Tokyo, June 8.– It is somehow fitting in a country known for longevity that one of Japan's most prominent former leaders reached 100 years of age last May. 

As a World War II naval officer, Yasuhiro Nakasone witnessed the depths of his country's utter defeat and devastation. Four decades later he presided over Japan in the 1980s at the pinnacle of its economic success. In recent years, he has lobbied for revision of the war-renouncing, U.S.-drafted Constitution, a longtime cause that neither he nor any successor has achieved to date.

NATO is about to significantly increase its combat capacity along the border with Russia. By 2020, 30 battalions of land forces, 30 combat ships and 30 squadrons of aircraft must be on site within 30 days to strengthen the troops already in Poland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. In terms of land forces alone, this means 18 to 30,000 men.

 Brussels, June 6.– Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg expects NATO Ministers of Defense to approve the 'Nato readiness initiative' initiated by America tomorrow (literally: readiness initiative). From the outset, it was the intention that the troops that are more or less semipermanent along the eastern NATO border, can quickly help in case of emergency.

As far as the NATO headquarters are concerned, two other decisions are included: a faster decision-making structure and greater mobility, especially for land forces and their equipment.