Ibaraki Prefecture’s policy on rewarding those who report businesses hiring illegal foreign workers has officially taken effect yesterday and if the information leads to an enforcement action, the tipster will be rewarded 10,000 ten (over US$60), according to a report by Kyodo News. Ibaraki Prefecture (population: 2.9 million) currently has the largest number of undocumented foreign workers among all of Japan’s prefectures.
To put things in perspective, posted below is an excerpt from the news report of Kyodo News Some parts in boldface…
Ibaraki Prefecture, northeast of Tokyo, launched a controversial program Monday to reward people for reporting businesses that hire illegal foreign workers.
After verifying the information as accurate, the prefectural government will report the employers to the police. If the information leads to an enforcement action, the tipster will receive a reward of 10,000 yen ($64).
The program was introduced after the prefecture said it had the highest number of undocumented foreign workers among the country’s 47 prefectures for four consecutive years.
The local government says foreign workers are necessary amid severe labor shortages and the crackdown on illegal hiring will help to address human rights violations.
According to the prefecture’s guidelines, reporting will be limited to businesses hiring, brokering or suspected of facilitating illegal employment, and information submitted with malicious intent or about individuals based on their appearance or nationality will not be accepted.
Reports can be filed through the prefectural website by providing personal information such as name, address and phone number, and must include a copy of identification, such as a driver’s license, the prefecture said.
Let me end this piece by asking you readers: What is your reaction to this development? Do you think Ibaraki Prefecture’s newly launched policy will soon spark a crackdown on businesses that hired illegal foreign workers? Do you think the police will deter illegal immigrants/aliens in Japan from going to Ibaraki Prefecture for work? Is the reward of 10,000 yen sufficient? Do you think other prefectures in Japan will eventually follow the Ibaraki Prefecture policy on illegal foreign workers? Does anyone in your household support illegal immigrants/aliens and prefer all government units to accept them as refugees?
Thank you for reading. If you find this article engaging, please click the like button below, share this article to others and also please consider making a donation to support my publishing. If you are looking for a copywriter to create content for your special project or business, check out my services and my portfolio. Feel free to contact me with a private message. Also please feel free to visit my Facebook page Author Carlo Carrasco and follow me on Twitter at @CarloCarrascoPH as well as on Tumblr at https://carlocarrasco.tumblr.com/and on Instagram athttps://www.instagram.com/authorcarlocarrasco
Recently in the progressive city of Muntinlupa, the development plan of the National Bilibid Prison was tackled by the City Council in the form of a public hearing with several stakeholders present, according to a Manila Bulletin news report.
To put things in perspective, posted below is an excerpt from Manila Bulletin report. Some parts in boldface…
The Muntinlupa City Council held a public hearing to address the impending development of the vast land of the New Bilibid Prison (NBP), which is expected to affect residents.
The NBP, located in Barangay Poblacion, is under the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) and houses prison facilities.
The NBP Reservation, which refers to the surrounding areas outside the prison facilities, contains houses of BuCor employees, public school teachers, and residents, as well as public schools and churches.
The City Council’s Committee of the Whole, with all councilors present, conducted the public hearing together with presidents of resident associations and informal settlers, representatives from the Commission on Human Rights, Presidential Commission for the Urban Poor, Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development, and BuCor.
Councilor Raul Corro, majority floor leader, said the entire City Council held the hearing “due to the importance of the subject matter: the Bucor proposed master development plan for NBP.”
He explained that the hearing discussed the “concern of informal settlers on their relocation and the legal requirements to be met to have a relocation plan that meets the minimum livable requirements such as availability of basic services like water, power and other amenities.”
Corro emphasized that the city government is entitled to its equitable share in the development of any national wealth such as land under its jurisdiction, and should be informed about the kind of development to be implemented in NBP.
