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Britain and Japan to sign defense pact

UK and Japanese troops will be deployed on each other’s territory, as Tokyo deepens its alignment with NATO powers

RT | January 11, 2023

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and his Japanese counterpart, Fumio Kishida, will sign a major defense agreement on Wednesday, Sunak’s office has announced. With Britain and its NATO allies focused on opposing both Russia and China, Japan is deepening its cooperation with the Western military machine.

The ‘Reciprocal Access Agreement’ will allow both countries to deploy troops on each other’s soil, and to hold “larger and more complex” joint military exercises, according to a statement from Downing Street.

While Japan already hosts around 50,000 US troops, Wednesday’s signing will make the UK the first European nation to have a reciprocal access deal with Japan. Australia has had such an agreement with Japan since 2007, although this pact became non-binding when it was renewed in October.

The signing comes a month after Japan, the UK, and Italy announced that they would team up to develop a sixth-generation fighter jet, merging separate national jet programs.

These developments mark a significant step by Japan away from its post-WWII constitution, which commits the country to a pacifist foreign policy and mandates that its military be a strictly defensive and peacekeeping force.

However, Japan joined the renewed Quadrilateral Security Dialogue – a loose military alliance with the US, India, and Australia explicitly aimed at countering China in the “Indo-Pacific” region – in 2017, and in December announced a doubling of its military budget, citing missile “missile threats” from China and North Korea.

Tokyo also joined the West in sanctioning Russia over the conflict in Ukraine, and plans on stationing supersonic missiles near Russia’s northeastern islands. Moscow considers this plan to pose “a serious challenge” to its security.

Sunak and Kishida are set to discuss both Ukraine and China on Wednesday, with the British prime minister’s office stating that they would talk about “the need to maintain our collective support” for Kiev and strengthen its military.

January 11, 2023 Posted by | Militarism | , , | Leave a comment

Fake news about North Korea arming the Wagner PMC as an illustration of new “evidence” trends

By Konstantin Asmolov – New Eastern Outlook – 04.01.2023

It would seem that not long ago we touched on the intricate situation regarding rumors of North Korean or South Korean arms being supplied to the region of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, noting that there was no real evidence of either. Unfortunately, the situation is not evolving for the better and even those in the US establishment, who previously had refrained from making direct and unsubstantiated accusations, have begun to do so.

On December 22, 2022, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters that the DPRK had completed its initial arms delivery to Russia back in November, including infantry rockets and missiles: “We can confirm that North Korea has completed an initial arms delivery to Wagner, which paid for that equipment”. And while Washington does believe “that the amount of material delivered to Wagner will not change battlefield dynamics in Ukraine,” it is still “certainly concerned that North Korea is planning to deliver more military equipment.”

Kirby’s further statements reflected that, for him, the Russian-Ukrainian conflict is taking place on some other globe. It turned out that Russian military officials report to the command of this PMC, which has 50,000 fighters. “It’s pretty apparent to us that Wagner is emerging as a rival power center to the Russian military and other Russian ministries”.  The Russian reader can only raise a restrained smile, which also applies to the idea that the PMC has not only heavy equipment, but also missiles and heavy artillery in its arsenal.

Nevertheless, Kirby said the US, along with its allies and partners, would raise the issue in the UN Security Council, as the North’s arms deliveries were a clear violation of sanctions resolutions and he promised new sanctions against the Wagner group. US Permanent Representative to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield also said that the US “intends to raise the DPRK’s and Russia’s violations of UN Security Council resolutions in future meetings of the Security Council and will share information of this violation with the Council’s 1718 Sanctions Committee.”

The ROK and Canadian foreign ministries joined in the condemnation. Canadian Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly stressed that the actions of Wagner and Pyongyang “clearly violate international law and United Nations Security Council resolutions.” South Korea’s foreign ministry also condemned the arms trade between North Korea and the PMC, saying it was detrimental to peace and stability in the international community in direct violation of the resolutions.

More interestingly, Stéphane Dujarric, the Spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General, told a briefing that the UN had no information on possible arms deliveries from the DPRK to the Wagner PMC.  From the author’s point of view, this is a hint…

Equally interesting is that Kirby’s information was published almost exactly the same way a little earlier by the British media. Reuters quoted a senior US administration official as saying that the ammunition had been bought from the DPRK last month and delivered to Russia: allegedly the volume of shipments is not large enough to seriously affect military operations, but the US fears that this channel will continue to operate.

A little earlier, the Japanese newspaper Tokyo Shinbun had reported that similar missiles were being supplied via the Hasan-Rajin railway.

And all this could not but prompt a comment from the DPRK Foreign Ministry, which on December 22 dismissed the manipulative report by the Japanese media as a completely clumsy and groundless PR stunt. The rest of the statement should be quoted as fully as possible:

“The DPRK remains unchanged in its principled stand on the issue of “arms transaction” between the DPRK and Russia which has never happened.

The international community will have to focus on the US criminal acts of bringing bloodshed and destruction to Ukraine by providing it with various kinds of lethal weapons and equipment on a large scale, rather than lending an ear to the groundless theory of “arms transaction” between the DPRK and Russia cooked up by some dishonest forces for different purposes.

Taking this opportunity, I would like to say that the Russian people are the bravest people with the will and ability to defend the security and territorial integrity of their country without any others’ military support”.

