Procedural.

This is coolbert:

“All men are brothers, like the seas throughout the world; So why do winds and waves clash so fiercely everywhere?” - Hirohito.

Testing the waters so to speak?

 “'testing the waters' means to try out an idea, plan, or proposal to gauge people’s reactions or opinions before committing to it."

"Japanese destroyer enters Chinese waters despite warnings"

"A Japanese official suggested the possibility that the entry was a 'procedural error.' However, a Chinese security expert has expressed doubt about this explanation."

 From https://www.israelhayom.com |  By  Miri Weissman |  07-10-2024 | image courtesy Getty.

"A Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force (MSDF) destroyer briefly entered Chinese territorial waters off the eastern province of Zhejiang, despite repeated warnings from Chinese vessels, according to Kyodo News. The incident has led to severe concerns from Beijing and prompted an investigation by the Japanese Defense Ministry."

"The destroyer Suzutsuki, which was tasked with monitoring Chinese military drills on the high seas, sailed into Chinese waters on July 4. This rare move by a Self-Defense Forces vessel occurred just a day after Zhejiang authorities announced a no-sail zone [NOTAM] nearby for a Chinese military live-fire drill."

Areas of the East China Sea indeed territorial sovereignty disputed. This "procedural error" planned I might infer. Think the Senkaku Islands and immediate environs.

As with regard to the comment of Hirohito: 

Think Gaza/Taiwan/South China Sea/Ukraine. Did I miss anything?

Indeed, waves clashing so fiercely and I dread the thought of much more clashing on a world-wide scale!

coolbert.

HGV.

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"HGVs are carried on top of medium and long-range rocket boosters, where the front warhead section detaches just below the upper atmosphere. This requirement to be ‘boosted’ before being released also led them to be called hypersonic ‘boost glide vehicles.’"

HGV = Hypersonic Glide Vehicle.

"Japan Releases Video Of Hypersonic Glide Vehicle Testing In The U.S."

From The Aviationist | PARTH SATAM & STEFANO D'URSO | July 7, 2024.

"Japan is strengthening its stand-off defense capabilities to quickly and remotely intercept and eliminate invading forces."  [video thanks to You Tube]

"Japan conducted the first test of its hypersonic weapon on Mar. 23, 2024 in the United States, reports on Jul. 4 said quoting Tokyo’s ATLA (Acquisition Technology and Logistics Agency). The ATLA is a part of the MoD (Ministry of Defense)."

Japanese HGV able to maneuver in-flight. Warhead descending on target with a near vertical downward trajectory! Sounds kind of like Rods from God kinetic bombardment concept!

Sounds like something even more formidable that what the USA has it it's inventory right now!

Bully for the Japanese. bully: adjective -  EXCELLENT —often used in interjectional expressions. [an archaic use]

coolbert.

Yakuza.

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Normally I might think that organized crime might stay away from anything involving nuclear material. Brings too much attention and heat!

At least until now? Japanese criminal syndicate Yakuza hard at work?

"Japanese mafia boss conspired to traffic nuclear materials, says US"

From https://www.bbc.com | BBC News, Washington | By Bernd Debusmann Jr.

"US authorities claim that Takeshi Ebisawa is a senior figure in a sprawling Japanese organized crime group."

"US prosecutors have charged an alleged member of the Japanese mafia with conspiring to traffic nuclear materials."

[....]

"The US Department of Justice said Mr Ebisawa and his 'confederates showed samples of nuclear materials in Thailand' to an undercover agent from the US Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA)."

"The agent was posing as a drugs and weapons trafficker with links to an Iranian general."

"The nuclear samples - which came from Myanmar - were seized by Thai authorities and transferred to US investigators. A US laboratory confirmed the material contained uranium and weapons-grade plutonium"

That question I would ask is: of what possible reason or purpose does Myanmar [Burma] have weapons-grade plutonium?

coolbert.

Kuriles.

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Ryabkov speaks and so does Medvedev!

