Comments on: Warmonger! Japan’s Rearming Plans Backfire

By: SKTJaF

SKTJaF — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 01:37:36 +0000

South Korea, you have a rather nasty neighbor. It is an isolationist, Orwellian dictatorship with an army about 3 times the size of yours. On the same street, you have an emerging Super-Power with an army that’s awfully similar to your bestest friend’s (Kim Jong Il), only a whole lot more modern and capable of long-term conflict. So, who is the biggest threat to your nation? Oh, right, the EVIL JAPANESE!

If you couldn’t tell, I was being sarcastic.

By: gman

gman — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 04:00:37 +0000

Its easy to say “get over it and get on with it” and I agree with that approach , but the reality is that theres a hell of a lot of people thaty just dont see it like that and maybe never will…their sense of history and pride in their nation just runs too deep.

So perhaps if we took another view.” Ok the wrong has been done so what can be done to correct it??”
Im from a country which has set historical precedents in returning lands and natural resources to the idegenous people even though the country was taken in the traditional manner of slash n burn then claimed with flag in the name of a king . But 20 years ago people laughed at the thought of trying to turning back the clock of history,it was a ridiculous claim by the natives…so most of middle class white people thought.
Its a messy process and a highly emotional and political issue but maybe these principles in a similar spirit could be applied to an trans-national situation……

By: winx23

winx23 — Wed, 01 Aug 2007 04:28:04 +0000

.. Yet another post of Japan vs. China and Korea. Sheesh. Is it just me or doesn’t it just seem that no one seems to get tired of repeating this subject? I feel that it’s about time to move on with life instead of lingering on the past. What happened in Japan during WWII certainly was a great atrocity, no doubt. However, there are countless other occurrences during history that has shaped history for better or for worse. How often have we heard about the massacres that happened in other parts of Asia such as Vietnam, Laos, or even India? There are plenty of past references for the record that deserve just as much attention. It just so happens that pro-China and pro-Korean bloggers happen to like identifying with the past as if it really happened to them. Come on now, seriously… this is the reality of war and the cost it pays to be on the winning/losing end. As brutal as this may sound, that’s life so get over it. Only when we learn from history itself can we prevent atrocities such as these from happening again. But bickering over it and pointing fingers at Japan just doesn’t seem to be the answer to your problems. So should Japan be able to posses an Army? Well, that all depends on who’s looking at it and from what perspective I suppose.

By: Jackson

Jackson — Thu, 19 Jul 2007 19:58:05 +0000

Japan has, like any other country, every right to posses a Normal Army.

Due to dangerous neighbors such as North Korea, Russia and Imperialistic China, this becomes very important.

PS: many countries are genderless such as Japan. So refering to it as “she” is incorrect, because it has no gender. There are also many countries which are officially a “fatherland”.

By: gman

gman — Thu, 21 Jun 2007 00:54:17 +0000

thanks sotei-guy….looked him up….check it here….a good bunch of comments too

http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/06/11/1805/

By: Sotei-guy

Sotei-guy — Thu, 14 Jun 2007 00:16:26 +0000

thankfully not all Americans are warmongers like Crimson and Jon, pushing for more military strength in the world. Has anyone seen what this guy Steven Leeper is doing? I was a little taken aback at first, but the more I think about it, the more I think it is a great idea. Taking the emotion out of Hiroshima is no easy task but if he can spread the word about daikyujo to people who will listen then he’s worth his weight in gold. Maybe he should talk to gman first to make sure it doesn’t turn into propaganda.

By: Jon

Jon — Mon, 11 Jun 2007 20:41:55 +0000

Yes, the American military presence in Japan adds billions of dollars to the effective budget of the Japanese military for their defense and Japanese people should realize that.

However, the American forces in Japan and the billions of dollars in material and expense for those forces, are not just for Japan. It may actually really be a small percentage devoted to Japan interms of defense. The American forces are in Japan to support the American military presence in South Korea as well as potential support in places like Taiwan and the Phillipines as well as the rest of the East Asian region.

By: jamasaru

jamasaru — Thu, 07 Jun 2007 11:18:06 +0000

One interesting side topic about Japan’s defense is America’s promise of protection. Not just how much material/troops/bases America has in Japan (ready to defend it) but also how much Japan finances that. Most Japanese don’t LIKE the American presence and certainly not the payments to America.. but those payments are in billions per year.. are they counted in Japan’s SDF budget? I’m not trying to debate the whole American military presence as a good or bad thing, but just to compare to the military spending and buildup in Korea and China (and Taiwan).. maybe Japan isn’t as underpowered as it seems if you count the Japanese financing of American military and that actual military presence in Japan itself.

By: gman

gman — Thu, 07 Jun 2007 05:15:36 +0000

Crimson …what Im talking about is developing the ability to critically analyse the facts layed before you and weighing them up against what you actually see in the world around you and . Just because its in writing it doesnt make it true. Everything can be made to sound true with careful planning or words. So you have to sift thru the facts , reducing each word to get to the real meaning.

This all depends on your initial standpoint and framework of reference with which you filter out info as truth or just assumption.

At the end of this process you will come to realise that even truth itself is relative and that there are no absolutes in the world as regards ideas (discount concrete physical objects)
reality means that pure ideals do not really plan out as we hope and the result is a compromise….

Im not trying to belittle you in anyway but what I see is an intelligent guy heavily influenced by a certain type of thinking which is not comprehensive and allowing for more possibilities other than what has been given you. Its not your fault , so keep pushing the barriers of understanding. It usually requires is exposing yourself to environments or more books on different ideas which hold a different set of core values as you do your self….If you lived with eskimos youd start to learn that whale meat is damn good!… but the same shift in consciousness can happen closer to home if your curiousity allows it.

By: Smoke-ring A-ring

Smoke-ring A-ring — Thu, 07 Jun 2007 04:55:16 +0000

This is turning out to be a really good debate.

Still, I agree with gman in certain respects. The current US administration shows nothing but contempt for the founding principles of the constitution and continues to do so without hindrance. We have seen that there is little point of a constitution existing if the executive side can dismantle any checks and balances in place except for fomenting a nationalistic brain-dead American populace with “we love freedom and the constitution and they hate our freedom” type one-liners, a perfect example of propaganda.