Yevgeny Prigozhin, the owner of the Wagner PMC, also dismissed the allegation of North Korean supplies as “gossip and speculation”, and the author partly agrees with him: there is still no regular railway connection between North Korea and Russia. All the more so since the movement of trains across the border is monitored by US military satellites, among others.

The author also draws attention to the fact that the PMC has far less capacity to procure this type of weapons than the state does, because it would require additional time. Finally, if the PMC had received these weapons back in November, they would have already been used on the battlefields, which would have left an information trail.

This looks like another fake about North Korean shells, but for the author it is an opportunity to talk about two additional things.

First, that accusations are very often based on the method of projection or, as the saying goes, the tongue ever turns to the aching tooth. And in this context, it is worth talking about a series of US pieces in the Western media which suggest that the “arsenal of democracy is depleting” and it is not Russia, but the “free world” which is having problems in supplying arms.

Second, although this version was first published by a British news agency and then voiced by Kirby himself, no evidence was produced. Meanwhile, the author reiterates a very important point: if you accuse your opponent and you have hard, irrefutable facts that incriminate them in some way, you can safely put them out there – without fear that some independent expert will discover that it was a poorly concocted fake. When someone says “we have secret evidence, but we won’t show it to you because it is a military secret”, this approach has been considered rotten since the Dreyfus affair.

The accusations concerning Moscow’s use of Iranian drones include at least debris that is structurally similar to Iranian designs. There is nothing in this case, and the Wagner PMC seems to be attacked because it is today the most demonized armed formation having anything to do with Russia. Moreover, it also operates in the Middle East and Africa, which might have added credibility to the US claims, if there had been any specifics.

The use of accusations, however, which are not backed up by any semblance of credible evidence, did not begin with North Korean shells. One may recall the high-profile doping case in which the Russian side somehow allegedly tampered with urine samples in containers that were not supposed to be opened as per design. One may recall the poisonings of the Skripals or Kim Jong-nam when, in response to a direct question as to how exactly on the technical side the special operation had been carried out, there was no sane answer.

Rather than going into detail and sorting out the extent to which certain actions are technically possible, the analysis is substituted by notions of how capable we think “They” are of doing It. And if They could do it, then They did it, no matter how.

That said, such unsubstantiated information becomes a pretext for imposing sanctions of any level of severity – and this is an important criterion of a post-globalization world in which there is no longer any room for normal investigations and evidence. And this is a worrying sign, because now it is possible to use a fantastic accusation as a pretext for sanctions and if it is said from a high rostrum, the status of the one who said it is confirmation in itself: “How can we doubt the existence of Marquis of Carabas if the talking cat claims it?”

Konstantin Asmolov, PhD in History, leading research fellow at the Center for Korean Studies of the Institute of China and Modern Asia, the Russian Academy of Sciences.

January 4, 2023 Posted by | Deception, Fake News, Mainstream Media, Warmongering, Russophobia | , , , | 2 Comments

China Conducts Military Maneuvers Near Guam, Okinawa

By Kyle Anzalone and Will Porter | The Libertarian Institute | December 30, 2022

The Chinese aircraft carrier Liaoning has sailed near the Japanese island of Okinawa and the US territory of Guam over the past two weeks. The naval operations came at the end of a year which saw several military escalations between Washington and Beijing.

Tokyo reported that the Liaoning and at least four other large warships operated in waters near Okinawa, adding that the ships remained about 150 miles offshore for several days. While in the area, the Chinese carrier conducted over 200 takeoff and landing drills.

On Thursday, Japanese officials confirmed that, after sailing away from Japan, the flotilla then traveled near the US territory of Guam. According to the Global Times, a Chinese newspaper closely linked with the country’s ruling Communist Party, the operation ”showed that the Chinese carrier is ready to defend the country against potential US attacks launched from there.”

The relationship between Washington and Beijing has continued to deteriorate in 2022, perhaps best exemplified by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s trip to Taiwan last summer and a massive round of Chinese military drills launched near the island in retaliation.

President Joe Biden has further fueled tensions by repeatedly asserting that US forces would come to Taiwan’s defense in the event of a Chinese invasion. However, Taiwan is not recognized as a sovereign nation under US law, which instead endorses Beijing’s claim to the island and calls for a position of ”strategic ambiguity” towards Taipei.

While a number of past US administrations have refrained from openly saying whether Washington would intervene against China on Taiwan’s behalf, Biden has increasingly eroded that position, prompting senior White House officials to walk back his statements on multiple occasions. Proponents of strategic ambiguity contend that the policy acts as a deterrent against any future attack by Beijing, and stops short of emboldening Taipei to take aggressive actions of its own.

Biden recently met with Chinese President Xi on the sidelines of the G20 summit. While the goal was to seek to resolve various outstanding issues between the two powers, both countries continue to conduct provocative military exercises.

Tokyo – which is part a three-way security pact with Washington and Seoul created to confront Beijing – has also escalated regional tensions by announcing an end to its post-WWII defense-oriented military and plans to become the world’s third-highest weapons spender over the next five years. Moreover, the United States has worked to persuade its allies in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization to take part in its operations in Chinese-claimed waters, while Canada recently announced plans to conduct more military transits through the disputed Taiwan Strait.

