[Lottie]

Japan's navy went on alert on Wednesday after an unidentified submarine was spotted inside the country's waters.

Surveillance aircraft detected the submarine near the southern island of Okinawa, and it left soon afterwards.

Officials said the government was trying to establish the vessel's country of origin, although Japanese media said it was possibly Chinese.

The last time Japan ordered such a high alert was in 1999, when suspected North Korean ships entered its waters.

Japan's Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi called the incident "regrettable".

"We are still in the process of confirming the nationality. Once we confirm it, we will disclose it," he said.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiroyuki Hosoda said the submarine was spotted by a reconnaissance plane near the Sakishima island chain off Okinawa.

He said the submarine had now left Japan's waters, but that it was being followed by a reconnaissance plane and a destroyer in the hope it would surface and show its flag.

Japan's defence chief Yoshinori Ono issued the maritime alert, a very rare event in Japan, which is bound a post-World War II constitution which restricts its forces to self-defence.

"We want to resolve this issue peacefully," he said.


Competition

Japanese officials refused to speculate on the submarine's nationality. But Japan's Kyodo news agency quoted defence officials as saying it was a Chinese nuclear-powered sub.

The Sakishima islands lie about 120km (75 miles) south of the disputed Senkaku islands, which are known as the Diaoyu in Chinese.

The incident comes at a time of heightened tensions between the two countries, which are likely to become increasingly competitive in their hunt for natural resources to power their economies.

The two sides held inconclusive talks last month on gas exploration projects in the East China Sea.

China has also reportedly been angered by a Japanese defence ministry paper which speculated on reasons China might attack. It cited disputes over natural resources and territory, as well as a wider conflict involving Taiwan.

The other possible source of the submarine is North Korea.

In December 2001, a suspected North Korean spy ship sank off Japan after a shoot-out with Japan's coast guard.

Source

[lego jedi]

oh for goodness sake dont you two start ...there is enuff countries trying to start wars ....not good

[Athenian]

Maybe it is a late Nazi renegade sub...?

[Kellalor]

North Koreans hate the Japanese. Maybe not the NK citizens themsleves, but the government atleast.

[Naveed]

Hmmm...I sense this could create a disturbance in the force. Or the schwartz for Spaceballs fans.

[girty1600]

I don't know about you guys but, I would be scared to death if I was in Japan right now. It might not be a big deal but we don't really know. *shudders*

[kikuchiyo]

Godzilla? (just trying to lighten the admosphere)
***
It would be scary to know that NK governament is taking those kind of risks, it could try a sneak attack, personnaly this doesn't feel good.

Naveed said it best.

[twpdyp]

I kind of have the impression that a 3rd world war will begin shortly. Good thing I bought all of that ammo for my 12 gauge and my .44 auto mag.

[kikuchiyo]

but i though the army gave out weapons to there soldiers.

[Kellalor]

Not too worried. My dad has an arsenal of guns. Hell, everyone around here does. This is Texas!

[girty1600]

I have a bomb shelter in my house. Its not a fallout shelter but an impact shelter might be useful. I also have supplies and nonperishable food items. Come on over guys. Anyone can come as long as you bring something useful.

[Lottie]

From ABC News 2 hours ago:

OKYO Nov 10, 2004 — Japan's navy went on alert Wednesday when an unidentified submarine made a brief incursion into the country's southern waters near Okinawa.

The submarine left Japanese waters shortly after it was spotted and a reconnaissance aircraft and destroyer were monitoring its movements, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiroyuki Hosoda said. Tokyo also was trying to determine where the vessel came from.

If the submarine's origin is identified, Japan will take "necessary steps," Hosoda said, without elaborating.

Japan's public broadcaster NHK said defense officials were investigating a possible link between the sub sighting and Chinese military vessels detected recently in Japan's southern waters.

"It's regrettable," Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi told reporters. "It's certainly not a good thing that a submarine of unknown national origin enters our territorial waters."

Kyodo News quoted unidentified defense officials as saying that the vessel may be a Chinese nuclear submarine.

Hosoda said it was too early to comment on those reports.

"We have yet to reach the stage where we can make a definite conclusion," he said.

A P3C reconnaissance plane confirmed that the submarine had entered Japanese territorial waters near the Sakishima islands in southern Okinawa prefecture (state), Hosoda said.

After exiting Japanese territory, the aircraft followed the submarine as it cruised international waters on an indeterminate route that did not appear to be straight, Hosoda said.

Defense chief Yoshinori Ono "issued a maritime alert order" and an emergency task force was set up at the prime minister's office, Hosoda said.

The alert order allows the military to inspect ships and force ships to stop or change course. It also allows the military to use weapons in self-defense.

If the submarine tries to re-enter Japanese waters, Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Forces can order it to surface and identify itself, Hosoda said.

Defense officials confirmed that two Chinese military vessels a submarine rescue vessel and a towing vessel were spotted between Friday and Monday in waters 200 miles southeast of Japan's Tanegashima island.

Officials, however, refused to comment on a possible link between the two incidents.

Japan has been considering ways to boost its maritime defenses after a gunbattle with a suspected North Korean spy ship in December 2001.

In that incident, Japanese Coast Guard patrol boats sank the suspected spy ship off southwestern Japan. The patrol vessels returned fire only after the ship, ordered to stop, opened fire with a rocket and guns.

Territorial disputes have occasionally flared up between Japan and its neighbors, China and South Korea, including one that has deepened in recent months with Beijing due to competing claims over natural gas deposits in the East China Sea.

Top ruling party official Shinzo Abe called the infiltration a "very serious matter" and urged the military to use its abilities to determine where the submarine was from.

The Sakishima islands lie in waters between the northeastern tip of Taiwan and Okinawa's main island some 1,000 miles south of Tokyo.

If the submarine's origin is identified, Japan will take "necessary steps," Hosoda said, without elaborating.

'Neccessary Steps' ... sounds a little worrying to me.

[Kellalor]

If the submarine's origin is identified, Japan will take "necessary steps," Hosoda said, without elaborating.

'Neccessary Steps' ... sounds a little worrying to me.

Hey, if it's in their waters...

Remeber, Japan was a warrior nation until just after WWII.

[AztecInca]

This could just as easily lead to countless deaths.........

[zephyr]

Didn't the Japanese excuse themselves for what they did to the Chinese?