THE CHINA PLAN IS TAKE IT WHILE YOU CAN–FISHING EXPANDS INTO KOREAS WATERS–IGNORES BORDER LIMITS

A growing number of Chinese trawlers have started to fish illegally in Korean territorial waters, taking advantage of the Korea Coast Guard's focus on search efforts after the ferry disaster off the southwest coast.

Coast guards had been trying to crack down on illegal Chinese fishing off the west coast with 79 cutters working in three shifts every day. But 44 of the cutters have been deployed to the scene of the ferry disaster since since April 16 and it is virtually impossible for the remaining 35 cutters to effectively patrol the region.
As a result, the waters around Yeonpyeong and Baeknyeong islands off the coast of Incheon have turned into a virtual no-man's land. With the crab-fishing season in full swing, around 100 Chinese trawlers travel in groups, casting their nets illegally inside Korea's waters every day.

There have been no seizures of Chinese fishing boats this season, although the Korea Coast Guard usually seizes five or six illegal Chinese fishing boats at this time of year.
Kim Wan-ho (67), the captain of a fishing boat based in the southwestern port city of Mokpo, said, "There are hundreds of illegal Chinese fishing boats near Heuksan Island," off the southwest coast," but there are no patrol ships to stop them."

http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2014/05/09/2014050901586.html

THE POTUS BHO FOREIGN POLICY–ALL ABOUT COVERUPS–IF AT ALL ANYTHING OF SUBSTANCE TO PROTECT THE USA INTEREST–IT’S THE LEFTIST LIBERAL DEMOCRAT PARTY MANTRA INSTEAD IS TO GIVE IT ALL AWAY TO OUR ENIMIES–CONSIDER BENGHAZI, CRIMEA, IRAN, SYRIA TO THE RUSSIANS

Obama will eventually adopt the Russian line on Ukraine if for no other reason than to avoid exposing his own impotence. It’s why Obama has adopted the Iranian position on its nuclear weapons program, accepted Russia’s Syrian WMD deal and why Kerry and his cronies are busy blaming Israel for the collapse of peace negotiations that were actually sabotaged by the PLO leader.

If you can’t beat them, join them. And Obama can’t beat them. Joining them is his only option.

The culture wars and media firing squads, the SEIU members who shepherd the elderly and infirm to voting booths, the illegal aliens who vote three times because voter ID is racist, are excellent tools for defeating Republicans; but they don’t impress Vladimir Putin or the Islamic militias of Benghazi.

Whatever else went down there, Benghazi had to be covered up because it was easier to join the Muslim mobs burning American flags by throwing a Coptic Christian into jail and filming an apology. It was easier than sending in the Marines or even the drones. It was easier to do nothing, prep for a debate with the real enemy, Mitt Romney, before flying off to party in Vegas.

Obama has preemptively surrendered to anyone and everyone. Even countries he opposes on an ideological basis have discovered that if they slap him around long enough, he will come around.

http://www.frontpagemag.com/2014/dgreenfield/obamas-foreign-policy-one-big-coverup/

SPYS AMONGST US–CONSIDER AL GORE’S BATHROOM IN 1998 INFILTRATED–AS CIA AGENT HEARS AN ISRAELI SPY IN THE AIR DUCTS

Just days after Newsweek quoted senior U.S. intelligence officials as saying that Israeli espionage operations in the United States have "gone too far," the online magazine revealed more details of such "aggressive operations" and how they were "hushed up."

An article by Jeff Stein that was published on Thursday describes a scene that could have easily belonged in a spy movie (or, for that matter, a spy movie spoof): An Israeli spy hiding in the air duct in Al Gore's bathroom in 1998.

http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/1.589859

SO WHAT IF YOUR PEOPLE ARE STARVING JUST SO LONG YOU STAY IN POWER AS THE KIM OF NORTH KOREA STARVES ITS CHILDREN TO MAINTAIN THE COMMUNIST GRIP TO RULE BY ALL MEANS–SOUNDS LIKE THE LEFTIST SOCIALIST IN THE US WOULD DO IF THEIR POWER DEPENDED ON IT

..