Beijing has significantly deepened its security and diplomatic ties with Moscow this year, with the two allies striking a ”no limits strategic partnership” in the days before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in late February. The Asian superpowers have conducted joint drills in the waters and skies around both Japan and Taiwan in recent weeks, having just wrapped up naval exercises in the East China Sea on Tuesday. Another round of wargames on December 14 saw Chinese warships cross multiple Japanese straits as Russian fighters and bombers flew near Japanese airspace over the Sea of Japan.

Underscoring the rising hostilities, earlier this week the Pentagon released a video, captured on December 21, showing a Chinese fighter that approached an American spy plane over the South China Sea, accusing the pilot of performing an ”unsafe maneuver” that risked a collision.

December 31, 2022 Posted by | Militarism | , , , | Leave a comment

Japanese politician calls on Biden to apologise for US atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki

By Ahmed Adel | December 23, 2022

Renowned Japanese Senator Muneo Suzuki called on the United States to honestly admit to Japan and the whole world that dropping atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the end of World War II was a mistake.

“Although 77 years have passed since the war ended, the United States, the country that dropped the atomic bomb, has never apologised or asked for forgiveness. It is the United States that still speaks loudly about ‘democracy, human rights and freedom’ for the actions of other countries. So why not tell Japan and the world honestly what the US has done?” the veteran politician said in an article posted on his website.

“During (the visit), you should say using an atomic bomb was a mistake,” stressed the Japanese MP.

Japanese media reported that Washington was negotiating with Tokyo on the possibility of Biden visiting Nagasaki in May 2023. Biden’s visit to Nagasaki is expected to take place within the framework of the G7 Leaders’ Summit to be held in Hiroshima on May 19-21.

Biden will become the first US President to visit Nagasaki if negotiations go well. It is recalled that in May 2016, former President Barack Obama, a fellow Democrat, became the first US leader to visit Hiroshima during the G7 summit in Japan, but he did not visit Nagasaki.

If the trip occurs, Biden would likely visit the city’s Peace Park, located near the epicentre of the nuclear blast. He, as a devout Catholic, would also expectedly visit Urakami Cathedral, a Catholic church rebuilt after being destroyed by the nuclear blast.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who has put forward his vision of a nuclear weapons free world since coming to power in October 2021, would likely accompany Biden on his visit to Nagasaki sometime before or after the summit, Japan Times reported, citing a source close to the matter.

The current Japanese prime minister visited Hiroshima with Obama when he was foreign minister, together with then prime minister Shinzo Abe. It is recalled that Biden served as vice president under Obama, who was controversially awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2009 for his so-called attempts to free the world of nuclear weapons. According to Japan Times, Kishida hopes he and Biden can send a similar message to the world from the two Japanese cities.

The G7 summit, to be held from May 19 to 21, will be hosted by Kishida, who represents a constituency in Hiroshima, which was also destroyed by a US atomic bomb. For this reason, Tokyo and Washington are still contemplating if Biden’s trip to Nagasaki, a city which is forever linked with Hiroshima, is viable and to scope the opinions of local residents, including the hibakusha – the Japanese term to mean a survivor of the atomic explosions in 1945.

On August 6 and 9, 1945, the US military dropped atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki: 140,000 people died in Hiroshima and 74,000 people died in Nagasaki. Most of the victims of the two atomic bombings were civilians. Every year on these days, Hiroshima and Nagasaki hold memorials to remember the nuclear tragedy that claimed the lives of 214,000 people.

This massive loss of life has meant a firm element of anti-Americanism in Japan. At the same time though, because the country has been partially occupied by the US since World War II, Tokyo is firmly in the Atlanticist camp as its political elite are mostly controlled. None-the-less, Japan always held a pacifist policy, partly imposed by a US fearful of a Japan once again being military empowered.

However, Japan has evidently abandoned its long-held pacifist policy when considering the $320-billion defence plan recently announced by Kishida. This defence plan will make Japan the world’s third-biggest military spender after the United States and China, surpassing even India, the UK and France.

For this reason, the Russian Foreign Ministry accused Japan on December 22 of “unbridled militarisation”.

“It can be clearly seen that Tokyo has embarked on the path of an unprecedented build-up of its own military power, including the acquisition of strike potential,” the statement said. “This is a frank rejection by the F. Kishida administration of the peaceful development of the country, which was persistently declared by previous generations of politicians, and a return to the rails of unbridled militarisation.”

Japan’s actions will inevitably increase tension in the Asia-Pacific region despite the fact there should be no real reason why they should exist to begin with. In fact, they mostly exist on the influence of the US, a country which dropped two nuclear bombs on Japan and to this day still refuses to apologise, as Muneo Suzuki highlighted.

With Japan on the path of becoming a major military power, there is a high possibility that Biden will make the apology if it will deepen American influence in a country which Washington hopes, and seemingly now gives permission, to oppose and challenge Russia and China.

Ahmed Adel is a Cairo-based geopolitics and political economy researcher.

December 23, 2022 Posted by | Militarism, Timeless or most popular | , | 2 Comments

Russian carmaker to launch production at former Nissan plant

RT | December 21, 2022

Russia’s biggest automaker, Avtovaz, will start producing cars at a plant in St. Petersburg previously owned by the Japanese car manufacturer Nissan, the company’s CEO Maxim Sokolov told reporters on Wednesday.

Sokolov noted that the cars will be produced under the Lada brand and that preparations for the launch of production are in the final stages.

