Long-range strike capabilities, building up amphibious forces, improved missile defense and deploying Aegis Ashore are steps Tokyo can take in deterring an aggressive North Korea at the same time, two of Japan’s leading security experts said Wednesday. Speaking at the Brookings Institution, a Washington, D.C., think tank, retired Lt. Gen. Noboru Yamaguchi said, “I prefer that [long-range strike capabilities] to protect” the home islands over building a Japanese nuclear force to counter Kim Jong Un’s regime. Defense Secretary James Mattis has stressed to the Japanese that Tokyo remains under the United States “nuclear umbrella” as tensions between Washington and Pyongyang … Continue reading Panel: Japan Should Look to Conventional Deterrents to Curb North Korean Threat