"Russia’s Medvedev announces plans to deploy new weapons on Kuril Islands"

"The politician emphasized that the Kurils 'is not a `disputed region’, it is Russia'"

 From https://tass.com | 30 Jan 2024.

"MOSCOW, January 30. /TASS/. Russian Security Council Deputy Head Dmitry Medvedev announced Moscow’s plans to develop the Kuril Islands, including by deploying new weapons there."

 "The Kurils will develop actively, and their strategic role will grow in parallel, including the deployment of new weapons there," - Dmitry Medvedev [?]

From the wiki entry an explanation of the Kural Islands dispute:

"The San Francisco Peace Treaty, signed between the Allies and Japan in 1951, states that Japan renounces 'all right, title and claim to the Kuril Islands', but does not explicitly recognize the Soviet Union's sovereignty over them. Japan claims that at least some of the disputed islands are not a part of the Kuril Islands, and thus are not covered by the treaty. Russia maintains that the Soviet Union's sovereignty over the islands was recognized in post-war agreements. Japan and the Soviet Union ended their formal state of war with the Soviet–Japanese Joint Declaration of 1956 but did not sign a peace treaty"

The Russian and Japanese have not ever yet to sign a peace treaty formally ending World War II between the two nations. A proclamation was issued but not a formal peace treaty?

coolbert.

Trilateral.

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“equivalent to the internet traffic of a large city every second”. 

That Italian designed and developed Multi-Function Radar Frequency System (MRFS) able to input data and process at a phenomenal rate!

MORE GCAP! See my previous blog entry GCAP.

"Italy, UK And Japan Sign GCAP Collaboration Agreement"

From https://theaviationist.com | September 12, 2023 | ARTICLE BY STEFANO D'URSO.

"The agreement defines the next steps of the work needed to deliver the concept phase requirements of the next generation [6th] combat aircraft."

Sixth generation warplane characterized by stealth plus + the incorporation of directed energy weaponry [DEW].

"Leonardo, BAE Systems and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries announced today a new trilateral Collaboration Agreement to deliver the concept phase requirements of a next generation combat aircraft for the GCAP (Global Combat Air Program)."

[....]

"As already disclosed by Leonardo, the radar being developed for GCAP will push the boundaries of radar technology. In fact, the new Multi-Function Radar Frequency System (MRFS), the radar initially developed to equip the Tempest sixth generation aircraft, will collect and process 10,000 times more data than existing systems . . . The key words that describe the work of the developers are miniaturization and digitalization."

Surely the combined talents of the British, Japanese and Italians cannot fail!

"before the Second World War Italy's technology was at an incredibly high level . . . achievements, especially in the sphere of aviation, submarines and high-speed launches, were really amazing . . . the Italians were the unrecognized geniuses of military and naval technology." - Suvorov.

coolbert.

Animé.

This is coolbert:

From the outstanding Internet web site isegoria.net we have a very interesting item with the military dimension.

"The first Japanese feature-length animated film was made for the the Japanese Naval Ministry in 1944"

As posted https://www.isegoria.net | September 1st, 2023.

"The first Japanese feature-length animated film — the first animé — doesn’t get much attention these days, even though it’s beautifully made, in a Disney-inspired style, because the film, Momotaro: Sacred Sailors, or Momotaro’s Divine Sea Warriors, was made for the the Japanese Naval Ministry in 1944 and released in 1945, a few months before Japan surrendered "

Go see the entire video courtesy You Tube:

"[First Anime Movie] 1945 Momotaro's Divine Sea Warriors English Subtitles"

"First Animé  film ever produced, directed by Mitsuyo Seo, who was ordered to make a propaganda film during World War II by the Japanese Naval Ministry."

"Animé is a genre of hand-drawn and computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, animé  refers specifically to animation produced in Japan."

Indeed! Read of the Japanese Special Naval Landing Forces from the era of the Second World War. A ranger/commando type special operations unit. Sailors with infantry training plus.

