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Japanese Nationalism And Militarism Are Not Going Away, But Will Only Intensify

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By Theodore Shoebat 
In September of 2020, Japan commenced its largest set of military exercises since 1993, in order to scare the Chinese and prepare its soldiers to defend the country’s islands, especially the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea, which both Japan and China have been contesting over for years. Japan’s Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi stated:
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“In order to respond effectively to various situations, including attacks on the islands, it is essential that the necessary forces are deployed quickly and extensively, depending on the situation”
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The exercises will last from September to November and will involve 100,000 soldiers,20,000 vehicles, in addition to 120 aircraft and private ships. Amongst Japan’s goals is to expand its military strength and capabilities. It has been doing this by getting state-of-the-art F-35 fighter jets and converting warships to aircraft so that they can carry such fighter jets. Japan is also building new destroyers, submarines and missiles. All of this is being done as a military policy against the Chinese.
As Kishi told CNN: “Against Chinese action to Senkaku Islands (called the Diaoyu Islands in China) and other parts of the East China Sea … we have to demonstrate that the government of Japan is resolutely defending our territory with the greater number of Japanese coast guard vessels than that of China”. The adamancy that Japan has for these uninhabited islands is just as strong as it is in China. The two stubborn countries both refuse to back down on their claim, but since not a single soul is living in these islands, then what is the purpose of all such tensions? It has nothing to do with these large rocks in the sea and everything to do with power — power over the seas, hegemony over maritime territory and resources and the leverage to scare away one’s neighbors. In 2020, China’s Foreign Ministry declared: “The Diaoyu Island and its affiliated islands are an inherent part of China’s territory, and it is our inherent right to carry out patrols and law enforcement activities in these waters”. By having patrol ships moving around the islands and expanding laws that give its coast guard expanded power, China is imposing itself in the area and thus conveying a message of power.
According to Japanese authorities, the Chinese Coast Guard has maneuvered its vessels into Japanese territorial waters (or within 12 nautical miles of Japanese land) a total of 88 times between Japanese 1st and the end of August of 2021. This is being done as a show of will of Chinese geopolitical power over this maritime territory. In the words of Alessio Patalano, professor of war and strategy at King’s College in London: “Exercising coastal state rights is an important step in corroborating sovereignty through practice”. Japan knows this, hence why Nobuo Kishi stated: “There are actions that continue to challenge an integral part of Japan’s sovereign territory.” Both countries are vying for domination in the East China Sea, and in such an atmosphere of animosity and national egoism, the prospect of war is raised quite high.
Tensions between China and Japan do not just revolve around the Senkaku Islands, but Taiwan as well. China considers Taiwan to be its territory. In order to maintain peace, the United States entertains this idea as part of standard policy. Thus, while the US does not officially recognize Taiwan as Chinese territory, it will publicly acknowledge the “One China” narrative that deems Taiwan as under the authority of Beijing. Japan does not recognize Taiwan as being under China and has expressed a willingness to push the Chinese away from the island nation.
In July of 2021, Japan released its annual defence white paper in which it stated that “stabilizing the situation surrounding Taiwan is important for Japan’s security.” By “stabilizing” Japan means repulsing any presence of the Chinese military out of Taiwanese territory. Will China listen? Only if it wants to give up its territorial claims in which case it would give more power to Japan; for if China relinquishes a position it will only be refilled by the other greatest power of Asia — Japan. Since both sides are obstinate, and there are no signs of either side abating their positions, then there is no sign of future peace. Thus, war in the Far East is inevitable.
Kishi has stated that the Taiwan controversy should be seen with “a sense of crisis.” If the situation is to be deemed as a crisis, then how could there be peace in the future. The political atmosphere of East Asia is filled with hazardous gas that only needs the lighting of one match to fully erupt in a conflagration of flames. Taiwan is at the center of a water access way for Japanese imports, or as Kishi explains: “What’s happening in Taiwan is directly linked to Japan … Ninety percent of energy that Japan uses is imported through the areas around Taiwan”. Such a lifeline for Japan’s economy will thus be fiercely combated for. What is a military exercise but a preparation for war? What is Japan doing, having 100,000 troops training for battle, but preparing them to fight their Asian neighbor?
