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Hatoyama's Fantasy Island - Japan's leader-in-waiting has a delusional vision for his country and...
Forbes.com ^ | 08.30.09 | Tim Kelly

Posted on 08/31/2009 5:46:01 PM PDT by neverdem

Japan's leader-in-waiting has a delusional vision for his country and its relationship with the rest of Asia.

Yukio Hatoyama dreams of an Asian union, a utopia free of rapacious American capitalism, a region bound together by fraternity and a common currency. Were Hatoyama a soapbox orator his fantasizing could be dismissed as twaddle, but he isn't. He's about to become the next prime minister of the world's No. 2 economy, following his party's victory Sunday in a general election.

In an op-ed piece, "A New Path for Japan," that ran in The New York Times recently, the leader-in-waiting revealed his vision of Asia's future, one that has Japan hand-in-hand with China at its center as American economic and military power wanes. He describes his country as being "buffeted by the winds of market fundamentalism," a nation "damaged" by an unfettered global economy. There is, Hatoyama boldly states, "danger inherent in freedom," although he doesn't specify what variety of liberty he finds most hazardous.

There's no suggestion he would want to go as far as rounding up Japan's beleaguered free marketeers and locking them up and throwing away the key, but his public musings suggest Japan is in for a heavy bout of re-regulation that will swaddle the unviable and stymie the fit. Hatoyama is right when he notes the relative decline of America vis-à-vis China, but chooses to overlook the more precipitous decline in Japan's power and influence. As the rest of the world economy grew over the past decade and a half, Japan's stood still, its corporations hobbled by the kind of regulation and bureaucracy seemingly advocated by Hatoyama's brand of economic nationalism.

He also ignores an uncomfortable truth: As an export junky unable to kick-start its domestic economy, Japan relies on other nations keeping their markets free to...

(Excerpt) Read more at forbes.com ...


TOPICS: Editorial; Foreign Affairs; Japan; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: china; northkorea; southkorea; taiwan
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1 posted on 08/31/2009 5:46:01 PM PDT by neverdem
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To: neverdem

“Hatoyama dreams of an Asian union, a utopia free of rapacious American capitalism, a region bound together by fraternity and a common currency.”

They tried this before, as the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere. It didn’t work out so well.


2 posted on 08/31/2009 5:50:44 PM PDT by atomic conspiracy (Victory in Iraq: Worst defeat for activist media since Goebbels shot himself.)
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To: neverdem

Japan Committing Economic Harakiri


3 posted on 08/31/2009 5:51:02 PM PDT by HiTech RedNeck (Proud Sarah-Bot.)
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To: neverdem
He's about to become the next prime minister of what will have been the world's No. 2 economy
4 posted on 08/31/2009 5:51:25 PM PDT by sionnsar (IranAzadi|5yst3m 0wn3d-it's N0t Y0ur5:SONY|Remember Neda Agha-Soltan|TV--it's NOT news you can trust)
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To: neverdem; Fred Nerks
Yukio Hatoyama dreams of an Asian union, a utopia free of rapacious American capitalism, a region bound together by fraternity and a common currency>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Hatoyama is not the first one to have such dreams. Back in 1928 Tojo and his boys thought much the same thing and the Japanese government established the Asian Co-prosperity Sphere Policy ( Translation, massive Japanese immigration to Manchuria and a subsequent invasion in 1931-1932).It was based on exactly the same Utopian hoo haw.

China will devour Japan if this will be Japan's new policy.

5 posted on 08/31/2009 5:52:58 PM PDT by Candor7 (The weapons of choice against fascism are ridicule ,derision ,trutth. (member NRA)
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To: Candor7

and China has done what by embracing capitalism ?


6 posted on 08/31/2009 5:56:43 PM PDT by Foolsgold ("We live in the greatest country in the world and I am going to change it" Barry O'boomarang 2008)
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To: neverdem

I dropped Forbes as one of their long time investing columnist is one of O’s closet financial advisers and early backers. Forbes publishing this guy’s column helped him become rich so he could fund O’s early campaign. Thanks Forbes.


