quercetum comments

Posted in: Tokyo's controversial Yasukuni Shrine picks ex-admiral as chief priest See in context

I went to Yasukuni once as it happened to be on my route. Just a simple and antiseptic temple in Tokyo

The entrance is not simple but grand. It starts from Chidorigafuchi. It also has a museum. Not many shrines grounds have the scale and size of Yasukuni.

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Posted in: U.S. ambassador says Beijing stance on TikTok ban 'supremely ironic' See in context

The issue isn’t hypocrisy but whether the U.S. admitting there is justification for government control and bans over media. The U.S. government finally realizes the CCP way is necessary and good. Learn from China.

-5 ( +1 / -6 )

Posted in: Biden opposes plan to sell U.S. Steel to Nippon Steel, citing need for 'American steel workers' See in context

This reminds me of the movie "Gung Ho" (1986) when a Japanese car company buys an American plant, the American liaison must mediate the clash of work attitudes between the foreign management and native labor.

This reminds me of “American Factory” (美国工厂) a 2019 American documentary film directed by Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert, about Chinese company Fuyao's factory in Moraine, a city near Dayton, Ohio, that occupies Moraine Assembly, a shuttered General Motors plant.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Posted in: Director Roman Polanski sued over more allegations of sexual assault of a minor See in context

Anyone remember Rosemary’s Baby in the scene with Satan’s child and the Japanese guy taking pictures?

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Posted in: Ceremony held to mark 79th anniversary of U.S. firebombings of Tokyo See in context

That the Japanese political leaders, military leaders and the emperor all ignored this devastation - pre-atomic - resulting in further deaths and injuries to millions.

Just insane.

So those who don’t surrender are complicit in the war crimes? How would you apply that to today?

-5 ( +9 / -14 )

Posted in: U.S. urges Japan, other allies to tighten China's access to chip technology, Bloomberg reports See in context

The U.S. Sinophobia predicted the Chinese economy would collapse entirely by 2011 and predicted Chinas GDP would saturate at $ 6.95 Trillion.

In 2011, they predicted a complete derailment of Chinas space program without foreign support and collaboration.

In 2014, they predicted a major crisis in China that would devalue the Yuan to 9.33 to 1 by 2020.

In 2018 they restricted the exporting of advanced chips. And Huawei launched a 7 nm Chip and is ready for 5 nm Chips this year.

In a few years you’ll see the Chinese cornering the market. They have the scale of production.

-10 ( +2 / -12 )

Posted in: U.S. urges Japan, other allies to tighten China's access to chip technology, Bloomberg reports See in context

The U.S. should just compete. Not sure why they’re losing confidence.

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Posted in: Japan sees China's military buildup as serious concern See in context

Japan basically needs to spend more of its money not on its own people but to support the U.S. military because if Japan doesn’t then China will invade Okinawa and take over Japan. That’s the sales pitch. It is easy and quite convincing.

China developed their Aerospace program and established BEIDOU 北斗。They thought the Chinese couldn’t develop their own space program and would effectively be forced back by 20 years, if not more.

Back then every US Politician was convinced that China would either come back crawling to the US and accept its status as a Junior partner like Japan or S Korea.

All of a sudden in 2016 they got scared of China and flipped the switch. Allegations of concentration camps and rape festivals in these camps. No one is buying that millions of Muslims are being slaughtered. Now it’s back to slave labor.

I would just come clean and say, we just want to make and sell weapons.

-5 ( +0 / -5 )

Posted in: Japan sees China's military buildup as serious concern See in context

China has two bases outside of China. The U.S. with 800 bases around the world is not really concerned. Would you be?

Japan isn’t concerned either. The U.S. will protect Japan at all costs.

You have to justify the need to justify the spending. If I were trying to increase Japan’s military spending, I would say China is attacking yesterday,

And Australia is going to be invaded too. Get your subs now.

-5 ( +0 / -5 )

Posted in: Most Japan fishing groups hit by China import ban over Fukushima row See in context

My question to the Chinese. Why do Chinese fishing boats fish in the waters around Japan? Isn't the fish they catch tainted as they claim it is when importing?

