JAPAN NEWS AND DISCUSSION
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mushroomcloud
How tall is akihito? Both have nice suits.
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mushroomcloud
So now Japan will have a better idea on how many conventional and nuclear missiles are aimed at it from China and North Korea, or at least a better indication of where the launch areas are, especially the ones hidden in mountain ranges.
But how will this be helpful? Japan is banned from offensive operations, so knowing about how your potential enemy can hit you with the explicit knowledge that you can't hit back means that Japan, even with an independent spy satellite capability, will only be able to provide logistics (transportation, fuel, women) to US troops while the Americans do all the fighting.
Posted in: Japan launches 5th spy satellite
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mushroomcloud
'One more time, China can't be trusted and the US needs to get its financial house in order because the national debt is a national security risk.'
usaexpat,
Hate to break it to you, but the national debt already is a national security risk. Further, Geithner, Pelosi, Clinton, and of course Obama have all gone to China, begging for money, and it's equally about Obama spending more than he should and the Bush Administration wrecking the US economy with wreckless economic policies while financing 2 wars simultaneously.
You don't have to trust China. But certainly the US needs to clean up it's act, otherwise, it will continue mortgaging it's future to present and future competitors.
Posted in: Obama's China trip shows power shifting
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mushroomcloud
'Obama's pledge to treat China as a trusted global power is a belly laugh. China is not, should not, and cannot be trusted so let's hope the old boy was merely spouting some nice words or we're in real trouble.'
usaexpat,
What's more of a belly laugh about your comment is that you claim China cannot be trusted, yet the United States is begging China to loan it money. If you can't trust them, write to your fellow congressman and demand that the US not borrow Chinese money. Further, ask your congressman to work out legislation for the US to quickly pay back the $1 trillion that the US currently owes the Chinese.
Otherwise, your comment is one of a hypocrite.
Posted in: Obama's China trip shows power shifting
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mushroomcloud
tkoind2,
You make some excellent observations. Here's my take:
What we see coming out of China is indeed only a fraction of it's potential. Which means that the world should realistically see 8-10% growth rates in China for the next 10-20 years, desperately needed in order for China not to degenerate into chaos as we have seen her do throughout her history. Unfortunately, with growth comes income disparity, along with discontent in the countryside where there has been massive levels of corruption and abuse of power within the provincial layers of government.
So, what can China do? The answer is, exactly what she is doing now. China is a country of 1.3 billion people. Within the past 20 years, she has lifted 300 million people out of abject poverty, no small task. One needs to only look at a country of similar size, India, a democracy, and see what a terrible job they have done to uplift their people out of poverty. But here lies the central fact that leaves business people salivating. 1.3 billion people. A rising middle class numbered in the hundreds of millions, with many millions added every year. The profit potential for companies is endless and so are the opportunities.
To your point about ethnic minorities, China will indeed need to look 'inward' to pacify at least 2 of the regions, Xinjiang and Tibet. But the combined Uyghur/Tibetan ethnic populations are roughly 20 million people. That stands in stark contrast to the over 1 billion Han Chinese, of which millions have flooded both regions, which makes any succession attempt a pipe dream at best.
Lastly, let's talk about the current financial crisis. It's been pretty much a fact that China, with it's huge and effective stimulus package, was able to weather the economic storm much better than virtually every nation on earth. Her growth (and hunger for raw materials) is what drives the economies of Asia, Africa, and Latin America and her purchasing of US Treasuries is what keeps the United States afloat.
In closing, tkoind2, calling China the 'flavor of the moment' economy is best reserved to provincial types who can only look out the window as the world passes them by.
Posted in: Obama's China trip shows power shifting
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mushroomcloud
"When President Obama visits China for the first time on Sunday, he will, in many ways, be assuming the role of profligate spender coming to pay his respects to his banker."
"That stark fact — China is the largest foreign lender to the United States — has changed the core of the relationship between the United States and the only country with a reasonable chance of challenging its status as the world’s sole superpower."
"The result: unlike his immediate predecessors, who publicly pushed and prodded China to follow the Western model and become more open politically and economically, Mr. Obama will be spending less time exhorting Beijing and more time reassuring it."
