notnato comments

3rensho, iforgot: or maybe she's a volunteer? I hear a lot of people that go on protest marches are.

It takes a total lack of respect for a sovereign nation to call for it to stop being a child. Japan does actually face a threat to its well being from China. No amount of history changes that.

@smithinjapan: Do you believe that there is a country in this world that couldn't be accused of brainwashing it's children? Hell, American kids are taught to bleat on and on about how democracy is good and never even get mention of the competing theory that the multiple incarnations of Kim Il Sung are the rightful rulers of all mankind.

More directly, yes, the degree of brainwashing matters a lot, and Japan is much closer on the spectrum to the US than to China.

Fellas, 100 yen shops sell flags, yes. These people are carrying flags, yes.

It is a big leap though to assume that these are 100 yen shop flags.

I'm pretty damned sure that the hard-right in this country buys its flags in pretty big quantities, and that a good number of the Japanese companies that produce flags are on good terms with the right wing.

Real issues of global politics continue to exist even when you have identified a clever (speculative) "gotcha".

Half the people posting here seem to genuinely think that there's nothing wrong with China; that China's actions surrounding the Senkaku dispute (remember, China is literally the only country in the world that thinks China has that claim) were reasonable; and that the China's incessant saber-rattling is just being misunderstood.

There are reasons for Japanese people to be upset about China. Whether or not you agree with the strawmen postions you've provided for the protestors, it's not unreasonable to be protest the actions of the Chinese government.

Yes, even if there is trade between the two countries! Seldom in history have countries with zero trade relations gone to war, for one simple reason: The same shared borders that facilitate trade encourage dispute. Friedman is a nitwit.