Japan Launches Two New Spy Satellites

According to the Daily Yomiuri, "Japan launched two satellites on Jan. 27 to strengthen its surveillance capabilities, including keeping a closer eye on North Korea which has vowed to stage another nuclear test. One of them was a radar-equipped unit to complete a system of surveillance satellites that will allow Tokyo to monitor any place in the world at least once a day. The other was a demonstration satellite to collect data for research and development." The Defense News version of the story says "Japan developed a plan to use several satellites as one group to gather intelligence in the late 1990s as a response to a long-range missile launch by Pyongyang in 1998. The space agency has said the radar satellite would be used for information-gathering, including data following Japan’s 2011 quake and tsunami, but did not mention North Korea by name."

Comments

Re:North Korea?

[rockout]

They're two different kinds of threats. China at least rotates its leaders in and out, and probably has less of a chance of some maniac doing stupid things that would endanger both China's economy and those of its competitors. NK, on the other hand, is ruled by a cult of personality unrivaled in the world today, and if he starts believing his own propoganda, there's no telling what suicidal path KJU will take NK down.

Re:Unbelievable

[unixisc]

History moves on. Japan is no longer our enemy. Russia too is no longer our enemy, although people in the US State Dept haven't grown out of it. We have other enemies today. Like N Korea. We would do well to focus on real enemies who do wish to damage or destroy us, as opposed to imaginary enemies borne out of history, but who we defeated and changed, and who are no longer inimical to us.

Re:North Korea?

[AmiMoJo]

You are correct, and even the people like Ishihara who lives through those "good old days" also lived through the aftermath of WW2 and the suffering that the country had to endure. Since then there has been a strong pacifist movement in Japan. A few years back the government was talking about removing the non-aggression clause from the constitution but it was a very unpopular policy. Japanese people mostly recognize how good peace has been to them and how much better off they are now than they would ever have been under the old system, even if they had won.