Posted on 09/27/2009 11:10:34 AM PDT by Orange1998
For over 50 years, one party ruled Japan virtually uninterrupted. During that time, Japan remained a loyal ally and supporter of U.S. policy. This month, a historic event took place.
Japan has new leadership. In a landslide victory, a new party has done the seemingly impossible. A new freshman class of leaders now governs the Land of the Rising Sun. The effects are already rippling across the Pacific toward America.
Yukio Hatoyama is Japan’s new leader. He officially took office last Wednesday, and he is already threatening to split with the United States.
Hatoyama blames America for the global economic crisis and says that the U.S. is responsible for “the destruction of human dignity.” He campaigned on protecting traditional Japanese economic activities and reducing U.S.-led globalization.
During the run-up to the election, Hatoyama’s finance minister told the bbc he was worried about the future value of the dollar, and that if his party were elected in the upcoming national elections, it would refuse to purchase any more U.S. treasuries unless they were denominated in Japanese yen.
Japan is the world’s second-largest economy. It is also America’s second-most-important creditor. The U.S. government owes Japan over $724 billion! The only nation America owes more money to is China ($800 billion). The U.S. also imports $140 billion worth of goods from Japan each year.
If Japan were to follow through with its threat to only lend in yen, the dollar would probably fall hard. What would that mean? America gets more expensive consumer goods, higher unemployment, and currency inflation. If other nations like China follow suit, we would be looking at a currency crisis—Zimbabwe-style.
The new government in Japan has also pledged to diversify its foreign currency reserves away from the dollar. This means that at some point, it will need to dramatically reduce how much money it lends to America. America is planning to borrow record amounts over the next couple of years, so something isn’t adding up here. Where will the money come from?
“The financial crisis has suggested to many that the era of U.S. unilateralism may come to an end,” Hatoyama wrote in an August 26 New York Times article titled “A New Path for Japan.” “It has also raised doubts about the permanence of the dollar as the key global currency.”
But Hatoyama isn’t just charting a separate economic course for Japan. His campaign also promised a more “independent” foreign policy from Washington, and closer relations with Japan’s Asian neighbors.
More alarming for American policymakers, Hatoyama has authorized a wide-ranging review of the U.S. military presence on Japanese soil. He is reexamining the agreement that permits U.S. warships to dock at Japanese ports, and has said Japan should take a second look at why it is spending billions to house and transfer U.S. troops between its islands. Hatoyama has also moved to quickly end Japan’s fueling support for the U.S. naval anti-terrorism efforts in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
On Wednesday, an even bigger torpedo hit. Both U.S. and Japanese officials confirmed that discussions were underway to remove all U.S. fighter aircraft from Japan.
So many alarm bells have been clanging in Washington that the Australian reports the U.S. administration has requested “immediate clarifying discussions” on just how far Japan wants to take the disengagement. But there may not be too much America can do if Japan is intent on reducing America’s presence in Japanese territory. Regarding the U.S.-Japan security relationship, Richard Armitage, former U.S. deputy secretary of state, said: “If the government of Japan asked us to change things, we’d argue, we’d kick and scream, but ultimately we’d have to do it.”
excerpt.....
On Wednesday, an even bigger torpedo hit. Both U.S. and Japanese officials confirmed that discussions were underway to remove all U.S. fighter aircraft from Japan.
Then we pull our guys out of S. Korea. The South Koreans wanted out guys out only three years ago.
Let’s give everyone what they want.... good and hard. They want “Yankee go home!”? Then let’s go home.
And when the turds hit the turbine, let’s try not to be too smug on the phone when they call for help and we offer our most sincere condolences.
Can’t say that I blame them.
isolationism.....
Well, I’m sure the Japanese know that if our currency goes down hard, then they’re going to sell a lot less of their stuff here. Which is going to hurt them too. The truth is that the Global economy is one big fantasy at this point: countries export to us at a loss to pretend to have rapid economic growth and we pretend to pay them.
There’s absolutely no question that the US can’t go on spending the way it has been the last 20 years. Also no question that many Japanese resent Japanese home base support of US troops there. I have NO DOUBT that leftists of every stripe in Japan want the troops gone —heck, sometimes I feel the same way
But here is where reality intrudes; there’s NK, and there’s China, and SORRY, but there is NO WAY they could get along with no US military presence there.
Let’s say Japan did all it’s own defending —would that please China? NK? SK? All the other asians?
Absolutely not.
Japan might need nukes and aircraft carriers, but they have to do everything they can from panicking the rest of Asia, and this is not the way to accomplish that.
You can draw some similarities between what sank the AMERICA and what's sinking our nation. In 1989 the Rockefeller or Liberal wing of the GOP took over and the GOP never fully recovered. The Rockies were torchbearers of the DEMs liberal agenda. By early 1993 when Bill Clinton took office our military was already on a severe downturn especially the Navy. This was not proposed by Clinton. This was done under Bush sr, Sec of Defense Cheney, and a DEM congress. The later elected GOP so called majority under Clinton's last two years did absolutely nothing to change course either. The Liberalization of the GOP was complete.
