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Japan's Defense Force Goes on the Offense

Neighbors getting nervous; US applauds shows of might

By Colleen Barry,  Newser Staff

Posted Jul 23, 2007 6:13 AM CDT
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(Newser) – Japan has been chipping away at a post-war rule that it's Self-Defense Force can only act, well, defensively. Tokyo recently completed a live-bomb training run on a small island near Guam, the Times reports, stirring tremors among its wary neighbors, but drawing support from a US eager for a powerful ally in the War on Terror.

In the past six years, Japan has upgraded its fighter jets, launched spy satellites, buffered its Coast Guard, and approved a law that could permit revision of the pacifist Constitution. Meanwhile, some Japanese say their country has already violated the anti-offensive strictures, designed to keep the WWII aggressor at bay, by transporting U.S. troops in Iraq.

JAPAN. Asaka. Japanes Defense Force. Soldiers preparing sandbags used to protect area where unexploded bomb was defused. 2004. (LON58710)
JAPAN. Asaka. Japanes Defense Force. Soldiers preparing sandbags used to protect area where unexploded bomb was defused. 2004. (LON58710)   (Magnum Photos)
Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force (MS
Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force (MS   (Getty Images)
JAPAN. Asaka. Japan Defense Force. A second world war bomb is moved and defused. 2004. (LON58709)
JAPAN. Asaka. Japan Defense Force. A second world war bomb is moved and defused. 2004. (LON58709)   (Magnum Photos)
JAPAN. Asaka. Japanese Defense Force. A second world war bomb is removed and defused. 2004. (LON58708)
JAPAN. Asaka. Japanese Defense Force. A second world war bomb is removed and defused. 2004. (LON58708)   (Magnum Photos)
A new stealth fighter F-22A Raptor arrives at Kadena Air Base.
A new stealth fighter F-22A Raptor arrives at Kadena Air Base.   (Getty Images)
A new stealth fighter F-22A Raptor lands at the Kadena Air Base.
A new stealth fighter F-22A Raptor lands at the Kadena Air Base.   (Getty Images)
With Mount Arayat in the background, an MC-130P Combat Shadow aircraft from the 17th Special Operations Squadron, Kadena Air Base, Japan, takes off for an airdrop mission.
With Mount Arayat in the background, an MC-130P "Combat Shadow" aircraft from the 17th Special Operations Squadron, Kadena Air Base, Japan, takes off for an airdrop mission.   (KRT Photos)
US Marines Arrive For Joint Training In The Philippines
US Marines Arrive For Joint Training In The Philippines   (Getty Images)
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Japan's Self-Defense Forces
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