Current Event: U.S. and Japan to Perform a Joint Drill to 'Retake' Island.

The Japanese SDF (Self Defense Force) and the United States military are going to run practice exercises that will simulate 'recapturing' islands off the coast of Japan. The drill will be taking place at an uninhabited island most likely south of Okinawa and will be the first of its kind to take place on a remote island with both forces involved.

This decision to run this exercise is probably heavily influenced by the custody battle over the remote islets off of the coast of Japan between China, Japan and Russia. More specifically, the Senkaku islands have become more significant in recent months because of the sale of these islands from the controlling Japanese family to the Japanese government. This has brought a large amount of media attention to the Senkaku Islands from all sides and everyone wants to get in on it.  The United Nations states that there is a possibility of gas and oil deposits in the seabeds of these islands. If this is so, with the growing crisis in the middle east we can see why this is becoming more and more pertinent of a location to qualify ownership of.

The main players vying for control are obviously China and Japan. When looking at the map however, Taiwanese influence should not be pushed under the rug either. The collection of Senkaku Islands actually resides closest to Taiwan at a distance of 76 miles, while Japan sits at 92 miles and China at 100 miles away.

It is almost guaranteed that China is not happy with the realization of and follow through of such an exercise by Japan. This will most likely lead to more problems for the neighboring nations that already have a rough history.  I think that this is a good step for Japan to take however. Even though they are pairing up with the United States (as they have been since 1945) this is allowing Japan to make its headway as a nation where a military presence and not just a self defense force should be allowed to exist. With the Korean conflict always near by, I feel this would be a wise decision.