Outstanding animation! The Japanese hardly just clever imitators of Walt Disney productions. 

coolbert.

Plan 4.

This is coolbert:

Invasion USA WW2 the Axis powers.

"SIX WAYS TO INVADE U.S."

"Axis Powers can try it if they combine fleets to win sea superiority"

From http://www.bookmice.net | the article by Philip Wylie.

As Extracted from a Life magazine article dated Mar. 2, 1942.

"Plan 4 is the much-discussed invasion by way of Gibraltar-Dakar-Natal-Trinidad, which President Roosevelt's Good Neighbor policy as tried to defend against. It is based on combining the Jap, German, Italian and Vichy navies, freed by the capture of Gibraltar and Suez. They must fight the Allied fleets somewhere. Invasion pours up the Mississippi Valley."

Pentagon planners indeed immediately after American entry into the war apparently did see Plan 4 as a possible!

Plan 4 to include the combined fleets of Germany, Italy, Japan and Vichy France to force a crossing of the Atlantic, landing successfully with an invading force Brazil. This was thought to be a possible during the early stages of the war after American entry into the conflict. British fleet either "bottled up" in home waters or rendered impotent in some manner.

"bottle up: verb(tr, adverb) - to keep (an army or other force) contained or trapped"

The American 1st Cavalry Division kept as as strategic reserve stateside until 1943 such was the concern of American senior military officers that some sort of Axis invasion of either Western Mexico or along the coast of Brazil might actually transpire. Soldiers men-a-horse it thought be advantageous in such a situation.

The threat of Axis forces invading the Western Hemisphere was perceived to be real, definitely conceivable under the right set of circumstances.

See further my prior graphic blog entry, the invasion of USA by Imperial Japan.

coolbert.

Template.

This is coolbert:

Australia, United Kingdom, United States [AUKUS] all in unison the Far East. British, Japan, Italy [GCAP] the Far East also!

Think Tempest 6th generation fighter plane.

1. "AUKUS and GCAP set new Indo-Pacific security template"

From https://asia.nikkei.com | story by Alessio Patalano | March 28, 2023.

"Technology cooperation more than a response to China's military modernization"

[....]

"Later the same week, British, Japanese and Italian defense ministers met in Tokyo to set plans for jointly developing a sixth-generation fighter jet in what is now known as the Global Combat Air Program (GCAP)."

The sixth generation air superiority/supremacy fighter warplane. Stealth/AI/directed energy. GCAP a collective effort to design such a warplane. The combat aviators delight and must be so for decades to come.

2. "UK industry to play key role in new Global Combat Air Program, delivering next phase of combat air fighter jet development"

From https://www.baesystems.com | 9 Dec 2022.

"The UK’s sovereign industry partners, under Team Tempest, will support the significant endeavor announced today by the Governments of the UK, Japan and Italy, which will see the three nations build a truly international program, with a shared ambition to develop a next generation [6th] fighter aircraft under a new Global Combat Air Program (GCAP)."

ONLY very vaguely was I aware of GCAP. Beyond a conception phase now, development going to take a long time and even longer before such a warplane takes to the air. Hey, no one ever said any of this was going to be easy!

coolbert.

ItAF.

This is coolbert:

OPLAN Japan the Italian Air Force. Italians? Japan?

The Italian air force ItAF projects power worldwide.

My intuition tells me this is more about China than anything else.

"Four Italian F-35 Jets Have Arrived In Japan Completing A +10,000 Km [+6,000 miles] Trip From Italy"

From https://theaviationist.com | the article by DAVID CENCIOTTI | August 4, 2023.

"After being delayed by a typhoon, the Italian Air Force F-35 aircraft have finally arrived in Japan."

"At 21.20 LT [local time] on Aug. 4, 2023, four F-35As with the 32° Stormo (Wing) from Amendola Air Base and 6° Stormo from Ghedi Air Base have landed at Komatsu Air Base, Japan."

