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dilbertschalter posted:I'd say the main talking point used by right-wingers on this issue is that Japan was forced into invading China by the egregious and unacceptable provocations of the Nationalist government (and the same argument is used for Pearl Harbor/the invasion of Southeast Asia). So while Japan might have invaded China, it was only doing so to protect its honor and stave off impending aggression. Its all pretty loving stupid, because there is no academic debate (inside Japan) over if Japan invaded other countries during WW2 (it pretty much sits in the same space as the theory of gravity, ie it happened). Korea/Vietnam you could sorta argue about it based on semantics, as the Russians gave Korea to Japan, France gave Vietnam to Japan when they surrendered, so you can't really "invade" something which is already yours etc. But in reality actions count more than words, so its not really something you can argue about. But it looks like he seems to live under the same illusion that both the South Korea and Chinese Governments operate under, in that you can say all sorts of stupid stuff and claim its for internal purposes only, and then act surprised when other countries act on it. ArchangeI posted:That said, I'd love to see pictures from Yasukuni shrine, if only for the rise in blood pressure. The actual shrine at Yasukuni is pretty much a normal shinto shrine, so shouldn't raise your blood pressure, the dumb arse's doing WW2 cosplay around it may. It's the Yūshūkan that is really retarded, but to put in context it is a private museum and as such has no requirements to be accurate or even truthful with it's displays (most museum's have reputations to consider so tend to stick to the facts etc, but a shrine doesn't really have to give a poo poo), so think of it as similar to the creationism museum and that's how most Japanese consider it (the ones I know). Gleri posted:I think what Japan ought to do is to establish a national, secular war memorial. If you're going to argue separation of church and state with respect to the actions of the Yasukuni shrine then it shouldn't be performing a state function. I mean, maybe one exists and everyone ignores it? But it's a bit ridiculous to leave the job of memorializing the war (totally legitimate on the face of it) to a group of facsist priests not employed by the government. They have been trying to do this, but it's a bit hard for it to get traction. Considering the shrine wasn't that problematic until the head priest died and his retarded son enshrined the war criminals in a secret ceremony. While it has turned out to be convenient excuse, the part separating church and state was imposed by the occupation forces after WW2, and was very heavily enforced because there used to be a state religion before then. So I guess its more about right wing idiots using what they have.
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Apr 24, 2013 23:14
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ArchangeI posted:That said, I'd love to see pictures from Yasukuni shrine, if only for the rise in blood pressure. There were some right-wing people selling t-shirts outside though: 
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Apr 24, 2013 23:26
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What do they say? "WWII 1941-1945 runner-ups"?
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Apr 24, 2013 23:32
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ArchangeI posted:What do they say? "WWII 1941-1945 runner-ups"? I want to go there wearing one of the "America : Back to Back World War Champions" T shirts.
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Apr 25, 2013 00:11
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ArchangeI posted:What do they say? "WWII 1941-1945 runner-ups"? The text on the back of the long version says: 日本人よ胸を張れ！！ 大和民族の子孫として 殉国ノ英霊ニ感謝ノ誠ヲ捧グ 明治開国から大東亜戦争に至るまで 祖国の為に力の限り戦った将兵と 銃後を守り抜いた総べての先人達は 我が日本国の誇りである Japanese people be proud!! As descendants of the Yamato people, we offer our sincere gratitude to the spirits of those who died for our country. From the opening of our country in the Meiji period to the Pacific War, all of our ancestors who defended the homefront and officers and soldiers who fought with all their power for their homeland are the pride of Japan. The more interesting things:   1: What appears to be a spelling error 2: Cut off but probably says they won't allow "Anti-Japanese Left-wingers, Chinese [the word used is arguably a racial slur, at least it is deliberately offensive], Koreans [likewise arguably a racial slur or at least deliberately offensive] to enter." 3: This version of the shirt says: 我が国に戦犯は存在せず 今こそ昭和殉難者の名誉回復を There are no war crimes in our country. It's time to restore honor to the Showa era martyrs. Edit: Oh also I find it amusing that the sign says they don't want Chinese and Korean people to enter (theoretically you could also parse it to just mean that they don't want anti-Japanese Chinese and Korean people I guess), but they have an English sign that just says "recovery of Japan" implying that they will be glad to sell English speakers who don't know Japanese and aren't savvy to the fact that they're crazy right-wing nuts their shirt. mystes fucked around with this message at 00:32 on Apr 25, 2013 |
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Apr 25, 2013 00:25
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Madd0g11 posted:I want to go there wearing one of the "America : Back to Back World War Champions" T shirts. That sounds like a good way to get a slash from a katana. 
