Haven't written for about three weeks due to vacation and not finding a topic I want to write about. I decide to write about former prime minister of Japan, Abe, who was assassinated more than a week ago. I didn't really want to write about him after his death because in the past I have written to a newspaper editorial criticizing him. I don't want to be critical of someone who was just murdered. Then someone pointed out to me about the opinion I wrote about Abe and wonder if I am happy he died. Well, not really because things are not always black and white.
I criticized Abe because as prime minister, he visited the graves of Japanese war criminals. An American politician wrote an opinion that the Chinese should get over what happened during WWII and that it is the Japanese prime minister's right to visit the graves. I wrote wondering if that same politicians would write the same thing if Jews were appalled by the Chancellor of Germany visiting the graves of Nazi war criminals? Add to that, Abe's grandfather was a war criminal but was not prosecuted because the U.S. felt that he was useful as a politician who could run the agenda the Americans wanted for Japan post war. Sort of like the U.S. helping Nazis escape prosecution if they were useful to America as scientists for example.
But while I did not approve of what Abe did and what his grandfather did even more, Abe was basically a politician who tried to stay in power. His agenda included a stronger Japanese military. Maybe he believed it was necessary to counter the rise of China, although Japan is protected by the U.S. anyway. He most likely called for a stronger military and visited the graves of war criminals to satisfy the far right in Japan. At one time he actually called for better relations with China but that was probably shot down by the far right. So yes, things are not all black or white. So while I don't particularly like Abe, I don't feel any happiness about his assassination. The world is not safer when political leaders are killed rather than being judged at the ballot box.
I don't recall Abe visiting those grave sites. Were they just deceased from the war or were they tried as war criminals? How did he stay in power so long? Were the elections rigged to keep him in power? From what I read, his death helped the person he was campaigning for. I have no idea who that is and who they are running against.
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The cemetery was for war heroes but convicted war criminals were also included. I don't think that would be acceptable in Germany and any other country that was truly regretting what it did during the war. In fairness to Abe, he was not the first prime minister to visit the site. There were others who visited multiple times and Abe did not visit in his first term. But given his grandfather's legacy, it became more controversial for him to visit.
ReplyDeleteHe was the leader of the Liberal Democratic Party which is not liberal but is conservative and nationalistic. The LDP probably increase in power partly due to rise of China. So Abe had to be very nationalistic. I don't know what the campaign situation is now but his party is still in power and with his death, his successor may use that to rally the base. Abe's policies had been under attack lately and it is possible if he hasn't died, there would be calls for his successors to change the policies or get rid of his successor.
The guy that shot him apparently was angry that Abe was involved in the Unification church or Moonies as is called by distractors. The LDP and the Unification church are both strongly against communists. So there is some rumor that China is involved. It is a laughable accusation and has not gone far, for now. But hey, some people also believe that pedophiles are holding children in a pizza parlor for Clinton, so who knows?
That's a very strange thing. Are the Moonies far right or left or neither? It seems like his assassination will only help his party.
ReplyDeleteWhat did you think of Biden's visit to Saudi Arabia and his fist bump with the crown prince?
I wonder if the Saudis will do anything with oil now or if they'll turn the trip against Biden.
-LBOAYM
The Moonies are far right and very anti-communist. That is why they have a lot of followers in South Korea, Japan and significant number in the U.S. They are considered a cult in China, just like the Falun Gong.
ReplyDeleteBiden's fist bump with MBS was a bad sight. It is worse than a diplomatic hand shake. Then the Saudis contradicted his bringing up the murder. But we knew that it was going to be awkward going in. Biden had to do this not only because the energy prices but also because the Saudis are considering taking the yuan as payment for oil. The acceptance of only U.S. dollars for oil by the Saudis is one of the important things that give America power in world economics. The Saudis won't go too far in accepting the yuan because it depends on U.S. military weapons and security. But if the U.S. pushes too much on human rights, it is a bargaining chip the Saudis may use.
Did you see that DWTS, the favorite show of LBOAYM, is going to be streamed on Disney+ instead of broadcast on ABC? The show has become kind of stale without real stars in recent seasons. So I won't pay for a subscription to watch it.
I just found out that Saudi Arabia imports Russian oil and the amount has increased dramatically in the second quarter of this year. It would seem to not make any sense that Saudi Arabia, one of biggest exporter of oil, would import oil. But it buys Russian oil, which is very cheap compare with OPEC oil, for its domestic consumption. This allows it to sell more of the oil it produces to the world market. Buy increasing its purchase of Russian oil, it can say that it is selling more to the world, particularly Europe which is banning Russian oil import. Of course, this does not reduce the price of oil in most of the world. I would think that Biden knows about this but he did not address that after the meeting. So it looks more like that Saudi Arabia is helping Russia more than the West. Something needs to be done soon because when winter comes, the energy demand in Europe is going way up.
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