Posted on 02/23/2005 3:26:11 PM PST by Cornpone
Their military has a lot of work to do.
China's upset? Tough. Shoulda done something about North Korea like we asked.
Does this mean they will seek out "gays" for their navy? /sarcasm
I think that a lot of the heavy lifting will have to be done at the top first: revision of Article 9, more funding for the military, and giving moving Defense into its own ministry instead of being an agency.
The good news is that I think that revision of Article 9 is very likely and Defense is likely to get its own ministry. But the funding, I think, should be above the levels proposed currently.
Or they'll have their spies
do a hit on one of their
beloved princesses . . .
BullS...on the Princess, she was done in by overweaning stupidity of her choice friends. Get real.
Screw that. Stick with Australia as the Britain of the Far East--they're used to the rule of the law, and not feudalism or imperialism (in economic OR military terms). If "the Japan that can say No" is reinvigorated militarily, we have only ourselves to blame when they start tossing their weight around again.
Good point.
Japanese xenophobia will only allow it to rise economicaly. And not very far at that.
The Japanese are racist. No doubt about that. But xenophobes? I sincerely doubt that.
When was the last time you were there?
1964
You're right, racistwas the word I shoul have used.
You're right, racist was the word I should have used.
The Japanese are probably more xenophobic than they are racist. I've been living in Japan for 2 years- not in a major city- in real Japan. As a foreigner in Japan, you aren't from America, the UK, Peru, or Algeria, you are from 'gaikoku', meaning 'the outside'. You are either Japanese, or you aren't. Ethnic Koreans who've been living here for generations and are by all means Japanese lack the right to vote. Call that racist, but I think there is underlying xenophobia in that policy. The Japanese appear to be very open to the 'outside' the way they imitate things- fashion, music, lifestyles- but essentially all thay are doing is adopting things they lack the insight to come up with on their own and making those things 'Japanese'. It's very superficial.
Don't get me wrong, not all Japanese are racist xenophobes. But there is definitly the feeling among them that they are part of something special that is not to be intruded upon by outsiders. "We Japanese all *this*, We Japanese all *that*..." I hear it daily. I've even heard "foreigners can't eat rice everyday like the Japanese because we Japanese have special intestines". I've heard that more than once.
it's true but also white gaijin are kindof respected out of insecurity as much as out of dislike. japan has a very intriguing history. any nation that only opend up to outside in the late 19th century is bound to harnass strange ideas of foreigners. japanese respect white western culture in a curious way and us to them in a healthy way. it's a good relationship.
One question. Assuming Japan starts feeling like they can "start tossing their weight around again," just where would they toss that weight to? Korea? I doubt they'd trade Pyongyang and Seoul for Tokyo. China? Yeah, right. That leaves the Philippines and Australia, and all the Japanese have to do is look at Hiroshima and Nagasaki to see what they'd get for screwing around that far south again.
How the hell would I know what a reinvigorated Japanese militarism would do? Maybe Taiwan! That was a Japanese possession. So were the northern islands of Japan, which the Russians still haven't returned. Or maybe they'd just take Guam or Saipan or Hawaii, which they own most of already?!?!?
I doubt they'd be particularly rational about it. From what I've seen, most Asian governments with a substantial military to toss around aren't particularly so.
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