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Apr 25, 2013 01:35
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Samurai Sanders posted:A new Japanese student came to my class on the first day wearing a six pointed star necklace, and against my better judgement I asked if she was Jewish. Of course not. After that she didn't wear it anymore, I probably made her feel self-conscious about it for no good reason. Get her an 8 pointed Chaos Undivided star.
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Apr 25, 2013 02:29
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mystes posted:
It's just an alternate kanji for 祭る. As usual, chiebukuro is the number one stop for answers: http://detail.chiebukuro.yahoo.co.jp/qa/question_detail/q1472035434 /boring language chat
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Apr 25, 2013 03:19
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ozza posted:It's just an alternate kanji for 祭る. As usual, chiebukuro is the number one stop for answers: http://detail.chiebukuro.yahoo.co.jp/qa/question_detail/q1472035434
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Apr 25, 2013 03:36
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mystes posted:Actually I meant the fact that it said "お祀るりする". Yikes, I missed that sorry. An obscure kanji with a spelling error, truly the spirit of the Japanese right wing.
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Apr 25, 2013 03:51
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tyblazitar posted:The shrine itself isn't much to look at, pretty similar to any other shrine in Japan. I went there once (on January 2. no less, place was really packed as all the nationalists had come in their black vans to see the emperor's speech), and if I didn't know about it I wouldn't have guessed there was anything special about it.
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Apr 25, 2013 04:18
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tyblazitar posted:The shrine itself isn't much to look at, pretty similar to any other shrine in Japan. I went there once (on January 2. no less, place was really packed as all the nationalists had come in their black vans to see the emperor's speech) I think you may be conflating events in your memory, because there is no way the current emperor made a speech at Yasukuni Shrine.
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Apr 25, 2013 09:12
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Lemmi Caution posted:I think you may be conflating events in your memory, because there is no way the current emperor made a speech at Yasukuni Shrine. No emperor has made a speech at the shrine (or visited) since the class A's were enshrined there.
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Apr 25, 2013 09:53
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I don't think anyone posted it here, but the House of Representatives approved ratification of the Hague Convention on Child Abduction a couple of days ago. This means that Japan will ratify the Convention in 30 days (unless the House of Councillors approves it earlier).
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Apr 25, 2013 21:39
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mystes posted:I don't think anyone posted it here, but the House of Representatives approved ratification of the Hague Convention on Child Abduction a couple of days ago. This means that Japan will ratify the Convention in 30 days (unless the House of Councillors approves it earlier). Didn't they still strip all the important provisions regarding rights of foreign parents? I know there are a few notorious cases where a Japanese national with child from a foreign parent will take the kid back to Japan and the Japanese govt will refuse any extradition or legal attempts for the other partner reclaim custody. Wibbleman posted:No emperor has made a speech at the shrine (or visited) since the class A's were enshrined there. See, this is the amusing thing about the Yakasuni visits. All the nationalists have a hardcore traditional Japanese mentality and the Emperor is supposed to be the supreme figure of respect and worship in that regard, but the deliberate decision to cease visits to the Shrine has no effect on the nationalist desire to glorify the war criminals. So, maybe not so much "Bring back Imperial Japan" but more "We hate foreigners and everything Japan is inherently better"
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Apr 25, 2013 22:22
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pentyne posted:See, this is the amusing thing about the Yakasuni visits. All the nationalists have a hardcore traditional Japanese mentality and the Emperor is supposed to be the supreme figure of respect and worship in that regard, but the deliberate decision to cease visits to the Shrine has no effect on the nationalist desire to glorify the war criminals.
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Apr 25, 2013 22:23
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Lemmi Caution posted:I think you may be conflating events in your memory, because there is no way the current emperor made a speech at Yasukuni Shrine.
