News Story: Japan deploys PAC-3 missile interceptor near North Korea flight path

A Japanese Patriot PAC-3 Missile System

By: Mari Yamaguchi

TOKYO (AP) — Japan on Tuesday moved a mobile missile-defense system on the northern island of Hokkaido to a base near recent North Korean missile flyover routes.

Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera said a Patriot Advanced Capability-3 interceptor unit was deployed at the Hakodate base on southern Hokkaido “as a precaution” as part of government preparations for a possible emergency.

The relocation came after a North Korean missile was test-fired last week and flew over southern Hokkaido and landed in the Pacific off the island’s east coast — the second flyover in less than a month.

The PAC-3 was brought from another base in Yakumo town on Hokkaido, about 80 kilometers (50 miles) northeast of Hakodate. The system has a range of about 20 kilometers.

Read the full story at DefenseNews

News Story: To shoot down or not? NKorea launch highlights intercept issues

CGI of an Aegis Ashore system (Click Image to Enlarge)

By Thomas Watkins with Shingo Ito in Tokyo

North Korea's latest missile launch over Japan set sirens blaring and triggered alerts telling people to seek shelter -- yet neither Tokyo nor Washington tried to shoot the rocket down.

The test follows one in August that saw another rocket soar over Hokkaido. In that case too, much-vaunted Japanese and US missile-intercept capabilities were not used.

Now some in the United States are wondering why all this sophisticated weaponry isn't being used, especially as North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un accelerates toward his goal of building a nuclear missile capable of striking the United States.

"The next time the North Koreans launch a rocket, especially one that will traverse over our ally Japan, I would hope that we shoot it down as a message to the North Koreans and to other people, like in Japan, who are counting on us," Republican Congressman Dana Rohrabacher told lawmakers this week.

"Unless we demonstrate we're willing to use force, there's no reason for them to believe we will."

The US Pacific Command confirmed Friday's rocket was an intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM), and Seoul's defense ministry said it probably traveled around 3,700 kilometers (2,300 miles), hurtling to a maximum altitude of 770 kilometers.

The missile, which fell in the Pacific Ocean, represented North Korea's furthest-ever flight.

Evans Revere and Jonathan Pollack of the Brookings Institution wrote in a paper that Washington should declare that any future North Korean missiles toward or over US or allied territory would be deemed a direct threat that would "be addressed with the full range of US and allied defensive capabilities."

Read the full story at SpaceDaily

News Report: UN Chief - N. Korea Nuclear Threat is World's Most Serious

Steve Herman

WHITE HOUSE — North Korea's nuclear weapons program is the most serious threat the world currently faces, the U.N. secretary-general said Tuesday, warning that "confrontational rhetoric may lead to unintended consequences."

At U.N. headquarters, Antonio Guterres said that "the solution must be political. The potential consequences of military action are too horrific."

"Negotiations will depend on the will of the parties," the U.N. chief added. "My appeal is not for any specific solution."

North Korea on Tuesday, two days after its latest atomic test, declared itself a "full-fledged nuclear power in possession of ICBM as well as A-bomb and H-bomb."

U.S. President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he was allowing Japan and South Korea to buy more U.S. military equipment.

News Story: Japan Defense Ministry seeks missile interceptors in budget

By: Mari Yamaguchi

TOKYO — Japan’s Defense Ministry is seeking a record-high budget to add missile interceptors and other equipment to defend the country from more North Korean weapons launches.

The 5.26 trillion yen (U.S. $47.78 billion) request for the fiscal year beginning next April is a 2.5 percent increase from the current year. A big chunk of the request announced Thursday will cover purchases of upgraded missile interceptors with expanded range, altitude and accuracy.

They include the ship-to-air SM-3 Block IIA jointly developed by the U.S. and Japan and the surface-to-air PAC-3 MSE.

The request comes amid growing fear about North Korea’s missile threat and rising tensions between the U.S. and North Korea. On Tuesday, Pyongyang fired a missile that flew over Japan and landed in the northern Pacific Ocean. It flight tested two intercontinental ballistic missiles in July and has threatened to send missiles near the U.S. territory of Guam, where the U.S. has military bases.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe called Tuesday’s missile firing an “unprecedented, grave and serious threat.” On Wednesday, Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera, an advocate of bolstering Japan’s missile and strike-back capability, said Tokyo must quickly upgrade its missile arsenal.

