japanese advanced high-tech companies to deliver the SOTM system to work on the Japanese government's W.I.N.D.S. Ka-band research satellite (see below).
CEO Dr Rowan Gilmore said EM Solutions jointly developed the SOTM technology originally with the Australian Defence Force.

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Japan's envoy to China could lose job for acknowledging Diaoyu dispute

China's president, Hu Jintao, left, meets Japan's ambassador to Beijing, Uichiro Niwa, following the earthquake that struck Japan last spring. (Photo/Xinhua)

Uichiro Niwa may lose his post as Japanese ambassador to China following accusations that his stance on the territorial dispute over the Diaoyu or Senkaku islands is too friendly to Beijing, reports Shanghai's First Financial Daily.
The Japanese government denied the rumors that Niwa will be recalled, originally circulated by Tokyo-based newspaper Sankei Shimbun.
Niwa has not been blamed for opposing a plan by Shintaro Ishihara, the governor of Tokyo prefecture, to purchase the Senkakus — known as the Diaoyu islands in China — but for telling the UK's Financial Times that there is a genuine dispute between China and Japan over the island group. The uninhabited islands are controlled and administered by Japan, but both China and Taiwan claim sovereignty over them, Taiwan referring to them as the Tiaoyutais.
After Japan established official relations with China in 1972, the leaders of both nations have avoided arousing confrontation over the disputed islands by putting the issue aside. This has led the dispute to become taboo among Japanese diplomats, and the islands are usually only discussed as a domestic problem.

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Northrop to supply airborne mine hunting systems to Japan

AN/AQS-24A Airborne Minehunting System. Photo: Northrop Grumman.

ANNAPOLIS, MARYLAND (BNS): Northrop Grumman Corporation has been awarded a series of follow-on contracts by the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) to supply three additional AQS-24A airborne mine hunting systems.

The contracts, which also include airborne electronics and ground-based support equipment, follow an initial contract awarded in October 2011 for Northrop Grumman to deliver Japan's first AQS-24A.

The JMSDF will use all four complete AQS-24A airborne mine hunting sonar systems on its new MCH-101 helicopters, according to the company statement.

The AQS-24A is a high speed mine-hunting system that is primarily towed from the MH-53E helicopter, but has been easily adapted to the JMSDF version of the EH-101 aircraft.

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U.S. fighter jet pilot rescued after crash off Japan coast

TOKYO (Reuters) - The pilot of a U.S. fighter jet that crashed in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of northeastern Japan on Sunday has been rescued, Japan's Coast Guard said, six hours after the aircraft went down.

The pilot, whose name was not disclosed, was placed safely on a U.S. container ship in the region around 6 p.m. (0400 EDT), according to the coast guard, one of several agencies that sent vessels to assist in the rescue.
The F-16 Fighter Falcon went down some 200 miles northeast of Hokkaido, Japan's northernmost island, according to an earlier statement by the U.S. Air Force.
The U.S. Air Force said it was still preparing a statement containing details about the pilot's rescue. It had said earlier that the pilot took off from Misawa Air Base in Aomori at about 11:30 headed for North America.

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Fukushima contractor forced workers to fake radiation readings

The Unit 4 nuclear reactor building at TEPCO's Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant (AFP Photo / Tepco)

A company charged with decontaminating the devastated Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant encouraged its workers to falsely lower their radiation dosimeter readings by covering the devices with lead, according to a leaked tape of an internal meeting.
Nuclear plant workers are not allowed to be exposed to more than 50 millisieverts of radiation a year. But managers at Build-up, a company that provided insulation on the pipes that would pump irradiated water out of the plant, believed that doses experienced inside the plant, which suffered a meltdown, meant workers would quickly reach their limit.
A senior executive gave the team at the site lead boxes that they were told to make into shields.
The workers were then told to place these over the dosimeters. Lead effectively blocks radiation, and produces a significantly lower reading.
When some of them refused, the executive called a meeting.
The executive cajoled the workers by saying, “You can no longer make a living when the dose runs out,” according to a tape that was given by somebody present at the meeting to the Asahi Shimbun newspaper.

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