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Apr 25, 2013 22:37
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pentyne posted:Didn't they still strip all the important provisions regarding rights of foreign parents? I know there are a few notorious cases where a Japanese national with child from a foreign parent will take the kid back to Japan and the Japanese govt will refuse any extradition or legal attempts for the other partner reclaim custody. Latest I heard is that they will include verbal arguments in the definition of domestic violence, so if you've ever had an argument with your spouse (ie every divorced couple ever) then you can kiss any hope of seeing your children goodbye. One of the other fundamental problems is that Japanese courts treat the rest of the world as if their courts and legal systems are unreliable and would leave children with abusive spouses, when the exact opposite is the case, and it's Japanese courts that can't be trusted to be impartial. Just more bullshit smoke and mirrors until they actually enact decent laws for the enforcement of the convention, along with real penalties, and good luck with that. Sheep fucked around with this message at 23:05 on Apr 25, 2013 |
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Apr 25, 2013 22:58
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Not to derail the always interesting nationalism chat, but I've got a question about the LDP. I heard long ago that the LDP is a bit more reform-minded than in its past and compared to the DPJ. The argument goes that by the time Koizumi took over, they had kicked out a lot of the more corrupt parts of their party, of which Ichiro Ozawa was the most notable. Supposedly, these corrupt exiles gathered under the DPJ and tried to run things like old times when they came into power back in '09. Is there any truth to this? I've only been interested in Japanese politics for the past few years and the evidence I've seen for this narrative is mixed at best. The only other guy I heard espouse this idea was a Japanese expat whose politics were pretty much stereotypical 2chan nationalism, so I don't have much faith in it.
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Apr 26, 2013 01:50
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The LDP/DPJ split was more over internal LDP politicking than any kind of conscious reform movement. The main difference between the two parties is policy priorities rather than any major ideological or doctrinal differences. The LDP is also still hilariously corrupt at the prefectural and local levels. My take on it is that the LDP is very invested in the idea of Japan as a major player in world affairs and wants the prestige that comes with that. The DPJ, on the other hand, is more interested in improving relations in the region to bolster trade and hence line their own pockets.
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Apr 26, 2013 02:10
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So did that sales tax proposal die with the DPJ? Has the LDP been talking up austerity at all?
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Apr 26, 2013 03:56
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It passed, but it won't start to kick in until next year. 8% in 2014, then 10% in 2015. It was a pretty hilariously dirty. The DPJ promised not to raise sales tax for 4 years and got elected, then pass a tax increase less than 3 years later, but that wouldn't technically kick in until after the 4 year period of the promise had kicked in, which predictably didn't fool anyone. LDP seems pretty opposed to austerity measures, since they are already having problems with unemployment and underemployment and don't buy into neo-liberal economic policy that much. As a matter of fact, they recently passed a huge stimulus bill to devalue the yen as a means to boost export-led manufacturing that had the usual suspects howling about misguided Keynesian boondoggles. If it pisses off the Cato Institute, it's worth giving the benefit of the doubt in my book.
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Apr 26, 2013 04:37
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pentyne posted:Didn't they still strip all the important provisions regarding rights of foreign parents? quote:I know there are a few notorious cases where a Japanese national with child from a foreign parent will take the kid back to Japan and the Japanese govt will refuse any extradition or legal attempts for the other partner reclaim custody. Of course Japan won't extradite parents who abduct their children; Japan doesn't extradite Japanese nationals ever. Under current Japanese law, I don't think Japanese nationals can be extradited unless required to by treaty and their extradition treaty with the US doesn't require this. It remains to be seen whether ratifying the convention will have any effect. Particularly I'm curious how the government will deal with the "rights of access" (which interestingly don't actually seem to have the same exception allowing refusal as a request to return a child) since this concept seems at odds with the current conception of visitation and it would be sort of bizarre if divorced fathers in Japan who are foreign nationals end up having more rights than their Japanese counterparts. mystes fucked around with this message at 04:54 on Apr 26, 2013 |
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Apr 26, 2013 04:47
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Protocol 5 posted:It passed, but it won't start to kick in until next year. 8% in 2014, then 10% in 2015. It was a pretty hilariously dirty. The DPJ promised not to raise sales tax for 4 years and got elected, then pass a tax increase less than 3 years later, but that wouldn't technically kick in until after the 4 year period of the promise had kicked in, which predictably didn't fool anyone. Yeah, I was going to say in many ways the LDP seems (sort of?) left to the DPJ since dramatic increases in sales taxes it is both regressive and pretty stupid considering Japan relies on consumer spending to such a significant degree. There doesn't seem to be a firm ideological basis for each party, but by virtue of policy there is at least some difference even if it Keynesian versus Freshwater.
