Last month, while everyone was distracted by other events, the Japanese government did something rather remarkable: They activated a marine unit. Specifically, the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force activated a 1,500-man unit known as the Amphibious Rapid Deployment Brigade. The occasion was marked by a ceremony at Sasebo military base on the island of Kyushu.

This may not seem particularly newsworthy. After all, the activation of a single marine brigade would not be a remarkable event in virtually any other nation on the planet. But in Japan, where there has not been such a marine activation since WWII, it is extraordinary.

Well, extraordinary but not unexpected. To anyone who has been paying attention, Japan’s definitely-not-an-offensive-military “Self-Defence Force” is, for all intents and purposes, an offensive military in disguise.

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