Friday, January 26, 2007
Red sun rising?
If Japan's population were growing, rather than shrinking, this shift in national attitude might be something to worry about:
The Japanese prime minister has pledged to create a "new national identity", saying Japan needs to beef up its role in international security and shake off the legacy of its defeat in the second world war.
Shinzo Abe said he would push through a bill on a national referendum by June to rewrite the country's pacifist constitution.
"Now is the time for us to boldly revise this post-war regime and make a new start," he said in parliament on Friday.
"It is our mission to create a beautiful Japan that will be able to withstand the challenges of the next 50 or 100 years."
In its morning email, Stratfor observed that Abe's public support as measured by opinion surveys has fallen from more than 70% when he took over in the fall to around 40% now, and that this "national identity" initiative is part of his strategy for rebuilding his popularity. If his politician's sense of the zeitgeist is on target then perhaps the appetite of the Japanese public for more military capability is even greater today than it was before Prime Minister Koizumi sent Japanese troops to Iraq.
4 Comments:
By 
D.E. Cloutier, at
Fri Jan 26, 02:17:00 PM:
Japanese officials often place the Japanese flag in an inconspicuous spot at government buildings in the country. Those officials don't put the flag in a prominent location for a reason. They don't want encourage Japanese nationalism and militarism. The officials understand the dangers.
Right now Japan stands as a shining example of a peaceful, highly successful nation. We don't need an arms race in East Asia.
The world needs to move forward, not backward.
By 
, at
Fri Jan 26, 03:33:00 PM:
Does Kim Jong-Il read this blog? If he understood that message, I think the situation would be better.
I don't blame the Japanese alive today for Pearl Harbor, the Rape of Nanking, the Bataan Death March or Kamikaze attacks, but they would be remiss in not noticing the existential threat to their nation, and not protecting the thing of value that they have built since the end of WWII.
-David
By , at
Sat Jan 27, 03:32:00 PM:
When all those who were condeming us for HIRSHORSHIMA and NAGASAKI should rememeber PEARL HARBOR,THE BATAAN DEATH MARCH,THE RAPE ON NANKING and the BALLOON BOMB that landed in OREGON and cuase the death of a family
By , at
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