Japan's 1st drill against 'dirty bombs' conducted in Tokyo

Friday 07th November, 04:40 PM JST

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Latest 15 of 18 Total Comments Show All

soldave at 05:29 PM JST - 7th November

The material was brought into Japan? Damn those pesky foreigners! Japan doesn't need imported radioactive materials - it has enough leaking out of its own domestic powerplants!
badge123 at 05:45 PM JST - 7th November

Better to trained then not to be trained.
Badsey at 06:17 PM JST - 7th November

I see nothing wrong with people dressing-up as banannas -much better than shopping naked.

However who needs dirty bombs when you already have a toxic food supply?
Farmboy at 06:45 PM JST - 7th November

However who needs dirty bombs when you already have a toxic food supply?

Perhaps the techniques used for dirty bombs of radioactive material could be applied to dirty bombs made of gyouza and old rice?
OssanAmerica at 09:01 PM JST - 7th November

The material was brought into Japan? Damn those pesky foreigners

Wow..what a hyper-sensitive crowd. Article doesnt make any reference to foreigners or any foreign organization. In fact Japan having hads its own domestic terrorists including the Japandese Red Army which conducted inernational operations, common sense suggests that a home grown gruop could bring such materials into Japan far easier than a bunch of foreigners all finger printed at the airport.
Betting at 10:03 PM JST - 7th November

Best Bomberist? But it would be very scary if such an event ever happened and would any response be quick enough to protect the general public?
rjd_jr at 12:22 AM JST - 8th November

Great for them. Far too many countries, many of them 'advanced' industrialized ones besides Japan, pay lip service to terrorism. They naively believe that just because they have the capability to bomb a country to smithereens, somehow that "prevents" terrorist attacks on their soil and their citizens go about day to day doing absolutely zero training for potential terror attacks.

It's great that Japan regularly conducts these drills. Better to be safe than sorry.
Betting at 01:00 AM JST - 8th November

rjd don't you honestly think, even though these drills are necessary to a certain extent, that there is a limit as to what a country to do? A dirty bomb is not destructive as such, the main purpose it to spread a contaminant (such as mentioned in in akaguma's post, truly hideous) which would negate any efforts of the government.

Also there is no guarantee that any attack would take place in Tokyo, as Osaka, Kobe, Nagasaki etc. etc. would have equal effect. And do you know with utter certainty that do absolutely zero? I know your absolutely wrong on that point, you're just stereotying again.
JeromeInJapan at 02:00 AM JST - 8th November

Somthin's gonna go down!
JeromeInJapan at 02:21 AM JST - 8th November

Some where! Some how! In some place!
rjd_jr at 02:28 AM JST - 8th November

Sure Betting but the point is to get into that mentality of doing something. Even if it's rudimentary drills it is something to rely on when something does happen. Being complacent by doing nothing is the absolute worst. It's really scary how now, years after 9/11, everyone's gotten so complacent thinking that there will be no terror attacks whatsover. Even a minor drill is better than nothing, when something bad happens if one is not prepared it's like chickens running around with their heads cut off. Even the small things, like basic first aid, what to do, where to regroup, etc., these things can help not only with terror attacks but any natural or man made disasters. It should be something that all cities and citizens should do at least on a monthly basis.
ScottishThug at 07:05 AM JST - 8th November

I would also add that there are three major problems with these squads in Japan: 1) They tend to go out drinking as part of "group bonding" events too often, which interferes with the warrior being alert at all times, 2) They are generally not strong enough in the arms to fire an SMG without recoil getting in the way of staying on target (they do not use MP5s, and I cannot say what they do use, but let's say it rhymes with "P90"). Finally, 3) They lack the armour to take hits from 5.56mm and above, which is worrying, since terrorists would most likely be firing with 7.62mm rounds from an AK-47. The officers seemed to be of the mind that such people would not have training for accuracy, which is a huge mistake.
kanadamanada at 10:58 AM JST - 8th November

Aso is desperately searching for his own "galvanizing moment". Spread the fear, then tell the people you're the only one that can save them. I've seen this more than once. Perhaps a nice cash transfer to North Korea to finance a missile test into the sea or better yet, over Hokkaido. I ought to send my cv to Aso's people.

This article does not imply that the group would be foreign, but the subtext is still that the bad things come from outside Japan, not within.
BlackFlag at 11:01 AM JST - 8th November

They are generally not strong enough in the arms to fire an SMG without recoil getting in the way of staying on target (they do not use MP5s, and I cannot say what they do use, but let's say it rhymes with "P90"). Finally, 3) They lack the armour to take hits from 5.56mm and above, which is worrying, since terrorists would most likely be firing with 7.62mm rounds from an AK-47. The officers seemed to be of the mind that such people would not have training for accuracy, which is a huge mistake.

lay off the Playstation for a bit
ptolemy at 11:39 AM JST - 8th November

At least a drill means Tokyo is thinking of the possibility. I personally wish here in Nagoya there would be drills for something. Here there are no drills even for earthquakes.