North Korea’s infant mortality rate topped 33 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2012, a study showed Thursday, reflecting the country’s chronic food shortages and lack of widespread, adequate health care services.

The finding resulted from analyzing nutrition surveys conducted jointly by the Pyongyang government and international organizations from 1998-2012. Lee Joung-hee, a professor at Kyonggi University’s graduate school of education in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, released the work in Review of the North Korean Economy, a monthly journal published by the state-run Korea Development Institute.
The infant mortality rate follows the number of deaths of infants under 1 year old per 1,000 live births on a yearly basis, and can offer a glimpse into health conditions in a country.

The 2012 figure marks a sharp increase from 22.5 in 2000. The CIA World Factbook put its 2014 estimate at 24.5 for North Korea and 3.93 for the South. The number of deaths of North Korean infants under 5 years old per 1,000 live deaths is expected to have exceeded 53, up from 48.2 in 2000, the report said.

 

http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20140508000887

WHO SAYS THE DEMOCRATS ARE NOT CURRUPT–IRS TARGETING CONSERVATIVE REVEALS OTHERWISE–AS CONGRESS CONTINUE ITS DRAGGING OUT OF THIS INVESTIGATION THAT THE IRS HAS ALREADY AUDITED 10% OF DONORS MAINLY THE TEA PARTY

Despite assurances to the contrary, the IRS didn’t destroy all of the donor lists scooped up in its tea party targeting — and a check of those lists reveals that the tax agency audited 10 percent of those donors, much higher than the audit rate for average Americans, House Republicans revealed Wednesday.

Republicans argue that the Internal Revenue Service still hasn’t come clean about the full extent of its targeting, which swept up dozens of conservative groups.

“The committee uncovered new information indicating that after groups provided the information to the IRS, nearly one in 10 donors were subject to audit,” Rep. Charles W. Boustany Jr., Louisiana Republican and chairman of the Ways and Means Committee’s oversight panel, told IRS Commissioner John Koskinen at a hearing Wednesday.

“The abuse of discretion and audit selection must be identified and stopped,” he said.

Mr. Koskinen didn’t specifically address the accusations during the hearing, and the IRS didn’t respond to a request for comment late Wednesday evening.

Read more: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/may/7/house-republicans-find-10-of-tea-party-donors-audi/

NEW TRAIN ROUTE FROM CHINA TO THE USA–VIA BERENG STRAIT–AND WHO HAS THE VISION TO TAKE THIS MASSIVE VENTURE, CHINA CSR

China is considering building a high-speed railway across the Siberia and Bering Strait to Alaska, across Canada to the US. In not so distant future, people can take the train from China to the US, according to Beijing Times Thursday citing Wang Mengshu, a railway expert and academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering.

The proposed journey will start from China's northeast region, cross Siberia to Bering Strait, and run across the Pacific Ocean by undersea tunnel to reach Alaska, from Alaska to Canada, then on to its final destination, the US. To cross Bering Strait will require approximately 200km undersea tunnel, the technology, which is already in place will also be used on Fujian to Taiwan high-speed railway tunnel. The project will be funded and constructed by China. The details of this project are yet to be finalized.

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/business/2014-05/08/content_17493399.htm

SO IS THIS WHAT YOU CALL FISCAL RESPONISIBILITY–WHEN ITS NOT YOUR MONEY WHO GIVES A CARE JUST SPEND MORE OF IT–AS USPS GROWS ITS UN-FUNDED LIABILITY TO $100BILLION

The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) currently owes $99.8 billion in benefit payments to its current and retired workers but does not have the money, and if Congress does not act to fix the problem, the Postal Service may have to “implement contingency plans to ensure that mail delivery continues,” according to a new report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO).

