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| Japan Police Probe Defense Ministry Explosions |
| 2004-02-19 |
| EFL Japanese police Wednesday raided offices and homes occupied by members of a left-wing group after two late-night explosions near the Defense Ministry in Tokyo. The explosions, which police said could have been carried out in a protest against the dispatch of Japanese troops to Iraq, caused no damage or injuries and no projectiles were found. Two 24-inch long steel pipes that may have been used to launch projectiles were found in the grounds of a temple near the ministry, along with batteries and a timer. Police across Japan searched 30 premises occupied by Kakurokyo, a left-wing group that claimed responsibility for a similar incident near the ministry a year ago, media reported. Kakurokyo has also claimed responsibility for attempts to fire projectiles at U.S. military facilities in Japan. Witnesses reported seeing flames rising from the site of the explosions but the Defense Ministry said there were no reports of damage from the blasts, which occurred around 11 p.m. Tokyo plans to send up to 600 ground troops in a total deployment in Iraq of around 1,000, including air force and navy personnel. Critics have argued the deployment violates Japan’s pacifist constitution but an opinion poll reported in business daily Nihon Keizai Monday said support for Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has risen this year, suggesting growing public acceptance of his decision to send troops to Iraq. I remember that the protagonists in the movie Airheads formed a band called the Lone Rangers and didn’t know why people thought that they were engaging in self-parody. Guys who protest government milterism with a rocket attack could probably sucessfully hold a long conversation with Muck-a-Dude. |
| Posted by:Super Hose |