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Apr 26, 2013 05:12
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Ardennes posted:Yeah, I was going to say in many ways the LDP seems (sort of?) left to the DPJ since dramatic increases in sales taxes it is both regressive and pretty stupid considering Japan relies on consumer spending to such a significant degree. There doesn't seem to be a firm ideological basis for each party, but by virtue of policy there is at least some difference even if it Keynesian versus Freshwater. Support for a consumption tax is tricky to pin down from an ideological standpoint. Most European countries have significantly higher consumption taxes than America, which means that their overall tax structures aren't as progressive as income taxes would suggest. As for the LDP and stimulus, it's fine in theory, but in practice it seems like more money flowing into the coffers of people with connections. As for the devaluing the Yen, that's literally the equivalent of reducing wages to improve corporate profits. dilbertschalter fucked around with this message at 05:31 on Apr 26, 2013 |
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Apr 26, 2013 05:25
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Sorry if these questions come off a little vague but I'm interested in investing in the Yen and Abe's policies. I'm looking for a general idea about whether or not they will work. 1. What's the general feeling about inflation and weakening the yen? Is the yen going to collapse or will it hover where it is and then get stronger again? What's the feeling on Abe's money printing policy? Well reasoned or hair brained? 2. What's the reason for the sales tax hike? To get more money out into the government to lower debt or to try and take away personal savings to (again) inflate the currency? Neither? 3. What will prices on goods and services do if the yen inflates more or strengthens again? I know prices are going down or staying the same right now because of weak exports and people trying to save more. Edit: derp, inflation, devaluation Teikanmi fucked around with this message at 09:25 on Apr 26, 2013 |
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Apr 26, 2013 05:40
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dilbertschalter posted:Support for a consumption tax is tricky to pin down from an ideological standpoint. Most European countries have significantly higher consumption taxes than America, which means that their overall tax structures aren't as progressive as income taxes would suggest. Consumption taxes are almost always regressive, Europe just has more taxation on all levels but it may be difficult to lump Europe and the US together when comparing all tax systems. Hungary has a VAT of 27% and Oregon has 0% sales tax, but it is just one part of their overall tax structure (Hungary also has a flat income tax...so yeah, kind of a nightmare there). That said, all things being equal, the side that wants to raise consumption taxes is pushing for a economic regressive measure. Japan is sort of screwed either way regarding its currency, its internal markets are tapped out and they need to expand their exports but devaluing their currency is going to make imports (also very important for Japan) more expensive to consumers at large. Japan is sort of screwed either way, if the LPD hands out infrastructure it going to be probably be tied with a bunch of pork but if you do nothing, the economy is probably going to get worse.
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Apr 26, 2013 06:02
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Cameron posted:Sorry if these questions come off a little vague but I'm interested in investing in the Yen and Abe's policies. I'm looking for a general idea about whether or not they will work. I'll leave answering this to someone more knowledgeable, but I want to point out that it's inflation when a currency devalues.
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Apr 26, 2013 06:33
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Cameron posted:Sorry if these questions come off a little vague but I'm interested in investing in the Yen and Abe's policies. I'm looking for a general idea about whether or not they will work. I can answer some parts of Question 1: The Yen will most likely not crash because is doesn't have the classic symptoms of other currency crashes in the past 20 or so years: 1) Massive overvaluation combined with pegged currency or 2) being highly indebted to foreign capital and having a shaky financial system. Furthermore, Japan has accumulated the 2nd largest foreign exchange reserves precisely to defend the Yen in such a crisis. The 1997 Asian Financial Crisis taught all of the East Asian countries to use their surpluses to accumulate massive reserves as a defense. I'm just a casual observer of Japan, but Abe printing money doesn't seem surprising. Japan feels that its exports are waning as a result of the Yen being too strong. So, they print a bunch of Yen, dump it on the foreign exchange, weaken the Yen, and watch exports grow. You get some economic activity, business and corporations are happy, seems like a pretty non-controversial and not-crazy economic plan from the Japanese perspective. I doubt that it'll have any effect on Japan's 20+ years of spiraling deflation, though.
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Apr 26, 2013 10:40
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How much room does the Yen really have to crash? Aren't they worth about a penny right now? I can't imagine the rest of the world would let the Yen get down to, say, Zimbabwe dollars.
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Apr 26, 2013 11:45
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Protocol 5 posted:The LDP/DPJ split was more over internal LDP politicking than any kind of conscious reform movement. The main difference between the two parties is policy priorities rather than any major ideological or doctrinal differences. The LDP is also still hilariously corrupt at the prefectural and local levels. The DPJ also contains some remnants of the Socialist Party, but they have been pretty much wiped out.
