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japan, which seems to be growing in strength day by day, has even more people forgetting about it.

text | haike

according to the plan, ishiba shigeru took office as prime minister of japan today (october 1).

just when he was elected president of the liberal democratic party of japan, according to reference news citing the "nihon keizai shimbun" report, the website of the hudson institute in the united states published an article signed "president of the liberal democratic party shigeru ishiba". the main points are:

"the japan-u.s. security treaty should be revised to correct the 'asymmetry' of the japan-u.s. alliance." it even goes further, the japanese self-defense forces can be stationed in guam!

on september 27, at the liberal democratic party headquarters in tokyo, japan, liberal democratic party presidential candidate shigeru ishiba gave a speech before the second round of voting. photo: xinhua news agency

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let the japanese self-defense forces be stationed in guam?

so who is the defeated country?

uncle hai wants to say,shigeru ishibasuch remarks are not new since he was elected president of the liberal democratic party. during the campaign, he repeatedly said that "japan should be on an equal footing with the united states. since the united states has troops stationed in japan,japan self-defense forcesthey should also be stationed in the united states." shigeru ishiba even said that the japan-us status agreement regarding the stationing of us troops in japan should be revised.

in uncle hai's opinion, it's a matter of debate whether shi pomao's words were a joke or not! but one thing is that the japanese self-defense forces are not an army at all. what does "japan's military presence in the united states" mean?

can japan have an army? since there is no army, what does it mean to "garrison the united states"?

in an article posted on the hudson institute website, ishiba also said that when japan changes from a security vassal of the united states to a country that is equal to the united states, it can still become a close ally.

no matter what shigeru ishiba or the top leaders in japan, especially the liberal democratic party, think, some scholars and experts in the united states can no longer sit still——

is this a big deal? is it the opposite?

already from the united statescolumbia universityretired scholar gerry curtis said directly that shigeru ishiba "could cause trouble for the united states." curtis said that ishiba's so-called "self-defense forces stationing troops in the united states" somewhat "smells of occupation."

ken weinstein, another japan observer, said ishiba makes the united states elusive.

as for japan, there are also people who defend ishiba shigeru. for example, observer hiroshi akita said that shigeru ishiba is actually quite realistic and will not seek to boycott the united states like french leader charles de gaulle did.

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what do you think of shigeru ishiba’s remarks?

in uncle hai's view, it can be seen from various information coming out of japan that he is a relatively pragmatic political figure who seeks to change things. compared with sanae takaichi, who lost the election for the president of the liberal democratic party at the last moment, ishiba shigeru is far less tough on china issues, which can be seen from this.

but now, he is still busy with matters in japan. for example, the arrangement of positions within the liberal democratic party and the formation of a cabinet.

on september 27, the new liberal democratic party president shigeru ishiba held a press conference at the liberal democratic party headquarters in tokyo, japan. photo: xinhua news agency

let’s just talk about the job arrangements within the liberal democratic party.

according to a report by xinhua news agency citing japan jiji news agency, shigeru ishiba has confirmed the appointment of his old friend yu moriyama as secretary-general of the liberal democratic party, which is also the second-in-command of the liberal democratic party;

before the liberal democratic party presidential election, shinjiro koizumi, who was once optimistic by some people, got the position of chairman of the liberal democratic party's election strategy committee and was in charge of the election campaign;

former defense minister itsunori onodera may serve as chairman of the policy inquiry.

interestingly, ishiba may also ask former prime minister yoshihide suga to serve as vice president of the liberal democratic party.

uncle hai wants to say that ishiba shigeru's old opponent within the party in his political career is shinzo abe. and yoshihide suga is undoubtedly shinzo abe’s most capable general during his lifetime.

it can be seen from ishiba shigeru's personnel arrangements within the party that his thinking is really difficult to guess.

and in the next step, when japan's new cabinet is formed, it does not mean that all the plans of the shigeru ishiba government are completed!

on september 30, shigeru ishiba appeared at the headquarters of the liberal democratic party

on september 30, shigeru ishiba announced at the liberal democratic party headquarters in nagatacho, tokyo, that after he takes office as prime minister, he will announce the dissolution of the house of representatives on october 9 and hold a house of representatives election on october 27.

what is even more interesting is that after the liberal democratic party officially announced candidates for important positions in the party and held a general affairs meeting, shigeru ishiba also prepared to hold a party leader meeting with keiichi ishii, the leader of the komeito party, in order to form a coalition government with the komeito party.

this also shows that with the departure of fumio kishida, the liberal democratic party will temporarily say goodbye to the one-party dominance. when uniting with komeito, there is no doubt that the liberal democratic party will encounter more constraints.

at this time, looking back at ishiba shigeru’s remarks about “the self-defense forces stationing in the united states,” are they exaggerated?

since everyone knew that he was exaggerating as soon as he said this, why did ishiba shigeru know that it was impossible to say it, but still seemed to say it with certainty?

the reason for this is of course the intention to show favor to the domestic right wing.

that means nothing more than——

look, i'm ready to challenge the americans, how can you still be dissatisfied with me?

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as for some comments that ishiba shigeru wants to amend japan's pacifist constitution and rebuild the army, in uncle hai's opinion, it is too difficult.

japanese people want u.s. troops to withdraw

in the final analysis, the reason why japan has not been able to become a normal country since its defeat in world war ii has several factors in uncle hai's opinion -

first of all, japan has not thoroughly reflected on its war crimes.after the end of world war ii, countries such as germany fully acknowledged the crimes committed by their countries during world war ii. this also makes it possible for germany to rebuild rapport with its neighbors. and what about japan? although we also talk about friendship on issues such as the establishment of diplomatic relations between china and japan. if you broaden your horizons, you can see that in the surrounding areas, japan's relations with north korea, south korea, etc., have many knots that need to be unraveled.

secondly, after world war ii, the u.s. military stationed in japan, and with the changes in the geostrategic landscape, many of the agreements reached between the allies at the end of world war ii were not strictly implemented.for example, chinese, american, british and soviet troops jointly occupied japan in different regions. this agreement was not fully implemented due to the chinese civil war and the subsequent korean war. especially as the united states wooed some western allies and signed the so-called "san francisco peace treaty" with japan, japan suddenly forgot that it was a defeated country.

again, it was during the korean war that the united states rearmed japan.although the united states claims, and japan also says, that the self-defense forces specialize in defense, but now look at the helicopter destroyers owned by the japan maritime self-defense forces that are almost aircraft carriers - do you have the nerve to say that they are not an army?

the "kaga" is about to conduct f-35b shipboard takeoff and landing tests. picture: china military network

japan, which seems to be growing in strength day by day, has even more people forgetting about it.

therefore, after the news that china had notified the united states, australia, and new zealand of its missile test came out and was confirmed by the united states and other countries, japan claimed that it had not received the notification and was very concerned.

however, uncle hai would like to say that such a notification to the united states, australia, and new zealand is really necessary. as for japan, there is indeed no need to notify. after all, japan is not qualified to have an army.

since the united states is still stationing troops in japan on behalf of china, russia, britain and other countries, china can just tell the united states the notification information. as for whether the united states should inform japan, that is something the united states should consider.

if shigeru ishiba, the new prime minister, understands this, he may have something in mind to further develop the economy.

it's best not to think about things you shouldn't think about.

if you think about it, it’s all in vain!