China, which is seen by Tokyo as another security concern, questioned Japan’s intentions.

“We think Japan is obliged to explain its real intention to the international community,” Hua Chunying, China’s Foreign Affairs Ministry spokeswoman, told a regular news conference.

Japan has criticized Beijing over its military spending and assertive maritime activity in regional waters.

Read the full story at DefenseNews

News Story: Japan's defense ministry seeks record budget for FY 2018

CGI of an Aegis Ashore System

TOKYO, Aug. 31 (Xinhua) -- Japan's Ministry of Defense announced on Thursday a record-high budget request for the fiscal year 2018, which, if approved, would mark the sixth annual increase since Prime Minister Shinzo Abe retook office in 2012.

The defense ministry's budget request, up by 2.5 percent from this year's initial budget, totals 5.26 trillion yen (47.8 billion U.S. dollars) for the fiscal year starting from April, 2018.

The budget request was compiled by setting the dollar's exchange rate at 110 yen for fiscal 2018, according to the ministry.

Part of the money would be used to introduce a new missile shield system, possibly the land-based Aegis Ashore, but the amount was unspecified as it still needs to be hammered out with the United States, said the ministry.

Japan has so far taken steps to counter any potential launches of ballistic missiles by deploying high-tech Aegis advanced radar-equipped destroyers which are tasked with stopping missiles in the outer atmosphere, and ground-based Patriot Advanced Capability-3 interceptors which will counter the attack at lower altitudes.

The Aegis Ashore system is a land-based version of the Aegis advanced radar system, and with potential to be permanently installed, it is expected to reduce the workload of the Japanese Self-Defense Forces members in missile intercept operations.

Each Aegis Ashore unit costs around 80 billion yen, and Japan would need two units to cover the whole landmass, experts here have said.

Read the full story at Xinhua

News Story: Bolster Missile Defenses Against North Korea; Could Help With China

North Korean Pukguksong-2 Ballistic Missile test launch

By JON GLASSMAN

What should the United States and its allies do to improve their ability to stop North Korean missiles?

Enhanced missile defense performance would be the best guarantee against a North Korean breakout. Should fighting occur, missile defense performance will determine how much of a time cushion is available to U.S. and allied offensive forces to eliminate the North’s missiles.

North Korea’s missile testing program has shown capabilities that make our missile defense more difficult. For example, by extending tests to orbit and extending the range of their ICBMs, they have expanded the scope of trajectories and targets we need to defend. By using lofted trajectories, the North has increased re-entry velocity and reduced time for defense. By building mobile launchers and submarine-launched missiles, North Korea has eliminated the defenders’ early warning time and reduced its own exposure.

By demonstrating its ability to launch multiple missiles simultaneously, they have complicated our planning. Finally, by creating new threats of global reach, the North has raised the specter of fractional orbital trajectories that allow unpredictable descent paths and, perhaps, the use of electromagnetic pulse (EMP) to cripple the military and civilian infrastructure of the U.S. and our allies. In short, North Korean has increased uncertainty about our ability to respond and increased the time pressure on the US and allies to engage in massive offense or to decide to remain passive.

Read the full story at Breaking Defense

News Story: Japan to hold drills deploying missile interceptors at U.S. bases

Japanese Patriot (PAC-3) Missile Launcher

TOKYO, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- Japan's Air Self-Defense Force (ASDF) will hold drills deploying missile interceptors at three U.S. military bases here to prepare for any contingencies stemming from heightened tensions in the Korean Peninsula, Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera said Friday.

"The drills will contribute to further strengthening the Japan-U.S. alliance," Onodera told a press briefing on the matter.

The Defense Ministry said the exercises will take place at the U.S. Yokota Air Base in western Tokyo and at the Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni in Yamaguchi Prefecture in Japan's southwest, next Tuesday.

On Sept. 7, similar drills will be held at the Misawa Air Base in Aomori Prefecture in northern Japan, the ministry also said.