“We will not reveal all the details now, they are kept under wraps by the automakers till the last moment, but I can say that these cars will be modern, of high quality and with the highest safety standards… As soon as the memorandums [with our partners] are signed, we will immediately present them to the public,” the company official said.

Earlier reports stated that Avtovaz was planning to restart production at the plant in the second half of 2023.

The Nissan plant in St. Petersburg, which was launched in 2009, has a production capacity of up to 100,000 cars per year. Last year, roughly 43,000 cars came off of its assembly line. The plant mostly produced SUV models such as the Qashqai and X-trail.

The Japanese carmaker suspended operations at the plant in March, citing supply-chain interruptions due to Ukraine-related sanctions imposed on Moscow. Last month, the company decided to sell all of its Russian assets to the state-owned research and development firm NAMI, according to the Russian Trade Ministry. Under the deal, which was concluded for a token sum of €1, Russian carmaker Avtovaz is to carry out maintenance services for Nissan vehicles and supply spare parts for them.

December 21, 2022 Posted by | Economics | , | Leave a comment

Japan’s $320 billion militarization plan wastes precious resources amid rapid societal decline

By Drago Bosnic | December 20, 2022

In the aftermath of the Second World War, Japan went through a process of thorough demilitarization. The country’s militaristic ideology, the effects of which were disastrous for the entire Asia Pacific region during WWII, was also dismantled by American occupation forces. The changes were codified in the new Japanese constitution which effectively banned the country from possessing a fully fledged military.

This changed to a certain degree during the zenith of the (First) Cold War when the Japan Self-Defense Forces (JSDF) essentially became the country’s military, although its role was limited to effectively being a footnote within the larger context of US-led “Free World” security policies. This approach lasted up until recently, when Tokyo decided to start a massive rearmament program aimed at turning Japan into a major military power.

On December 16, the Japanese government announced a $320 billion program that would make it possible for the JSDF to launch standoff strikes against China and other regional adversaries (presumably North Korea). Reportedly, the plan also involves the expansion of Japanese military power to include the ability to maintain a sustained front against advanced opponents. Speculation about the program started in late November when Tokyo hinted it could soon equip its submarines with long range missiles. According to a report by the Naval News, the Japanese Defense Ministry announced it was in the process of extending the range of its Type 12 surface-to-ship missiles deployed by the Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF) from the current 200 km to a maximum of 1,200 km.

A Reuters report claims the new military plan would take approximately five years to complete and would also make Japan the world’s third largest military spender, right after the United States and China. The program would also focus on logistics as it would include the stockpiling of spare parts and various types of munitions, expanding transport capacity, as well as the development of cyber warfare capabilities.

The deal is also set to benefit the Japanese military industry, as companies such as the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries are expected to be at the helm of the development efforts for long-range missiles that are set to constitute the backbone of the country’s new military power projection in the Asia-Pacific region. The company is currently involved in a project to develop Japan’s next generation fighter jet. The effort, which also includes corporate giants such as the BAE Systems and Leonardo SPA, is a joint venture between Japan, the UK and Italy. So far, the project received at least $5.6 billion in funding.

Foreign companies, particularly those from the US, are also expected to benefit from Japan’s (re)militarization efforts.

Additionally, Tokyo says it plans to arm its ships with the latest iteration of the “Tomahawk” cruise missile (most likely referring to the new Block V) made by the Raytheon Technologies. According to Reuters, other weapons set to be acquired as part of the new five year program will very likely include interceptor missiles for ballistic targets (apparently including the troubled ship-borne “Aegis” and its land-based “Aegis Ashore” version), attack and ISR (intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance) drones, satellite communications equipment, F-35 fighter jets, helicopters, submarines, warships and heavy-lift transport jets.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida recently stated that “Japan is at a turning point in history,” adding that “the ramp-up in its military was my answer to the various security challenges that we face.” According to Reuters, Kishida’s government is allegedly concerned that “Russia has set a precedent that will encourage China to attack Taiwan, threatening nearby Japanese islands, disrupting supplies of advanced semiconductors and putting a potential stranglehold on sea lanes that supply Middle East oil.” Needless to say, the claim that Russia set a precedent is quite bemusing, especially when considering the countless examples of the massive scope of US aggression against the world.

Expectedly, the program will be closely coordinated with the US, as shown in a separate national security document in which Tokyo pledged to maintain close security ties with Washington DC and its other vassals. The US itself was quick to show public support for the program. US Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel stated that “the Prime Minister is making a clear, unambiguous strategic statement about Japan’s role as a security provider in the Indo-Pacific.”

In addition, the cooperation is apparently also set to include China’s breakaway island province of Taiwan. During a meeting with Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association Chairman Mitsuo Ohashi on Friday, the incumbent head of the government in Taipei Tsai Ing-wen stated she expected greater defence cooperation with Japan. “We look forward to Taiwan and Japan continuing to create new cooperation achievements in various fields such as national defence and security, the economy, trade, and industrial transformation,” Reuters claims the presidential office cited Tsai as saying.

The plan is expected to double Japan’s military expenditures to around 2% of the country’s GDP over a period of five years. The previous 1% limit was self-imposed in 1976, nearly 50 years ago. This is also set to increase the share of military expenditures to around 10% of all public spending. To secure funding for the program, the current Japanese government announced tax hikes, which can only further exacerbate the country’s woes, including the disastrous demographic situation which is set to get even worse in the coming years.