Nobuo Kishi declared that Japan is prepared to defend the Senkaku Islands by “matching any Chinese threat ship for ship, and beyond” if necessary. What is this but an expression of tension, and a sign that warfare in the future should not surprise us? Neither Japan nor China have oil, and the area around the Senkaku is an important lane for importing oil for both countries. As is common in warfare, import routes become the thing over which nations kill one another. Moreover, it is believed that the area around the Senkaku are rich with oil, something that both Japan and China could use to be energy independent, and thus why such a place is being sought after by both of these countries and why the they’re both expressing the prospect of going to war over these giant rocks on the sea.
In the militarist agenda of Japan lies a religious aspiration, one rooted in a paganism that springs from far antiquity: the Shinto religion that once dominated the imperial cult of the Japanese government but that today lingers behind the curtains. The Japanese government under the Liberal Democratic Party just elected as its new prime minister Fumiko Kishida. Kishida is a member of the ultra-nationalist cult Nippon Kaigi, which wants to revive Japan’s imperialist religion of the emperor and the worship of the sun-goddess, Amatersu.
This political cult is a racialist pagan organization that holds the Japanese race as superior since (as it believes) it has a divine origin from the goddess Amaterasu. In the words of scholar Andrew Weiss, the cult believes “in the unique spiritual superiority of the Japanese people and the religious importance of the Emperor.” This heritage is held in Japanese as banseiikkei, and is believed to be the source of the Japanese kokutai or “national body.” What the umma is to Islam, the kokutai is to Japanese pagans. This cult believes that in order to preserve the kokutai, the worship of the emperor — with all of its ritual — must be observed, and the Japanese people must worship at the main Amaterasu shrine in Ise (known as the Ise Jingu Shrine).
Nippon Kaigi was founded in 1997 as a merging of two groups: Nippon wo Mamoru Kai (the Committee to Protect Japan) the ranks of which greatly consisted of Shinto shrine leadership, and Nippon wo Mamoru Kokumin Kaigi (Citizens’ Meeting to Protect Japan) which consisted mainly of Right-wing business leaders and public intellectuals. The goal of the new organization was to squash the growing Leftism and Communism in Japan and to revive the imperial cult of the Emperor and the sun goddess Amaterasu.
Today, these Right-wing nationalists see their fight against China as a continuation of the founding purpose of Nippon Kaigi, and that is the war against Communism. In this struggle with the enemies of Japan, these nationalists see the restoration of Japanese traditional religion as a way by which to combat the forces against Japan and to protect the culture and thus Japanese identity. One of the policy goals of Nippon Kaigi is “Moving the Japan of tomorrow towards its beautiful traditional character.” In this aspiration of moving Japan to a traditional involves both religion and militarism.
Truly, in the ideology of Japanese nationalism, religion and militarism are inseparable. Central within the movement of Japanese nationalism is the continuation of worship in the Yasukuni Shrine. In this temple it is believed that the spirits of deceased Japanese soldiers are enshrined as gods. Japanese politicians, including Shinzo Abe himself (who is also a part of the Nippon Kaigi cult), have visited this shrine, which is to the joy of nationalists and to the spite of the Chinese. The reason for this controversy is that it is not just mere soldiers who are deified in this shrine, but class A war criminals (“Class A” is defined as “crimes against peace”). It was also Shinzo Abe who pushed for changing the Japanese Constitution to allow military involvement in war.
Nationalists see the changing of the Constitution and the revival of traditionalism (such as visiting the Yasukuni shrine) as essential for the kokutai in that it promotes kunizukuri or “nation building.” The nationalist cause of altering the constitution and reviving traditionalism is connected by them with the Shinto myth of Japan’s mythological origins, in which the god Okuninushi creates Japan and gives it to the descendants of the sun goddess Amaterasu, the royal family — the Japanese imperial line. Thus, it is the divine right of the Japanese people to return to militarism and the worship of the gods, and this should not be impeded by foreign forces such as the United States or China. This ideology of Japan’s divine origin in the movement to change the country’s constitution was seen in 2012 when the Liberal Democratic Party put together a draft constitution extolling Japan as a country that “receives an Emperor [from the gods]” and has “pride in country and hometown,” and establishes the Constitution as a means of protecting the “good traditions” of Japan.
The Nippon Kaigi are typical of a politically traditionalist movement: accusations of warcrimes are Western and Chinese Communist propaganda, and if there were any atrocities then we should overlook them because it was the way of the times, a part of war within the standards of that era; the Japanese invasion of other Asian countries was not a war for conquest and genocide, but one of liberation of the Western imperialists, a war of the East against the conquering West. Traditionalism, in the paradigm of the cult, is a return to the pagan roots of Japan, with its Zen Buddhist callousness and the indiscriminate obedience to an emperor who the whole world must bow down to. In the paradigm of the Japanese traditionalist cult, Japan must rescind whatever apologies it made in the past for atrocities it committed during the war (specifically the 1995 Maruyama Statement and 1993 Kono Statement). The fact that Kishida belongs to the Nippon Kaigi, and the fact Japan is speaking of possible war with China, tells us that Japanese policy towards militarism and nationalism is not going to change but will only intensify.
 