Such drills would mark the first time that exercises deploying missile interceptors have been held at U.S. bases in Japan, the Def Ministry said.

Read the full story at Xinhua

News Story: Record 5.2 tril. yen defense budget sought amid N. Korea concerns

TOKYO (Kyodo) -- The Japanese Defense Ministry plans to seek a record-high budget of 5.26 trillion yen ($48.1 billion) for fiscal 2018 as the country seeks to beef up its missile defense capabilities in the face of growing missile threats by North Korea, a government source said Tuesday.

The ministry plans to set aside 47.2 billion yen to acquire a new type of interceptor missile to be loaded on Japanese destroyers equipped with the Aegis missile defense system, while also asking for funding to introduce a land-based Aegis system known as Aegis Ashore.

The fiscal 2018 budget request would mark a 2.5 percent rise from the initial budget for the current year through March. Japan's defense budget has been on the rise from fiscal 2013 under Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's government and topped 5 trillion yen in the fiscal 2017 budget for a second-straight year.

The Defense Ministry will leave open the actual sum it is expecting for designing the Aegis Ashore program because of the need for consultations with the United States that owns the technology. But it plans to finalize the costs by the end of the year when the government will draw up the fiscal 2018 budget plan.

Read the full story at The Mainichi

News Report: Top US General Commits to Work With Tokyo to Strengthen Missile Defense

General Joe Dunford (Image: Wiki Commons)

Carla Babb

TOKYO — The top U.S. general and his Japanese counterpart have agreed to work together to strengthen missile defenses for Japan, as Tokyo announced that they will introduce the land-based Aegis Ashore system for additional protection against the North Korean missile threat.

General Joe Dunford, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told a small group of reporters in Tokyo that his meetings with Admiral Katsutoshi Kawano and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe reaffirmed the "extraordinarily healthy military-to-military relationship" between Japan and the United States.

"I think this is probably about as important a place that I could be … in the wake of recent activity by Kim Jong Un, making sure our allies have no confusion at all about where we are in our overall policy [and] where we are with regards to the military dimension of that policy," Dunford said Friday.

Dunford was visiting Japan after talks with Chinese and South Korean leaders in Beijing and Seoul earlier in the week. He said he offered Abe some of the perspectives picked up during his time in China, while also focusing on the challenge of North Korea and the trilateral efforts that the U.S., Japanese and South Korean militaries needed to deal with the threat.

"I think it's important that allies and friends have complete transparency, so I wanted him to know the nature of my conversations in China," Dunford explained.

News Story: US should consider no-fly zone for North Korea missile tests [Commentary]

A THAAD Interceptor missile test launch (File Photo)

By: Hans Binnendijk  and Robert Bell

North Korea’s July 4 and 28 missile tests indicating a potential intercontinental ballistic missile capability have prompted an urgent U.S. debate over a range of response options. However, none of the approaches advocated to date show much promise in achieving the goal of preventing North Korea from acquiring ICBMs without starting a major war.

More attention should be paid to America’s growing missile defense capability, which, to his credit, U.S. President Donald Trump has said he plans to accelerate. If this capability has developed as significantly as we believe, then the U.S. might already be in a position to expand Defense Secretary Jim Mattis’ pledge to shoot down any North Korean missile headed toward Guam. The U.S. might, if this capability is verified, declare its intention to intercept any further North Korean ICBM flight tests, regardless of trajectory.

The other options under discussion are unlikely to achieve both elements of this goal. Threatening “fire and fury” retaliation might deter a North Korean attack, but it is unlikely to halt further testing. Tougher sanctions to stimulate negotiations should be continued, but North Korea’s past negotiating record makes this option a long shot. And while military preemption could halt North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs, the risk of catastrophic war is unacceptable.

By contrast, a new “no fly” policy for ICBM flight tests would be defensive in nature. The U.S. would not be the first to fire a missile. It would only respond to further North Korean ICBM testing — testing that the U.N. Security Council member states, including China, have implored Pyongyang not to continue. Such an “active denial” policy would protect our vital national security interests by precluding the testing successes North Korea would need to have adequate confidence to operationalize its ICBMs and have confidence in their precision.

