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The Sunset of the Land of the Rising Sun
Japanese Diet (Legislature)
U.S. Government photo, 2002, from Wikimedia Commons
Japan, known as the Land of the Rising Sun, has made a significant break with its post-war ally, the United States. In recent elections, the rise of the Democratic Party of Japan has made it plain that going forward the United States will have diminished influence over Japan, and in consequence, Asia.
This is attributable to several major factors. In addition to the growing alienation of younger generations of Japanese from the cultural and political hegemony of the United States, there are external factors. Specifically, the rise of China and the decline of the United States. This change in circumstances is under ever-widening discussion, for instance, in Fareed Zakaria's new book, "The Post-American World."
America's dominant presence in the world is not simply a matter of its own diminished capacity, under the strain of the "great recession" and its ontology, but also because of the rise of several other powers, along with persistent blunders in our international diplomacy. Simply put, we have not reacted quickly nor appropriately enough to the tectonic shifts in geopolitics.
We have also arguably forsaken interests of national security, diplomatic ties, and global democracy in our efforts to shore up our ailing economy, particularly in placating our largest creditor: communist China. This has entailed, for instance, our tacit and quiet acquiescence to China's claims of sovereignty over Taiwan.
And while we were intent on invading Iraq over figmental Weapons of Mass Destruction, we have not adequately confronted the very tangible nuclear arsenal of North Korea.
All of which would justifiably encourage Japan to reevaluate its relationship with the United States, in its own national interests, as we seem content to lessen our influence in its environs. What has, since our reconstruction of post-war Japan, been one of the strongest diplomatic, cultural, and economic relationships we've enjoyed, is on the skids, as much of the world begins to circle, like vultures or sharks perceiving weakness, about our increasingly isolated prowess.
TOKYO (AP) - Japan's ruling conservative party suffered a crushing defeat in elections Sunday as voters overwhelmingly cast their ballots in favor of a left-of-center opposition camp that has promised to rebuild the economy and breathe new life into the country after 54 years of virtual one-party rule, media projections said.
The opposition Democratic Party of Japan was set to win 300 of the 480 seats in the lower house of parliament, ousting the Liberal Democrats, who have governed Japan for all but 11 months since 1955, according to projections by all major Japanese TV networks.
The vote was seen as a barometer of frustrations over Japan's worst economic slump since World War II and a loss of confidence in the ruling Liberal Democrats' ability to tackle tough problems such as the rising national debt and rapidly aging population.
"Japanese Kabuki Ji"
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