Italian F-35 Lightning jets accompanied by tanker, airborne early warning [AEW] and logistical support warplanes. Soup to nuts type mission.

"In the next days the Italian stealth aircraft will take part in joint training with the local based F-15s of the 6th Air Wing, that will also be supported by the KC-767 tankers of the 1st Tactical Airlift Group to improve tactical skills and promote mutual understanding, and further deepen defense cooperation."

CONSIDER THIS MILITARY EXERCISE TO BE MORE THAN ANYTHING ELSE TO BE A MESSAGE AS FOR CHINESE CONSUMPTION. 

Loosely united coalition of nations seeking to deter perceived Chinese expansive designs in the area. Defense cooperation the Far East Italian style. Who would have thought.

See previous German Luftwaffe deployment to Japan 2022.

coolbert.

C-2 Japan.

This is coolbert:

Kawasaki C-2 military jet transport aircraft. The attack version.

"Japan Wants To Airdrop Long-Range Missiles From Its C-2 Cargo Aircraft"

"Japan is considering using its Kawasaki C-2 tactical transport aircraft to carry and airdrop stand-off missiles."

From https://theaviationist.com | August 7, 2023| article by DAVID CENCIOTTI.

Expedient measures but can be effective!

"Japan’s Defense Ministry is considering mounting long-range missiles on Kawasaki C-2 transport planes, The Japan Times reported on Aug. 6, 2023. According to the Japanese media outlet, the plan is to improve the country’s standoff defense capabilities and use the missiles to attack enemy bases such as missile launch sites in counterstrike operations."

[....]

"Interestingly, the missiles that would be airdropped by the C-2 would be the U.S. Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile, or JASSM, with a range of about 900 kilometers [540 miles], set to be introduced for F-15 fighter jets; an air-launched version of the Japanese-made Type 12 SSM (surface-to-ship missile) with a range of 900/1,000 [540/600 miles] km would also be under development."

Military air transport with option to carry multitudes of missiles operating in the stand-off mode of operation.

Using net-centric target acquisition I can imagine that a mere transport aircraft can become a formidable weapon system!

coolbert.

Hiel-1.

This is coolbert:

Vaguely I remember some publicity this North Korean weapon a knockoff of the Russian Poseidon nuclear-powered and nuclear-equipped underwater drone.

"knockoff: noun - An unauthorized copy or imitation"

"An explosion will blow away half of Japan: the DPRK showed a nuclear underwater drone 'Hiel-1'"

 From https://avia-pro.net  |  +2023-07-28.

"A nuclear-powered underwater drone called Hiel-1 was shown for the first time in a North Korean parade. This was a rather remarkable event in light of the ongoing nuclear tension on the Korean Peninsula."

Nuclear-powered underwater drone with ATOMIC warhead.

"In March of this year, according to the Yonhap news agency, North Korea successfully tested this underwater drone. According to the agency, Hiel-1 spent more than 40 hours underwater, which indicates its high technical characteristics and ability for long underwater missions."

"This nuclear-powered underwater drone [with atomic warhead] represents a major boost to North Korea's military capabilities and clearly demonstrates that the North Korean authorities continue to actively develop their nuclear and missile programs despite international sanctions and demands to stop these activities."

GREATLY DO I DOUBT THAT THIS WARHEAD OF THE HIEL-1 WILL "BLOW AWAY" HALF OF JAPAN. BUT IF COMRADE KIM WANTS TO THINK SO, I GUESS WE HAVE TO LET HIM.

I can only think such dire threats will only increase the Japanese resolve to increase their defense spending and perhaps even markedly so!

coolbert.

Hotline.

This is coolbert:

Consider quite correctly so to be an instance and indicator of waning American influence in the world? USA perceived and again perhaps quite correctly so to be an unreliable partner when it comes to bi-lateral defense?

"waning: intransitive verb | 2. to fall gradually from power, prosperity, or influence."

