Japan's Ground Self-Defense Force and the U.S. military on Monday invited the media to view a large-scale joint drill in southwestern Japan while launching another exercise northwest of Tokyo amid China's growing assertiveness in the East and South China seas.The two exercises -- "Yama Sakura" (mountain cherry blossom) in Kumamoto Prefecture and "Forest Light" in Niigata and Gunma prefectures -- focus on scenarios in which Japan and the United States take countermeasures against attacks on remote islands by adversaries, the Defense Ministry said.In a ceremony Monday for the media viewing of…READ FULL ARTICLE
