gregoryharuko comments

The Blue Samurai should play a different kind of football game playing against stronger South American or European teams. Against weaker Asian opponents like Jordan or Iraq or Australia they can show off their technical superiority (European style of play like Italian coach Zaccheroni knows), but against the stronger South American/European teams they should play a faster, short-on-the-ball and on-the-man-in-possession-of-the-ball game like stinging flies around a piece of cake. This football style has been played succesfully by the Koreans during the World Cup 2002, so you can call it "Korean style of play", engineered by the Dutch football coaches Hiddink and Advocaat. Of course, the best for the Blue Samurai would be the ability to switch between these 2 styles of footbaal play during one match...

War is terrible and should never happen again in East Asia (look at the new Korean War Movie "My Way"). Why are both Chinese and Japanese governments moving then towards war again on the issue of the Senkaku islands? It is far better to work again on the common East Asia modern history handbooks with historians of the 3 countries (Japan, Korea and China), and perhaps also with some US historians! And then move on to the 21st century!

The common Chinese man should understand that the weak Qing dynasty lost to the modern Meiji Empire! So the Chinese government can lay no claim on the senkaku islands! Chinese stubbornness is due to cropped up nationalism and frustration around the WWII, when it became painfully clear that after the Qing Dynasty, China became a second rank country a way behind the West and Japan! Now, Japan in its turn should be worried now not to become a second rank country at the end of the 21st century!

From the start of the Qin dynasty (around 250 BC), China has always been a superpower on planet Earth. Only with the Manchu Qing dynasty, China gradually lost this superpower status due to nationalistic internal politics and losing to the Meiji Japanese Empire, which started to apply natural scientific principles into its politics! The common Chinese man is still frustrated about that... China can only be prosperous again like during the Tang and Ming dynasties, if it is trying to make a common East-Asian Union like the European Union. The same can be said about the present Japanese government... Every political move like the US military bases in Okinawa and Jeju are in the way of peace and prosperity in East Asian countries!

The Japanese government should really rethink its Post WWII economy and foreign policy ! I hope that the academic professors in Tokyo University, Keio University, Waseda University, Kyoto University,... can be creative enough to find a new way to pull Japan into the 21st century ! US economic and military colonialism brings NO advantages any more and will only pull Japan back to a second or third ranked country... The Japanese government should try to pull Japan back to the 21st century with the ASEAN countries and of course ALSO China/Taiwan and Korea (both North and South) ! East-Asian Unity like the European Union (which now deservely won the Nobel Peace Prize) is (only) way to go for Japan to stay peaceful and prosperous !

The Taiwan National Ochestra should use this opportunity to teach history to the ignorant mainland Chinese. Explain about Koxinga, who remained loyal to the Han Ming Emperors, fighting against the Manchu Qing emperors! Koxinga was born near Nagasaki to a Chinese father and a Japanese mother. His father gave in to the Manchus, but his mother Lady Tagawa, came all the way from Kyushu to fight until dead beside her son, for the survival of the once mighty Ming dynasty!

The European Union was being constructed in 1951, only 6 years after WWII, between former enemy countries like France, Germany, Italy,... The European Union just rightly got this year Nobel Peace Prize for creating peace and prosperity in Europe. Now the Chinese and Japanese governments are still fighting each other almost 70 years after WWII ! Who are the stupid children now?

@LinXiansheng

Ryukyu is independent nation during the mighty Ming Dynasty, paying tribute to both the Ming Emperors and the Satsuma Domain, and later to the Qing Emperors and the Meiji Emperor. Ryuky has of course a long connection with especially Fujian Province, but claiming Ryukyu to be an integral part of China is colonial imperialism !

This kind of behavior is the reason why after the mighty Chinese Ming dynasty, China fell to an second/third rank country ! The Chinese government is not looking at its own and all the other East-Asian countries common intrests ! On the contrary, the European Union just got the Nobel Peace Prize for establishing peace and prosperity after WWII.

PIGS (= Portugal, Italy, Greece, Spain) countries asking for money... The Senkaku islands, just an excuse for China not to give money... The Japanese government is now on a crossroad in history, who to choose for... USA or China ?

