Japanese Prime Minister pushes for Collective Self Defense

[Farnan]

http://www.economist.com/news/leader...ism-collective

A significant move on Japanese Foreign Policy. Though Japan has deployed troops before, including a contingent to Iraq, they have been non-combat troops. Now this, combined with the naval base in Dijibouti signals a more militarily active country. What does this mean for Asia and the Pacific?

[hellheaven1987]

? I thought that is what US wants - not just Japan but every of its allies, so those allies can act as glorious organic meat shield to distract enemy fire while US SPECIAL FORCE would do the easy operations.

Just like what dirty British planned during WWII.

[Farnan]

? I thought that is what US wants - not just Japan but every of its allies, so those allies can act as glorious organic meat shield to distract enemy fire while US SPECIAL FORCE would do the easy operations.

Just like what dirty British planned during WWII.

What the are you talking about?

[Denny Crane!]

I have no idea what hellheaven is talking about....I suspect it was an attempt at a joke but I'm not getting it.

It was only a matter of time, there has been sufficient space from World War 2 to get over all of that guilt and thinking they are safe enough from foreign criticism to do so. Mix that with disputed islands, a more belligerent China and a populist PM and this policy arrives.

[fkizz]

Next time without italy, isnt it a joke some japanese say?

[Condottiere 40K]

Italy is a part of the Greater West Eurasian Co Prosperity Sphere.

[Col. Tartleton]

When America invades Japan I'm going to Harajuku to up the hipsters and pay my respects to God Emperor Meiji.

[Mayer]

What the are you talking about?

using japanese forces for the dirty work around the globe while the USA won't have to expose its soldiers to dangerous situations

[Farnan]

using japanese forces for the dirty work around the globe while the USA won't have to expose its soldiers to dangerous situations

Where in history would lead you to make this assumption? Don't include times when we supported nations dealing with internal issues (that's a whole different category)

Rolling wave: I don't believe a people are inherently evil. Not even the Alsatians are irredeemable (that's a joke in case you feel like reporting)

[RollingWave]

Oh yes lets release a proven evil to deal with a perceived one.

FWIW, this is actually very unpopular in Japan. But since Japan is still a feudal society where all but 2 PM in it's entire history were direct decedents of politicians who were decedents of samurai class (as well as the majority of their parliament members.)

[Love Mountain]

But since Japan is still a feudal society where all but 2 PM in it's entire history were direct decedents of politicians who were decedents of samurai class (as well as the majority of their parliament members.)

This sounds like a silly myth.

[RollingWave]

This sounds like a silly myth.

Exaggerated to an extend, but lets just use all the living Japanese PM to make a point .

Abe: grandson of another PM
Noda : no political background
Kan : grand father was a small time politician, from a Gozuku (essentially the same thing as Samurais)
Hatoyama : *4th* generation politician from a samurai family.
Aso : he is related to *3* previous PM either directly or through his wife, oh he's also related to the imperial family.
Fukuda : son of PM from major samurai family.
Koizumi : 3rd generation politician, to be fair, I can not trace his great great grandfather to a samurai family. woopie.
Mori : 2nd generation politician, tracable to samurai families
Murayama : oh ok, I missed this guy, the one PM that dared to say that WW2 was a huge mistake was surprisingly not from a prominent family! (shocker!)
Hata : son of a parliament member, not obviously from samurai familes.
Hosokawa : lol, head of a Hosokawa clan, need I say more? this guy's basically royal

So out of these 12 guys, 2 guys were not obvious 2nd or more generation politician, 4 of them had father or grandfathers who directly held the same position. how's that not essentially a feudal class?

[Denny Crane!]

Exaggerated to an extend, but lets just use all the living Japanese PM to make a point .

Abe: grandson of another PM
Noda : no political background
Kan : grand father was a small time politician, from a Gozuku (essentially the same thing as Samurais)
Hatoyama : *4th* generation politician from a samurai family.
Aso : he is related to *3* previous PM either directly or through his wife, oh he's also related to the imperial family.
Fukuda : son of PM from major samurai family.
Koizumi : 3rd generation politician, to be fair, I can not trace his great great grandfather to a samurai family. woopie.
Mori : 2nd generation politician, tracable to samurai families
Murayama : oh ok, I missed this guy, the one PM that dared to say that WW2 was a huge mistake was surprisingly not from a prominent family! (shocker!)
Hata : son of a parliament member, not obviously from samurai familes.
Hosokawa : lol, head of a Hosokawa clan, need I say more? this guy's basically royal

So out of these 12 guys, 2 guys were not obvious 2nd or more generation politician, 4 of them had father or grandfathers who directly held the same position. how's that not essentially a feudal class?

Next you are going to tell me that the UK is not a good democracy because of House of Lords and because we have Eton etc.

Or alternatively it turns out that Japan is basically the same as a lot of other western countries with an entrenched elite.

[hellheaven1987]

Oh yes lets release a proven evil to deal with a perceived one.

Perceived one? Who is that? C-Canada?

[Erwin Rommel]

Perceived one? Who is that? C-Canada?

You need to read more from the Der Sturmer Global Times.

[Karnil Vark Khaitan]

Perceived one? Who is that? C-Canada?

I knew there were some trouble with those shifty eyed canadian

all that "oh Im sorry buddy!" and "Sorry" and "sorry"

OT. let them have their on army every country got that now in this days.

[hellheaven1987]

OT. let them have their on army every country got that now in this days.

I try to organize a Canadian deck in WG: Airland Battle and it is impossible without human wave...

China is trying to grow larger and takes more and more bold actions in the Sea of Japan. That's why Japan is trying to rebuild their army, and maybe they will drop the farce that is called Japanese self-defense forces.

B-but Chinese said their expansion is peaceful just like old days!!!

[Phier]

Not sure my grandfather approves, but the closest he got to Japan was Iwo Jima.

Do any other Asian nations actually like Japan? This is one of those things which sounds ok on paper, and perhaps would be for the best, but WWIII is suppose to start in the middle east not Asia. Perhaps a Asian arms/armament race is inevitable anyways.

[Condottiere 40K]

Political dynasties exist, but seem less prominent because they are restrained by competing families and the need to form a consensus.

[Roma_Victrix]

Japan in 2014 isn't exactly the same Japan of 1941 that bombed Pearl Harbor. Japan is a well-integrated and respected member of the international community. WWII is ancient history. Yes, a lot of ultra-nationalist, ultraconservative Japanese are in the wrong for downplaying WWII-era issues like Korean comfort women and the Rape of Nanjing, in their public statements and even school textbooks. However, I think most Japanese are liberal, modern-minded folk who, for an East Asian country, have had quite a Western-like mentality for a long time, if not going back to the days of the Meiji Period when they modernized Japan along Western standards.

A few decades from now, on the hundredth anniversary of WWII, let's hope Japan is fully capable of defending itself and isn't feared irrationally by its neighbors as the awful imperial threat it once was in another age.