“At the end of fiscal year 2013,” said the GAO, “USPS had about $100 billion in unfunded liabilities: $85 billion in unfunded liabilities for benefits, including retiree-health, pension, and workers’ compensation liabilities, and $15 billion in outstanding debt to the U.S. Treasury—the statutory limit.”

http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/michael-w-chapman/postal-service-faces-100b-debts-and-unfunded-benefits#sthash.MDL9v7H5.dpuf

CAN YOU SAY CORRUPTION–IS IT RAMPANT EVERY WHERE–EVEN IN KOREA–AS THE SEWOL INVESTIGATION EXPANDS–GREED IS PREVALENT NO DOUBT

Along with the investigation into the sinking, that into Yoo Byung-eon, the Sewol’s de facto owner, continued to develop rapidly with Incheon prosecutors raiding more locations linked to him Friday, as they sought to uncover wrongdoings committed by him and his family.

The growing list of allegations against the Yoos includes tax evasion, illegal real estate transactions and violating foreign exchange laws when transferring large sums out of the country.

In addition, the investigators are said to be planning to charge Yoo with manslaughter, after finding evidence that he was directly involved in running the Sewol’s operator, Chonghaejin Marine Co.
Locations raided on Friday include Moreal Design, an interior design firm, and a consulting firm owned by the Yoos.

Moreal Design, headed by Yoo’s daughter Yoo Sum-na, is suspected to have been involved in forming the family’s slush fund.
The Yoos are believed to have siphoned off billions of won, mainly through actions disguised as purchases of Yoo’s photographs.

As with Yoo’s second son Yoo Hyeok-gi, Sum-na has so far ignored the prosecution’s summons. The authorities are considering measures including revoking her passport and cooperating with foreign governments to secure her person.

Since the ferry sank off the country’s southwestern coast on April 16, Yoo, a former chairman of the defunct Semo Group, has been found to have control over a network of businesses. Most of the businesses, operated by Yoo’s closest associates and his children, are thought to be involved in criminal activities allegedly carried out by the Yoos.

http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20140509001257

WHEN IT COMES TO ENERGY THE DEMOCRATS DOES NOTHING TO GROW THIS ECONOMIC BACKBONE–INSTEAD PLAYS ITS POLITICAL GAME TO STIFLE ITS GROWTH–AS US COMPANIES ARE NOT ALLOWED EXPORTING ENERGY -INSTEAD MORE IMPORTS, WHICH THE DEMOCRATS CONTINUE BLOCKING THE EXPORT EFFORT–JUST LIKE BLOCKING NORTH AMERICAN OIL AND PREFERS IMPORTING MORE FROM REGIONS WHO HATE AMERICA–SO THUS SENATOR REID (D-NV) LEADS THE WOLF PACK AGAINST ALL EFFORT FOR GROWING JOBS–THUS HARRY SAYS ONCE MORE MY WAY AGAIN ME DEMOCRAT FIRST

The fate of a bipartisan energy efficiency bill and a vote on the Keystone XL pipeline has boiled down to a fight over whether to make it easier to export liquefied natural gas.

Liquefied natural gas exports have taken on new prominence in Congress because of Russia’s threats to stop gas exports to Ukraine and the European Union.

Republicans argue exporting U.S. natural gas will reduce Russian President Vladimir Putin’s leverage over Europe and bolster Ukraine’s ability to stand up to his pressure. They also argue that it would be good for the U.S. economy.

Democrats, however, argue allowing more exports could raise energy costs in the U.S. and hurt the economy and jobs. 

Sen. Debbie Stabenow (Mich.), the vice chairwoman of the Senate Democratic Policy and Communications Center, is leading the Democratic charge. She argues Sen. John Barrasso’s (R-Wyo.) amendment would increase exports at the expense of manufacturers in Michigan who are benefiting from cheap energy prices.

Republican and Democratic negotiators have been working for more than a week to move energy efficiency legislation, which would also allow a vote on Keystone. Much of the battle has been a procedural fight over how many amendments Republicans will be allowed to offer. 