Let me end this post by asking you readers: What is your reaction to this recent development? If you are a resident of Muntinlupa City, what is your opinion about the planned development of the New Bilibid Prison which has a vast land that includes residences, communities, schools and churches already? What is the best place the City Government can find as the target destination of relocation the informal settlers?
For more South Metro Manila community news and developments, come back here soon. Also say NO to fake news, NO to irresponsible journalism, NO to misinformation, NO to plagiarists, NO to reckless publishers and NO to sinister propaganda when it comes to news and developments. For South Metro Manila community developments, member engagement, commerce and other relevant updates, join the growing South Metro Manila Facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/342183059992673
Welcome back fellow geeks, Blu-ray collectors and movie buffs!
If you love the animated works of director Ralph Bakshi (American Pop, The Lord of The Rings) and the artworks of Frank Frazetta (Conan The Barbarian, Vampirella), then you should watch out for their memorable collaboration in ultra high-definition as the 1983 animated movie Fire and Icewill be released on 4K Blu-ray format on June 30, 2026, exclusively via MVDshop.
Fire and Ice 4K Blu-ray cover has the same classic artwork of the official movie poster.
With a story co-written by Bakshi and Frazetta and the screenplay done by comic book legends Gerry Conway and Roy Thomas, Fire and Ice is the story of a young warrior named Larn who wants revenge against the evil queen Juliana and her son Nekron. Larn also has the task to rescue their kidnapped princess Teegra. For your interest and reference, watch the classic movie trailer below.
Fire and Ice 4K Blu-ray will be in a Steelbook form containing the 4K Blu-ray disc and the Blu-ray disc. For the 4K enthusiasts reading this, the classic animated film has been restored in 4K and the visuals are rendered in native 4K.
Posted below are the technical details from Fire and Ice’s Blu-ray.com page.
Video
Codec: HEVC / H.265
Resolution: Native 4K (2160p)
HDR: Dolby Vision, HDR10
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Audio
English: Dolby Atmos
English: Dolby TrueHD 7.1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
Subtitles – English, English SDH, French, Spanish
Discs – 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray Disc, Three-disc set (2 BD, 1 CD)
Packaging – SteelBook
Playback – 4K Blu-ray: Region free, 2K Blu-ray: Region A
I personally am interested in replaying Fire and Ice in 4K Blu-ray format. I saw Fire and Ice a few times a very long time ago on a rented video tape and on cable TV (randomly viewed it) but I never actually got to watch it entirely. Fire and Ice 4K Blu-ray is on my list of 4K Blu-ray releases of this year. I can only wonder when it would get offered via Amazon.
As for Ralph Bakshi, I admire his works on rotoscoped animation and how he visualized his concepts. His work on The Lord of the Rings animated film of 1978 was ambitious and he made the most out of their limited resources. I own a Blu-ray copy of his animated film American Pop and watching rotoscoped animated scenes and characters move in high-definition is enjoyable.
Fire and Ice, to the best of my memory, has a fantasy concept that reminds me somewhat of Conan The Barbarian (and the sword-and-sandals fantasy elements) and it also the traditional concept of the heroic man who risks his life to save an important woman from the forces of evil. To replay Fire and Ice in 4K is something I desire as a 4K Blu-ray collector and enthusiast of traditional animation.
Director Ralph Bakshi (covered in the background) with performers Cynthia Leake as the princess and Randy Norton as Larn during production. (source – IMDB.com)
The classic movie poster of Fire and Ice. (source – IMDB.com)
If you wish to join a group of movie enthusiasts and talk about cinema, cinematic trends, Blu-ray releases and more relevant stuff, visit the Movie Fans Worldwide Facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/322857711779576
Considering the immense economic impact the conflict in the Middle East had on the world, the inflation rate of Philippines unsurprisingly accelerated to 7.2% in April 2026, according to a news report by GMA News.
To put things in perspective, posted below is an excerpt from the GMA News report. Some parts in boldface…
Inflation rate accelerated to its fastest in three years in April 2026 as higher global fuel prices brought about by the Middle East petroleum crisis spilled over to food, local petroleum, and utilities costs during the period.