"In a July meeting, Chinese officials asked their American counterparts detailed questions about the health care legislation making its way through Congress. The president’s budget director, Peter R. Orszag, answered most of their questions. But the Chinese were not particularly interested in the public option or universal care for all Americans."
“They wanted to know, in painstaking detail, how the health care plan would affect the deficit,” one participant in the conversation recalled. Chinese officials expect that they will help finance whatever Congress and the White House settle on, mostly through buying Treasury debt, and like any banker, they wanted evidence that the United States had a plan to pay them back."
"It is a long way from the days when President George W. Bush hectored China about currency manipulation, or when President Bill Clinton exhorted the Chinese to improve human rights."
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/15/world/asia/15china.html?ref=asia
Posted in: In first visit to China, Obama walks a tightrope
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mushroomcloud
I think Hatoyama's proposal is a good one, because it realistically puts China in the center of this East Asian Community. Hatoyama understands that China will be the the 2nd largest economy in the world within a few months, and Japan will need to provide goods and services to this dynamic and furiously growing economy.
Hatoyama is also keenly aware that Japan's aging demographic and diminishing labor pool will force Asian countries to look elsewhere to do business, as trading with Japan will be too expensive a proposition. Even Japan's leading companies know this, as much of their manufacturing base has already been moved to East and Southeast Asia.
The clear win-win in Hatoyama's proposal of an East Asian Community is China, as it seeks to extend and solidify it's trading relations with Asia, as it has already successfully done in Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America. Curiously, Japan has not been able to replicate China's success in these mentioned regions.
Posted in: What do you think about Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama's proposal to create an East Asian community, to promote what he calls fraternity in the region?
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mushroomcloud
"and I'd wager that most of Asia trusts Japan more than they do those kind souls heading up the People's Republic of China"
Japan's a nation in stagnation or decline, whichever term suits your ego better. China is still ascending, and will grow more (much more) in the near future.
So, your theory of trusting Japan over the PRC, let's put it to test. You go first.
Posted in: What do you think about Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama's proposal to create an East Asian community, to promote what he calls fraternity in the region?
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mushroomcloud
Obama is just trying to show some face to the Japanese people, as he (and they) know that Japan is in perpetual state of decline. Showing some respect to the figurehead of Japan is not a bad idea, since Japan has had a rough ride over the past lost 20 years.
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mushroomcloud
All this talk about China imploding can come true, if, and only if China degenerates and becomes weak, as has happened in the past, during the Opium Wars for example.
China knows this. That's why they have been very disciplined on making sure that the provinces are connected via excellent infrastructure to ensure inter-state commerce and communications. A China as inter-connected as it is today means there is far less of a chance of the nation splitting apart, because that would be really bad for business.
On to ethnic divisions. It's no secret that the Uighurs and Tibetans hate the Chinese and would want to secede if given the chance. That's precisely why China flooded both regions with ethnic Han Chinese, similar to how the US flooded and conquered much of the US away from the native Indians.
So, the only true way for China to implode is if the Han Chinese revolt on a massive scale, overcoming the millions of PLA forces, backed by millions of People's Armed Police on duty, backed by millions of militia members. Of course, this can all happen due to the income disparities (already mentioned), and rampant official corruption. More realistically, the Han Chinese will realize that it's better to stick together in an unequal society rather than one ruled by anarchy and chaos.
Posted in: Obama confronts an Asia reshaped by China's rise
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mushroomcloud
I saw the videos of the parade and was struck by how communist looking it was. A bit of a turnoff but then again the parade is mostly about praising their communist system.
Anyways, their equipment was reasonably impressive. They showcased the DH-10 LACM, with a range of 2,500 miles, along with the DF-21, a ASBM designed to target aircraft carriers. Another ICBM, the truck launchable DF-31, was also on display.
It appears that they have produced a nice array of offensive platforms.
Posted in: China's 60th anniversary stirs pride, also unease
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mushroomcloud
'They made themselves the lead group for tackling international economic issues in the future, eclipsing the older, Western-dominated Group of Eight.'