 
source <a href="https://shoebat.com/2021/09/29/japanese-nationalism-and-militarism-are-not-going-away-but-will-only-intensify/">https://shoebat.com/2021/09/29/japanese-nationalism-and-militarism-are-not-going-away-but-will-only-intensify/</a>

armageddon Japanese Nationalism And Militarism Are Not Going Away, But Will Only Intensify

By Theodore Shoebat In September of 2020, Japan commenced its largest set of military exercises since 1993, in order to scare the Chinese ...

New Zealand Tightens Terror Law For "Lone Actors" After ISIS-Linked Attack

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<div class="ins_instory_dv_cont"><img alt="New Zealand Tightens Terror Law For 'Lone Actors' After ISIS-Linked Attack" src="https://c.ndtvimg.com/2021-09/cbm46g9_new-zealand-police-generic_625x300_30_September_21.jpg" title="New Zealand Tightens Terror Law For 'Lone Actors' After ISIS-Linked Attack" /></div>
New Zealand passed a new security law to criminalise preparing a terror attack.
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Wellington:
New Zealand on Thursday passed a new security law to criminalise preparing a terror attack, tightening a loophole that was exposed by a man who went on to conduct a mass stabbing in the country's most populated city.
New Zealand has for months been moving to strengthen its security laws amid heightened fears of lone wolf terror attacks, but the new law was rushed through its parliament after Aathil Mohamed Samsudeen stabbed and wounded seven people in a supermarket in Auckland earlier this month.
It is now an offence to plot and prepare a terror attack, which Kris Faafoi, New Zealand's Minister of Justice, said brings security laws in line with most other countries.
"The nature of terrorism has changed. Across the world there are more lone actors, rather than larger organised groups," Faafoi said in an emailed statement.
The new law comes less than a month after police shot dead Samsudeen, a 32-year-old Sri Lankan national, moments after he launched his attack.
Samsudeen had been convicted and imprisoned for about three years before being released in July.
New Zealand had in 2020 unsuccessfully sought to charge Samsudeen with terrorism offences after he bought a hunting knife and was found with Islamic State videos.
However, a judge ruled Samsudeen did not convene New Zealand's terror laws at the time. He was released, though he was placed under 24-hour police surveillance.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
 
 
source <a href="https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/new-zealand-tightens-terror-law-for-lone-actors-after-isis-linked-attack-2558523">https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/new-zealand-tightens-terror-law-for-lone-actors-after-isis-linked-attack-2558523</a>

news world New Zealand Tightens Terror Law For "Lone Actors" After ISIS-Linked Attack

New Zealand passed a new security law to criminalise preparing a terror attack. Wellington: New Zealand on Thursday passed a new securi...