Read more: http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/205667-natural-gas-fight-is-key-to-keystone-vote

THE RISE OF CHINESE SMARTPHONES COMING–AS SAMSUNG, LG, APPLE LOSES MORE OF ITS MARKET SHARES

Chinese smartphone companies have been growing rapidly in recent years, becoming a threat to Korean handset makers such as Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics.

Chinese companies accounted for more than 20 percent of the global smartphone market last year, a sharp jump from 8 percent in 2010, according to global research firm Strategy Analytics.
“Chinese companies’ patterns of growth have been quite similar (to each other). They have made handsome profits in their domestic market, invested in gaining a technological edge, and are currently making forays into advanced markets,” said Kim Sung-ok, a senior researcher at the Korea Information Society Development Institute.

“As some Chinese smartphone companies begin to expand in the premium markets, competition with Korean companies will be inevitable down the road,” Kim added.

http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20140506000127

THE US MILITARY IS STILL IN CONTROL TO PROTECT ITS ALLIES AND THE DEMOCRATIC FORM OF GOVERNMENT AS 20 MARINE BRIGADES TO DEPLOY TO AID SOUTH KOREA IF AND WHEN COMMUNIST NORTH KOREA INVADES THE SOUTH

The U.S. has established an operational plan to deploy 20 marine brigades to the Korean Peninsula in case of a North Korean invasion into the South, U.S. House Armed Services Chairman Howard McKeon said Tuesday.
During a forum in Washington, McKeon said that U.S. Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James Amos told him that most of the U.S. marines are to be dispatched to defend South Korea under the plan, according to Yonhap.

The Republican lawmaker said that with the congressionally mandated budget cuts, or sequestration, the number of U.S. marines is to be reduced to 175,000 to form only 21 brigades, noting that only one brigade may remain in the U.S. while the rest are to be sent to the peninsula in case of a war.

McKeon’s claim was apparently welcomed news in South Korea, where some were concerned that with the U.S. troop drawdown, Washington would be reluctant to commit a large number of ground troops for peninsular contingencies.
Under the allies’ joint war plan, the U.S. is to send its 690,000 troops to the peninsula in case of an all-out war. But given Washington’s plan to slash its ground troops, analysts said that the plan was no longer realistic.

http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20140507001110

CHINA MOVING IN TO CONTROL THE SOUTH CHINA SEA FOR ITS OIL RICH RESERVES YET TO BE EXPLORED–AS VIETNAM, PHILIPPINES, TAIWAN CAN ONLY COMPLAIN–WHILST THE POTUS BHO CAN DO NOTHING LIKE HIS FAILED DOMESTIC POLICIES–IF WE WOULD FOLLOW THE KOREANS WHERE IS THE APOLOGY FOR ALL THE TERRIBLE MISTAKES THE POTUS HAS MADE IN THE LAST 6 YEARS IN OFFICE–NONE OF COURSE SINCE A DEMOCRAT CAN NEVER ADMIT FAULT BUT BLAMES

http://www.rfa.org/english/news/china/ship-09022011104103.html

China's decision to park its biggest mobile oil rig 120 miles off the Vietnamese coast has exposed how vulnerable Hanoi, and other littoral states of the South China Sea, are to moves by the region's dominant power to assert its territorial claims.

The Communist neighbors are at loggerheads over the drilling rig in contested waters, each accusing the other of ramming its ships in the area in the worst setback for Sino-Vietnamese ties in years.

While Hanoi's dispute with Beijing over the Spratly Islands, for example, involves fellow claimants the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei, it is only Vietnam that contests China's expanding occupation of the Paracels.

For years now Hanoi has tried to open talks with Beijing over China's moves on the islands, insisting that they are Vietnamese territory.

While the countries have put aside historic suspicions in recent years to demarcate their land border and the Gulf of Tonkin, negotiations stop dead at the Paracels further south.

