Quote:
Originally Posted by chiuchimu
No. I don' agree.
you think the U.S. should stay. Your main argument is U.S. has been a good Allie and protectorate. Good argument. see your point.
Someone else said the majority of Japanese want the U.S. there. That's the strongest argument so far.
What is 'silly' with wanting our own military? Why can't Japan have a military and remain strong allies with the U.S.? England has a great military. Isn't U.S. and England strong allies?
Why can't japan have an independent relationship with China? Japan should let China know that it can increase it's U.S. involvement if China flexes its might, and likewise let America know that It might deal with China in ways that U.S. might not approve of. Like buying and selling military goods( not too much buying at this time). Keeping trade open even if the U.S. boycotts.
If the only way for the U.S. and Japan to be allies is that Japan lets America keep its military bases in Japan then I think something is wrong with that relationship.
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Once again, at the end of the second war Japan signed an "unconditional surrender" meaning that they lost the right to decide their destiny from that point. Japan was more or less a US territory, and the US was able to build military bases because the terms of the surrender took away any right the Japanese had to protest such actions. Now you know why the bases were built.
After the surrender and the building of the bases, the Japanese government and economy was rebuilt, largely guided by General MacArthur. MacArthur also oversaw the writing of the new Japanese Constitution, which is the law of the land to this day. This constitution specifically forbids Japan from possessing a military capable of offensive action.
Since the end of the war Japan and America have signed various treaties concerning the stationing of US troops in Japan. Japan shares half of the cost maintaining these forces, but this generally isn't begrudged, as the amount of economic activity generated by the industries and services which supply the bases nearly makes up for the expense. In the areas where US bases are located, they represent more than half of the local economy, and Japanese are employed in all but the most sensitive positions.
The majority of Japanese are not opposed to the US military in Japan. This subject came up a lot during Hatoyama's last days, and polls were taken at my school to measure opinion. Not surprisingly, the split was 80/20 in favor of keeping US forces in Japan.
Those who are most opposed to the presence of the bases are those who are too young to remember why they were built in the first place. Others complain about the noise of aircraft coming and going at all hours. I guess they don't remember the same noise which was generated there 60-odd years ago when it was caused by Japanese airplanes.
Japan has it's own private relationship with China. Japanese automakers have been producing cars and other such things in China for years, but there remains no love lost between the two countries. To this day a Japanese walking anywhere around China is going to get less-than-friendly treatment. I remember going to Chinese restaurants in America with my Japanese girlfriend and being surprised at the obvious coldness that the restaurant staff expressed. A good deal of the staff were born in America, and none of them were around during the war, yet they instantly recognized that my girlfriend was Japanese, and they became unfriendly. My girlfriend was not put off by the treatment because it was commonplace. It is going to be a long time before Japan and China have a warm relationship, if ever at all.