Yes, China loses Japan by not attending the IMF/World Bank... not well thought because the two of them could be the top financial engine the world has ever seen. But now really, who wants to give money to a losing European economy... ?

Ryukyu holds are the rights over the Senkaku islands. Its last king Sho Tai was forced to relocate to Tokyo by the Meiji government in 1879, and the Shuri monarchy was forcifully abolished. Of course, the Okinawans fought with Japan during WWIi, and one third of its civilian population (around 300000 persons including young girls like the Hime-yuri) were murdered during the battle of Okinawa! Until now the civilian Okinawan population can not decide by themselves about the US military and about peace and prosperity on their Ryukyun archipelago!

Why not let the Okinawan people decide what to do with their Senkaku islands and with the 50000+ US military soldiers on the Ryukyun archipelago, since no politician in Tokyo or in Beijing or in Washington is clever enough to solve the problem! Only the Sho dynasty kings of the Ryukyun Kingdom have proven 500 years ago how to be peaceful and prosperous!

@sfjp330

The Ryukyu Kingdom was considered by the mighty Ming Dynasty as an intermediate state, as a "bridge to various kingdoms", as can be seen on their famous bell, hung in Shuri-Jo castle. Taiwan had the same status during the mighty Ming Dynasty with the Hokkien/Fujian people also playing an important role in this trade. During the Qing dynasty the snobbish Chinese Court LOST INTEREST in these "Pirates" (they were MORE INTERESTED in building summer palaces instead of funding a Chinese fleet !). It was at this time that the Satsuma Domain and later the Meiji Empire saw the importance of these islands and abducted the Sho-Dynasty Kings in 1879 to Tokyo, and as a result the whole archipelago became part of the Japanese Meiji Empire !

The Senkaku/Diaoyu islands always belonged to the Ryukyu Kingdom ! The weakend Qing Dynasty was NOT INTERESTED in those Senkaku/Diaoyu islands and the Ryukyu archipelago as a whole (and was even NOT INTERESTED in Taiwan), and did not bother what happened to the Ryukyu's Sho-Dynasty Kings when they were moved to Tokyo in 1879 ! The snobbish Qing-dynasty considered Ryukyu and Taiwan as islands for Pirates and other "inferior" people !

@qomolangma

The Ryukyu (Lew Chew) Archipelago Kingdom was a flourishing and peaceful INDEPENDENT Naval Empire with at its head Sho-dynasty (1400-1879) Kings located in Shuri (part of Naha in Okinawa Honto, Japan nowadays) with its beautiful Shuri-Jo castle (= UNESCO World Heritage Site), and were trading flourishly between Ming/Qing dynasties, Shogunate Japan (especially Satsuma domain under Shimadzu-clan), Korean dynasties and South-East Asian Dynasties. Ryukyu's Naval Ships were far bigger then those of Columbus/Amerigo Vespucci/Pizarro/Cortez had in their occupation of the Incas, Aztecs, Mayas,... almost comparible with Ming Admiral ZhengHe's fleet.

The Senkaku islands were the southern part of that flourishing Ryukyu Archipelago Kingdom, that became part of the Japanese Meiji Empire in 1879 when the Sho-dynasty Kings were forcifully moved to Tokyo. It is true that before 1879 the Ryukyu Archipelago Kingdom payed tribute or taxes to the Ming/Qing dynasty Emperors (as did many Korean and South-East-Asian Empires, like the Majapahit Kingdom of what is now part of Indonesia), but also to the Satsuma Domain (Shimadzu-clan). During the 19th century the Qing Empire was very weak and lost first to the modernized Satsuma Domain with its Western-style factories, but then also to the scientifically modernized Japanese Meiji Empire, leading to what the Chinese nowadays call the 'unjust' treaty of Shimonoseki (Taiwan, Liaodong Peninsula and Penghu islands also became part of the Meiji Empire). The Meiji Empire of Japan was scientifically and technologically more advanced than the feudal Chinese Qing Dynasty, and many Chinese intellectuels studied in Japan at that time like Dr. Sun Yat-Sen ! No matter in what kind of Law or Treaty you are looking at (this is stuff for international lawyers who try to explain the laws according which country they serve !), the Senkaku islands NATURALLY belong to Ryukyu and Ryukyu now belongs to Post-WWII Japan !