At a press briefing on Tuesday, National Statistician and PSA chief Claire Dennis Mapa said inflation — the rate of increase in the prices of goods and services — accelerated to 7.2% last month from 4.1% in March 2026 and 1.4% in April 2025.
This was the fastest inflation print since March 2023, when the inflation rate clocked in at 7.6%.
April’s inflation brought the year-to-date rate to 3.9%, still within the 2% to 4% comfortable ceiling set by the government for the entire 2026.
“Ang pangunahing dahilan ng mas mataas na antas ng inflation nitong Abril 2026 kumpara noong Marso 2026 ay ang mas mabilis na pagtaas ng presyo ng Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages na may 6% inflation rate,” Mapa said.
(The main contributor to the increase in inflation rate in April 2026 compared to March 2026 was the faster hike in the prices of Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages which posted a 6% inflation rate.)
Also contributing to the uptrend of the overall inflation in April 2026 was the faster annual increases seen in the Transport index at 21.4% in from 9.9% in March as well as the Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and Other Fuels at 8.2% during the month from 4.7% in the previous month.
Moreover, faster increment were likewise seen in the indices of the following commodity groups last month:
Alcoholic beverages and tobacco – 4.8% from 3.7%; Clothing and footwear – 2.8% from 2.6%; Furnishings, household equipment and routine household maintenance – 3.5% from 3.1%; Health – 3.8% from 3.4%; Information and communication – 0.9% from 0.7%; Recreation, sport and culture – 4.9% from 4.7%; Restaurants and accommodation services – 6% from 5%; Personal care, and miscellaneous goods and services – 3.3% from 2.9%.
Food inflation – Food inflation, which tracks the price movements of food items in a “basket” commonly purchased by household, soared to 6.1% from 2.7% month-on-month driven primarily by the faster increase in rice inflation at 13.7% from 3.5% in March 2026.
Faster increments were also seen in corn (21% from 12.3%), flour and other bakery products (3% from 2.5%), fish and other seafood (9.4% from 6.6%), fruits and nuts (6% from 4.7%), vegetables (10.4% from 7%), and ready-made food (2.5% from 2.4%).
Let me end this post by asking you readers: What is your reaction to this recent development? Do you think the inflation rate of the Philippines will end up at 5% by the end of this year?
Thank you for reading. If you find this article engaging, please click the like button below, share this article to others and also please consider making a donation to support my publishing. If you are looking for a copywriter to create content for your special project or business, check out my services and my portfolio. Feel free to contact me with a private message. Also please feel free to visit my Facebook page Author Carlo Carrasco and follow me on Twitter at @CarloCarrascoPH as well as on Tumblr at https://carlocarrasco.tumblr.com/and on Instagram athttps://www.instagram.com/authorcarlocarrasco
New Department of Tourism (DOT) secretary Dita Angara-Mathay said the Philippines counted a total of 2.24 million foreign visitor arrivals this year as of the 27th of April, according to a news article by the Philippine News Agency (PNA).
To put things in perspective, posted below is an excerpt from the PNA news article. Some parts in boldface…
Tourism demand in the Philippines remains strong despite volatilities and challenges besetting the industry, Tourism chief Dita Angara-Mathay said Wednesday.
Speaking at the Tourism Congress of the Philippines (TCP) conference on tourism resilience in Makati City, Angara-Mathay said foreign visitor arrivals from January to April 27, reached 2.24 million, up nearly 9 percent year-on-year.
“What this tells us is simple: tourism demand is still strong-but more sensitive, more selective, and more dynamic,” she said.
Thus, Angara-Mathay said the DOT would make a “more active and deliberate role” in stakeholder coordination to further strengthen tourism in the Philippines.
She said the agency will also continue to position tourism resilience as an economic priority, given its close to 9 percent contribution to gross domestic product (GDP) and support for employment.
