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Post by wilkyisdashiznit on Jul 8, 2022 15:03:12 GMT -8
We have posts for Corporal Agarn and Sonny...........
But Shinzo Abe gets assassinated, and crickets.
RIP Shinzo Abe!
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Post by lebaneaver on Jul 8, 2022 15:42:24 GMT -8
ピース, 和平, 平安, 安らぎ i
Happy now, Wilky? The former were "small parts" of OUR "American" lives. Shinzo Abe? An ally? Yes. A shame? Yes.
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Post by nuclearbeaver on Jul 8, 2022 15:54:49 GMT -8
Could be that some people don’t really like him all that much too. Usually actors are less polarizing than ultra nationalist world
leaders. Murder isn’t cool but not everyone will be thought of fondly.
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Post by irimi on Jul 8, 2022 19:18:40 GMT -8
We have posts for Corporal Agarn and Sonny........... But Shinzo Abe gets assassinated, and crickets. RIP Shinzo Abe! I thought about posting something, but to be honest, I’ve just been following that story as much as possible from this side of the pond. In a country as peaceful as Japan, this kind of violence is unfathomable. This can be seen by how easily the shooter was able to perform his deed. The security seemed ready for a knife attack or a physical confrontation, not a homemade gun. This event has rocked Japan. It won’t be the same. |
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Post by irimi on Jul 8, 2022 19:42:41 GMT -8
Could be that some people don’t really like him all that much too. Usually actors are less polarizing than ultra nationalist world leaders. Murder isn’t cool but not everyone will be thought of fondly. He certainly wasn’t ultra nationalistic. Those people exist in Japan and want Japan to return to their former glory. They are loud and few. Most Japanese are happy with the peaceful direction of the country, so ultra nationalists don’t stand a chance in the elections, though they keep trying. Abe did visit Yasukuni shrine while in office. Yasukuni enshrines those who have died in war, including war criminals from WWII. But as the shrine points out, it also enshrines fallen foreigners. I visited it back before Covid and found it very unlike every other shrine that I have been to. I won’t go back. Then there’s the Comfort Woman issue, which has many sides of truth. Abe took heat for it. But when I was in Japan back in the early 90s, so did Koizumi. At that time, I believe, Japan gave more money to Korea and issued another apology. So it seems to be Korea’s go-to for milking funds from Japan. Also, during Abe’s time as PM, both South Korea and China grew more powerful economically. Korea demanded the renaming of the Sea of Japan and began to assert claims to islands in Japan’s possession. China’s military grew and frequently is caught in Japan’s waters. Oh yeah. Don’t forget North Korea firing missiles over Japan airspace. Things have been simmering for awhile now. But yes, Japan could do more to publicly distance itself from WWII. Education on the topic is sorely lacking, and while I understand Japanese culture well enough to see why it is omitted, I think it is a mistake. I also think that the PM should not visit Yasukuni shrine. I wouldn’t mind seeing the shrine torn down. |
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Post by irimi on Jul 8, 2022 19:51:25 GMT -8
ピース, 和平, 平安, 安らぎ i Happy now, Wilky? The former were "small parts" of OUR "American" lives. Shinzo Abe? An ally? Yes. A shame? Yes. 平和 (heiwa) is actually the better term. 和平 (wahei) is more the peace/end of hostilities that comes from two warring nations. The first one, ピース (peace), is what young people say when posing for a photo. ✌️ |
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Post by nuclearbeaver on Jul 8, 2022 20:37:39 GMT -8
Could be that some people don’t really like him all that much too. Usually actors are less polarizing than ultra nationalist world leaders. Murder isn’t cool but not everyone will be thought of fondly. He certainly wasn’t ultra nationalistic. Those people exist in Japan and want Japan to return to their former glory. They are loud and few. Most Japanese are happy with the peaceful direction of the country, so ultra nationalists don’t stand a chance in the elections, though they keep trying. Abe did visit Yasukuni shrine while in office. Yasukuni enshrines those who have died in war, including war criminals from WWII. But as the shrine points out, it also enshrines fallen foreigners. I visited it back before Covid and found it very unlike every other shrine that I have been to. I won’t go back. Then there’s the Comfort Woman issue, which has many sides of truth. Abe took heat for it. But when I was in Japan back in the early 90s, so did Koizumi. At that time, I believe, Japan gave more money to Korea and