when i was a Law Student back in the 1990’s I did a final year course on Japanese law taught by a visiting professor from Tokyo. During his wide ranging series of lectures he touched on the post war constitution and the renunciation of war. I was intrigued and chose this subject for my course dissertation. What I found fascinating is though a written super statute such as their Article 9 is on the face of it capable of only being interpreted one way, it only takes clever legal argument and a general willingness to look the other way to effectively ignore it. sources I read at the time used examples of Nazi Germany and Soviet Russia who both had extensive high minded legal codes which were either ignored or manipulated by the state. I’m not suggesting modern Japan is in that category but it’s obvious that the high minded post war constitution has hit modern reality and the Japanese are showing themselves to be rightly pragmatic.
David Ginsberg
1 year ago
when i was a Law Student back in the 1990’s I did a final year course on Japanese law taught by a visiting professor from Tokyo. During his wide ranging series of lectures he touched on the post war constitution and the renunciation of war. I was intrigued and chose this subject for my course dissertation. What I found fascinating is though a written super statute such as their Article 9 is on the face of it capable of only being interpreted one way, it only takes clever legal argument and a general willingness to look the other way to effectively ignore it. sources I read at the time used examples of Nazi Germany and Soviet Russia who both had extensive high minded legal codes which were either ignored or manipulated by the state. I’m not suggesting modern Japan is in that category but it’s obvious that the high minded post war constitution has hit modern reality and the Japanese are showing themselves to be rightly pragmatic.
R Wright
1 year ago
“The world’s oldest country is losing hundreds of thousands of citizens every year as the old die off and the young stubbornly refuse to procreate”
A common misconception. The young don’t refuse to procreate. They cannot afford to do so.
They can certainly afford too. People far poorer do.
What they can’t do is live aspirational bougie urban lifestyles, and have children. They’re choosing consumption over children.
I am afraid you are being too harsh on the young japanese. The issue is rather complicated. First the space available in the appartments is very limited, at best enough to have one child. Then schooling is extremely expensive so raising a child is a major cost. Let me elaborate: public school is apparently not sufficient to allow entrance in a first class university. So people invest heavily in the afternoon (private) schools to integrate the skills of the pupils. Japanese life is organized in a different way than ours.
I am afraid you are being too harsh on the young japanese. The issue is rather complicated. First the space available in the appartments is very limited, at best enough to have one child. Then schooling is extremely expensive so raising a child is a major cost. Let me elaborate: public school is apparently not sufficient to allow entrance in a first class university. So people invest heavily in the afternoon (private) schools to integrate the skills of the pupils. Japanese life is organized in a different way than ours.
They can certainly afford too. People far poorer do.
What they can’t do is live aspirational bougie urban lifestyles, and have children. They’re choosing consumption over children.
R Wright
1 year ago
“The world’s oldest country is losing hundreds of thousands of citizens every year as the old die off and the young stubbornly refuse to procreate”
A common misconception. The young don’t refuse to procreate. They cannot afford to do so.
Josef O
1 year ago
Japan had several clashes with Russia in the 20th century. The first and most famous was the 1904-5 Russian-Japanese war also known as the war of Port Arthur (actually the real name is Chinese, Port Lushun close to a big city today, Dalian). That war was catastrophic especially for the Russian fleet in the tragic battle of Tsushima and ended the war.
The Russians however waited about 35 years to pay back. That war or battle is much less known, the battle of Nomonhan in outer Mongolia. In 1939 Ghiorgy Zhukov crushed the Japanese army in that area mainly because it lacked a serious armored proposition against the Russian T34. The Japanese kept that defeat secretly and whatever remained of the surviving troops were sent to fight in dangerous battles in Asia so that they could not return home and spread roumors about that disaster. Japan and Russia negotiated a non belligerance agreement which was signed on the 15th of september 1939. Stalin waited for that signature and the day after, on the 16th of september, attacked Poland from the east thus implementing the partition of that country as per the Ribbentrop-Molotov pact. As we all know the Germans attacked on september 1st, 1939. The non belligerance pact was duly respected by the Japanese during the whole WWII conflict. Would Japan have attacked Russia from the East the history of the battle of Stalingrad would have been totally different.