Read the full story at DefenseNews

News Story: Japan to install new land-based Aegis missile defense system

CGI of an Aegis Ashore Missile Defense System

TOKYO, Aug. 17 (Xinhua) -- Japan's defense ministry is planning to install a defense system made in the United States known as "Aegis Ashore" to address ongoing concerns about tensions on the Korean Peninsula, Japan's public broadcaster NHK reported on Thursday.

The defense ministry has, thus far, taken steps to counter any potential launches of ballistic missiles by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) by deploying high-tech Aegis advanced radar-equipped destroyers.

The Aegis system is designed to intercept missiles that are flying outside of the Earth's atmosphere, with the Maritime Self-Defense Force's Aegis destroyers charged with targeting them with their Standard Missile-3 interceptors.

In addition, the ministry has deployed its PAC-3 surface-to-air missile defense systems, as its second line of defense, that have the capability of intercepting missiles at lower altitudes as they reenter the earth's atmosphere.

In a push to bolster its missile defense systems, however, the defense ministry has moved up studies of the "Aegis Ashore" defense system to be funded by allocations in the next fiscal year, Kyodo News quoted government sources as saying.

The "Aegis Ashore" is a land-based version of the Aegis advanced radar system and uses the same technology as those fitted to MSDF Aegis destroyers.

Read the full story at Xinhua

News Story: Defense Ministry to request funds for 'Aegis Ashore' missile defense system

CGI of an Aegis Ashore Missile Defense System

WASHINGTON -- The Japanese Ministry of Defense will include funding to equip the Self-Defense Forces (SDF) with the "Aegis Ashore" anti-missile system in its budget request for fiscal 2018.

Introducing Aegis Ashore, the ground-based version of the SM-3 anti-missile system on the Maritime Self-Defense Force (MSDF)'s Aegis vessels, is intended to strengthen Japan's defense capabilities against North Korean ballistic missiles.

The ministry will examine Aegis Ashore in conjunction with its review of the National Defense Program Guidelines, and aims to have funds for designing the system earmarked during the government's year-end budget compilation.

It is thought that two or three Aegis Ashore batteries would be required to cover all of Japan, at a cost of 70 to 80 billion yen per battery.

Read the full story at The Mainichi

News Story: Hawaii in the crosshairs - The North Korean ICBM threat [Commentary]

CGI of an Aegis Ashore complex

By: Mike Rogers

In the early morning hours of Dec. 7, 1941, the Japanese Imperial Navy achieved complete strategic surprise at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. In a matter of hours, four U.S. battleships were sunk, over a dozen other vessels were damaged and more than 2,400 American service members were killed. Such strategic surprise would not be achieved against the United States for nearly 60 years, when al-Qaida struck New York, Washington and Pennsylvania on Sept. 11, 2001. Later investigations found a litany of American operational, intelligence and bureaucratic failures that contributed to the Japanese success in Hawaii. 

Hawaii was a natural target for the Japanese — an incredible naval base with the bulk of the U.S. Pacific Fleet at anchor, supporting infrastructure and airfields. Japanese Adm. Isoroku Yamamoto hoped to cripple the U.S. fleet at Pearl Harbor and prevent any American interference in Japanese expansionism in the Asian theater. 

As history shows, while they succeeded in attacking Pearl Harbor, their ultimate goal was unsuccessful. 

Today, Hawaii finds itself yet again in the crosshairs of a potential adversary. Except this time, it is not an ambush. We know the adversary, we know the intentions, we know the capabilities, and most importantly we have the tools and capabilities to render the adversary's aims neutral. 

North Korea is rapidly developing a ballistic missile capability that will, if the current trajectory continues, place Hawaii well within striking range. It is easy to dismiss Pyongyang’s efforts as amateurish and unsophisticated based on recent launch failures, but to do so would be naive and dangerous. This is literal rocket science. From every success and failure, North Korea’s scientists learn, improve and refine its capabilities. Remember, the United States’ own early testing efforts were halting at best, with missiles barely leaving the launch pads, toppling over and exploding, or just not igniting at all.  

Dismissing North Korea's program on its failures risks the same blindness that led to Pearl Harbor. “They can’t possibly reach Honolulu” rings true, until they can and they do. 