issued another apology. So it seems to be Korea’s go-to for milking funds from Japan. Also, during Abe’s time as PM, both South Korea and China grew more powerful economically. Korea demanded the renaming of the Sea of Japan and began to assert claims to islands in Japan’s possession. China’s military grew and frequently is caught in Japan’s waters. Oh yeah. Don’t forget North Korea firing missiles over Japan airspace. Things have been simmering for awhile now. But yes, Japan could do more to publicly distance itself from WWII. Education on the topic is sorely lacking, and while I understand Japanese culture well enough to see why it is omitted, I think it is a mistake. I also think that the PM should not visit Yasukuni shrine. I wouldn’t mind seeing the shrine torn down. He was a member of the Nippon Kaigi. Idk how you get more nationalist than that? |
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Post by irimi on Jul 8, 2022 21:30:48 GMT -8
He certainly wasn’t ultra nationalistic. Those people exist in Japan and want Japan to return to their former glory. They are loud and few. Most Japanese are happy with the peaceful direction of the country, so ultra nationalists don’t stand a chance in the elections, though they keep trying. Abe did visit Yasukuni shrine while in office. Yasukuni enshrines those who have died in war, including war criminals from WWII. But as the shrine points out, it also enshrines fallen foreigners. I visited it back before Covid and found it very unlike every other shrine that I have been to. I won’t go back. Then there’s the Comfort Woman issue, which has many sides of truth. Abe took heat for it. But when I was in Japan back in the early 90s, so did Koizumi. At that time, I believe, Japan gave more money to Korea and issued another apology. So it seems to be Korea’s go-to for milking funds from Japan. Also, during Abe’s time as PM, both South Korea and China grew more powerful economically. Korea demanded the renaming of the Sea of Japan and began to assert claims to islands in Japan’s possession. China’s military grew and frequently is caught in Japan’s waters. Oh yeah. Don’t forget North Korea firing missiles over Japan airspace. Things have been simmering for awhile now. But yes, Japan could do more to publicly distance itself from WWII. Education on the topic is sorely lacking, and while I understand Japanese culture well enough to see why it is omitted, I think it is a mistake. I also think that the PM should not visit Yasukuni shrine. I wouldn’t mind seeing the shrine torn down. He was a member of the Nippon Kaigi. Idk how you get more nationalist than that? I guess I am more concerned with what Abe did for the country, and in that capacity, he did not show the ultra nationalistic views that you ascribe to him. Plus, the big question in Japan is whether Japan should arm itself with a standing army, which is forbidden by the Constitution. As I mentioned, Japan's neighbors have been saber rattling. North Korea sends a missile over Japan pretty much a couple of times a year. It's unnerving if you live there. Chinese navy harasses Japanese fishermen. Can Japan count on the US to keep their land, water, and air safe? Next to nothing is done when Kim Jong Il sends missiles toward Japan. And the US isn't going to push Chinese ships back just for harassing a fisherman. So should Japan protect its own interests? Should Japan be able to deter attacks by becoming a strong military power? It's not an easy question to answer, especially when you factor in how terrible the US servicemen are in Japan and how frequently they cause trouble. Okinawa wants them out. Anyway, sometimes, belonging to a group is just for the connections. Aso and Suga, two former Prime Ministers, also "belonged" to this group. But ultranationalists in Japan want to bring back the Rising Sun (Asahi) flag--the one with the red rays emanating from the sun that we associate with Imperial Japan. They want the Emperor to rule again. They want a big, strong national army. They want to kick out America and the other foreigners. Which doesn't make sense. The emperor has no intentions of ruling again....at least, not now. The people of Japan don't want that. The Rising Sun flag isn't widely accepted. Japanese people are happy with their current flag. But many Japanese are afraid of China and N. Korea, so the question about an army is valid to them. Most are happy, though, with their Self-Defense Force, which isn't small. Sorry. I don't like long posts. I'll try to keep it shorter, but I think a lot of people don't really know the context behind a lot of these things. |
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Post by Henry Skrimshander on Jul 11, 2022 15:24:53 GMT -8
Being named Abe seems to be bad luck for presidents and prime ministers.
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