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Apr 26, 2013 12:05
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Pope Guilty posted:How much room does the Yen really have to crash? Aren't they worth about a penny right now? I can't imagine the rest of the world would let the Yen get down to, say, Zimbabwe dollars. Currently 1 yen is about 1 cent, and historically over the last 20 year period it has been somewhere between 78 (or whatever it hit in 2011/2012) and 134 yen to the dollar, so we're kind of back at that awkward historical neutral value that is neither great nor terrible for both consumers and business. Edit: 20 years not 100 years, woops. Sheep fucked around with this message at 13:18 on Apr 26, 2013 |
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Apr 26, 2013 13:14
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MaterialConceptual posted:The DPJ also contains some remnants of the Socialist Party, but they have been pretty much wiped out. They were never really an important faction to begin with, to be honest. The Hatoyama faction had enough clout to become de facto kingmakers despite not being the largest faction, and the DSP and SPJ guys who joined up were the most centrist ones in the first place, so they never had a chance to influence policy in any meaningful way. They're still kicking around, though. Anyway, a really common misconception is that LDP vs. DPJ is right wing vs. left wing, when in fact both parties are right leaning populists, essentially. Leftist groups have generally fared poorly in Japan due to a historical willingness of ultra-right wingers to harass or just straight up murder leftists when it suits them, so it never had a chance to get a serious foothold.
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Apr 26, 2013 13:21
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Protocol 5 posted:Leftist groups have generally fared poorly in Japan due to a historical willingness of ultra-right wingers to harass or just straight up murder leftists when it suits them, so it never had a chance to get a serious foothold. Can't write that without posting the Youtube video! 
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Apr 26, 2013 13:36
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Cool picture, but it's in the OP, brah I ask those questions because I'm considering working in Japan at some point in the next few years or possibly investing in the Yen if it drops down. Part of me thinks that due to the age of the country and the rise of China that deflation is basically unavoidable no matter what, so buying it when it's weak would be a big get for investors.
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Apr 26, 2013 14:15
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Pope Guilty posted:How much room does the Yen really have to crash? Aren't they worth about a penny right now? I can't imagine the rest of the world would let the Yen get down to, say, Zimbabwe dollars. The Yen was between 100-130 to the dollar for at least a decade. After the financial crisis it hit 70 yen/dollar. Thats the complete opposite of Zimbabwe dollars. I work for a small business with operations in the US and Japan, that exchange rate was vicious.
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Apr 26, 2013 18:47
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It's strange how the JPY is tied to policy makers trying to make it weaker. I can't believe that a country would ever want the USA to get stronger so that it can put itself into a submissive export-based position.
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Apr 27, 2013 10:24
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Cameron posted:Part of me thinks that due to the age of the country and the rise of China that deflation is basically unavoidable no matter what, so buying it when it's weak would be a big get for investors.
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Apr 27, 2013 11:03
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It occurs to me that we should update the OP to note that Aso is now the Deputy PM and Finance Minister (As sad as that is).
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Apr 27, 2013 11:20
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hobbesmaster posted:The Yen was between 100-130 to the dollar for at least a decade. After the financial crisis it hit 70 yen/dollar. Thats the complete opposite of Zimbabwe dollars. I do translation work in automotive journalism, and let me tell you, the Big Three have been going loving nuts. Keep in mind that the yen was hitting record highs while their manufacturing sector was reeling from flooding in Thailand that shut down a ton of component suppliers, the aftermath of the earthquake and tsunami, and sluggish demand in every major developed market. The yen was strong, but a ton of companies were hemorrhaging cash from spiking supply chain costs and energy prices while sales revenues were down, so many of them were unable to take advantage of it to invest in foreign assets. What you saw instead was a ton of joint ventures in Asia, particularly India, China, and Thailand. By keeping everything local to the target market, the Big Three could ameliorate the impact of the strong yen, while getting a foothold in emerging markets by supplying the technical know-how and letting their partners handle marketing and distribution. Anyway, FY 2012 reports hit this week, and demand appears to be recovering based on positive growth in sales volume in North America and Europe for the first time since FY 2007 for some automakers. A bunch of shoptalk about the auto industry is kind of outside the scope of this thread, so I'll leave it at that.
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Apr 27, 2013 12:40
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