Got Back from Japan

[zephyrprime]

Originally posted by: Aikouka

Originally posted by: Mo0o
i would say japan overreacted just a little bit.

Eh, I'm not saying that what they did was the best course of action, but I don't think it was entirely unjustified as many people may think. I don't know what their leaders thought, but I know that they gave in to America's demands back in the 1800's, because they knew they didn't have the power to force the Americans out (and America refused to leave). It's quite possible that their plan was to wait for the right moment to attack, I don't know. If that was the case, that may've been why it was 100 years later as we were spread out in Europe fighting the Nazi front and Japan may've suspected that we were too busy to fight on two fronts entirely. Thus providing the best time to retaliate.

Like I said, I don't know what their leaders thought, but that'd seem the most logical to me. Personally, I prefer less violent approaches 😛.

Ok. We're seriously lacking in historical knowledge here.

It's true, Perry's actions probably started the sequence of events that led up to Japan's involvement in WWII but only in a very indirect way.

Western powers were playing their imperialist game in East Asia in the 19th and early 20th century. Perry's easy defeat of the Japanese left a scar on the Japanese's psyche but that's no excuse for what happened afterwards. Of the various nations in east asia, the Japanese proved to be the most adept students of western ways. They adopted their technology faster than any other nation and success of their transition from feudalism to republicanism was much more successful than the Chinese's attempt at the same thing.

Japan was a rising power by the early 20th century. But after some fairly mild problems, the government was basically taken over by the military. The military wisely conflated their movement with the sovereignty of the emperor. Politicians were decryed for being ineffective. The populace was largely complicite in what happened and I guess they were just believed that it was all a matter of patriotism. Anyway, I said before that the japanese were the most apt students of the west so what happened next follows along that vein. The japanese established their own imperial colonies in korea and china. China was mired in a long standing civil war at that time and had devolved into feifdoms ruled by petty warlords so she was unable to resist.

And that's the setup to the US's involvement to WW2 with the japanese.

 

[postmortemIA]

Some oil right here

 

[Narmer]

Originally posted by: Passions

Originally posted by: Descartes
You sound like an ass. You fit the stereotypical perception of Americans as presumptuous, arrogant and exceedingly nationalistic. Congratulations for offending your gf's father in a country in which you were a guest; I seriously can't even fathom having the audacity to act as you have to your hosts in a foreign country.

Descartes, you forget what he wrote:

Originally posted by: Narmer

We ugly Americans are the ones keeping the peace so show some respect when we ask why our young men and women should die for your country and why you can't talk with your neighbors, let alone your own ally?

Ugly Americans are keeping the peace!!!!

If that's a lie, then go ahead and prove it. By the way, My aggressive questions was on the next to last day of a three week stay. Other than that, things went very well. He and I have a lot in common. Nevertheless, those were questions that I wanted to ask and nothing was going to stop me. I really wanted to know what the relationship in that region is so fragile. Japan fvked up in the past and people here are calling me names for asking honest questions? It's sick to let these things go unanswered because of etiquette.

 

[Deleted member 4644]

Narmer, you sound ignorant.

First, Japan does have a military, mainly a navy and air force with very modern ships and planes.
Second, Japan is not going to attack North Korea, and the US is not going to attack North Korea. The risk-cost vs. reward is not worth it.
Third, building up a bigger military would make China very angry and make war MORE likely -- this would be bad for the entire world.
Fourth, you should learn your place. Pressing a 70 year old man on politics is a stupid idea if he is the father of your girlfriend. It is also not polite. I suggest you try to grow up a little bit.
Fifth, you will not accomplish anything by making the old man angry/upset etc.

 

[Narmer]

Originally posted by: LordSegan
Narmer, you sound ignorant.

First, Japan does have a military, mainly a navy and air force with very modern ships and planes.

A military that isn't protecting its citizens, which is it's most fundamental task.

Second, Japan is not going to attack North Korea, and the US is not going to attack North Korea. The risk-cost vs. reward is not worth it.

I'm not advocating attack. I'm advocating something more masculine than begging for the return of your citizens.

Third, building up a bigger military would make China very angry and make war MORE likely -- this would be bad for the entire world.

I'd be surprised if China wasn't angry if that happened. But the Japanese shouldn't base their security on the feelings of a inconfident Chinese government. Furthermore, they can go about this in a very constructive way by dealing with a past in a direct way rather than just not talking about it.

Fourth, you should learn your place. Pressing a 70 year old man on politics is a stupid idea if he is the father of your girlfriend. It is also not polite. I suggest you try to grow up a little bit.

You don't evern know what you're talking about. I was there for three weeks. My interests is in the political economy. I made my opinion very clear on American politics and the war in Iraq. I questioned American faults, Chinese faults, and Korean faults, all of which he had no problem discussing. However, when it came to Japanese faults, the man got angry and/or upset. If I was being direct with the other political situations, then he should've felt the same way. Besides, the questions were not personal or blaming. just inquisitive. I will admit that I mis-understood the etiquette of the region, but it's unfair to discuss the faults of others and not be comfortable with discussing those of your own. For that, I am unapologetic about.

Fifth, you will not accomplish anything by making the old man angry/upset etc.

I got what I wanted out of the conversation, that Japanese people are unapologetic about their actions leading to World War II. Unfortunately, this bolds ill for a non-American influenced East Asian security infrastructure. About the only normal countries in that region is South Korea and, to a lesser extent, Taiwan.

I may have unintentionally burned a bridge and for that I regret. But I'm not sorry for my questions.

 

[kmmatney]

Originally posted by: GTaudiophile

Originally posted by: Narmer
Toyota dominates Japan. But the other Japanese manufacturers have a respectable showing. Even though they're starting to call them Lexus, all of their premium vehicles fall under the Toyota brand. The same is true for Nissan and Honda. What I found strange and disturbing is that I only saw a few Acura TSXs on the road. Worse, I saw no Acura TL (Honda Accord there) or Acura MDX (which is what I own but will sell soon). I plan to write to Honda about this, asking why they are so unpopular (luxury-wise) in their home country.

No need. It's the same reason why the BMW X5, Mercedes ML, etc. aren't seen often in Germany. They are expensive to buy, hard to park, and WAY too expensive to fuel or insure. SUvs are made for gas-hogging Americans and that's about it.

I'm in Japan right now (visiting Yokohama and out in the countryside at a Steel Research Institute) and I have to say that there are quite a lof of larger cars. I see tons of minivans (slightly smaller than American versions, but still pretty big) and I've also come across a lot of 4-runners. Compared to Europe, the cars are much larger in Japan.