The implications for Japan on having the G-8 replaced by the G-20 as the lead in tackling global economic issues is huge. Japan, along with the other members of the G-8, now see their power diluted by a much larger organization. But 4 members of the G-8 are also members of the UNSC, so their global decision making on security matters remains unbroken. But what about Japan? Not being on the UNSC, and being lumped in the expanded G-20 is a double wammy for Japan.
It is crystal clear that Japan's voice on all matters of global reach have been reduced even further.
Posted in: G-20 leaders make economic pledges
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mushroomcloud
How come Hatoyama's pledge did not make the global headlines?
I only found his pledge within the bottom of this article:
"China and U.S. try to jumpstart stalled climate talks
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – World leaders tried to inject momentum into climate change talks on Tuesday but new proposals by China and a rallying cry from U.S. President Barack Obama did little to break a United Nations deadlock.
Obama and Chinese President Hu Jintao, leaders of the world's top greenhouse gas polluters, had hoped to help foster efforts to forge a new global warming treaty two and a half months before a December deadline.
Speaking at a special U.N. climate change summit in New York, Hu laid out a new plan to tackle China's emissions, tying them to economic growth. But he did not include specific figures, which he could be withholding for future negotiations.
Obama outlined his administration's work on climate since he took office in January and said the United States was committed to act.
But Obama offered no new proposals and did not urge quick U.S. Senate passage of a climate change bill, which many observers see as crucial to reaching an international deal.
Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama pledged to offer more aid to help developing countries deal with climate change and repeated his goal of reducing Japanese greenhouse gas emissions 25 percent from 1990 levels by 2020."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090922/tsnm/usclimate
Posted in: Hatoyama pledges on world stage 25% emissions cut by 2020
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mushroomcloud
Not a good idea, especially when the IOC slams the door on Japan's bid.
It will be a slap in the face to Japan's new leader.
Posted in: JOC to ask Hatoyama to attend 2016 Olympic vote
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mushroomcloud
Not bad. I bought my PS3 80GB almost a year ago from a deal at Walmart; $399 plus a $100 gift card issued at the register. One of the better deals at the time.
Posted in: Sony unveils new, slimmer PlayStation 3 console, cuts prices
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mushroomcloud
You have to admit, the 2 atomic bomb blasts that flattened Hiroshima and Nagasaki, hence ending the war was truly the most wise, decent, and respectable thing for the United States to have done.
The acts might have killed over 200,000 Japanese, but war is war. And the fact that these atomic blasts saved millions of Japanese, and potentially hundreds of thousands of allied lives is truly the most wise and decent gesture ever witnessed by man kind.
Akihito and Michiko should be thankful. If their country didn't surrender, they wouldn't be here today offering silent prayers.
Posted in: Memorial
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mushroomcloud
I don't think China gives a rat's ass about how Australia nor the world feels about this case.
China knows that they are Australia's largest trading partner. Having that distinction over others allows for a certain degree of 'I own you' attitude, which is obviously not right, but other large powers have played that sort of game all along.
Posted in: Australian PM warns China in Rio Tinto spy case
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mushroomcloud
Sad. Race riots are known the world over. I remember being in college during the LA Rodney King race riots in 1992. Korean merchants were outside their homes and businesses heavily armed with assault rifles, shotguns, and pistols. Firefights were frequent. The police were too spread out to offer any meaningful protection.
I think the NRA had a field day during this time.
Posted in: Chinese armed police watch over a calmer Urumqi
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mushroomcloud
Guess it's better to beat them then shoot, bomb, or torture them for 6 years straight.
Oh yeah, that's the USA way.
Posted in: China's president hurries home from G-8 to deal with rioting
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mushroomcloud
Triumvere, you are spot on. But now that the Chinese are actually there (in both Xinjiang and Tibet), they certainly are not going to leave. Hopefully both sides calm down and peace and co-existence can be achieved.
The UK had a similar problem in Northern Ireland, and the US performed their form of 'ethnic cleansing' when they virtually wiped out the Native American Indians over ~100 years ago. Now we see the Chinese moving their massive population into these regions, and soon they will outnumber the locals.
Recipe for disaster? Not if China handles it right.
Posted in: Fresh protests erupt in China's Xinjiang region