@AriesKJJ

Natural scientifically the concept "race" has no meaning, it is in fact a social construction. Race is something which in fact is defined by yourself and your environment. In Hawaii, you can choose your race... But this a long way off on the subject that the Japanese government should leave its alliance with the US government (not the US people) and build an East-Asian Union between the East-Asian governments to create common peace, stability and prosperity in the whole of East-Asia !

I know that many American people think that Asian people are like children with lesser intelligence than the average 'white American'... But you may be surprised ? There is a big difference between governments and people though ! Asian governments have been played like puppets after WWII by US politicians, but it is time that the Asian people themselves decide on their own security and prosperity, instead those of the USA.

@realmind

The Japanese government already went nuclear on their own people in Fukushima !

The best solution for the Japanese government is to drop its alliance (and its post WWII constitution) with the USA, and built an East-Asian Union with its neighbours like Germany did built the European Union. An East-Union will not only give peace and stability, but also prosperity in the whole of East-Asia! USA is probably more warmongering than the Chinese/Taiwanese and Korean people, looking at their 50000+ soldiers in Okinawa... but also in South-Korea... It is time for a 21st century mindsetting and leave the Post-WWII/Cold War mentality behind !

The records of the US soldiers in the Okinawan archipelago: during the Battle of Okinawa between March and July 1945 US soldiers killed 200000 Okinawan civilians; after WWII they raped Okinawan girls and caused so much trouble on the Okinawan archipelago, that a large majority of Okinawans (including their governor) wants the Yankees to go home ! Now, must the Japanese expect that these same US soldiers defend those southernmost islands (= Senkaku islands) on the Okinawan archipelago in a possible armed conflict with China/Taiwan ??? The Japanese Post WWII government is indeed a US puppet government... but not all Japanese are that stupid... The Japanese people surely should have the right to defend themselves and the right to wage war (article 9 of the Post WWII Japanese constitution should be abolished) !

I wonder whether US soldiers will defend the Senkaku Islands like the Imperial defended Iwo Jima until the last man ?! In a military conflict between US and China on the Senkaku islands, China will win. Article 9 of the Post-WWII constitution should be abolished, because it is a natural basic right for all animals(including Homo sapiens)/plants to defend themselves !

For those testosterone driven Japanese right wingers and for those testosterone driven Chinese hardline communists read the common East-Asian History Textbook: Mirai o hiraku rekishi: Higashi Ajia sankoku no kingendaishi, 223 pages, Tokyo: Kôbunken, 2005 (in Japanese). There exist of course also versions in Chinese and Korean (a pity though that it has by my knowledge not yet be translated in English !). Healthy nationalism promotes peace and prosperity in this way... Common East-Asian remembrance ceremonies attended by all East-Asian and US leaders can of course be further expanded to include horrific acts against humanity like the Great Tokyo Air Raids on March 10 1945, the massacre of 200000 Okinawan civilians during the Battle of Okinawa, and the exploitation of Korean 'comfort women',....

@globalwatcher

I totally agree to abolish this article It is a basic natural right of every homo sapiens or for that matter of every living animal/plant to defend themselves (in fact it is evolution theory itself) !

ARTICLE 9. Aspiring sincerely to an international peace based on justice and order, the Japanese people forever renounce war as a sovereign right of the nation and the threat or use of force as means of settling international disputes. (2) To accomplish the aim of the preceding paragraph, land, sea, and air forces, as well as other war potential, will never be maintained. The right of belligerency of the state will not be recognized.

A way to canalize nationalism is to create common East-Asian remembrance ceremonies between all East-Asian leaders and the president of the USA (as colonizer of Japan), so they themselves and their people may understand one other more... First, remove all 14 - Class A War Criminals - like war prime minister TOJO Hideki and MATSUI Iwane (the one responsible for the Nanjing Massacre) from Yasukuni Jinja (no matter what some Shinto priests would say !). Then create a common remembrance day WITH ALL LEADERS from Japan, China, Korea, USA,... in July during the Mitama Matsuri in this beautiful Shinto shrine. Then move on to August 6, a common remembrance day in Genbaku Dome in Hiroshima. And finally choose a common remembrance day in December and hold a common ceremony in Nanjing to remember the deaths from 1937. Let people or children read testimonials or soldier diaries of the happenings then... Let these common ceremonies be highly televized and promoted by the 3 governments ! There already exist common East-Asian modern history textbooks, written by historians of the 3 countries (Japan, China and Korea) in the 3 languages and let it more widely known !