Is the fish they catch being sold as Japanese fish? You’re assuming everyone follows the ban. I don’t think it’s an issue of hypocrisy but income opportunity. It’s also like asking why people break the law?

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

Posted in: Japan, now world's No. 4 economy, on steep road to reverse low growth See in context

Good point on PPP. Tucker Carson goes to Moscow and buys a week of groceries for his team. It was only $104.

On Germany, its direct investment in China increased by 4.3 percent to a record high of 11.9 billion euros (12.7 billion U.S. dollars) last year. The numbers were reported three days ago.

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Posted in: WTO chief insists trade body remains relevant as tariff-wielding Trump makes a run at White House See in context

Trump, who once threatened to pull the United States out of the WTO, ignored its rules by using tariffs — or taxes on imported goods — as a punitive tool against friendly countries in the European Union, Canada, Mexico and others, but especially China. 

The international rules based order only requires you to follow rules when they work in your favor.

China: “I’m not going to pay that tax.” Does not pay taxes.

US: “Rules are rules. Tax evasion is illegal.” Does not pay taxes.

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Posted in: Recession has struck some of world's top economies, but U.S. keeps defying expectations See in context

quercetumFeb. 16 09:01 pm JST

If Trump makes a deal, the best deal would be having the US fund the capital and China develop the products with China’s technology.

The opaque China regulatory system means no sane investor is going to throw money into that pit with no assurance of getting it back.

Yes, the Germans are insane then. German direct investment in China rose by 4.3% to a record high of 11.9 billion euros ($12.7 billion) last year and also increased as a share of the country's overall investment abroad.

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Posted in: Recession has struck some of world's top economies, but U.S. keeps defying expectations See in context

Well, we don’t have to live on the San Francisco peninsula to know the consumer price index but it’s good to have someone on the ground.

Numbers per see don’t lie it’s people who lie with numbers. 

The numbers are out for 2023. We can look them up. It was 17 degrees in Tokyo today. You can say “it feels like 20 degrees” or “I think it’s 15 degrees”but no one will believe you if you say it was 30 degrees Celsius. It’s the same with economic indicators. The “Communist” numbers and data from the U.S. don’t lie. China data is conservative while the U.S. tend to be rosy.

Bass and Blacklabel strangely quiet.

Are you missing the “take any article and make it a bipartisan back and forth revelry?”

Trump knows he has only four years and once he is elected , that's it. He has nothing - no elections - to worry about.

If he genuinely wants to boost the US Economy, he’ll need to reverse his anti-China policy. If he persists with 60% Tariffs - he could do some serious damage and take the US to become the next USSR. He knows that better than Raimondo or Biden or Haley.

Trump has to keep the Anti China Rhetoric to keep the business people who are scared of losing the Chinese Market by 2025–26 and competing with Chinese equivalents in the Global South by 2030.

If Trump makes a deal, the best deal would be having the US fund the capital and China develop the products with China’s technology.

The US would thus own parts of Chinese Businesses. In China, the law limits foreign ownership to a mere 5% or 15%.

If China increases this to a maximum 51% or 60% like in Singapore or Korea or 49% like in India then Trump would more than come out on top.

After all the US acquired a lot of its technological dominance in that way, buying out competition and owning the same competition.

-3 ( +0 / -3 )

Posted in: Ford CEO says company will rethink where it builds vehicles after last year's autoworkers strike See in context

Objectively speaking, you'd have to support Ford. You cannot let China dominate the EV market. Iron sharpens iron. Competition affects quality. The Chinese can sell them cars in Europe and in China proper, but if you can't produce batteries and Detroit strikes left and right, the industry is going to go south. It may go to Mexico anyways. Stop the sale of U.S. Steel.

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Posted in: Recession has struck some of world's top economies, but U.S. keeps defying expectations See in context

A trade surplus will create wealth and a trade deficit will destroy wealth, undermining power. The Ottoman Empire was powerful when it controlled the trade routes from Europe to Asia. When those trade routes shifted away from the Ottoman Empire — to the sea route around the Cape of Good Hope - the Ottoman Empire declined from lack of revenue.