Whenever the Vietnamese raise the issue, the Chinese say there is nothing to discuss because the Paracels are under Chinese occupation and sovereignty and not in dispute, according to diplomats close to regular Sino-Vietnamese negotiations.

http://news.yahoo.com/chinas-oil-rig-move-leaves-vietnam-others-looking-210853575.html;_ylt=AwrBEiE29GtTJwkAjlHQtDMD

BLOOD FOUND IN THE YOUTH SHOWS TO REJUNEVATE THE AGING–AS SHOWN TO OCCUR WITH OLDER MICE WHEN INJECTED WITH YOUNGER BLOOD–FROM PAPERS OF SAUL VILLEDA OF UIC–SHOWS PROMISING FOR THE AGING POPULATION

Older mice got stronger, exercised longer and performed better mentally after they were injected with blood from young mice, or even just with a substance that's more abundant in younger blood, U.S. researchers found.

Someday, if more research goes well, this may lead to a way to treat some infirmities of old age in people. In the meantime, scientists have a warning for do-it-yourselfers.

"Don't try this at home," said Saul Villeda of the University of California, San Francisco, an author of one of three papers published online Sunday by the journals Nature Medicine and Science.

He worked with mice that were roughly the equivalent of people in their 20s and 60s. Researchers repeatedly injected the older mice with blood from either the younger animals or other aged mice. Those that got the young blood did better in learning and memory tests than the mice given the older blood. For example, they performed better at recalling where to find a submerged platform in a maze.
Villeda said the researchers are trying to figure out what's in the young blood that made the difference.

http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20140505000048

THE 10 LARGEST MILITARY AIRFORCE

10. German Air Force: 423 combat aircraft -Eurofighter Typhoon and the popular Panavia Tornado

9. Republic of Korea Air Force (South Korea): 458 combat aircraft - American F-16 Fighting Falcon and the Northrop F-5. ROKAF also has a number of fighter-bombers in its ranks, such as the McDonnell Douglas F-15E Strike Eagle and the McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II

8. Turkish Air Force: 465 combat aircraft - Turkish Air Force also operates a large number of F-16 Fighting Falcons

7. Pakistan Air Force: 502 combat aircraft - Chinese Chengdu J-7 is the fighter aircraft of choice for Pakistan, with the ever popular F-16 Fighting Falcon also being part of the makeup. The Pakistan Air Force also has French fighter aircraft, with the Dassault Mirage 5 and Mirage IIISoviet Union relics still in operation (like the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21). The KPAF has a large amount of Chinese Shenyang J-5 fighters

6. Korean People’s Air Force (North Korea): 661 combat aircraft - Soviet Union relics still in operation (like the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21). The KPAF has a large amount of Chinese Shenyang J-5 fighters

5. Egyptian Air Force: 900 combat aircraft -combat aircraft is a huge number of F-16 Fighting Falcons

4. Indian Air Force: 1,080 combat aircraft - Sukhoi Su-30MKI air superiority fighters under license from Russia. The Indian Air Force also uses a fighter that was used to fly many successful sorties during the Gulf War, the SEPECAT Jaguar (France/UK)

3. People’s Liberation Army Air Force (China): 1,500 combat aircraft - 330,000 active personnel operating over 2,500 aircraft. The Chinese also build their own fighters and bombers, such as the Mach 2.35-capable Shenyang J-11 and the Xian H-6 that can carry over 20,000 lbs of free-fall bombs.

2. Russian Air Force: 1,900 combat aircraft -The Mikoyan MiG-31 “Foxhound” can fly at speeds of Mach 2.83 (1,860 mph) and has a service ceiling of 67,600 ft. The huge Tupolev Tu-160 strategic bomber can carry 88,185 lbs of weapons and fly at an impressive 1,380 mph.

1. United States Air Force: 3,318 combat aircraft -USAF’s 1,245 F-16 Fighting Falcons alone could occupy fourth place on this list – and that’s just one type of combat aircraft! There are also the hundreds of F-15E Strike Eagles and the dozens of F-22 Raptors and F-35 Lightning IIs. If that wasn’t enough, there are the giant strategic bombers the USAF has at its disposal, such as the famous Boeing B-52 Stratofortress and the futuristic Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit, better known as the Stealth Bomber. The USAF has an amazing array of aircraft in its fleet, not forgetting the utterly terrifying Lockheed AC-130

http://www.therichest.com/rich-list/the-top-10-largest-combat-air-forces-in-the-world/10/

KIEV UKRAINE STANDS FIRM AGAINST RUSSIA INFLUENCE FOR THE PRO RUSSIA SEPARATIST WITHIN UKRAINE–AS THE LAST SEPARATIST FALL

The last separatist barricade at Kramatorsk was an impressive affair; four giant fuel tankers behind a wall of tyres and stone. The armoured personnel carriers of the government forces, lined up ahead, opened fire without warning; a salvo from a main gun streaking down the street.

The wall disintegrated and burst into flames, the tankers were sliced open as if with a can opener, the severed parts of each one left lying across the road. One round overshot and hit a car, leaving it a smoking heap, another went whizzing by a petrol station. The number of casualties, considering the scale of the damage, was relatively low. There were two dead, the driver of the car and an elderly man still clutching his plastic bag of shopping; around half a dozen were injured, two seriously.

There was an interlude of near silence as people who had thrown themselves to the ground and to the grass verge on the side of the road slowly picked themselves up, glad to be alive, and began to help bloodied figures into cars to be taken to hospital. Those who had thought that the horrific events in Odessa, with more than 40 dead, many of them trapped in a burning building, would lead to a lull in the strife in eastern Ukraine – a pause for reflection – found themselves mistaken.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/ukraine-crisis-this-is-not-some-kind-of-a-shortlived-uprising-it-is-a-war-9321410.html

MILITARY HARDWARE GROWTH IN THE ASIA TERRITORY AS KOREA, TAIWAN, AND JAPAN–BUILDS ITS DEFENSE FORCE–TO COUNTER CHINA HARDWARE BUILD UP AND NORTH KOREA THREATS

China, Japan, South Korea and to a lesser degree Taiwan are acquiring new and more extensive power projection capabilities and demonstrating the political willingness to use them for different strategic reasons.

China’s military challenge poses significant dilemmas particularly for Japan, which has been constrained by the historical, political and legal predicaments of the U.S.-Japan alliance.
Tokyo aims to overcome the limitations posed by its pacifist postwar constitution and the Yoshida Doctrine. Its more robust security policy (“Dynamic Defense”) seeks greater strategic and operational flexibility in responding to regional contingencies.

Japan’s Self-Defense Forces are shifting from a traditionally static defense posture toward power projection and deterrent capabilities ― with the procurement of MV-22 Ospreys, F-35 fighters, Global Hawk drones and amphibious troop carriers.

Similarly, South Korea’s ongoing defense reforms have aimed not only to strengthen capabilities vis-a-vis North Korean asymmetric nuclear threats, but also to develop joint air and naval capabilities that would complement a long-term U.S. strategic presence in East Asia.

Seoul aims to offset any potential future crises stemming from great power rivalries.

http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20140428000650

THE DEMOCRATS IN THE SENATE DOES THE CHICKEN DANCE ON THE MINIMUM WAGE INCREASE AS DEMS REALIZES THEY WILL LOSE THE POLITICAL GAME TO JAB THE MINIMUM WAGE AGAINST THE GOP IN THE FALL IF IT PASSES NOW–WAGE BILL TO DIE IN THE SENATE

The Democrats’ minimum wage bill is set to die on the Senate floor Wednesday.

Despite an intense push by President Obama and Democratic leaders on Capitol Hill, Senate Republicans haven’t budged and will reject the measure that would increase the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour. The procedural roll call to advance the bill is expected to fail on a party-line vote, short of the 60 votes needed.