With nearly 1,400,000 deaths and approximately 840,000 births per year, Japan is highly unlikely to get out of its current demographic “black hole”. And yet, instead of focusing on preventing further societal decline, the Japanese government is still blindly following the suicidal US diktat by investing precious remaining resources into a military project which is bound to fail from the start, as China’s unrelenting rise will dwarf anything its opponents could hope to accomplish.

Drago Bosnic is an independent geopolitical and military analyst.

December 20, 2022 Posted by | Economics, Militarism | , , | 1 Comment

Roosevelt’s Infamy

By Jacob G. Hornberger | FFF | December 7, 2022

Eighty-one years ago today, Japanese forces attacked Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The attack killed 2,335 military personnel and 68 civilians. It also damaged or destroyed 19 U.S. Navy ships, including 8 battleships. December 7, 1941, was, President Franklin Roosevelt stated, a “date that would live in infamy.”

What will also live in infamy is that Roosevelt wanted the Japanese to attack the United States, so that he could achieve his objective of embroiling the United States in World War II.

Ever since the attack on Pearl Harbor, there has been a running controversy over whether Roosevelt knew that the attack on Pearl was imminent and turned a blind eye to it. Regardless of how one comes out on that controversy, it is beyond any reasonable doubt that Roosevelt wanted the Japanese to attack the United States. Why, even some Roosevelt apologists praise him for this, arguing that he was a far-sighted statesman who saved America and the world from a Nazi takeover.

FDR was a crafty politician, one who was a master of political intrigue and manipulation. When he was running for an unprecedented third term in 1940, he said, “And while I am talking to you, mothers and fathers, I give you one more assurance. I have said this before, but I shall say it again, and again and again. Your boys are not going to be sent into any foreign wars.”

Roosevelt was lying. In fact, he was doing everything he could to embroil the United States in the European war.

When Roosevelt made that statement, he knew that he was playing to the overwhelming sentiment of the American people. Having experienced the disaster of World War I, Americans wanted no part of a second world war. Roosevelt knew that. He also knew that if he disclosed that he wanted the United States to get embroiled in the war, he stood a good chance of losing the election. To guarantee his reelection, he felt he had to lie.

Why didn’t Roosevelt simply send his army to attack Nazi Germany? After all, that’s what American presidents do today when they perceive a foreign threat. The answer is that this was still a period of time when U.S. presidents complied with the declaration-of-war requirement in the Constitution. It prohibits the president from waging war without first securing a declaration of war from Congress.

Given the overwhelming anti-interventionist sentiment among the American people, FDR knew that he would never be able to get Congress to issue a declaration of war against Nazi Germany, unless Germany were to attack first. In that case, he knew that a congressional declaration of war would come easily.

FDR began his machinations by doing everything he could to provoke the Germans into attacking U.S. vessels in the Atlantic. In that way, he could exclaim, “We’ve been attacked! Now, give me my declaration of war!” But the Nazi regime knew what FDR was up to and refused to take the bait.

That was when Roosevelt turned to the Pacific, in the hope that a Japanese attack on the United States would give him a “back door” to the war against Germany.

That’s what FDR’s oil embargo against Japan was all about. Japan had invaded China and was occupying the country. Its war machine necessarily depended on a continuous supply of oil. The purpose of FDR’s embargo was to prevent Japan from acquiring that badly needed oil.

FDR’s oil embargo was remarkably successful. It maneuvered Japan into a position of having to make a choice: Either invade the Dutch East Indies to secure its oil supplies or meekly withdraw its military forces from China. (As an aside, it’s worth mentioning that more recently, U.S. officials, operating through NATO, maneuvered Russia into having to make a similar choice: Either accept Ukraine’s membership in NATO, which would enable the Pentagon to station its nuclear missiles and troops along Russia’s border, or invade Ukraine to prevent that from happening.)

Not surprisingly, Japan decided to invade the Dutch East Indies rather than withdraw from China. But Japan knew that the invasion stood the risk of the U.S. Navy interfering with its operations in the Dutch East Indies. That was what the attack on Pearl Harbor was for — to knock out the U.S. Pacific fleet so that Japan would have a free hand in securing those oil supplies in the Dutch East Indies.

In other words, Japan never planned or intended to invade the United States, either at Pearl Harbor or at the U.S. West coast. They knew that they lacked the personnel, the logistics, and the supply lines necessary to undertake such a monumental endeavor. They knew that if they invaded the West coast, they would end up getting massacred.

Thus, their aim in attacking Pearl Harbor was very limited. They just wanted to knock out the Pacific fleet so that it couldn’t interfere with their invasion and occupation of the Dutch East Indies. While they knocked out several battleships and other vessels at Pearl, what they didn’t know was that the wily Roosevelt had cannily removed his aircraft carriers before the attack. That action, along with having broken Japanese military codes, enabled U.S. Naval forces to later defeat the Japanese in the Pacific.

Immediately after the Japanese attack at Pearl, Nazi Germany declared war on the United States. The U.S. Congress naturally responded with a declaration of war against both Germany and Japan. The wily Roosevelt had gotten what he wanted — U.S. entry into World War II.

