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Narushige Michishita, director of the security and international studies program at the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies in Tokyo, commenting on the U.S. presidential debate between Donld Trump and Hillary Clinton. He said it was in some ways heartening to hear his country mentioned in the debate, since Japan is often overlooked these days. But he disagreed with Trump's criticism that Japan and other U.S. allies aren't contributing enough to their defense. (AP)
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There is a small truth to what Mr Trump was saying, in the sense that Japan was a kind of free-rider or at least a cheap-rider back in the 1970s and '80s. But now given what Prime Minister (Shinzo) Ab
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MarkX
"There is no such thing as bad PR!" Man, Japan must be really desperate just to hear their name mentioned in a presidential debate. Has this country fallen so far, or lost so much confidence that they are happy to be called a deadbeat nation who doesn't pay its bills, just so Americans can hear their name mentioned on national TV? Wow!
thepersoniamnow
Free ride? Being the 51st state of the USA is hardly free.
Mike L
Japan gets the best deal of any of the states.
Moonraker
Japan is often overlooked due to the Japanese diplomatic ploy of keeping its head down. Otherwise the country might be expected to, say, play a role in peace negotiations. It's paradoxical that for a place that goes on and on about world peace that it is not the first to put its hand up when efforts need to be made to secure it. Peacefully. In fact, when anything goes on in the world where Japan might help it is usually bringing up the rear. So, yes, Japan should be more in the spotlight.
dcog9065
Japan hosts the most foreign US soldiers in the world, spends tens of billions on US kit each year, and hosts their most important Pacific bases. If anything the US should be stumping up more, instead of having yet another hissy fit from Trump the coward
sangetsu03
He is referring to the days when Japan purposefully kept it's currency weak to undercut American manufacturers, as well as the dumping of Japanese goods in the American market to gain total control of the television and personal electronics market. The only way Japan could compete in it's glory days was to rely on it's government to prevent other economies from competing with them. Though very much a free-trader, Reagan was po'd enough at the situation to actually enact some restrictions against Japan, and to push the Plaza accord.
The rest is history, the free ride ended, and so did Japan's economy. It has never recovered.
gokai_wo_maneku
Trump hates Japan because he failed to establish a real estate property presence in Tokyo in the very early 90s when he came here to take over. Nobody would listen to him. He has been angry all these years. So say my parents the bankers.
commanteer
That makes sense, because otherwise Trumps attacks on Japan are something from the 80s. The man is a clown. That's why we need him in the White House to lead the circus.