“My background in trade, investments, and industry development shapes my perspective. I see tourism not just as a sector, but as an ecosystem—one that depends on investment flows, supply chains, enterprise development, infrastructure, and market access,” she said.
“It requires inputs. It requires coordination. It requires investment. And it requires discipline in execution. This lens will guide our work,” she stressed.
Angara-Mathay said DOT’s strategic direction in the next coming years would be focused on connectivity, domestic tourism, destination readiness, investment, ease of entry, and priority markets, such as China, India, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Southeast Asia, North America, Australia, and Europe.
“Some of the challenges we face-particularly in infrastructure, connectivity, and investment-will take time. These are structural issues,” she said. “They require sustained effort and long-term commitment. So I ask for patience. But patience does not mean delay. We begin now.”
Let me end this post by asking you readers: What is your reaction to this recent development? Do you think the DOT will perform better and be more strategic under the new secretary Angara-Mathay? Are you convinced that the Philippines is indeed attracting more foreign tourists this year? Do you think the Philippines will be able to get out of its 2025 foreign tourist slump, attract more visitors from overseas and become more competitive with its Southeast Asian neighbors by the end of this year?
Thank you for reading. If you find this article engaging, please click the like button below, share this article to others and also please consider making a donation to support my publishing. If you are looking for a copywriter to create content for your special project or business, check out my services and my portfolio. Feel free to contact me with a private message. Also please feel free to visit my Facebook page Author Carlo Carrasco and follow me on Twitter at @CarloCarrascoPH as well as on Tumblr at https://carlocarrasco.tumblr.com/and on Instagram athttps://www.instagram.com/authorcarlocarrasco
When it comes to international tourism, Vietnam continues to be a fast-growing tourist destination as it successfully attracted almost nine million foreign tourists in the first four months of 2026, according to a news report by VnExpress. With the way it is going, Vietnam could easily break its all-time record of 21.2 million foreign tourists attracted in 2025.
To put things in perspective, posted below is an excerpt from the news report of VnExpress. Some parts in boldface…
Vietnam drew 2.03 million international visitors in April, lifting the first four months’ total to 8.8 million, a 14.6% year-on-year increase and about 35% of its 2026 target of 25 million arrivals.
The Vietnam National Authority of Tourism (VNAT) said the figures highlight the country’s rising profile as a safe, stable and increasingly compelling destination.
It is the first time Vietnam has surpassed 2 million foreign arrivals for four straight months, and the first time the January – April tally has reached 8.8 million.
The 10 largest source markets during the period were mainland China, South Korea, Russia, Taiwan, Cambodia, the U.S., India, Japan, Australia and the Philippines, together accounting for roughly 72% of total arrivals. China and South Korea alone contributed nearly 40%.
The visitor mix is becoming more diversified, with several emerging markets gaining traction.
Russia stood out with growth of nearly 300% year-on-year, buoyed by the return of direct flights, strong demand for extended holidays, and Vietnam’s competitive edge in safety, infrastructure, natural assets and cost.
Southeast Asia maintained strong momentum, led by the Philippines, which surged 73.4% to enter the top 10, overtaking Malaysia. Cambodia rose 41.6%, Indonesia 30.1%, Singapore 29.8%, Malaysia 21.7%, amd Thailand 8.4%.
In South Asia, India continued to emerge as a key market, expanding 59.1% and signalling substantial room for further growth.
Europe recorded the fastest regional expansion, up 53.3% year-on-year in the first four months. Western and Northern European markets posted solid gains, including the U.K. (10.4%), France (12.1%) and Germany (14.5%).
Visa-waiver markets such as Poland, Switzerland and the Czech Republic also delivered strong increases of 52.7%, 19.4% and 23.1%, underscoring the effectiveness of visa facilitation in boosting demand.
According to VNAT’s Tourism Information Center, global uncertainties, from geopolitical tensions to security risks, are making safety an increasingly decisive factor in travel choices.
