mardarius comments

Frankly, I wonder why it has been reported here at all. It's not exactly an event of global relevance, unless it does indeed get exploited for political purposes (although I'd say that, as PR opportunities go, this is small fry and hardly worth the effort)

@GBR48

If you want to stop Russia, bump off Putin. If China attacks Taiwan, take out Xi and senior CCP figures.

Kind of naive to think that removing one political figure will miraculously solve all problems. Granted, sometines it can change the situation - but usually for the worse

Sanctions for something that hasn't even happened yet? I'd say that's a questionable idea... Also, does anyone else have a feeling that this will backfire, with China thinking, 'We've been sanctioned already, so we have nothing to lose, might as well go ahead'?

Aaaaand here we go again...

@Falco

As I said before

Well, that's exactly the problem: iirc you've already cited these examples numerous times. Maybe you could find some new ones?.. Otherwise this is getting a bit repetitive

Best of luck to him.

I still think season 2 of Squid Game is NOT a good idea though...

They say Japan should not take actions that can be perceived as too conciliatory before Seoul takes some specific action to mend ties.

Masahisa Sato, chief of the LDP Foreign Affairs Division, told a party meeting on Wednesday in Tokyo that the government "should wait for South Korea to propose solutions (for the pending issues) that are acceptable to Japan."

In other words, yet another hint that Japan actually isn't really interested in improving relations. Why am I not surprised?..

@Bronco

The premise behind the cancelling of regular everyday average Russians is apparently that they pressure Putin to change his mind

...which is about as likely as the Japanese voting LDP out of power

This kind of language is going to stir ethnic hatred against Russian citizens

As if anyone will be bothered about that. It will all be shrugged off as "their own fault"

Yeah, that will surely help to promote peace and stability...

This whole situation looks increasingly like a competition in who can shoot themselves in the foot more painfully.

Btw some Russian banks have already announced that they are considering working with UnionPay. So, if anything, this move can push Russia even further towards China

First drag the girl through the mud, then criticize the coach for being "cold"... now that's rich

@Ed Bacon

South Koreans are complaining about this when they indoctrinate their people to hate Japan from primary school.

There's hardly any need for any special "indoctrination" when Japan itself keeps providing reasons for dislike

@MilesTeg

And Japanese indoctrinate their people with lies about WWII and that they're victims from primary school.

Precisely

Yep... a clear indication of how much Japan wants to improve relations with its neighbors (not)

Japan showing its true colors again

Makes one wonder why people decide to come to a country where they are treated as second-rate not-quite-humans... Are things so desperate for them back at home?

@Danielsan

Putting selective killing in the hands of artificial intelligence might prove to be a huge improvement over the current system run by real ignorance

Not entirely sure about that... Have you read Watchbird by Robert Sheckley?

@OssanAmerica

Yep... your reaction is a perfect illustration of what I was speaking about

Some right-wing Japanese politicians have downplayed the death toll or denied outright that the Nanking atrocity happened.

Again, one can't help wondering how the Japanese would respond if, for instance, someone said that the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings never happened or that the number of casualties is overstated.

I guess they wouldn't be too happy...

So other countries' reactions to Japanese statements and actions are actually undersrandable

@OssanAmerica

Toral nonsense

Could you explain what exactly are you referring to as "nonsense"? If you mean the textbook problem, sadly it's not nonsense but a fact

https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-21226068

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_history_textbook_controversies

And even if it were true, so what? In a free democracy people and organizations can do things and are only limited by the rule of law.

Surely this principle should be applied consistently in all cases? So, why then does Japan make such a fuss when, for instance, Koreans put up statues to " comfort women"? After all, they're not doing anything illegal either

@OssanAmerica

Japan teaches that Japan invaded asian nations and started the Pacific War. This is in their school textbooks.

Yes... except that there have been repeated efforts to minimize the coverage of those events in textbooks, essentially reducing them to an unobtrusive footnote. After all, we don't want the country to look bad in kids' eyes, now do we?

@OssanAmerica

As for the perpetual Germany arguments, Germany today has a problem with Nazis

Do Germans officially glorify Nazis and put up memorials to them, though? Does their govt make official statements along the lines of "Germany did nothing wrong, we were acting for the benefit of Europe, and then evil Russians and evil Americans came and bombed our cities, so we're only victims"? Do they officially teach this version of history at school?..

Not that I've heard of

@tooheysnew

Why are people still going on about what happened nearly 100 years ago ? All those involved are long gone

Then you should also try asking the same question the next time Japan plays the Hiroshima and Nagasaki card

never know, he could even help mend ties between JP and Russia!!

I wouldn't bet on that

Almost as pointless as Russians recently sending a film crew to the ISS

Hearing statements like possibility of "pre-emptive strikes" makes me think that either WW2 lesson wasn't learned well enough by Japan establishment

Indeed, makes one wonder.

All this sabre-rattling suggests that Japan seems eager to relive its "heroic" past once again

What a great way to improve relations with neighbors

@Euro Dude

they teach and educate their children that even the present Japanese people are the same as the ones dozens of years ago.

Well, at times it actually does seem that the Japanese mentality hasn't really changed since then...

@Peter14

What sours those apologies given is that from time to time official's in Japans government down play events or refute facts

And the tendency seems to be growing stronger...

@kennyG

So huffing and puffing over a bunch of rocks in a sea is not childish, but when Korea or China raise issues such as e.g. genocide or slave labor, that is childish behavior? Hmm... That's certainly an interesting logic