The Russians however were not that respectful and after the Hiroshima and Nagasaki nuclear bombing, took advantage of the situation and occupied the Kuril Islands (what the Japanese call Etorofu and Kunashiri).
No wonder hence that the Russian attack on Ukraine rang a sensitive bell in Japan.
Last edited 1 year ago by Josef O
Josef O
1 year ago
Japan had several clashes with Russia in the 20th century. The first and most famous was the 1904-5 Russian-Japanese war also known as the war of Port Arthur (actually the real name is Chinese, Port Lushun close to a big city today, Dalian). That war was catastrophic especially for the Russian fleet in the tragic battle of Tsushima and ended the war.
The Russians however waited about 35 years to pay back. That war or battle is much less known, the battle of Nomonhan in outer Mongolia. In 1939 Ghiorgy Zhukov crushed the Japanese army in that area mainly because it lacked a serious armored proposition against the Russian T34. The Japanese kept that defeat secretly and whatever remained of the surviving troops were sent to fight in dangerous battles in Asia so that they could not return home and spread roumors about that disaster. Japan and Russia negotiated a non belligerance agreement which was signed on the 15th of september 1939. Stalin waited for that signature and the day after, on the 16th of september, attacked Poland from the east thus implementing the partition of that country as per the Ribbentrop-Molotov pact. As we all know the Germans attacked on september 1st, 1939. The non belligerance pact was duly respected by the Japanese during the whole WWII conflict. Would Japan have attacked Russia from the East the history of the battle of Stalingrad would have been totally different.
The Russians however were not that respectful and after the Hiroshima and Nagasaki nuclear bombing, took advantage of the situation and occupied the Kuril Islands (what the Japanese call Etorofu and Kunashiri).
No wonder hence that the Russian attack on Ukraine rang a sensitive bell in Japan.
Last edited 1 year ago by Josef O
Dougie Undersub
1 year ago
Recognising the problem is at least the first step towards a solution. Our craven political class can’t manage even that.
Dougie Undersub
1 year ago
Recognising the problem is at least the first step towards a solution. Our craven political class can’t manage even that.
when i was a Law Student back in the 1990’s I did a final year course on Japanese law taught by a visiting professor from Tokyo. During his wide ranging series of lectures he touched on the post war constitution and the renunciation of war. I was intrigued and chose this subject for my course dissertation. What I found fascinating is though a written super statute such as their Article 9 is on the face of it capable of only being interpreted one way, it only takes clever legal argument and a general willingness to look the other way to effectively ignore it. sources I read at the time used examples of Nazi Germany and Soviet Russia who both had extensive high minded legal codes which were either ignored or manipulated by the state. I’m not suggesting modern Japan is in that category but it’s obvious that the high minded post war constitution has hit modern reality and the Japanese are showing themselves to be rightly pragmatic.
when i was a Law Student back in the 1990’s I did a final year course on Japanese law taught by a visiting professor from Tokyo. During his wide ranging series of lectures he touched on the post war constitution and the renunciation of war. I was intrigued and chose this subject for my course dissertation. What I found fascinating is though a written super statute such as their Article 9 is on the face of it capable of only being interpreted one way, it only takes clever legal argument and a general willingness to look the other way to effectively ignore it. sources I read at the time used examples of Nazi Germany and Soviet Russia who both had extensive high minded legal codes which were either ignored or manipulated by the state. I’m not suggesting modern Japan is in that category but it’s obvious that the high minded post war constitution has hit modern reality and the Japanese are showing themselves to be rightly pragmatic.
“The world’s oldest country is losing hundreds of thousands of citizens every year as the old die off and the young stubbornly refuse to procreate”
A common misconception. The young don’t refuse to procreate. They cannot afford to do so.
They can certainly afford too. People far poorer do.
What they can’t do is live aspirational bougie urban lifestyles, and have children. They’re choosing consumption over children.
