- 27 Nov 2012
- 1,676
- 1,025
- 197
I really thought Abe wouldn't go any lower than his petulant insistence on visiting Yasukuni, always wanting to reframe history, and just in general being useless to the health of the country.
Let's go to this press conference:
Abe says Japan's pacifist constitution may be revised by 2020 - Channel NewsAsia
Everything about this rubs the wrong way. Japan has the fifth biggest military in the world. Why would they need to be about more than self-defence? I've never met a Japanese who wasn't proud that their country was one with a self-defence policy. I even had a JSDF guy correct me that he wasn't army, when I mistakenly interchanged those words.
And the choice to declare it by Japan's Olympic year seems like a total baiting of China and Korea to protest through the event.
Then add to this:
I found that article by accident, looking for something on this, which I'd planned to start a thread on:
Japanese Goverment Funds New Foreign Channel to Air Anime - News - Anime News Network
In the meantime, the government will spend millions (not so bad, maybe 20 yen per citizen) to create a propaganda network in South Asia. Not military propaganda per se, just something to make the very young have superficial positive associations with the country.
Add to that the horrible secrecy law they've already passed, and the future of Japan looks really really dark. Use the techniques of the future to push Japan into the past. It's not enough to make me renounce my citizenship to get a vote here, but it one day might if it keeps going this way.
Let's go to this press conference:
Abe says Japan's pacifist constitution may be revised by 2020 - Channel NewsAsia
Japan's nationalist Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has said the country's pacifist post-World War II constitution which limits its military to self-defence could be amended by 2020.
In a New Year comment published in the conservative daily Sankei Shimbun on Wednesday, Abe predicted the constitution "will have been revised" by 2020 when Tokyo hosts the Summer Olympics.
Everything about this rubs the wrong way. Japan has the fifth biggest military in the world. Why would they need to be about more than self-defence? I've never met a Japanese who wasn't proud that their country was one with a self-defence policy. I even had a JSDF guy correct me that he wasn't army, when I mistakenly interchanged those words.
And the choice to declare it by Japan's Olympic year seems like a total baiting of China and Korea to protest through the event.
Then add to this:
Who in the region wants Japan to make more contributions to peace and stability? Maybe Taiwan? Possibly 100 years from now, Japan's neighbours will have moved on to other grudges. But for now, this move will lead to instability."(By 2020), I think Japan will have completely restored its status and been making great contributions to peace and stability in the region and the world," he said.
I found that article by accident, looking for something on this, which I'd planned to start a thread on:
Japanese Goverment Funds New Foreign Channel to Air Anime - News - Anime News Network
The Japanese government will fund a new foreign "Japan Channel" that will broadcast anime, dramas, music programs, and travel programs. The government is allocating 15.5 billion yen (about US$14.7 million) for subtitling and dubbing costs as well as publicity, setting up foreign broadcasting offices, and co-producing programs. The new channel will launch in Thailand in January, in Indonesia in February, and in Cambodia in April. The government is also considering launching the channel in the United States, Europe, and Africa.
In the meantime, the government will spend millions (not so bad, maybe 20 yen per citizen) to create a propaganda network in South Asia. Not military propaganda per se, just something to make the very young have superficial positive associations with the country.
Add to that the horrible secrecy law they've already passed, and the future of Japan looks really really dark. Use the techniques of the future to push Japan into the past. It's not enough to make me renounce my citizenship to get a vote here, but it one day might if it keeps going this way.
Last edited: