Kobe resident Asako Zaii, 87, in a letter to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, expressing her opposition to security legislation passed by the Lower House last week. Seventy years ago, Zaii experienced the air raids that were unleashed on the city of Kobe, at which time her home burned down -- twice. (Mainichi Shimbun)
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quote of the day
Mr Abe, you really have no idea what war is, do you?
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BertieWooster
What a brilliant line! Thank you Zaii-san.
Abe's concept of war is the glory of his troops returning from a successful battle, battle worn but full of love and praise for their magnanimous leader who, without a scratch on him, had conducted the war from a safe place protected by thousands of heavily armed troops.
He doesn't think about the hundreds of thousands of people that his troops killed and maimed or the wives who lost their husbands and the children who lost their fathers.
History is full of Abe's.
They all came to a sticky end.
nigelboy
Utter garbage trying to appeal the masses with emotional rhetoric.
What this bill essentially does is to support U.S. Forces who are trying to prevent the enemy from conducting such air raids on Japanese soil.
gokai_wo_maneku
@Bertie, All wars are conducted by leaders in a saft place. Mainly for the enrichment of the 1%. No different for Japan in WWII. The Japanese 1%ers wanted to get rich from the resources of Asia. There were true believers in the idea of liberating Asia from Europen imperialism who had been raised in the nationalistic education system, but that was simply an ideology to make farm boys go kill Asian so industry could take over. Actually, it is the same today.
Wakarimasen
Ironic that it is his nationalist stuff that is making him unpopuplar while the fact that he is storing up a disastrous future for the economy (even more) is apparently not an issue.
Jimizo
Many argued that the revolving door which saw a long line of non-entities go from the position of Japanese PM was bad for the country. Maybe it was a better than allowing well-connected, useless LDP clowns enough time to do something idiotic and dangerous.
nath
No 'maybe' about it. It was definitely better. It was a gong show, but not as bad a gong show as what we currently have going on.
GW
Sadly even till this day for the majority of Japanese WAR is something that happened IN Japan, very few ever really think about what went on in the Far East & SE Asia etc, war only started when Japan started losing & the effects of war were felt HERE
nigelboy
With China growing their budget in double digit percentiles, I don't think so.
But if as you say such firebombing will not repeat, which I'm inclined to believe since the modern armed conflict has evolved, her statement becomes more meaningless. Thank you.
ThonTaddeo
Nigelboy, you really have no idea what war is, do you?
nigelboy
Why is the first part any relevant? And if China isn't going to attack U.S., there is nothing to fear with the new security bill.
nigelboy
I'm not asking you personally. I'm asking what those 'deep concerns' are as a result of implementing this new proposed bill.
Aly Rustom
I hope that this bill is not just the undoing of Abe, but of all the LDP and New Komeito idiots as well.
brians
War doesn't respect birthdays, zichi.
SenseNotSoCommon
Precisely the agenda that Abe is pushing: a Confucian utopia of fawning obedience to an undefined "common good."