Read the full story at DefenseNews

News Story: US Navy ballistic missile intercept test fails

An SM-3 Test Launch (File Photo)

By: David B. Larter

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Navy conducted a failed ballistic missile intercept Wednesday with its SM-3 Block IIA off the coast of Hawaii. 

The destroyer John Paul Jones, running the Navy’s top-of-the-line Aegis Baseline 9.C2 combat system, failed to intercept a medium-range ballistic missile launched from the Pacific Missile Range Facility at Kauai, Hawaii. 

The destroyer detected and tracked the target on the AN/SPY-1 phased array radar but was unable to intercept it. It was the second test of this latest iteration of the SM-3. The John Paul Jones successfully shot down a target in February with it. That test was the first intercept using Baseline 9.2C.

Read the full story at DefenseNews

News Story: Storm in the Pacific - Defending against growing North Korean threats

CGI of an Aegis Ashore Ballistic Missile Defense System

By: J. J. Coyne

Recent events on the Korean Peninsula have highlighted both the instability of the North Korean regime and the potential vulnerability of the United States to future possible intercontinental ballistic missile attacks. The chief of U.S. Pacific Command, Adm. Harry Harris, indicated in testimony before the House of Representatives that he would welcome additional ballistic missile defense radars and missiles in Hawaii to prevent an attack by the North Koreans. 

While North Korea has not yet demonstrated the capability to marry a nuclear device to an ICBM, they have repeatedly expressed the desire to do so, and have devoted significant resources to making this capability a reality. When they do, U.S. facilities and forces stationed in Korea, Japan, Guam, and Hawaii would be immediately vulnerable to the threat of an attack. The North Koreans have increased the pace of their missile testing, with two successful launches within the past few weeks, including liquid- and solid-fueled missiles. 

A Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD, system is currently being deployed to South Korea, and a similar system is located on Guam. U.S. forces in Japan are shielded by U.S. Navy cruisers and destroyers with ballistic missile defense capabilities. This leaves Hawaii — which hosts a major naval base, the 25th Infantry Division, and the headquarters of both PACOM and Commander, U.S. Pacific Fleet — as a key strategic target that is increasingly vulnerable to a North Korean attack. Deployment of a THAAD system to Hawaii could provide the protection required. 

Read the full story at DefenseNews

News Story: LDP draft suggests Japan possess warning satellites, ability to strike enemy bases

CGI of an Aegis Ashore Missile Defense System

The ruling Liberal Democratic Party's Research Commission on Security on May 31 compiled a draft recommendation that Japan ramp up its capabilities to counter the North Korean nuclear and missile threat with the introduction of its own early warning satellites and the ability to strike enemy bases.

Japan currently relies on a U.S. early warning satellite that detects sources of heat to gain information on North Korean missile launches. The proposal presented at a meeting of security commission directors says that this affects Japan's readiness, as the nation is unable to give independently swift evaluations of launches.

To heighten the accuracy of ballistic missile defense, the commission in its draft proposed introducing early warning satellites and spy planes, among other options. Regarding the ability to strike enemy bases in response to an attack, the commission proposed that Japan possess cruise missiles.

There remain concerns, however, that if Japan possessed the ability to strike enemy bases, it would be a departure from the "exclusively defense-oriented policy" which is its basic stance.

With respect to ballistic missile defense, the commission draft requested that Japan introduce the land-based Aegis Ashore defense system including SM-3 missiles.

The draft additionally sought that Japan's Ministry of Defense possess the capability to conduct cyberattacks, but at the meeting of directors, it was pointed out that this could constitute use of force, and so the issue was left as one for future consideration.

Read the full story at The Mainichi

News Story: (Japanese) Gov't to mull introduction of new ground-based anti-ballistic missile system

CGI of the Aegis Ashore System

The government is set to give full consideration to introducing a new ground-based anti-ballistic missile system called Aegis Ashore in response to the recent spate of missile launches by North Korea, Defense Minister Tomomi Inada revealed on May 15.

"In order to boost our capabilities to constantly protect all of Japan, we will move ahead with studies on a ballistic missile defense system for the future," Inada told a May 15 House of Councillors Committee on Audit session.

