From Yahoo News/AP:CAMP MAKOMANAI, Japan – Col. Kenji Sawai, commander of Japan's 18th Infantry Regiment, stands in his headquarters dressed from head to foot in white camouflage. Skis clutter the hallways of his outpost in the snow-covered mountains of northern Japan, along with stacks of white ponchos, gloves and boots.
For decades, the mission for Japanese officers such as Sawai has been fairly straightforward: Defend the homeland. Narrowly defined, for Sawai and his infantrymen, that means protecting the island of Hokkaido, where the regiment is based, from invasion.
Now that definition is changing.
Read more ....
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My Comment: I cannot say that I am surprised. The Japanese have the manpower and resources to easily have a military that is double in size to what it is today. As North Korea becomes more unstable, and as China's military budget increases, Japan's defense forces are naturally going to follow these trends. in addition .... events in the Middle East, naval piracy, and the spread of terrorism .... all of these factors are going to make the Japanese invest more in their security and military preparedness.