7 posted on 08/31/2009 5:57:26 PM PDT by Frantzie (Lou Dobbs & Glenn Beck- American Heroes! Bill O'Reilly = Liar)
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To: Candor7
China will devour Japan if this will be Japan's new policy.

If that happens within the next three years, do you think the US would have Japan's back?

8 posted on 08/31/2009 5:58:13 PM PDT by HusbandMan
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To: neverdem

Duh, they guy’s name in English is “pigeon mountain.”


9 posted on 08/31/2009 6:02:28 PM PDT by struggle ((The struggle continues))
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To: atomic conspiracy
They tried this before, as the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere. It didn’t work out so well.

Ding, ding, you get the cigar.

10 posted on 08/31/2009 6:06:18 PM PDT by SampleMan (Socialism enslaves you & kills your soul.)
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To: Frantzie
Which guy is that? I and a good friend both noticed the quality of Forbes dropping off substantially a number of years ago... later I read that the chief editor had died at about the same time we noticed the quality drop.

They haven't been able to replace that chief editor with anyone as good.

11 posted on 08/31/2009 6:18:51 PM PDT by ikka (Brother, you asked for it!)
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To: neverdem

His plan is that China will support Japan financially, while the USA supports Japan militarily —I wonder if the Chinese are so enthusiastic about this arrangement...?

Feelings of Asian UNITY..? Hhahahah...! Where does that feeling prevail......? Guam, Disneyland, and in the USA (where many racial Asians do not speak the language, or even have not been there) would be my guesses —freaky places that don’t really matter in Asia, in other words...

The only unusual feature of Hatoyama (who went to Stanford) is that he clearly articulates actual POLICY —for LDP guys it’s all about running their mouths maximally, while making no specific committments....

But however fresh and new, who CARES how clearly Hatoyama elucidates policy and ideology...?

1. It’s nuts (energize the economy by socializing it)

2. It’s a little contradictory (bring China closer, keep the USA close)

2. Bureaucrats won’t permit him to actually DO anything

The first two will grab American attention, but in fact #3 is the most important...


12 posted on 08/31/2009 7:43:03 PM PDT by gaijin
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To: neverdem
For a little while it looked like Japan would contain China.

A bulwark has just given way. The Asian markets will tank eventually giving another death blow to the markets.

Japan and the US turning communist and away from free market capitalism. Interesting times.

13 posted on 08/31/2009 7:43:57 PM PDT by MattinNJ (DeMint/Palin 2012)
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To: neverdem
the leader-in-waiting revealed his vision of Asia's future, one that has Japan hand-in-hand with China at its center

That's pretty much how it turns out. Only there is a lot of Chinese payback waiting for the Japanese under a communist puppet regime. You'd think they'd have learned about that sort of thing by now.

14 posted on 08/31/2009 7:47:37 PM PDT by John Titor
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To: neverdem

Why are all the world leaders being lifted up and bred into wanting to bend over and turn their sovereignty over to some globalist idea?


15 posted on 08/31/2009 7:55:34 PM PDT by PureSolace (Trust in God)
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To: neverdem

Hope ‘n’ Change?


16 posted on 08/31/2009 8:10:42 PM PDT by Some Fat Guy in L.A. (Nope. Not gonna do it.)
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To: HiTech RedNeck

A Japanese Obama. Who’d have thought?


17 posted on 08/31/2009 8:11:43 PM PDT by Rebelbase
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To: atomic conspiracy

18 posted on 08/31/2009 8:13:38 PM PDT by Rebelbase
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To: neverdem; All

He (the new DP of Japan leader) will take the already reeling economy of Japan and make everyone of its ailments worse, while doing so with solutions that will be promoted as saving it. When he fails, like any American liberal, he will blame others for preventing him from going far enough in his “reforms”.


19 posted on 08/31/2009 8:14:21 PM PDT by Wuli
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To: atomic conspiracy

I think the little Nippon in the middle has a 9mm in his pocket.


20 posted on 08/31/2009 8:15:48 PM PDT by Rebelbase
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