Let me end this piece by asking you readers: What is your reaction to this development? Considering what was achieved in the first four months this year, do you think Vietnam will be able to attract between 25 million to 30 million foreign tourists by the end of 2026? Do you know anyone who will be visiting Vietnam soon?
Thank you for reading. If you find this article engaging, please click the like button below, share this article to others and also please consider making a donation to support my publishing. If you are looking for a copywriter to create content for your special project or business, check out my services and my portfolio. Feel free to contact me with a private message. Also please feel free to visit my Facebook page Author Carlo Carrasco and follow me on Twitter at @CarloCarrascoPH as well as on Tumblr at https://carlocarrasco.tumblr.com/and on Instagram athttps://www.instagram.com/authorcarlocarrasco
While the Philippines is hosting the summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the economy of the nation grew only 2.8% in the first quarter this year and it is the slowest growth in five years, according to a business news report by the Manila Bulletin.
To put things in perspective, posted below is an excerpt from the Manila Bulletin news report. Some parts in boldface…
The Philippine economy grew at its slowest pace in five years, expanding just 2.8 percent in the first quarter of 2026, as the country grapples with the persistent government spending slump and mounting inflation shocks.
The country’s economy, as measured by the gross domestic product (GDP), decelerated from the 3.0 percent expansion recorded in the final three months of 2025.
It also significantly missed the 3.4 percent median growth projected by economists in a survey, and marked the weakest quarterly output for the country since the first quarter of 2021, when the economy contracted 3.8 percent during pandemic-era lockdowns.
Growth was severely dragged down by a prolonged slump in public construction following a massive government flood-control scandal late last year, which has continued to stall state spending.
Moreover, the global energy shock triggered by the Middle East conflict in late February also sent domestic oil and input costs soaring, severely denting consumer and business confidence.
Let me end this post by asking you readers: What is your reaction to this recent development? Do you think heavy government spending will boost the economy somehow? Could it be possible that the Philippines could fall into a recession this year or next year? How do you rate the performance of the economic managers of the national government?
Thank you for reading. If you find this article engaging, please click the like button below, share this article to others and also please consider making a donation to support my publishing. If you are looking for a copywriter to create content for your special project or business, check out my services and my portfolio. Feel free to contact me with a private message. Also please feel free to visit my Facebook page Author Carlo Carrasco and follow me on Twitter at @CarloCarrascoPH as well as on Tumblr at https://carlocarrasco.tumblr.com/and on Instagram athttps://www.instagram.com/authorcarlocarrasco
The digital economy of the Philippines grew to P2.74 trillion in gross value added (GVA) in 2025 and its contribution to the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP) is at 9.8%, according to a business news report by GMA News.
To put things in perspective, posted below is an excerpt from the report of GMA News. Some parts in boldface…
The Philippine digital economy continues its upward trajectory, reaching a Gross Value Added (GVA) of P2.74 trillion in 2025, accounting for 9.8% of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP), according to the latest preliminary data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
Last year’s digital economy GVA grew by 5.4% from P2.59 trillion recorded in 2024 as the country moves forward with digital transformation initiatives across public and private sectors.
The PSA defines the digital economy as encompassing four main areas: digital-enabling infrastructure, digital content and media, e-commerce, and government digital services.
Digital-enabling infrastructure remained the primary driver of GVA, contributing P1.79 trillion to the total.
Within this sector, growth was fueled by ICT services with a 27.1% contribution, ICT manufacturing with 13.6%, and ICT-enabled services with 13.3%.
E-commerce followed as a significant contributor at 32.2%, while digital content and media accounted for 2.2% and government digital services made up the remaining 0.3% of the digital landscape.
Beyond monetary value, the digital sector has become a massive source of livelihood for Filipinos.
In 2025, the digital economy employed 10.39 million people, accounting for 21.2% of the country’s total workforce.
