October 29, 2002
JAPAN'S SELF-RESTRAINT:
The View From The Other Ground Zero (Doug Struck, October 28, 2002, Washington Post)The awful fireball that engulfed Hiroshima on Aug. 6, 1945, introducing the atomic age with a mushroom cloud, has for decades propelled the leaders of that southern Japanese city to preach against nuclear weapons.Hiroshima's current mayor has taken the role a step further. At his annual speech at the anniversary of the bombing, Mayor Tadatoshi Akiba made international headlines with his biting criticism of American foreign policy and, by implication, its war on terrorism.
"The United States government has no right to force 'Pax Americana' on us, or to unilaterally determine the fate of the world," Akiba declared. The speech has brought a torrent of reaction -- most of it positive, he says -- in Japan, and a chill from the United States. [...]
His sharp critique of America is uncharacteristic of Japan's polite society, and despite the support for his remarks, the mayor says he has felt the weight of disapproval from some countrymen.
"I didn't realize that the pressure not to criticize America was so strong," he acknowledges. "In Japanese society, where restraining oneself is a virtue, there is a strong tendency to restrain from criticizing the United States."
Tell it to the people of Nanking. Posted by Orrin Judd at October 29, 2002 4:07 PM
I wonder if Mayor Akiba has pondered what the most probable target of the North Korean nuclear weapons would be? Given the prevailing winds, I would think that fallout would be minimized if the ground zero was somewhere to the east of Korea.
Pax Americana is what allows him to live in his glass house.
The mayor, who is no different from previous mayors, is a perfect illustration of the argument that it is not necessary to change people's opinions in order to correct their bahavior.
Few Japanese consider anything they did between 1894, when they opened their robbery campaign in east Asia, and 1945 to have been objectionable in intent. They just didn't like the final results and have comported themselves appropriately since to avoid a repetition.
That is why it is not necessary to worry about what happens in Iraq (Saudi Arabia, Syria, Indonesia, etc.) after chastisement. Sufficiently chastised, the locals will behave.
One, two, many Omdurmans.