December 7, 2022 Posted by | Deception, Militarism, Timeless or most popular | , , | 1 Comment

Professor Emeritus at Kyoto University warns billions of lives could ultimately be in danger due to Covid vaccines

Natural immunity has been suppressed

The Naked Emperor’s Newsletter | November 30, 2022

Japanese professor Masanori Fukushima is a distinguished expert and author who has published articles on biomedical research and translation medicine. He is the director and chairman of the Translational Research Center for Medical Innovation and the Foundation for Biomedical Research and Innovation at Kobe. Masanori has over three decades of experience as an oncologist and to top it off, he is Professor Emeritus at Kyoto University.

In a heated meeting with officials, the Professor gave his opinion on the dangers of Covid vaccines and how science has been supressed:

Given the wide range of adverse events, billions of lives could ultimately be in danger.

First, the vaccine was scientifically misconceived. So, in 2020 I immediately translated the Chinese guidelines as soon as they arrived from China, to use the steroids as appropriately as possible. So I announced it. But I had no ears to hear me.

However, the Japanese doctors are excellent so I soon realised that the steroids needed to be used immediately and I released the guidelines around June, after which the death rate dropped dramatically. Before the vaccine. So anyone inciting this vaccine without any academic acumen is to be condemned.

The harm caused by vaccines is now a worldwide problem. Here is an article recently published, shall we read it? Given the large number of people who have received vaccinations and given the wide range of adverse events, billions of lives could ultimately be in danger.

We urge public health agencies to acknowledge or substantiate the issues raised in this document that are relevant to public health. Recognise them and act accordingly. Also ensure that all individuals make their own decisions on the matter. Medical assistance using this information as a contributing factor in their decision making.

We encourage you to make your own healthcare decisions. I have translated the full text of this document and distributed it, so please read it carefully.

And one more thing: half of them died of cardiovascular and heart problems after vaccination. I’m sure you know this all too well. Alpha, Beta, Gamma…what idiocy…a bunch of incompetent scholars who cannot be called scholars…a total disregard for science and medicine.

This should never happen again. We are a country of science and technology, aren’t we? What the hell…by ignoring science and medicine you are somehow letting the healthcare system collapse. In fact, look at how many sudden cardiovascular deaths there are.

Everyone who has received this vaccine and whose blood pressure has risen is because of the vaccine. Nearly 2,000 people died…but I think this number is much higher. Most of them fall asleep crying. Don’t overlook written reports if anything is found in an autopsy. What are you doing? You can’t help but want to hide it. This is a case of drug harm.

Mr. Kawada suffered greatly. Therefore, we will eradicate drug harm risks at all costs. This country has learned its lesson about drug harm and has become a country that will never suffer drug harm again.

But you forcefully ignore it and you spend trillions of Yen importing vaccines for this country and inciting the population, so it’s not good at all. Last year I thought it would be a problem if this vaccine spread and I decided it was delusional to think a vaccine would fix the pandemic. In professional magazines the misunderstanding has finally come to light and now it is understood how dangerous it is.

Wrap the mRNA into nanoparticles. Every cell engulfs its and the cells transform. This is what I know now. The mechanism is clear. Immediately dissolve the evaluation committee and investigate all cases. This is the conclusion. An investigation into all cases.

And all those who have fallen ill after being vaccinated should not delay informing their medical institution. Don’t be slow. Not sure what will happen. Cardiovascular disease, autoimmune disease, susceptibility to infection and on coming to the brain the nanoparticles are absorbed by the brain. A stupid scientist would say, “they can’t cross the blood barrier, so it’s okay”. I mean I’m not a fool.

It can suppress natural immunity. That’s why it didn’t spread in Japan at first because they had IGa (salivary immunoglobulin A) in their saliva and they have his kind of resistance to the coronavirus. However, due to vaccination, natural immunity has been suppressed.

This is what happened. I don’t think it will subside at all. It will spread more and more. Most people already have post-vaccination infections. The people who have the disease right now are not the ones who haven’t been vaccinate but the ones who have been vaccinated.

The data presented by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare speak for themselves. I delivered them all.

Please answer tomorrow. Report it properly to the newspapers and the press and to all of them.

However, now the danger is being reported all over the world.

DR MASANORI FUKUSHIMA, WARNS ABOUT VAX HARMS TO JAPAN’S MINISTRY OF HEALTH (FULL VERSION)

A further part responding to questions from an official:

DR MASANORI FUKUSHIMA LAYING DOWN THE LAW TO JAPAN’S MINISTRY OF HEALTH

December 2, 2022 Posted by | Science and Pseudo-Science, Timeless or most popular, Video | , , | 2 Comments

Japan steps up its digital ID push, tells public they may lose health insurance if they don’t sign up

By Didi Rankovic | Reclaim The Net | October 27, 2022

There is a discernible and forceful push in many countries toward digitization and switching citizens’ key sensitive personal and financial data from “analog doldrums” to government-controlled (and easily accessible by multiple agencies) centralized databases.

Somewhat telling of how important this task is for those in power, is the fact they are increasingly either pulling all the stops or threatening to, prodding a reluctant population in the desired direction.

In Japan, those who are unsure about signing up for digital IDs – and reports say, those are many – are being told they risk losing their public health insurance, AP writes.

Japan’s Social Security Number-like scheme was launched back in 2016. It’s called My Number and consists of 12 digits given to all residents. But My Number has been far from a resounding success as many Japanese avoid using it, afraid their personal data and right to privacy could be compromised.

