Looks like Japan is waking up.

Koizumi looks like he's going to personally take the terrorists out with a fearsome double judo chop!

FRankly I would welcome a more active role for Japan. It's a country with significant wealth and if they could help us out in their region we would have more resources to go around.

it is also nice to think that Japan is and will continue to be a stalwart ally. so all those lefties who swear on a stack of Das Capitals that democracy cannot be imposed, take heed.

This is good and bad. Ive always wanted to see what a modern Japanese millitary would be like, there is plenty of incentive in thier region of the world to waken from thier pacifist slumber, you can only take so many warning shots fired over your country and citizens kidnapped before you say ENOUGH. Japan is quite capable of building nukes within no time at all, to be honest we would probably give them to them if they even brought it up, last i checked we made no restrictions on what millitary hardware we sold to Japan.

Whats bad? The thought of Japan building a modern millitary also sends cold shiver down my spine sometimes, the Nipon have history...and i mean HIS-STOR-EEE, there was a time not too long ago where you just did not screw with these guys, i mean they took on CHINA, and WON. They walked up to the worlds biggest superpower(guess who!) and kicked it square in the nuts right outa the blue without giving it a second thought. They beat back the mongol's for christsakes.

Japan increasing its police force into a regular Army with modern weapons is one thing, but if they go a little overboard, maybe with a sudden unexpected population explosion and Mitsubishi starts rolling out planes again, expect the base in Okinawa base to be asked to leave. Also expect Kim Jung Il to have a whole new level of politeness at the next negotiation after that.

I hope we never see a day where we regret not making them a state.

I understand your concerns Ronin, let me try to assuage them:

I think the Japanese society is dramatically different now and I can point out the difference with a single word: Baseball.

Here in Cleveland we've got Kaz Tadano, but many teams now have stellar quality Japanese players. I don't think the Japanese see us as anything other than friends.

sure our soldiers sometimes act the fool but basically our economies are so tightly entwined that Japan might as well be a state of our union.

so a rearmed Japan, absent the code of Bushido and the unquestioning reverence for the Emporer and an admiration for our country is not, IMHO a threat to us.

Besides, back in the seventies when the Japanese economy came roaring to life many people thought the didn't need to attack pearl harbor because they already owned it!!!

Japanese investment in the U.S. is huge, not just in California and Hawaii. We have a new Toyota truck plant being built here in San Antonio.

Different generations; different perspectives you know. If we can keep the Communists from winning the election in November, we will have another 4 years to work on achieving Japan type results with the Arabs.

That is worthwhile. Still, this is a generational struggle with the French, the ANSWER type American Democrats and the Islamists working against the Free World.

Do I fear a rearmed Japan? Not nearly as much as I fear China.

Let's just imagine for a moment a ME with an economy like Japan's. All those people buying and selling and contributing to an improved life. People who have suddenly been catapaulted out of the dark and into a brave new world.

Who knows what talents lie hidden in slums of baghdad or cowering in fear in an Iranian college dorm? Surely giving these people a shot a freedom is a noble thing in and of itself.

Look at how both the Japanese and the Germans contributed to the dramatic improvement in the human condition post WWII. Why wouldn't the people of the ME, once freed of the yoke of oppression have the same to offer?

Skip,

Give it some time. If we can just keep Iraq from tumbling back into the grips of a despot, I think the region may have a chance. That's not to say a horrible catastrophe, like the unleashing of WMD, wouldn't roll back all that we've set out to accomplish.

A good example is Eastern Europe (the part of Europe that actually appreciates the fact that we broke the communists' backs). It has taken over a decade, but Eastern Europe (e.g., Slovakia) is starting to come around economically and socially.

The fast food, Movies on Demand, High Speed Internet generation just can't consume enough Ritalin to stay focused on anything greater than 30 seconds at a time.

Ronin,
I have the opposite view of fearing a Japanese militarism rebirth. I sincerely think we may have neutered them after WWII. It will take a true combat role before I'll be able to respect the once fierce jungle warriors again. I mean Akira, and Tentacle Porn are great and everything, but the WWII generation will be gone in less than a decade, and Japan's testicles may be burried at sea with them.

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