This was a 1.2% increase from the 10.27 million workers recorded the previous year.
Let me end this post by asking you readers: What is your reaction to this recent development? Do you think the digital economy of the Philippines will continue to grow this year? Could the nation’s digital economy reach P3 trillion in value in the near future?
Thank you for reading. If you find this article engaging, please click the like button below, share this article to others and also please consider making a donation to support my publishing. If you are looking for a copywriter to create content for your special project or business, check out my services and my portfolio. Feel free to contact me with a private message. Also please feel free to visit my Facebook page Author Carlo Carrasco and follow me on Twitter at @CarloCarrascoPH as well as on Tumblr at https://carlocarrasco.tumblr.com/and on Instagram athttps://www.instagram.com/authorcarlocarrasco
Disclaimer: This is my original work with details sourced from reading the comic book and doing personal research. Anyone who wants to use this article, in part or in whole, needs to secure first my permission and agree to cite me as the source and author. Let it be known that any unauthorized use of this article will constrain the author to pursue the remedies under R.A. No. 8293, the Revised Penal Code, and/or all applicable legal actions under the laws of the Philippines.
Welcome back, superhero fans, 1990s arts and culture enthusiasts, Image Comics fans and comic book collectors! Today we go back to the mid-1990s to examine one of the many tales of Jim Lee’s original WildStorm universe through the original Gen13 mini-series.
Historically, Gen13 (stylized as Gen13) was launched at a time when Jim Lee’s company was establishing and expanding the original WildStorm shared universe with such comic book titles like WildCATS: Covert Action Teams, StormWatch, Backlash, Wetworks and the prequel title Team 7. When compared to those mentioned titles that had strong paramilitary elements combined with conspiracy and intrigue, Gen13 stood out with its concept of super-powered teenagers who don’t realize they are subjects of International Operations (IO) which has a long history of abuse, corruption and human rights violations. Gen13 #1 started strongly thanks to the solid writing of Jim Lee and Brandon Choi who challenged themselves to expand the WildStorm lore differently.
With those details laid down, here is a look back at Gen13 #2, published by Image Comics in 1994 with a story written by Jim Lee and Brandon Choi with artwork done by Jeffrey Scott Campbell. This is the second issue of the mini-series.
The cover.
Early story
The story begins with Caitlin Fairchild, Grunge, Roxy, Bobby, Rainmaker and Tom Hallinan in the middle of a desert running away from the floating troopers of Project Genesis. They just escaped from the top-secret facility.
Tom Hallinan suddenly uses his power to shock three troopers on a floating craft (gunship) and brings them down to an explosive end. As Caitlin has trouble accepting the fact that the troopers were killed, Tom emphasizes that they can fight back using their super powers and Bobby (Burnout) agrees by utilizing his own powers of flight and flame to confront even more troopers on their gunships.
As the conflict escalates, Fairchild begins to use her super strength to tear off a huge rock and successfully destroys one of the gunships with it. Nearby, Roxy, Rainmaker and Grunge find themselves cornered by armed troopers. Roxy gets hit by the tangler from the troopers…
Quality
Roxy, Grunge and Rainmaker cornered by the armed troopers.
Similar to the first issue, this comic book has a solid plot structure and the writers took their time to emphasize the tale, develop the characters within their limits, and doing both build-ups and pay-offs.
Following the events of issue #1, Fairchild and her eventual Gen13 teammates here are only discovering their respective super capabilities at a time of confusion and desperation. They still have yet to form the rock-solid bond as a team and they are still struggling with the new situation they found themselves in. The tale opened with a desperate escape from the Project Genesis facility (with a clever flashback used to explain what happened) putting themselves into a series of unfortunate events with no guarantee of survival ahead.