A Race Against Time To Save Florida Coral Reef From Mysterious Disease

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Florida Reef Tract stretches 360 miles (580 kilometers) from the Dry Tortugas.
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Orlando, United States:
At a laboratory in central Florida, biologist Aaron Gavin uses tiny pipettes to carefully feed shrimp to more than 700 corals living in huge saltwater tanks, with sunlight-mimicking lamps glowing above them.
The work of the scientists here could be the last chance to save the species that make up the only coral reef in the United States' continental waters.
Gavin and his team have diligently recreated the coral reef habitat found in the waters off the southern tip of the state, complete with artificial currents and local fish.
They hope to prevent the 18 species of coral in their care from suffering the same mysterious ailment, called SCTLD (stony coral tissue loss disease), that is afflicting their wild cousins.
Among the sprawling mangroves and darting schools of fish off the Florida Keys, the damaged corals -- normally dark -- now appear as large white patches on the floor of the Atlantic Ocean.
The situation is the same all along the Florida Reef Tract, which stretches 360 miles (580 kilometers) from the Dry Tortugas, which are the westernmost islands in the Florida Keys, all the way to the town of St Lucie, located about 120 miles north of Miami.
"It's heartbreaking, and I think the most alarming (thing) about it is that most people don't know it's happening," said Michelle Ashton, the communications director of the Fish and Wildlife Foundation of Florida.
Rescue
What Gavin and his colleagues discover at the Florida Coral Rescue Center could change the future of the state's marine ecosystems.
"We are holding the corals safely and healthy in our care," explained Justin Zimmerman, the director of the Orlando-based lab, which opened in 2020 and is managed by aquatic theme park company SeaWorld.
"If they were still in the wild, up to 90 percent of them would have been dead," Zimmerman said.
The potentially catastrophic SCTLD was first discovered in 2014, near Miami, and has continued to spread rapidly, killing about half of stony coral species, a cornerstone of marine biodiversity.
The disease, whose causes are unknown, is now plaguing the animals further into the Caribbean, all the way in Mexico and Belize.
The rescue lab's work is part of a project created in 2018 by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, and includes dozens of public and private organizations.
The group, faced with the threat of more than 20 of the 45 species of hard corals in the area going extinct, devised the unprecedented plan to extract healthy corals from the region's waters and care for them in these artificially equipped aquariums in the hope they can be returned to their wild habitats in the future.
"You are looking at the future of Florida Reef Tract in this room," Aston said of the corals in the Orlando aquariums. "And their grandchildren will be what goes back out to the water."
Return to the sea
The first part of the rescue plan has allowed wildlife authorities to save nearly 2,000 colonies of corals, now stored at more than 20 institutions in 14 different states.
The second part of the plan requires researchers to successfully return the corals to the ocean -- though such an operation would likely take place a long time from now, as corals reproduce very slowly.
The scientists are studying the genetics of the rescued animals in an effort to cultivate new specimens that could be more resistant to disease, as well as other threats such as warming water temperatures and pollution.
The success or failure of these endeavors could have huge consequences for the region.
Stony corals, made up of limestone skeletons, are what create coral reefs, which in turn provide a home for a quarter of marine life.
Plus, the structures are natural barriers between the open ocean and land, reducing the strength of waves that hit the coastline, especially during hurricanes and other storms.
And a hit to coral health could mean a hit to Florida tourism revenue, as one study estimated that visitors drawn to the state for fishing and diving along the reef generate $8.5 billion.
Key Largo resident Steve Campbell, 59, is worried about what comes next. He is sitting next to the small tourist boat he captains, currently anchored in the port.
He said the coral disease has already had an impact on his business.
"I've been in the Florida Keys now for 20 years, and I'm out on the water every day," he said.
"Obviously we make our living out here, so we take people out to the reef for the enjoyment of seeing the reef."
"So for us it's extremely important."
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
 
 
source <a href="https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/scientists-race-against-time-to-save-florida-coral-reef-from-mysterious-disease-2558521">https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/scientists-race-against-time-to-save-florida-coral-reef-from-mysterious-disease-2558521</a>

news world A Race Against Time To Save Florida Coral Reef From Mysterious Disease

Florida Reef Tract stretches 360 miles (580 kilometers) from the Dry Tortugas. Orlando, United States: At a laboratory in central Flori...

US, China Military Officials Hold "Frank, In-Depth" Talks: Pentagon

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US-China Relations: US and Chinese military held virtual talks, Pentagon said. (File)
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Washington:
US and Chinese military officials held "frank, in-depth" talks this week on a range of defense issues, the Pentagon said on Wednesday, as the countries grapple over their competing interests in the Indo-Pacific region.
Michael Chase, US deputy assistant secretary of defense for China, held the meetings by video conference on Tuesday and Wednesday with Chinese Major General Huang Xueping, the Pentagon said in a statement.
"During the talks, the two sides held a frank, in-depth, and open discussion on a range of issues affecting the U.S.-PRC defense relationship," the statement said, using the acronym for the People's Republic of China.
"Both sides reaffirmed consensus to keep communication channels open," it said.
The talks were held two weeks after the United States, Britain and Australia announced a security pact that will provide Australia with nuclear-powered submarines, a move denounced by Beijing.
The pact, known as AUKUS, is largely seen as a response by Western allies to avert a Chinese hegemony in Southeast Asia and beyond, particularly the South China Sea.
The Pentagon said that during the talks with China "the U.S. side also made clear our commitment to uphold shared principles with our allies and partners in the Indo-Pacific region."
This was the 16th round of the talks, known as the U.S.-PRC Defense Policy Coordination talks. The last round was held during the administration of former U.S. President Donald Trump on Jan. 14, 2020.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
 