The legislation is coming up for a vote after weeks of delay, but a multipronged pressure campaign against Republicans has failed to fracture the GOP — in sharp contrast to prior election years.

Democrats could bring the bill back to the floor many times between now and the midterm elections, but the small window for a bipartisan compromise or a GOP capitulation has all but shut. The GOP-led House, meanwhile, is adamantly opposed to the Senate measure.

Obama prominently featured a minimum wage increase in his State of the Union address, calling on Congress to give “America a raise.”

The president on Wednesday will deliver a speech on the minumum wage.

Read more http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/204766-1010-wage-bill-set-to-die

JAPAN CONTINUES TO EXPLORE CONSTITUTIONAL REVISION TO ALLOW ITS MILITARY TO TAKE A GREATER ROLL IN ASIA–PRESENTLY DUBBED THE SELF DEFENSE FORCE–THE CHANGE WOULD ALLOW JAPAN TO PROJECT A GREATER MILITARY EXPANSION

Japan marked the 67th anniversary of its postwar constitution Saturday with growing debate over whether to revise the war-renouncing charter in line with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's push for an expanded role for the military.

The ruling conservative party has long advocated revision but been unable to sway public opinion. Now Abe is proposing that the government reinterpret the constitution to give the military more prominence without having to win public approval for the revisions.

His push, backed by the U.S. which wants Japan to bear a greater burden of its own defense, has upset the liberals who see it as undermining the constitution and democratic processes.
Hundreds of people gathered at a Tokyo rally commemorating Constitution Day, a national holiday.
``We citizens must stand up, take action and raise our voice to stop Abe, or this country could return to a Japan that wages war with Asia as it has done before,'' said protest organizer Ken Takada said.

Written under U.S. direction after World War II, the 1947 constitution says the Japanese people ``forever renounce war as a sovereign right of the nation,'' and that ``land, sea and air forces, as well as other war potential, will never be maintained.''
That ban has been relaxed over the years with U.S. encouragement as the Cold War unfolded and America sought allies in Asia, allowing Japan to have a military to defend itself, dubbed a Self-Defense Force.

The ruling Liberal Democratic Party has long denounced the postwar constitution as one imposed by the U.S., which occupied Japan from the end of World War II until 1952. Abe's grandfather and role model Nobusuke Kishi _ who was arrested as a suspected war criminal but never charged and later became prime minister _ was among vocal opponents of the constitution. 

Abe advocates a ``breakaway from the postwar regime'' as a way to overcome the humiliation as well as the education system, social values and historical views set by the occupation.

http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20140504000073

THE PRESIDENT OF KOREA PARK GEUN-HYE APOLOGIZES FOR THE SECOND TIME FOR THE SEWOL TRAGEDY AFTER 20 DAYS–AS KOREA CONTINUES TO MOURN FOR THE LOSS OF 226 LIVES AND 76 STILL MISSING –MOSTLY HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS

President Park Geun-hye on Sunday apologized to the families of the Sewol ferry disaster victims for poor administrative measures to save their beloved ones, and vowed to punish all of those held responsible.

"I understand that you are in great despair. It has been about 20 days since the accident. I feel immensely responsible," Park told the family members of those who are still reported missing from the sunken ship at the Paengmok Port in Jindo of South Jeolla Province.

The 6,825-ton ferry Sewol capsized and sank off Jindo on April 16, en route to Jejudo Island. Of the 476 people believed to have been aboard the ill-fated
vessel, no one has been found alive since it sank. Families of the victimsnt have been camping out in Paengmok waiting for the news of a possible rescue, or body retrieval.

As of Sunday, bodies of 244 deceased people from the accident have been retrieved but around 60 are left missing despite intensive underwater search.
It was the second visit for Park, who made the first move on April 17, a day after the accident. The meeting between the president and the family members was held behind closed doors and media crew were later briefed of the encounter.

http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20140502000235