The Japanese society seems technologically savvy enough to understand the underlying risks and harms of some types of technology, which means that this otherwise hi-tech country to this day prefers to do business in person, use cash, stamping seals, and paper documents in administrative procedures – in other words, in all those areas that really matter.

Despite the fact the My Number scheme has not had wide adoption, Japan’s authorities are now apparently doubling down: they want to issue My Number cards with microchips in them to everyone, and those cards will also serve as photo ID since they will contain photographs of their carriers. Some of the information and services the cards are linked to are drivers licenses and public health insurance.

This is where the plot thickens since current health cards do not require photos – but those will be phased out by the end of 2024, meaning that residents who do not apply for My Number cards risk losing their health insurance.

An online petition is currently circulating, having gathered over 100,000 signatures in a matter of days, calling for continued use of the current form of health cards.

“If this was coming from a trustworthy leadership and the economy was thriving, maybe we would think about it, but not now,” Saeko Fujimori, who works in the music industry, told AP.

And there are dark overtones to the report.

October 27, 2022 Posted by | Civil Liberties, Full Spectrum Dominance | , | Leave a comment

Seventh Nuclear Test? How US and Its Asian Allies are Driving North Korea Into a Corner

By Ekaterina Blunova – Samizdat – 27.10.2022

The US, Japan, and South Korea vowed an “unparalleled” response to a potential seventh nuclear test by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). However, the countries’ officials did not clarify precisely what measures they would take.

“This deterrence through threat of punishment by Washington and its allies is unlikely to succeed,” said Dr. Zhang Baohui, director of the Center for Asian Pacific Studies at Lingnan University in Hong Kong. “Pyongyang follows its own strategic logic when deciding whether to pursue new tests. A rise in tensions on the peninsula will only heighten North Korea’s insecurity, motivating it to continue to pursue the nuclear option.”

The US and its Asian allies reportedly fear that Pyongyang could be planning a nuclear bomb test for the first time since 2017. However, they have yet to provide details backing their concerns. Meanwhile, the US and South Korea have stepped up joint military drills in the region over the past several months.

Earlier, President Donald Trump’s White House tried to facilitate dialogue between Seoul and Pyongyang. These efforts were halted by President Joe Biden, who announced in May 2021 that he would not give DPRK leader Kim Jong-un “recognition” as the “legitimate” head of the state unless the latter denuclearized the country. Washington’s shift under Biden did not go unnoticed by the DPRK, and was followed by eight missile tests by Pyongyang in 2021.

The number of missile tests carried out by North Korea rose steeply in 2022, as Yoon Suk-yeol won the presidency in South Korea in March and declared Communist Pyongyang the “main enemy” of Seoul. Furthermore, the new South Korean president has openly flirted with the idea of a preemptive strike against his country’s northern neighbor.

In August 2022, Washington and Seoul kicked off their largest military exercises since 2018, with Yoon vowing to further boost “deterrence” against the DPRK. Earlier this month, Seoul also launched the 12-day Hoguk exercise with the participation of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and the US military. The Hoguk drills will last until October 28.

Almost simultaneously, South Korea joined a US-led multinational exercise on cyber operations called Cyber Flag for the first time. According to the South Korean Defense Ministry, 18 personnel from the South Korean military are participating in the exercise, held from October 24 to 28 and which involves 25 countries.

Beijing has repeatedly warned Washington and Seoul against provoking Pyongyang and igniting instability on the Korean Peninsula. “All parties concerned should focus on the overall situation of peace and stability on the peninsula and prevent the situation from escalating,” Geng Shuang, China’s deputy permanent representative to the United Nations, told the international body on October 5. Geng highlighted that the recent bolstering of the US military alliance in the Asia-Pacific region has only increased the risk of military confrontation.

“Historical experience shows that dialogue and consultation are the only correct way to resolve the Korean Peninsula issue,” the Chinese official stressed.

Diplomatic Logjam Between North and South

However, if Pyongyang decides to conduct a seventh nuclear test, there is little if anything that the US and its Asian allies can do to prevent it, according to Zhang.

“Frankly, I don’t see what the three can do with North Korea’s seventh nuclear test,” the Chinese scholar said. “It is already under very systematic sanctions by the United Nations and it is hard to imagine that the US, South Korea, and Japan could pursue additional meaningful sanctions against Pyongyang. Current sanctions were adopted due to China and Russia’s support in 2017. Now, the strategic landscape has completely changed and it is now impossible to expect China and Russia supporting new sanction measures.”

The US and its Asian allies are likely to take a series of measures in response to the DPRK’s potential nuclear test, according to Michael Madden, nonresident fellow at the Stimson Center, leading contributing analyst to 38 North, and director and founder of NK Leadership Watch.
“The ‘unparalleled response’ line comes from remarks made by the Republic of Korea [South Korea] 1st Vice Foreign Minister following interactions with officials from the US and Japan,” said Madden. “The primary response will be an increase in military exercises in and around the Korean Peninsula.”

For its part, the US might also move certain military assets into the area as a warning to the DPRK, according to the analyst.

“There has already been a loose plan to continue some exercises and drills through the middle of November, albeit on a small scale,” he said. “In the event of the seventh nuclear test, the scope and equipment of those exercises will probably be expanded. From the ROK we might also see them scrap some of the agreements they made with the DPRK during the Moon Administration. The Yoon Administration has called attention to the North violating the 2018 inter-Korea military agreement so a seventh nuclear test raises the probability that both Koreas will discard that agreement.”