The Senkaku islands were part of the Ryukyu Kingdom, which in its turn is part now of Japan (belonging to Okinawa-ken), which in its turn is part of East-Asia, which in its turn is part of Planet Earth ! War will benefit no one in the short run, but it should make the leaders of East-Asia and USA (as the colonizer of Post-WWII Japan) think how to create prosperity and peace in East-Asia! For intellectuels it is obvious that an East-Asian Union (like the European Union) is the best way to create this prosperity, sadly a lot of East-Asians (especially some of the male Homo sapiens species) think with their testosterone instead of their brains !

The LDP should get some fresh and creative ideas from the inteligentsia of Tokyo University, Waseda University, Keio University, Kyoto University... Japan's post world war II policy is not suited for prosperity and wealth in the 21st century! Japan used to be the first Asian country to incorporate natural scientific principles in its policy like during the Meiji restauration, but now its ideology is stuck in a cold war mentality imposed by their colonizer = the USA. For those testosterone driven Japanese right wing men, just have some good sex with some Chinese women like Zhang Ziyi! And for those testosterone driven Chinese communist men, just have some good sex with some Japanese women like Koyuki (actress from the last Samurai)! And for the intelligent Japanese and Chinese men and women...an East Asian Union is the way to prosperity and wealth for both countries!

It is good that Japanese people become more nationalistic, as long as that nationalism creates more future prosperity, wealth and power. At this moment Japan is just a colony of the US, unable to defend itself and its territories! The US will Nationalism is good for Japan as long as it creates future wealth, prosperity and power! The USA will NOT interfere in a possible war for the Senkaku islands (because the US is afraid of the Chinese military which have the support of Taiwanese, Korean and ASEAN people on this issue and of the financial burden accompanying such a war against 1,5 billion Chinese). US soldiers will not die like the Imperial soldiers did for Iwo Jima... The expensive Okinawa base is useless and a total waste of money at this moment... Why not buy the Okinawa military bases (= still US territory at this moment), kick the Yankees out and man the bases with Japanese soldiers? For its prosperity and wealth Japan should aim for a an East Asian Union like the European Union does for Germany, because Japan needs the Chinese dragon. The Japanese companies suffer the most from the current problems with the Senkaku islands. China bashing solves nothing at this moment, it is instead even better to cooperate together with the Chinese military (but of course some Chinese idiotic diehards will never change...), like a joint space program (see European Space Agency) or a joint naval aircraft carrier project (see Eurofighter aircraft). The LDP leadership should change their politics and lead Japan into the 21st century, instead of staying a post-WWII mind setting!

@chessGM The Taiwanese people not supporting China in a war against Japan on the Senkaku islands? Are you kidding? They already flag burning, no matter what their government does (= kowtowing officially to US government)...

@tokyo-star Japan is just a colony of the US, and has to wait for Uncle Sam! Japan has no foreign policy, except kowtowing to the US government! It is time to the intelligent people of Tokyo University, Keio University, Kyoto University and Waseda University to wake up and start looking for Kimigayo's future, which should be founded in a strong pan East Asian Union like the European Union does for Germany!

I am so sad that the many Japanese do not understand that Kimigayo can not be prosperous and strong in the future centuries without the help of the Chinese Dragon. US' minister Panetta is now 'promising to cooperate' with the Chinese Military, because he knows that the US Military can not beat their Chinese counterpart if it comes to an armed conflict on the Senkaku islands (with many Asian nations like Taiwan and Korea - and overseas Chinese people chosing the Chinese side and making 'communist' China look like a fighter for Asian justice !). I know that in the long run Japan should make its own strong military force (like before...), but it can only do that if it gets the permission of their Asian neighbours... More than ever Japan needs an East-Asian Union, like Germany needs the European Union to become strong and prosperous !