tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714063.post1485196327691552129..comments2023-10-09T00:45:55.603+09:00Comments on Shisaku: Live Blogging The Yasukuni Visit ShuffleMTChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04626942240117432624noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714063.post-25452861758735086142013-08-17T00:45:34.701+09:002013-08-17T00:45:34.701+09:00Forget China and South Korea- how long can Abe kee...Forget China and South Korea- how long can Abe keep making speeches like that before antagonizing the U.S., not mention Australia and a few other countries? Now I understand why he wasn't invited to speak to congress.<br />I'm generally pro-Japan on many issues but this endless idealization of a blissful Showa-era Japan that exists only in his imagination sure makes it a lot harder.<br />If Japan can't come to an agreement on the nature of its conduct in WW2, then maybe it would be better off not marking an official observation at all. Eamonnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714063.post-22963177101311167422013-08-16T22:03:14.440+09:002013-08-16T22:03:14.440+09:00MTC, Abe certainly wants to move on from the legac...MTC, Abe certainly wants to move on from the legacies of the war, as can be seen in his forward-looking statements on his commitment to peace and prosperity in the future as well as his highlighting Japan's commitment to democracy and ODA since the end of the war. Herein lies the reason why Abe will find it difficult to get a summit even with the ROK. Neither Xi nor Park have particularly urgent desires to meet with Abe, as their citizenry does not believe that Japan's political leadership has done enough to clear up the post-war cloud hanging over Japan. From that perspective, the ommission of regret for the past will only set back efforts by Japanese diplomats to lay the grounds for a Japan-China or Japan-ROK summit. I still have hopes for a summit between Japan and the ROK, but perhaps one with China is a non-starter right now, primarily because of the dispute (or lack of acknowledgement of such a dispute) over the Senkaku/Diaoyu islets.SJMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11913006764439230273noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714063.post-21705465645237004722013-08-16T11:56:23.607+09:002013-08-16T11:56:23.607+09:00SJM -
Abe wants the postwar to end. Stopping the...SJM - <br /><br />Abe wants the postwar to end. Stopping the apologies is a first step.<br /><br />While the omission of the apologies is distressing, Abe's willingness to depart from precedent at least has the virtue of being sincere.<br /><br />As for the peculiar thanks to the dead for a prosperity with which they had no connection, it is a standard phrase of gobbledy-gook about a decade old. It makes its appearance in speeches and Diet interpellations -- and makes zero sense each and every time. MTChttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04626942240117432624noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714063.post-33775486856746056572013-08-16T11:49:47.469+09:002013-08-16T11:49:47.469+09:00Philippe -
Abe will not interpret Chinese keepin...Philippe - <br /><br />Abe will not interpret Chinese keeping their activists from the Senkakus as a gift. For the Abe government, China's keeping its citizens from the Senkakus is the obligation of a good neighbor, especially since China has been acting as the guardian of ethnic Chinese activists in their provocations.MTChttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04626942240117432624noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714063.post-5522886064605248962013-08-16T11:44:07.267+09:002013-08-16T11:44:07.267+09:00Anonymous -
My understanding is that Abe is the f...Anonymous -<br /><br />My understanding is that Abe is the first PM to skip the sentences on Asia since Murayama Tomiichi inserted them in 1994.MTChttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04626942240117432624noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714063.post-78989960515657374382013-08-15T23:34:52.818+09:002013-08-15T23:34:52.818+09:00I think Abe missed an opportunity to improve the l...I think Abe missed an opportunity to improve the likelihood of a China-Japan summit. Neither China nor South Korea seemed impressed by Abe forgoing a visit to Yasukuni, partly because other Cabinet members visited and partly because he still provided an offering to a shrine seen as a focal point for revisionist history. Additionally, Abe's statement at the memorial service made no reference to any sense of regret for Japan's wartime aggression, a break from recent practice which hasn't gone unnoticed. There's a curious passage in the PM's statement: "The peace and prosperity that we now enjoy have been built upon the sacrifices of you who gave up your precious lives." It sounds like PM Abe is saying that Japan's peace and prosperity today is somehow due to the sacrifice of those who fought in World War 2, which seems to miss the point that said war wrecked havoc on all of Asia, including Japan. The Emperor's statement got it better, noting peace and prosperity in today's Japan are the result of the hard work of the Japanese people after the war's end.<br /><br />In the end though, China at the moment doesn't seem to think there's much value added in a summit with Japan, or that it would get as much out of the meeting as Japan would. PM Abe will have to work harder to convince China that it's in both countries' interests to maintain a high-level dialogue on mutual concerns before tensions spiral out of control.SJMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11913006764439230273noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714063.post-15956440115750919802013-08-15T23:11:31.456+09:002013-08-15T23:11:31.456+09:00He may want something big, sure, that's Abe ‘t...He may want something big, sure, that's Abe ‘tout craché’, megalomaniac. The whole game over the past 2~3 weeks has been one of give and take and relatively positive. The Chinese leaderships keeps the crazies at home - and both the Jpn and Chinese Coastal Guards work together to keep them out, see that lone sailor intrusion. Then Abe reigns in the crazies at home (today, 08/15). But he may have to settle for small steps for now. He (Abe) might have to work a little harder for a big bang. The omissions <a href="http://ajw.asahi.com/article/behind_news/politics/AJ201308150080" rel="nofollow">in his speech today</a> are … interesting (ahem). I don't think that will go down too well in a lot of chancelleries (along with recent past ’pronunciamentos’).Philippenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714063.post-9246669497375379262013-08-15T22:58:50.865+09:002013-08-15T22:58:50.865+09:00I read (courtesy of SNA) that this was the first a...I read (courtesy of SNA) that this was the first anniversary speech by a PM to drop the pledge to not engage in war. Do you think that is significant?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714063.post-9787398328238296262013-08-15T22:02:06.468+09:002013-08-15T22:02:06.468+09:00Philippe -
Too small an item of exchange. Abe wan...Philippe -<br /><br />Too small an item of exchange. Abe wants something big -- a summit invitation -- in return for what he did not do today.MTChttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04626942240117432624noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714063.post-10854276260515495182013-08-15T15:45:32.505+09:002013-08-15T15:45:32.505+09:00Abe-san's non-visit is a thank you note to the...Abe-san's non-visit is a thank you note to the Chinese Government for not allowing Hong-Kong activists to go to the islands.Philippenoreply@blogger.com