Getting Closer To War?
With the likelihood of a conflict over Taiwan increasing each year, Japan has recently been in a rush to prepare its defense capabilities. While these moves are interpreted as a sign of an impending crisis, most are addressing long-standing issues that had been neglected for years.
Nonetheless, the mere fact that Japan, a nation long reluctant towards military-related issues, is rapidly strengthening its capabilities is quite alarming. Especially, since Japan is not only procuring new weapons, but also boosting ammunition production and logistical capacities, indicating that the concern is real.
Further reinforcing such anxiety is the movement towards securing blood transfusion products.
Needless to say, any conflict will result in some casualties, making the stockpiling of blood for transfusions a critical task. However, Japan was also underprepared in this area, and finally starting to take necessary actions.
Unlike other military preparations, large-scale procurement of blood transfusion products is a particularly strong indicator of an impending war. As blood itself is a rather “fresh” medical product, it has a limited shelf life and cannot be stored for long periods.
If we take these short expiration dates into account, procuring such products in large quantity would lead to an ominous premonition.
For instance, before Russia’s full scale invasion of Ukraine, US intelligence revealed the stockpiling and transportation of blood transfusion products by the Russian military. This convinced some experts that an invasion was imminent, which it turned out to be true.
Historically, when a nation begins enhancing its rear support capabilities, including medical capacity, rather than front-line combat units, it is often a bad signal that war is near.
Based on these precedents, it is possible to speculate that the Japanese government is up to something, or at least has intel on a potential conflict within the next several years, thereby prompting an urgent need to secure blood products.
Whether an actual conflict will occur remains uncertain, but there is no doubt that the risk is increasing.
Relying On Donations
So, how is Japan accelerating its procurement?
The government aims to establish its own production capacity, and has invested a initial 5 million dollars to purchase the first batch of equipments. The plan is to gradually expand the production line, and acquire enough stockpiles for a conflict.
To ensure compatibility, the products will be based on Type O blood, which can be transfused to all other blood types.
In order to achieve some level of self-sufficiency, blood donations will be gathered from self-defense personnel, who are generally cooperative due to their job that requires devotion. It is rather common for the Japanese Red Cross to send blood donation buses to military bases, where troops donate blood during lunch breaks.
In any case, such an attempt will be a first for the Japanese military, suggesting the crisis level has risen another notch, bringing Japan closer to a quasi-wartime situation.
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