"Defense Ministers of China, Japan launch direct naval, aerial communication line"

"The new mechanism has reportedly been established based on the consensus, achieved by the two states’ authorities"

"BEIJING, May 16. /TASS/. Chinese Defense Minister Li Shangfu and his Japanese counterpart Yasukazu Hamada launched a direct phone line for bilateral naval and aerial communication, the Chinese Defense Ministry reported Monday."

"According to the Ministry statement, published on the WeChat social platform, the two sides 'had a phone call via the direct line of the bilateral mechanism for naval and aerial communication, exchanging opinions about inter-state and defense Chinese-Japanese ties.'"

See at this web site a discussion of bilateral hotlines worldwide: https://www.electrospaces.net/2012/11/bilateral-hotlines-worldwide.html

"The hotlines between the heads of governments, are meant to prevent war [nuclear or otherwise] in times of severe crisis. For preventing misunderstandings and miscommunications in less critical situations, countries have also set up lower level telephone hotlines between their defense or foreign ministers."

Even if not totally 100 % so America no longer reliable as a defense partner the reality is that leaders throughout the world will discern it as being so!

coolbert.

Beijing WW2.

This is coolbert:

The Italian military enigma? Asian style.

"COMMAND: ITALY’S FAR EASTERN ARMY AND NAVY FORCES"

By MARK FELTON | 11/23/2016

Italian presence the Pacific Theater WW2? Italians?

As extracted from the Mark Felton Internet article:

"For the Italian military forces stationed on land in China the armistice meant certain internment in Japanese prisoner of war camps. A small mixed army and navy force of 100 men, under the command of a Lt. Cmdr. Baldassarre of the Royal Italian Navy, garrisoned the Beijing radio station, within the Italian concession. Although lightly armed with infantry weapons, Baldassarre was determined to resist a Japanese infantry regiment with approximately 1,000 men supported by artillery and 15 light tanks. Outnumbered 10-to-l the Italians fought for more than 24 hours before surrendering. Afterward, the majority of Italians wanted to continue fighting on the Axis side. The 29 who did not were transported to a Japanese prisoner of war camp in Korea."

This combat action yet one more exception to the Italian military enigma? Italian armed forces during both World Wars their performance seen as SHAMFUL and even SCANDALOUS. The perception of the Italian military during WW2 in particular being that of cowardly troops, inadequate/antique equipment and downright incompetent commanders.

See prior blog entries the Italian soldier during WW2 those exceptions to the enigma:

https://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2017/06/italy-ww2.html

https://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2019/05/johnny.html

https://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2017/01/bravery-courage.html

https://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2016/08/folgore.html

coolbert.

Ripples.

This is coolbert:

Here with miscellaneous reads the Ukraine conflict. I recommend highly without reservation or qualification. 

1. "Ukraine could push Japan, S Korea to go nuclear"

From "Asia Times" ^ 7/24/2022 the tip from Freeper.

"The war in Ukraine called into question many of the fundamental pillars of the international order. The European security system that has developed since the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact has received a shattering blow. A war of aggression by a major power intent to destroy a neighboring state and annex significant territories has broken with major taboos, not to mention international law."

Read additionally from several Internet web sites the feasibility of both South Korea [ROK] and Japan to go nuclear.

https://thebulletin.org/2021/10/how-bad-would-a-nuclear-armed-south-korea-be-let-us-count-the-ways/

https://www.iiss.org/blogs/analysis/2019/10/how-japan-could-go-nuclear

2. "Last Stand at Azovstal: Inside the Siege That Shaped the Ukraine War"

"For 80 days, at a sprawling steelworks, a relentless Russian assault met unyielding Ukrainian resistance. This is how it was for those who fought, and for those trapped beneath the battlefield."

Within the American military historical context think Alamo, Wake Island, Corregidor.

From the archive of the New York Times By Michael Schwirtz July 24, 2022 the tip from "Blazing Cat Fur".

Thank you New York Times and Michael Schwirtz. Well done. 

coolbert.

Unilateral.