The US does not have a trade surplus. Its economy chisels away its own wealth. The United States economy destroys three quaters of a trillion dollars of wealth every year through its trade deficit. On top of that you have to send money to Ukraine, Israel, and the Republic of China.

The country is run by an oligarchy that is looting the nation's wealth. These billion dollar defense packages for Ukraine are really intended to enrich the arms makers, at the expense of the American people.

 Biden trails Trump by 30pt in latest NBC poll on economy, FACT.

Yes there is hope. The government does not have the ability to go against the oligarchy because it is run by people put in on both sides of the governement by the oligarchy. It is actually quite a clever system of authoritarian rule that flies smoothly and silenty under the radar.

US auto makers also have suffered decades of decline. No one in America cares. America's steel industry is being sold to the Japanese, along with country's ability to defend itself. This is a real national security issue unlike Huawei phones or Tik Tok. Stop the sale of U.S. Steel.

-3 ( +2 / -5 )

Posted in: Recession has struck some of world's top economies, but U.S. keeps defying expectations See in context

Your governments have made you poorer.

That’s an odd statement. In Japan’s case, it’s been the private sector that has cut real wages over the past 30 years even while raking in the highest profits in history.

Were 竹中平蔵 Takenaka Heizo and Koizumi Junichiro 小泉純一郎 a part of the private sector? This the "Alan Greenspan" and the "George Bush" of the 2000's.

During the long stagnation of the Japanese economy, commonly known as Japan’s Great Stagnation, “structural reform (Kozo Kaikaku:構造改革)” was a major buzzword. In short, they allowed companies to cut costs and fringe benefits of full-time employees with lifetime employment and turn them into just part-timers.

Though the statement was not, only the government made the people poorer, the government has made the people poorer,

-2 ( +1 / -3 )

Posted in: Recession has struck some of world's top economies, but U.S. keeps defying expectations See in context

Even China, whose economy is growing faster than the United States’, is under heavy pressure. Its stock markets have been among the world’s worst recently due to worries about a sluggish economic recovery and troubles in the property sector.

The Chinese economy has, “struggled” or “on the verge of collapse” or now “under heavy pressure”, less than the developed world economies since the pandemic. It’s more important to note now that the economic indicators show the West in trouble while China isn’t. All of the developed world except the US is doing really badly. And even the US is not good.

The US budget deficit is around 30% which is the only reason why US has grown “above expectations” or “defy expectations.” Then you also have to look at the monkeying around with gdp and inflation numbers.

-4 ( +3 / -7 )

Posted in: U.S. supports Japan's push for talks with North Korea, envoy says See in context

And here I thought Kim Jung-un's sister (Kim Yo-jung) was the only one with an impenetrable look of steel... Touche' USA!

Ambasador Turner does resemble Kim but you’ll find pictures of the former smiling but not the latter.

-3 ( +3 / -6 )

Posted in: Chinese consumer prices suffer quickest drop in 14 years See in context

Chinese asset markets continue to struggle, especially real estate. Consumer and business confidence naturally not on the upswing.

No. Xi knows what he’s doing. He’s protecting the middle class. It’s the second and third home or condo buyers / investors that are “struggling.” Xi puts the people ahead of investors.

There are two Evergrandes. I don't mean there are two different Evergrandes but two operative versions of Evergrande.

One in China, the bulk of their operations there.

The other is in Hong Kong and globally finance themselves to keep giving returns while operating in China. This is the Evergrande that commentators here know.

The first version of Evergrande is on the Mainland. It owns many properties, land and unfinished and finished homes.

The second version of Evergrande is the paper version of Evergrande. That has borrowed on bonds and whose shares are trading in HK.

The second version of Evergrande is a disaster and whose bubble Xi is popping. These involve the speculators and Xi is practicing absolutely wonderful discipline, which was absent in 2008 in the Global Financial Crisis. Here there is no secured debt. It’s all paper.

The main people affected are foreign agencies and bondholders and foreign shareholders and the 6% of the HK elite. Let the foreigners take the hit.

The second version of Evergrande has debt close to 1.75 Trillion RMB ($250 Billion) and secured assets are non existent. Three cents on the dollar.