While this comic book featured the eventual core Gen13 characters, the tale is still pretty much focused on Caitlin Fairchild and the writers did a really good job developing her with not just the present-day events but also with her own perception of how her life turned out. Apart from being a very smart college student, Fairchild is also very observant and does her best when dealing with the challenges in new situations. At this stage, she has yet to realize her true goals as she deals with the sudden changes and dangers that came with being a super-powered teenager under the grasp of IO.
Grunge, Roxy, Burnout and Rainmaker also got their own shares of the spotlight but nowhere as great as Fairchild which is understandable. At this stage, it clear that the writers had something planned for them for further parts of the story.
More on the story itself, the plot really moved forward without being rushed. The pace moved from medium to fast, and as generous pay-offs to previous build-up’s took place, more plot elements were being built-up. In line with the greater lore of WildStorm, the concept of the government testing drugs on people for decades is raised and it makes the sinister moves of IO on human subjects really believable. Symbolically, the government and IO have affected generations of people with mad science and experimentation, and these are reflected well on the characters.
The plot indeed has intrigue and strong dramatic moments to back it up. However, the storytelling got weakened with the way one of the new characters here expressed himself which made the late-story twist predictable and unsurprising. Along the way, the visual eroticism ramped up here as Jeffrery Scott Campbell went on to visualize the script. The said visual eroticism (perhaps eye candy to those who enjoyed it) is unnecessary in my opinion and they took away from the written dialogue. The sexy imagery is a reminder of the 1990s comic book trends.
Conclusion
For the first time ever, Bobby becomes Burnout.
With the exception of the mentioned storytelling weakness and the unnecessary erotic visuals, Gen13 #2 (1994) managed to be a solid follow-up to its predecessor and is also an entertaining read. The continued strong writing by Lee and Choi ensured strong engagement, suspense and spectacle throughout. Revisiting this old comic book resulted in a fun read in my experience and I am convinced to keep going on with this WildStorm mini-series.
In the presence of Philippines’ Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro, Japan’s Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi, the media and many other officials, the Self-Defense Forces (SDF) launched two anti-ship missiles during a Balikatan multi-national exercise held in Paoay in the Philippines, according to a Kyodo News report. The live-fire drill involved one hundred forty ground SDF personnel and was a success in terms of directly hitting a target at sea.
To put things in perspective, posted below is an excerpt from the news report of Kyodo News Some parts in boldface…
The Japanese Self-Defense Forces on Wednesday fired two anti-ship missiles during a large-scale multinational exercise in the Philippines, with the two countries’ defense ministers observing the launches.
The two Type 88 surface-to-ship missiles successfully hit and sank a decommissioned Philippine navy vessel floating about 75 kilometers off Paoay on the northern Philippine island of Luzon during the annual Balikatan exercise co-hosted by the United States and the Philippines.
The live-fire drill involving about 140 Ground Self-Defense Force personnel was open to the media.
Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi and his Philippine counterpart, Gilberto Teodoro, watched the drill on site, while Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. observed the exercise remotely from Manila, according to the military of the Southeast Asian country.
China criticized the missile launches, with Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian saying Japan’s “right-wing forces are pushing for the acceleration of remilitarization,” posing a threat to regional peace and stability.
Let me end this piece by asking you readers: What is your reaction to this development? Do you think Japan and their Filipino counterpart will cooperate even more to enhance the Philippines’ defense capabilities and modernize its military? Do you think it is inevitable that the Philippines will purchase more military weapons from Japan in the near future? Were you surprised to learn about Communist China’s criticism against the successful live-drill?
Thank you for reading. If you find this article engaging, please click the like button below, share this article to others and also please consider making a donation to support my publishing. If you are looking for a copywriter to create content for your special project or business, check out my services and my portfolio. Feel free to contact me with a private message. Also please feel free to visit my Facebook page Author Carlo Carrasco and follow me on Twitter at @CarloCarrascoPH as well as on Tumblr at https://carlocarrasco.tumblr.com/and on Instagram athttps://www.instagram.com/authorcarlocarrasco
Author Carlo Carrasco 