This is coolbert:

“If Russia’s aggression is tolerated, it may give the wrong impression that unilateral changes in the status quo are allowed in other regions, including Asia,” 

Thanks here to the tip from Stefan:

"Ukraine war — and impact on Asia — take top billing in Japan defense white paper"

From Japan Times | BY JESSE JOHNSON Jul 22, 2022.

"Japan underscored the potentially long-lasting impact of the war in Ukraine on the Indo-Pacific region in its annual defense white paper released Friday, devoting an entirely new section to the conflict and its implications for Asia."

"The focus on the ongoing conflict thousands of kilometers [miles] away comes as Japan looks warily at military powerhouse China and its plans for self-ruled Taiwan, with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida warning repeatedly that 'Ukraine today may be East Asia tomorrow.'"

Japan of course their greatest concern the Chinese threat. Senkaku Islands in particular the sovereignty of which questionable, China and Japan both claiming ownership. 

Some experts too commenting that an increasingly large Japanese military to include an enlarged deep-water maritime naval force an indication of waning American power and influence in the world. An America too that within the perspective of the Afghan debacle CANNOT and SHOULD NOT be so easily trusted!

Read at these web sites articles that describe the slow but steady increase in size and lethality of the Japanese pelagic-deep water navy: 

https://news.usni.org/2019/05/29/japan-maritime-self-defense-force-expanding-as-tokyo-takes-new-approach-to-maritime-security

https://www.news.com.au/technology/innovation/inventions/japanese-navy-to-extend-its-reach-into-pacific-again-and-the-us-is-happy-about-it/news-story/33aecd04b912ad048ad2d17d5fdf23cb

coolbert.

Rev. Kentish.

This is coolbert:

From the Internet web site executedtoday.com and thanks to same.

The article by Headsman dated May 4th.

"1943: Rev. Leonard Kentish, kidnapped Australian civilian"

"On lonely scrubland at the Aru Islands port of Dobo on this date [4 May] in 1943, the Japanese military beheaded kidnapped Australian Rev. Leonard Kentish."

The missionary Rev. Kentish meeting a cruel and undeserved fate, WW2.

"Nobody knew his fate at the time — his wife spent years trying to discover it — but the so-called 'Kentish Affair' was one of the true oddities of the Pacific War: a civilian of no particular import to the war effort who was snatched from Australian territorial waters."

[....]

"And then mysteriously, the pilot gestured Rev. Kentish into the vacant seat of his plane, and took off. Kentish was the only prisoner taken, and his countrymen never again laid eyes on him."

[....]

"After World War II, she [the wife of Rev. Kentish] desperately resorted to firing letters to newspaper editors, until an intelligence officer chanced to read one published in the Argus and made the necessary inquiries via U.S. Gen. Douglas MacArthur’s staff in Tokyo to unravel the mystery."

In the clipped official findings: [per the response of the intelligence staff of MacArthur presumably]

1. The Rev KENTISH was taken on board a Jap float plane on Jan 22 43 after it had sunk the patrol vessel HMAS 'PATRICIA CAM' off WESSEL IS.

2. Unfortunately no info can be obtained of the whereabouts of the Rev KENTISH until 13 Apr 43, when he arrived at DOBO.

3. The Rev KENTISH was held at DOBO as a prisoner till the 4 May 43. Throughout this period he was subjected to ill treatment by severe bashings, the most common being punches in the nose and eyes to such an extent that his nose was broken, and he had great difficulty in seeing. His diet, as such, was just sufficient to keep him alive.

4. On the morning of 4 May he was taken in to the scrub, (a distance of under 200 yds [200 meters] from the township of DOBO) where a grave had been prepared, and executed.

5. The execution was carried out by the order of 1st Lieut SAKIDJIMA.

6. The remains of the Rev KENTISH have been recovered, and handed over to Capt STOCKWELL, of the War Graves Unit. They will be transported to AMBON, and buried in the Internees cemetery there.