When GW Bush was elected he too held steady to the courses set by his Poppy and Clinton on many issues including military strength. Bush took us to two wars with Clinton's 1996 End Troop Strength Levels and passed up a golden opportunity to turn things around military wise. In as much as the GOP congress and Bush JR did nothing to stop Poppy and Clinton's military the GOP today is still an enabler to the DEMs policies. No better example than the turncoats who voted with Barney Frank on bank bailouts.
USS AMERICA as a nation is indeed being sank and it's time to relieve it's Commanding Officer and all other officers responsible of their duties for dereliction of duties.
Nice to see that you have channeled the spirit of Woodrow Wilson and Harry Truman. Bringing "democracy" (note: we are NOT a democracy) to folks who neither want it or need it costs us billions and wastes lives and manpower.
So, where should we strike next? Darfur? Mogadishu (OOOPS! Tried that already? Tehran?
I don't see "Americanism" as a religion to be spread. We have our own unique history and heritage to protect, NOT project.
And that thinking should be towards preventing the emergence of another Imperial dynasty, be it Japanese, Chinese, or any other dark force. And that goes for everywhere else in the world as well.
Right now, we are doing a pee-poor job of it, and that is to our own detriment. The left in this country is largely responsible for this, and should be made to answer for this traitorous behavior.
We've gone from being a beacon of hope for all the world, to being a punching bag, as the tyrants in this world, no longer fearful of being obliterated spread their evil throughout the world unimpeded
There WAS a landslide in the recent election, but that was much more a rejection of the LDP than it was an embrace of lefty ways. Pump up the economy by building bullet train lines to nowhere? Oh, sure..! Suuuuuure...!
Yeah, now that lefties are in power, J women will all want to have 5 kids, too, uh-huh...
The Japanese will now simply try to get the maximum protection with maximal fuss, noise, and maybe some cuts in funding for support for US bases. Banish all US fighters literally while NK missles overfly their islands...? Yeah, right...
I do think Japan needs to take a more active, pan-asian role, but when the Japanese do, you can expect a hundred panicky accusations of, “Nanking re-run”...
The main thing for us is to quit this crazy spending and reliance on Japanese (and PRC) goodwill to subsidize our inability to focus on what is truly necessary.
Sounds like the old Yakov Smirnoff joke " In russia, we pretend to work, and they pretent to pay us"
No doubt the new government will bankrupt Japan. But back here in the US of A, George Bush did a good job of rapidly increasing government spending during his 8 years in office. His administration started the Wall Street bailout, transferring hundreds of millions to companies, and nobody knows to which companies. Bush is not a leftist, but then he isn't a conservative either. The Bushes are from the big-government wing of the Republican Party. With people like that in the Republican Party, who needs leftists to bankrupt the nation?
I never said a thing about "democracy". I wasn't "channeling" the spirit of woodrow Wilson or Truman either. I was talking about "Freedom", and the God given RIGHT for all mankind to have it.
I've never met any "folks" who don't want it, and as far as it's cost, both monetary and lives, that is the price of freedom, and why it is so precious. But we either fight for it and cherish it and protect it, or we loose it, and it's far easier lost than won.
If you think freedom isn't worth the price we pay for it, just wait till you see what tyranny costs, both the monetary cost and in blood. Unlike freedom however, you won't be able to give it up.
If he barely slipped in he is likely a one-termer especially with that kooky wife of his who says she met Tom Cruise in an earlier life.
First, no. Second, Japan would just lend to Asian countries in Yen instead of the US, its savings still go out into the world savings pool, and the US borrows still in dollars from Taiwan, China, etc.
Second, if the Yen goes to 50 you can put an "out of business" sign on the entire country, which can barely compete with China and the Tigers with the yen as strong as it already is.
Now, if instead of lending to the world at 0, Japan wants to actually consume its output, that would be a different story. If Japan wants to shift to a more consumer society, great, go for it. But the idea that anyone is beholden to savers who charge 0 is ridiculous on its face.
Until there is enough economic growth in Japan that their own interest rates rise above zero, all this loose talk is just so much ignorant strutting by socialist idiots who have no idea how the economy works.
Isn’t it great the rest of the world loves us again after 8 years of Bush? /s
That is how things were working between the PRC and Japan earlier this year. It remains to be seen what the new ruling party does with this relationship. If they deepen it, I quite suspect that you’re right and we’re in for a very rough ride economically when the PRC and Japan decide to tag-team their demands for yield on their Treasury purchases.
Well said.
"Take up the White Man's burden-- Send forth the best ye breed-- Go bind your sons to exile To serve your captives' need; To wait in heavy harness, On fluttered folk and wild-- Your new-caught, sullen peoples, Half-devil and half-child. Take up the White Man's burden-- In patience to abide, To veil the threat of terror And check the show of pride; By open speech and simple, An hundred times made plain To seek another's profit, And work another's gain." ----Kipling
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