 
source <a href="https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/us-china-relations-us-china-military-officials-hold-frank-in-depth-talks-pentagon-2558517">https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/us-china-relations-us-china-military-officials-hold-frank-in-depth-talks-pentagon-2558517</a>

news world US, China Military Officials Hold "Frank, In-Depth" Talks: Pentagon

US-China Relations: US and Chinese military held virtual talks, Pentagon said. (File) Washington: US and Chinese military officials hel...

A Home Renovation In France Yields Gold Treasure Of $1.2 Million

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Stonemasons discovered 239 pieces of gold, minted before the French Revolution. (File)
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Paris:
Hundreds of rare gold coins dug out of the walls of a remote French mansion fetched more than one million euros ($1.2 million) at auction on Wednesday.
Stonemasons discovered 239 pieces of gold, minted before the French Revolution, when they began renovating the property near Quimper in the western Brittany region, auctioneers Ivoire/Deloys said.
The family kept four coins as souvenirs and put the rest up for auction in the western town of Angers, with an estimated value of 250,000-300,000 euros.
Bidding opened at 8,000 euros for a very rare double Louis d'Or, depicting Louis XIV and dating back to 1646. It went for 46,000 euros, the same price as a Louis d'Or from Paris dated 1640 and stamped with the Templar's Cross.
"Bids were flying from everywhere -- in the room, on internet and on the telephone," said auctioneer Florian D'Oysonville.
The 2019 find was only reported now after the owners tasked the auction house with the sale.
The proceeds were to be shared between the owners and the three craftsmen who found the gold.
D'Oysonville told AFP the coins, hidden in a metal box, probably constituted the savings of a rich trader or landowner.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
 
 
source <a href="https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/french-home-renovation-a-home-renovation-in-france-yields-gold-treasure-of-1-2-million-2558512">https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/french-home-renovation-a-home-renovation-in-france-yields-gold-treasure-of-1-2-million-2558512</a>

news world A Home Renovation In France Yields Gold Treasure Of $1.2 Million

Stonemasons discovered 239 pieces of gold, minted before the French Revolution. (File) Paris: Hundreds of rare gold coins dug out of th...

US Says "No Hostile Intent" Towards North Korea, Still Ready For Talks

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<div class="ins_instory_dv_cont"><img alt="US Says 'No Hostile Intent' Towards North Korea, Still Ready For Talks" src="https://c.ndtvimg.com/2021-03/jspdl0so_north-korea-us-flag-reuters650_625x300_27_March_21.jpg" title="US Says 'No Hostile Intent' Towards North Korea, Still Ready For Talks" /></div>
US- North Korea Relations: US said it bears "no hostile intent" towards North Korea. (File)
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Washington:
The United States said Wednesday it bears "no hostile intent" towards North Korea and remains open to the idea of negotiations, after Kim Jong Un called the offer "no more than a petty trick."
Kim has accused the administration of US President Joe Biden of pursuing a hostile policy against his nuclear-armed nation, even though Biden's government has repeatedly offered to meet North Korean officials without preconditions.
"The United States harbors no hostile intent toward the DPRK," a State Department spokesperson said in a statement.
"Our policy calls for a calibrated, practical approach that seeks serious and sustained diplomacy with the DPRK to make tangible progress that increases the security of the United States, our allies, and our deployed forces."
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
 
 
source <a href="https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/us-north-korea-relations-us-says-no-hostile-intent-towards-north-korea-still-ready-for-talks-2558505">https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/us-north-korea-relations-us-says-no-hostile-intent-towards-north-korea-still-ready-for-talks-2558505</a>

news world US Says "No Hostile Intent" Towards North Korea, Still Ready For Talks

US- North Korea Relations: US said it bears "no hostile intent" towards North Korea. (File) Washington: The United States sai...