The first version of Evergrande is fine. The debt is manageable and there is enough land to ensure that the Chinese on the mainland are not affected too much. If they don't get homes the Government will take over. No Issues.

No mainland Chinese beyond 35,600 Investors are affected. China will guarantee the first version doesn't collapse as it affects Chinese Banks, Chinese Bond holders, Chinese Home Buyers. This is a very manageable debt.

Around 1245 Billion RMB against 900 Billion of Properties at Distress Values (40% Lower)

That's around 345 Billion RMB or $50 Billion deficit.

China will have no problem taking over at the appropriate time. They are waiting to see the secured land and properties go up in value.

-2 ( +2 / -4 )

Posted in: Chinese consumer prices suffer quickest drop in 14 years See in context

An interesting statistic is that for 2023 Mexico surpassed China as the number one exporter to the US. US purchases from Mexico rose some 3% year over year while US imports from China fell 20% over the same time.

The new China is Vietnam and Mexico. Have you and the Mrs been back recently? China is changing fast.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

Posted in: TEPCO apologizes for radioactive water leak at Fukushima plant See in context

The release of treated contaminated water will occur over decades. How long has it been since the decision to release into the oceans?

Accidents due to incompetence with TEPCO’s history is a given statistically.

-6 ( +10 / -16 )

Posted in: Wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant leaked radioactive water, TEPCO says See in context

Besides, Japan's nuclear industries always try to make serious issues announce smaller less than actual state.

TEPCO has a history of doing so and this is no confirmation bias.

TEPCO reports are written to permit deliberately a certain level of opacity to lessen investor or public anxiety. It seeks in some way to mislead by misrepresenting or concealing unpleasant facts.

-2 ( +2 / -4 )

Posted in: Wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant leaked radioactive water, TEPCO says See in context

Incompetence brought about the melt down and incompetence is asked to clean up its incompetence. You don’t think there will be trouble?

Deflect and blame it on the earthquake and the CPC or now disinformation. It was on NHK. TEPCO has a history of hiding its incompetence.

We told you so Isabella.

-3 ( +2 / -5 )

Posted in: Kishida says Japan-Russia ties are 'difficult' See in context

Just make sure no way to let US military stationing in those islands is the focal point for both Russia and China's stragetic vision.

Is Misawa’s proximity sufficient enough?

-4 ( +0 / -4 )

Posted in: Kishida says Japan-Russia ties are 'difficult' See in context

Britain and the United States agreed that territorial rights would not be granted to nations that did not sign the Treaty of San Francisco, and therefore the islands were not formally recognized as Soviet territory.

Exactly. That would be Britain and the United States trying to keep Russia from enjoying the spoils of war.

Good for Russia for standing up and having none of that. Come and take it from us if you want to settle the duspute. Noticed the U.S. was silent.

-3 ( +0 / -3 )

Posted in: Kishida says Japan-Russia ties are 'difficult' See in context

Had Japan surrendered earlier maybe the Northern Territories would still be in Japan’s possession. By the time they got the message it was already too late. A taste of Pearl Harbor medicine.

-7 ( +1 / -8 )

Posted in: Kishida says Japan-Russia ties are 'difficult' See in context

This is a diversion. Nothing is happening with Russia.

They’re trying to take attention away from the 5.5 tons of water containing radioactive materials that leaked from equipment used to process nuclear-contaminated water at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, announced by Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) on Wednesday.

-6 ( +0 / -6 )

Posted in: Kishida says Japan-Russia ties are 'difficult' See in context

The requisite response is to wage war on the Russians,as in the past.

If the Northern Territories are Japan, isn’t the military, one of the strongest in the world as claimed here, required to defend Japan?

If you say we are not allowed by the U.S. according to the U.S. written Constitution to wage war, the U.S. allows Japan to defend herself, does it not?

Does the Constitution not require Japan to defend its own territories?

-9 ( +3 / -12 )

Posted in: Kishida says Japan-Russia ties are 'difficult' See in context

You have to fight to get them back. Look at the Senkaku’s. China is giving Japan a good lesson on how to reclaim lost property.

-7 ( +6 / -13 )

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