7. This case is now considered closed. All dates must be treated as approx.

Read further the entire incident of the HMAS Patricia Cam.

There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that the Japanese thought with 100 % certainty that Rev. Kentish was a COASTWATCHER and had functioned as same for the allied effort during the war in the Pacific. COASTWATCHERS their surveillance activity VITAL to the allied cause.

Again, the Rev. Kentish has ultimate fate cruel and undeserved. The Japanese their minds clouded with PARANOIA, emotion overpowering reason, their response unnecessary.

coolbert.

Friendship.

This is coolbert:

"Among the heathen we shall find no persons who exceed the Japanese in manners!" - - Francis Xavier.

During wartime understand full well that entire societies and individuals both lose control of their emotions and mental faculties. Events occur on the macro and micro scale that during peacetime ordinarily would just not happen.

As it was during the Second World War!

1. "After Pearl Harbor, Vandals Cut Down Four of DC's Japanese Cherry Trees"

"PROTEST:  Joy Cummings, riding in the Tidal Basin at Washington yesterday, came upon this Japanese cherry tree cut down the night before with this battle cry on the stump: 'To Hell with those Japanese.' Three other of the Capital's famed Japanese cherry trees were felled, Irving C,. Root, parks Commissioner, called it vandalism."

"The vandals were never identified, but the carving on the stump made their intent pretty clear: to retaliate against Japan by attacking four of the cherry trees originally donated by the county in 1912 as a gesture of goodwill."

A gesture of goodwill which indeed it was. Vandals WW2 extremely excessive in their display of patriotic zeal in a very wrong-headed manner four trees gone. Vandalism and just plain bad behavior not to be excused. Culprits never caught.

My understanding is that ALL the famous cherry trees were cut down during the war but that is not so. Four trees alone gone and that not as an action of the government stupidity. 

This also Japanese style! Americans do stupid things, the Japanese do too.

2. "Kamikaze Images and Friendship Dolls"

"In 1926 and early 1927, about 2.6 million Americans participated in a project to send nearly 13,000 American dolls to Japan as a gesture of friendship and peace. The Japanese Education Ministry distributed the dolls to elementary schools and kindergartens throughout the country. The American dolls were received in Japan with such enthusiasm that about 2.6 million Japanese children contributed one sen (about a half penny) each to have 58 Japanese Friendship Dolls made as gifts for American children."

"Most of the American Friendship Dolls did not survive the war because of a 1943 order from the Japanese Education Ministry to have them destroyed, burnt, or thrown into the sea. However, over 300 dolls given in 1927 survived and continue to be displayed in Japanese schools"

YET one more goodwill gesture authentic but during war time becoming a hot-button item, and regrettably so!

"hot button: noun - - an emotional and usually controversial issue or concern that triggers immediate intense reaction"

Do I need say that the Japanese kamikaze of WW2 were referred to as "Cherry Blossoms"? The irony of it all.

coolbert.

Nanking!

This is coolbert:

A movie review. The war movie "City of Life and Death". From the period of the Second Sino-Japanese War [1937]. I consider this cinematic productiuon to be exceptional in all regards. I highly recommend to all devoted readers to the blog and those merely perusing casually. With English subtitles.

WARNING: For those of you easily offended or disturbed by images of a frank, intense and adult nature with graphic scenes of extreme gratutious violence, hit ESCAPE now!

"'City of Life and Death' is a 2009 Chinese drama film written and directed by Lu Chuan, marking his third feature film. The film deals with the Battle of Nanjing and the following massacre committed by the Japanese army during the Second Sino-Japanese War . . . In order to vent their emotions and prove that they conquered their former masters, Japanese commanders allowed soldiers to vent without legal restrictions for six weeks."

"On December 9, 1937, the Imperial Japanese Army laid siege to the Chinese capital of Nanking, beginning a reign of terror that killed as many as 300,000 civilians, an infamous tragedy now referred to as the Rape of Nanking. The first big-budget fiction film by the Chinese to deal with the seminal event in their modern history, City of Life and Death is a visceral, heartbreaking portrait of life during wartime, and an unforgettable masterpiece of contemporary world cinema."

