JAPAN NEWS AND DISCUSSION
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YGHome
Until when will Ireland be ruled from London?
Posted in: New Northern Ireland pact elusive, dashing PM's hopes
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YGHome
Here is my rebuttal. I respect the need to stay on topic very much, but my answer should be as complete as tkoind2's.
The aspects touched in tkoind2's post are 1) Saving effort from Japan by relying on American protection, with this also including the fact that most Japanese youth are not required to serve in the army, and the fact that there is a lesser need to spend on military technology. 2) The possibility to keep the pacifist constitution. 3) The economic stimulus, especially in peripheral areas 4) Various positive functions that are not related to military confrontations 5) Thwarting aggressive conflicts with Russia, China and North Korea. To these five aspects I would like to add 6) The national dignity of Japan and her people.
I will start with aspect 5, because this is crux of the whole issue. Today, speaking about a threat to Japan from China is ridiculous, as the friendship between the two countries is growing stronger from day to day. Yes, there is a territorial dispute with Russia, which is minor. As regards the threat from North Korea, there is a vicious loop here: The American bases are there to (seemingly) address the threat, but the threat is also CREATED because of the American presence: This loop will disperse once Japan dissociates itself from the project of changing the regime in North Korea. I return now to aspect 1: With the correct assessment of the threats, the military effort required from Japan is not greater than what is required from a large country in Western Europe. Aspect 2: The support of the American presence, which does not symbolize peace, makes the pacifist constitution void anyway. Aspect 3: Japan should not need this kind of stimulus: Instead of injecting economic demands via a foreign military presence, it is possible to inject such demands using other methods. Aspect 4: Together, Japan plus the other Asian countries form a mighty bloc, which can help itself in such matters. Finally, I conclude with aspect 6: It is contrary to the national dignity of Japan to be dependent on a foreign force.
Posted in: Hatoyama promises once again to settle U.S. base dispute by May
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YGHome
tkoind2, thank you for your elaborate and serious reply. I would be glad to provide my rebuttal. However, this would expand the scope of the discussion. Moderator, may that be okay?
Moderator: As long as you stay on topic.
Posted in: Hatoyama promises once again to settle U.S. base dispute by May
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YGHome
The existence of American bases on Japanese soil is not a cornerstone of peace. Quite the contrary: It is a source of danger. And it is also a nuisance.
Posted in: Hatoyama promises once again to settle U.S. base dispute by May
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YGHome
I disagree to your statement, as well as to its language.
Posted in: N Korea, S Korea exchange fire near disputed border
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YGHome
Coexistence and cooperation between the two parts of Korea are needed.
Posted in: N Korea resumes firing artillery amid tension
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YGHome
A system which is driven by the morbid insatiable urge of a few individuals to accumulate money cannot address the needs of mankind.
Posted in: Leftists slam capitalism at Social Forum in Brazil
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YGHome
In response to SuperLib's request, I now explain further what I mean: In many confrontations when there is an aggressive/criminal side and a non-aggressive side, the aggressive side, which initiates the confrontation, tries to attribute this confrontation to the other side in a manner that cannot make any sense. The absurd "if talk", with the void "if", is a typical example.
The question of who is the aggressor should be addressed in earnest. The North proposed replacing the armistice agreement with a peace treaty, but was dismissed. The North keeps saying that they are willing to give up their nukes in the framework of a comprehensive move which will put an end to all hostility, but is being rebuffed. The North says all the time that they want reunification on a federal basis, by implementing the joint declaration reached during the term of Kim Dae Jung, but is being ignored. On the other hand the South has harassed fishing boats of the North, and then went on to initiate maritime clashes near the shores of the North. This is the picture, as regards the aforementioned question.
Posted in: N Korea threatens war after South's strike warning
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YGHome
South Korea warned of launching a pre-emptive strike if the North was preparing a nuclear attack. The "if talk" is the typical talk of a Mafioso. The thug doesn't say "I am going to smash you because I want to". He would rather say "If you misbehave than I am going to smash you now". The South Korean government is a government of thugs and warmongers. The North is left with no choice but to try and respond somehow, and their response is very reasonable.
Posted in: N Korea threatens war after South's strike warning
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YGHome
On the one hand a rich country with a very powerful economy. On the other hand homeless people who have nothing and expire in the frosty street. This is the face of capitalism.
Posted in: The end of a homeless, nameless life on the street
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YGHome
The fact is that the process of global warming continues, and Arctic ice continues to melt.
Posted in: Global warming opens up Arctic for undersea cable
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YGHome
The South Korean government is a government of thugs and warmongers.
Posted in: S Korean minister urges pre-emptive strike on North if threatened
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YGHome
The "if" resolves to be negative: North Korea does not have any plan to attack. Moreover, North Korea has recently proposed to replace the armistice with a peace treaty. America and South Korea have dismissed this call. Further, not long ago South Korea organized deliberate maritime clashes near the shores of North Korea. The intentions of the South do not seem peaceful.
Posted in: S Korean minister urges pre-emptive strike on North if threatened
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YGHome
The natural disaster has struck, but what then? The survivors should have received adequate help from their fellow human being, but this doesn't happen. Those who seek a promotion of their image may boast performing a complicated surgical operation in one person in a special makeshift hospital, while at the same time thousands around are dying from thirst. Hundreds of thousands will die in Haiti, not because of the primary natural disaster but because of the secondary (but much larger) disaster – the lack of adequate aid which their fellow human beings must have provided to them.
Posted in: Anger, frustration hindering Haiti quake relief
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YGHome
The aid that is provided does not address the needs. There is a lack of systematic international plan of giving help. The loss of life and suffering will be colossal.
Posted in: More aid arrives in Haiti as fears of unrest rise
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YGHome
The sanctions against North Korea are unjustified, and should be abolished. The phrase "totalitarian regime" is a meaningless cliché. Trying to present the leaders of North Korea as cognac consumers does not help to solve any problem. The Korean peninsula should be denuclearized, as a part of a comprehensive move to put an end to all forms of hostility, including all plans to topple the socialist system in North Korea.
Posted in: N Korea plays sanctions card in nuclear standoff
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YGHome
Some of the basic human rights are the right to live, the right to develop, the right not to be subjugated to the desires, urges and whims of others.
Posted in: U.S. envoy blasts N Korea's 'appalling' human rights situation
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YGHome
If we view the overall picture, we will see that the appalling human rights situation belongs to the side that makes the accusations.
"When they do not like your opinion, they say that it is off topic" (should have been said by Oscar Wilde).
Posted in: U.S. envoy blasts N Korea's 'appalling' human rights situation
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YGHome
This is not a competition. Having Olympic Games in Hiroshima and Nagasaki would symbolize the universal triumph of life, and the ability of the human spirit to overcome horrors and evil, wherever these may occur.
Posted in: Hiroshima, Nagasaki mayors to ask IOC to accept joint bid
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YGHome
It would have been the right thing to let Hiroshima and Nagasaki co-host the 2020 summer Olympics.
Posted in: Hiroshima, Nagasaki mayors to ask IOC to accept joint bid