The Japan Self-Defense Forces (SDF) currently have a two-tiered defense system against missiles heading toward Japan -- first intercepting them in space at a maximum altitude of 500 kilometers with the Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) launched from an Aegis ship, and then shooting down any remaining missiles with ground-based PAC-3 Patriot missiles at an altitude of less than 20 kilometers.

Read the full story at The Mainichi

News Story: A viable military option - Countering North Korea’s weapons program [Commentary]

THAAD Launch of an Interceptor Missile

By: Lt. Gen. Dan Leaf (ret.)

It is difficult to turn on the news or surf the web without seeing what a mess the world faces in North Korea. In a troubled world, it may be the most dangerous mess out there. North Korea has a history of provocations, an unpredictable and supposedly crazy young leader, and nuclear weapons. The next Korean War, if there is one, could dwarf Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan in the magnitude of tragedy and disastrous global impact. North Korean missile and nuclear tests, coupled with strong rhetoric from both North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and U.S. President Donald Trump, have the region and the world on watch. 

As Trump met with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Florida recently, it was with that dangerous backdrop. Trump is expected to push China to endorse powerful economic sanctions on North Korea over its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs. He told the Financial Times that “if China is not going to solve North Korea, we will.” This follows U.S. Secretary of State Tillerson’s pronouncement that it’s time for a “new approach” to North Korea. 

Key US officials have implied that the new approach could include military action. Military action is usually assumed to be some sort of attack on North Korean military facilities, particularly those supporting Kim’s nuclear ambitions. While that option must stay on the table as a deterrent, a limited strike is highly unlikely to achieve significant military objectives against hardened targets, especially those deeply underground. Such an attack could prompt a deadly response from North Korea's leader. 

There is, however, a viable military option — a defensive option — that has not received the attention it deserves. The U.S. can significantly strengthen the missile defenses protecting Hawaii by deploying an operational missile system. Timely investment in a combination of current capabilities could protect Hawaii from the North Korean (and other) threats quickly and affordably. A viable missile defense system for the Hawaiian islands — the U.S. territory most at risk to a North Korean strike — would do more than provide needed protection. By significantly decreasing the risk to Kim’s growing but rudimentary capability, it would make such action less attractive to the dictator. There are two particularly viable options to consider: Aegis Ashore with sufficient SM-3 interceptor inventory and the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system. These capabilities are available to combatant commanders today. 

Read the full story at DefenseNews

News Story: Japan ruling party urges strike ability amid N. Korea threat

TOKYO (AP) -- Japan's ruling party urged the government Thursday to consider arming itself with more advanced and offensive capability, such as striking enemy targets with cruise missiles, further loosening the self-defense-only military posture the country has had since the end of World War II.

The Liberal Democratic Party's council on defense policy urged the government to immediately start studying ways to bolster Japan's capability to intercept missiles with a system such as the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD system, that the U.S. and Seoul have agreed to install in South Korea.

The panel cited a "new level of threat" from North Korea, which fired four missiles this month, three of them landing inside Japan-claimed exclusive economic waters.

"North Korea's provocative acts have reached a level that Japan absolutely cannot overlook," the party's security panel said in the proposal given to Abe. "We should not waste any time to strengthen our ballistic missile defense."

Read the full story at The Mainichi

News Story: Japan to set priority on missile defense in security talks with U.S.

THAAD Ballistic Missile Interceptor launch

TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Japan plans to propose that priority be placed on discussions on reinforcement of ballistic missile defense during a security dialogue with the United States expected to be held late next month in the wake of recent missile activities by North Korea, a government source said Saturday.

The two countries' foreign and defense ministers may discuss their division of roles including whether to have U.S. capabilities in place to destroy an enemy military base before a ballistic missile launch, according to the source.

In the first "two-plus-two" security talk by the countries since U.S. President Donald Trump took office in January, Japan hopes to reaffirm that Tokyo and Washington are on the same page about their sense of urgency in dealing with the threat posed by North Korea.

On March 6, North Korea launched four ballistic missiles, three of which fell into Japan's exclusive economic zone in the Sea of Japan. The missiles were viewed as possessing an increased strike accuracy based on how closely they flew.

Read the full story at The Mainichi