The comportment of the Japanese soldier in 1937 and in the subsequent years up unto the end of the war in 1945 has been commented upon by many authoritative sources.

Strange [?] considering that during the First Sino-Japanese War [1894], the Russo-Japanese War [1905],  and the limited participation of the Japanese in World War One,  Japanese military behavior was correct, in keeping with the rules of Land Wafare as they existed at the time. So what occurred in that nearly twenty year period between 1918 and 1937 that caused such a marked change in Japanese conduct and demeanor?

coolbert.

Mid-Oceanic.

This is coolbert:

Courtesy the tip from Darius.

Consider not so much the second attack on the American naval base Pearl Harbor but rather the possibilities in the modern context as the topic of a most recent blog entry.

"Flying Boats Flew Japan’s Little-Known Follow-On Raid On Pearl Harbor"

"The second attempted attack on Pearl Harbor indirectly changed the course of the war in the Pacific."

From the Internet web site "The Drive" and the article BY THOMAS NEWDICK.

"The flying boats first touched down at French Frigate Shoals, around 1,900 miles from Wotje Atoll, 560 miles northwest of Honolulu. This was the largest atoll available in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, owned by the United States, but remote and unoccupied and used by the IJN as an anchorage. Here the flying boats rendezvoused with two submarines that were waiting to refuel them."

Japanese flying boats their mission to bomb the American naval base Pearl Harbor requiring a mid-oceanic refueling from submarine. US-2 current Japanese flying boats as has been suggested possibly being employed [with some modifications] as refueling tanker aircraft not being tied to a conventional ground airfield. 

Aerial refueling tanker mission of a US-2 made more flexible and robust. US-2 AVGAS "cargo" can be loaded from a logistics ships at sea or even a tethered rubber bladder anchored in shallower water?

This is a concept worthy of consideration of which we can find historical precedent?

coolbert.

US-2.

This is coolbert:

"make or break: 1. verb To cause either to succeed or to fail; to cause either a positive or negative outcome."

From the Internet web site "War on the Rocks" and the article by DAVID ALMAN.

"A JAPANESE SEAPLANE COULD BE THE DIFFERENCE-MAKER FOR THE U.S. MILITARY"

I recommend highly the War on the Rocks article without reservation or qualification.

Devoted readers to the blog first play attention as to WHY the U.S. Navy gave up on the seaplane dimension to naval warfare.

But that is not the end of the story.

US-2 a tanker aircraft? A seaplane? A tanker?

This is a photoshopped edited image and not real life. Shows F-35 warplanes being refueled mid-air by a modified US-2 with American legacy colors what they are called, pre-WW2. Click on image to see an enlarged view. (image courtesy of Hangar B Productions).

Now for the rest of the story. As extracted from the War on the Rocks article:

"Leaders might even consider converting the US-2 into an air-to-air refueling platform. These tankers could refuel from ships, pre-placed fuel bladders, other aircraft, or from airfields and fuel farms close to the sea. If runways were available, they could land there as well. The ability to stage tankers forward from the ultimate unimproved surface — the ocean — would allow strike aircraft and other forces to project power under contested conditions. Not all these modifications would need to happen immediately. Initially, and in the spirit of a minimum viable product, the US-2 could be equipped only to refuel probe equipped aircraft. Boom integration, while offering numerous benefits, would be a more difficult task."

Any sort of conflict in the western Pacific will require widespread dispersion of assets. And LOTS of tanker aircraft [light carriers in the sea control mode seem to be sans organic tanker aircraft]. US-2 with rather modest [?] modification will have to the capacity to "refuel from ships, pre-placed fuel bladders, other aircraft, or from airfields and fuel farms close to the sea". US-2 almost the ultimate in oceanic dispersal of wartime aviation assets.!

coolbert.