SuperDonQuixote comments

There are a lot countries who have managed to refrain from engaging in war for almost 70 years without the help of a peace constitution. From the US army's perspective, Article 9 was just a means to disarm and subjugate a dangerous foe. Had they accepted the original English formulation Japan would've become little more than a US protectorate. Contribute to world peace by becoming a Yes Man to the world's number one warrior state. Beautiful.

That website is wack, sorry. It's like something from the 90's, cheesy graphics and font.

Yeah, they just gotta put in some funky midi music and maybe a large animated banner that looks like a roadblock and says "Under Construction". The site would be perfect.

They do more damage to society than drugs.

Newsflash: Bowing is a thing in Japan!

I am a little bit confused as to whether this vote holds an real meaning or whether it's a glorified opinion poll.

How could anyone in their sane mind in the world be pro-nuclear energy?

In the absence of any better alternatives...

The voting result here differs quite a lot from Abe's domestic poll results. Is this an indication that this English version of Japan Today is mostly read by foreigners?

I've read that there are a lot of Japanese expats who read these kinds sites, that doesn't mean they participate in the polls though since you need to be a registered user. Who knows.

Except, perhaps for his most controversial and potentially dangerous ones i.e. constitutional amendment and the secrets act. Many commentators automatically voice the argument that constitutional amendment is necessary for the defense of the nation. What they don't look at is how some of the proposed amendments are intended to effect people on the domestic front.

I find this stuff worrying too. Forget about about Article 9, whether or not Japan should have the right to a regular army like any other country isn't a very big deal to be perfectly honest. While people are busy getting distracted by nonsense like that, factions within the LDP who have no concept of the idea of constitutionalism appear set on transforming Japan into an authoritarian state. It's funny because from a purely ideological standpoint, these people seem like they should be best friends with the CCP, they just happen to stand on opposite sides of the battlefield.

He's certainly doing better than the last couple of guys.

China and Korea need to clarify what they fear from Japan, you can't base a debate around a wishy washy political term like "militarism", it's little more than manipulation. I suppose the Japan that Abe envisions is more "militaristic" than the Japan that existed before, but that doesn't say a whole lot. Is the US a "militarist" state? What about China? France? Norway? Costa Rica?

It seems like they're overcompensating for the meek response by the Kan Administration at the time of the incident.

That sounds all good, but Japanese intellectuals and celebrities would never dare to differ from mainstream "thinking". Suddenly all those invitations to conferences would dry up, there would be anonymous threats, non-renewal of contracts. Japan can't say it is truly democratic. Scratch the surface and it is still somewhat feudal

Spoken like a true expert.

The WWI analogy was only meant to illustrate that close economic ties aren't necessarily enough to deter a conflict from boiling over, how is that anachronistic? Especially considering the current standoff in the East China Sea which most would agree is pretty dangerous, whether the Chinese (or the Japanese for that matter) think of themselves as a force for peace doesn't change a whole lot in this case.

Japan should eventually recognize that the Senkakus are disputed territory, that would be more consistent with their stance towards the disputed territories in Russia and South Korea, but not while tensions are running as high as they are. Ideally the threat of military action and other forms of coercion shouldn't be a factor in these talks.

Japan on the other hand has 70 years experience in dealing with the world as a mature nation, and as a peaceful nation, so you would hope/expect them to do that when dealing with the childish behavior of the Chinese.

Japan's presence on the international stage has been relatively limited since the end of WWII, certainly smaller than their economic clout would suggest. In this sense it's not just China that's emerging, the Japanese also want to play a bigger role in the world affairs. And so we have two powers butting heads.

Deriding the whole issue as childish (as everyone seems to do) reeks of white mans burden to me.