I am afraid you are being too harsh on the young japanese. The issue is rather complicated. First the space available in the appartments is very limited, at best enough to have one child. Then schooling is extremely expensive so raising a child is a major cost. Let me elaborate: public school is apparently not sufficient to allow entrance in a first class university. So people invest heavily in the afternoon (private) schools to integrate the skills of the pupils. Japanese life is organized in a different way than ours.
I am afraid you are being too harsh on the young japanese. The issue is rather complicated. First the space available in the appartments is very limited, at best enough to have one child. Then schooling is extremely expensive so raising a child is a major cost. Let me elaborate: public school is apparently not sufficient to allow entrance in a first class university. So people invest heavily in the afternoon (private) schools to integrate the skills of the pupils. Japanese life is organized in a different way than ours.
They can certainly afford too. People far poorer do.
What they can’t do is live aspirational bougie urban lifestyles, and have children. They’re choosing consumption over children.
“The world’s oldest country is losing hundreds of thousands of citizens every year as the old die off and the young stubbornly refuse to procreate”
A common misconception. The young don’t refuse to procreate. They cannot afford to do so.
Japan had several clashes with Russia in the 20th century. The first and most famous was the 1904-5 Russian-Japanese war also known as the war of Port Arthur (actually the real name is Chinese, Port Lushun close to a big city today, Dalian). That war was catastrophic especially for the Russian fleet in the tragic battle of Tsushima and ended the war.
The Russians however waited about 35 years to pay back. That war or battle is much less known, the battle of Nomonhan in outer Mongolia. In 1939 Ghiorgy Zhukov crushed the Japanese army in that area mainly because it lacked a serious armored proposition against the Russian T34. The Japanese kept that defeat secretly and whatever remained of the surviving troops were sent to fight in dangerous battles in Asia so that they could not return home and spread roumors about that disaster. Japan and Russia negotiated a non belligerance agreement which was signed on the 15th of september 1939. Stalin waited for that signature and the day after, on the 16th of september, attacked Poland from the east thus implementing the partition of that country as per the Ribbentrop-Molotov pact. As we all know the Germans attacked on september 1st, 1939. The non belligerance pact was duly respected by the Japanese during the whole WWII conflict. Would Japan have attacked Russia from the East the history of the battle of Stalingrad would have been totally different.
The Russians however were not that respectful and after the Hiroshima and Nagasaki nuclear bombing, took advantage of the situation and occupied the Kuril Islands (what the Japanese call Etorofu and Kunashiri).
No wonder hence that the Russian attack on Ukraine rang a sensitive bell in Japan.
Japan had several clashes with Russia in the 20th century. The first and most famous was the 1904-5 Russian-Japanese war also known as the war of Port Arthur (actually the real name is Chinese, Port Lushun close to a big city today, Dalian). That war was catastrophic especially for the Russian fleet in the tragic battle of Tsushima and ended the war.
The Russians however waited about 35 years to pay back. That war or battle is much less known, the battle of Nomonhan in outer Mongolia. In 1939 Ghiorgy Zhukov crushed the Japanese army in that area mainly because it lacked a serious armored proposition against the Russian T34. The Japanese kept that defeat secretly and whatever remained of the surviving troops were sent to fight in dangerous battles in Asia so that they could not return home and spread roumors about that disaster. Japan and Russia negotiated a non belligerance agreement which was signed on the 15th of september 1939. Stalin waited for that signature and the day after, on the 16th of september, attacked Poland from the east thus implementing the partition of that country as per the Ribbentrop-Molotov pact. As we all know the Germans attacked on september 1st, 1939. The non belligerance pact was duly respected by the Japanese during the whole WWII conflict. Would Japan have attacked Russia from the East the history of the battle of Stalingrad would have been totally different.
The Russians however were not that respectful and after the Hiroshima and Nagasaki nuclear bombing, took advantage of the situation and occupied the Kuril Islands (what the Japanese call Etorofu and Kunashiri).
No wonder hence that the Russian attack on Ukraine rang a sensitive bell in Japan.
Recognising the problem is at least the first step towards a solution. Our craven political class can’t manage even that.
Recognising the problem is at least the first step towards a solution. Our craven political class can’t manage even that.