For its part, the North could launch or attempt to launch an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) and additionally carry out intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) drills, according to Madden.

“The North could very well declare itself on a wartime footing which they had done in 2013. If there are additional military exercises from the US, ROK and/or Japan, it is highly probable the DPRK will respond with their own drills and exercises. Of course, all of this activity would be an escalation,” the US analyst projected.

According to Madden, the unfolding situation “is a bit of a diplomatic logjam” between the South and North, as Pyongyang has already announced that it will not negotiate its nuclear weapons program or inventory, while the US, South Korea, and Japan urge it to denuclearize.

However, the analyst did not rule out that South and North Korea could have a meeting or interaction to reduce tensions if military engagement between the two escalates at the border. Another de-escalation scenario could involve another country, like China or Russia, brokering something between the two sides.

“In the current context of the re-rise of tension, a diplomatic option no longer exists,” argued Zhang. “The only viable alternative, as some have suggested in the US, is to accept North Korea’s nuclear status. That would remove a source of conflict between the US and North Korea simply by recognizing and accepting the status quo. However, Washington should not be expected to pursue this option.”

October 27, 2022 Posted by | Militarism | , , | Leave a comment

Ex-Aussie PM Calls Quad ‘Piece of Strategic Nonsense’

Samizdat – 12.10.2022

The Quad was officially launched in 2007 but suspended in 2008 after Australia pulled out of the US-led grouping over concerns expressed by China. The grouping was revived in 2017, a year after the US announced its ‘Indo-Pacific Strategy’. Beijing has labelled the Quad ‘Asian NATO’, accusing Washington of inciting tensions in the region.

Former Australian Prime Minister Paul Keating has slammed the US-led Quad grouping as “illegitimate” and a “strategic piece of nonsense,” as he advised Canberra to not be a part of the US-led efforts to “ring-fence” China.

The Quad, which comprises Australia, India, Japan and the US, says that its official goal is to maintain a “free and open Indo-Pacific region”.

“We shouldn’t be stringing together the US, Japan, India and Australia to try to contain China,” Keating, a senior party colleague of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, said on Wednesday.

Keating argued that that Beijing’s “ambitions are in the west, not the east,” as he underlined the inroads made by the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in regions outside Asia. “Everywhere between Wuhan and Istanbul, in the next 30 years, will have a huge Chinese influence.”

Keating pointed out that the BRI has already financed infrastructure projects in the Baltic states as well as in former Soviet countries.

The multi-trillion-dollar BRI initiative was launched by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2013 and strives to connect east Asia with Europe and beyond through connectivity and infrastructure projects. As of March 2022, a total of 147 countries across Asia, Africa, Europe, South America as well as North America have been members of the Beijing-backed global initiative.

Keating also reckoned that the era of US “supremacy” as the pre-eminent global power has already passed.

“This idea that the US is an exceptional power… they have God’s ear and proselytizing democracy was fine in the 20th century. The 20th century was owned by the US. The 21st century belongs to someone else,” stated Keating.

He also expressed doubts whether the US would come to the help of Taiwan if Beijing went ahead with the re-unification of the island with the mainland through military means.

Beijing has doubled down on its commitment to “reunify” Taiwan with the mainland following the visit of US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Taipei in August. Chinese President Xi Jinping has said that reunifying Taiwan is part of China’s goal to achieve “national rejuvenation”.

“China would see every amphibious vessel coming towards the United States, whether it is San Diego or Honolulu. They would see them and sink them,” the former Australian PM claimed, suggesting that the chances of an American “victory” in such a scenario would be “nil”.

Keating advised the Australian government not to get involved in the “geopolitical conflict” around Taiwan.

“We should be no more interested in the political system of Taiwan than Vietnam and Kazakhstan,” argued Keating.

October 12, 2022 Posted by | Militarism | , , , , | 1 Comment

Russia to nationalize assets of Japanese carmaker – trade ministry

Samizdat | October 11, 2022

Japanese carmaker Nissan will sell all its Russian assets to state-owned research and development firm NAMI, the trade ministry has said.

The deal, worth a symbolic sum of €1, was approved by the Japanese corporation and includes a plant in St. Petersburg and sales and marketing facilities in Moscow.

“We have managed to reach a formant where the enterprise remains operational. Key competencies, the production cycle and jobs are preserved,” Russia’s Trade Minister Denis Manturov said in a statement on Tuesday.

Nissan has some 2,000 employees in Russia and after the transfer is completed NAMI will be able to attract other companies as production partners to create joint ventures.

According to the minister, Russian carmaker AVTOVAZ will carry out maintenance services for Nissan vehicles, as well as supply spare parts. The deal will give Nissan the right to buy back the business within six years, the trade ministry said.

The scheme is almost identical to the withdrawal of Renault, a member of an alliance with Nissan. In May, the French carmaker’s 68% stake went to NAMI and its factory in Moscow, which produced cars under the Renault and Nissan brands, was transferred to the city government.

Meanwhile, Nissan reported on Tuesday an estimated loss of $686.2 million from leaving the Russian market.

In 2009 the manufacturer started producing SUV models such as the X-Trail and the Qashqai at its plant in St. Petersburg. The Japanese carmaker suspended production there in March due to supply-chain disruptions, following the conflict in Ukraine.

October 11, 2022 Posted by | Economics, Russophobia | , | Leave a comment

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