Japanese "Marines" launched, but much work needs to be done

The Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force has marked a historic milestone through the launch of its first dedicated amphibious fighting unit, long deemed to be too offensive to possess under the country's postwar defensive security policy."Our goal is to become the world's top-class amphibious operation unit," Maj. Gen. Shinichi Aoki, who leads the brigade, boasted at a press conference on Saturday following a ceremony to mark the launch of the new unit based in the southwestern port city of Sasebo in Nagasaki Prefecture.But the Amphibious Rapid Deployment Brigade, modeled after the U.S. Marin…READ FULL ARTICLE